Using Cardboard to Fight Global Warming

April 14, 2009

Surprising as it may seem, about three billion people still eat meals that are cooked using firewood. This adds considerably to deforestation and global warming. Introducing a solution: a cardboard box.

A Kenya-based company, Kyoto Energy, has created the Kyoto Box, an inexpensive solar cooker made of cardboard that people in the developing world can use to heat water and cook food without the need for wood. The box took first prize last week in a competition sponsored by Forum for the future to promote new green technologies that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Box is made from two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, which use reflective foil and black paint to maximize absorption of solar energy. At a cost of approximately $6 to make, it can be easily mass-produced at local cardboard factories.

Posted in: Packing & Packaging