burning clean in argentina
proteger/friends of the earth
argentina
Friends of the Earth Argentina is
enthusiastic about biogas, particularly
given the shortages and high costs of
natural gas in their country.
Biogas is energy generated from human
and animal waste. It has several advantages
to wood and fossil fuel-based energy: it
destroys methane before it can contribute
to global warming; it provides
clean-burning fuel for stoves and lamps; it
reduces labor, particularly for women who
traditionally are responsible for wood
collection; it protects forests; and it
reduces respiratory ailments caused by
smoke from wood fires. Best of all,
following a small initial investment for a
bio-digestor, the system creates energy out
of garbage.
In 2004, Friends of the Earth
Argentina’s Santa Fe office installed a
bio-digestor in order to become energy
self-sufficient. The office is now powered
by a mixture of domestic garbage, leaves
and sorghum. The group’s president, Eduardo
Groppelli, is a pioneer for biogas in
Argentina, and has installed a bio-digestor
for 800 inhabitants in the rural town of
Emilia that runs from organic garbage. His
goal is to prove that people can produce
their own energy, thus alleviating poverty
and reducing pressure on the
environment.
