From Clive Durdle
Is some “joined-up thinking” required to tackle the threat to the ozone layer (“Ozone’s future is up in the air”, 16 December 1995)? The Third World obviously needs refrigeration. This does not necessarily mean using the electrically powered white boxes we all know. Beneath Colchester Castle is a large ice cavern, possibly originally constructed by the Romans. Insulation is an important starting point.
The vast majority of Third World villages will not be linked to mains electricity in the foreseeable future. So why not use existing appropriate technologies that are not dependent on electricity and questionable chemicals such as CFCs?
The resource immediately available is “farm gas”. Community methane digesters could produce gas to power refrigerators and heat pumps. In the first instance, this plant would be part of the community health and education centre. Meanwhile, solar-generated electricity could be used for lighting and running the community computers and satellite links, which require high-grade energy.
This way, small communities could grow by sharing skills and solve problems by looking for relationships rather than tackling one problem at a time – in this case CFCs.
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