On Sunday, Hillary Clinton took to Twitter and bragged about a “clean cookstoves” initiative she helped launch while Secretary of State, but there’s just one problem — the Washington Post reported last year that the program which was supposed to save millions of lives, “hasn’t worked out that way, despite the best efforts of the alliance.”
First up, here’s Hillary’s braggadocios tweet (and what’s with the nurse refusing to let go of her hand?):
Watch Hillary wonk out with a nurse in New Jersey over solving one of the world's most serious problems.https://t.co/0Ej6gaWzIf
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 29, 2016
Now, here’s the truth from the Washington Post in 2015:
How the clean cookstove movement failed to meet its goals in poor countries: https://t.co/MaJyilNh6q Insufficient understanding of use cases
— Greg Langdon (@GregLangdon) November 3, 2015
From the Post:
These cheap, clean stoves were supposed to save millions of lives. What happened?
About 3 billion of the world’s poorest people burn wood, charcoal or dung in smoky, open fires to cook their food and heat their homes. Millions die annually from lung and heart ailments caused by cooking with solid fuels, according to the World Health Organization.
With that in mind, Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, launched a public-private partnership called the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in 2010. By creating a global market for “clean and efficient household cooking solutions,” the alliance would “save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and protect the environment.” Providing poor women with clean cookstoves, Clinton said at the annual gathering of the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, “could be as transformative as bed nets or even vaccines,” which have saved tens of millions of lives.
It hasn’t worked out that way, despite the best efforts of the alliance, which operates as a project of the U.N. Foundation in Washington.
It seem the stoves aren’t even clean-burning in the first place:
Cookstoves Still Dirty https://t.co/8WKBVEPgS5 #biomass #bioenergy @airpollution @PAPinitiative @airpollutions pic.twitter.com/in4iOB8sLU
— The Biomass Monitor (@BiomassMonitor) November 17, 2015
“As yet, no biomass stove in the world is clean enough to be truly health protective in household use,” https://t.co/e0CEWQytOg
— kaos dog- Bill Lewin (@dogkaos) February 28, 2016
.@WHO: Millions dying from ailments caused by 'clean cookstoves' https://t.co/dZv94kfOIq @marcgunther @washingtonpost
— FoodEnvReportingNet (@FERNnews) November 3, 2015
And the stoves don’t even work:
“Why are they cheating us by giving us things that break so early?” The clean stoves that don't work. https://t.co/4Dw8kYS2Fm? #charity
— Michael Dello-Iacovo (@MichaelDello) December 6, 2015
A european invention praised by many and rejected by those it was intended to "help." https://t.co/1SLvnsr2r2
— Ray Winbush (Tikari Bioko) (@rwinbush) March 6, 2016
Hillary fans, however, loved her less-than-accurate version of events:
Hillary is my candidate. Hillary cares about all of us, our needs, our dreams, our problems, our hopes. https://t.co/x3Igewpa6r
— Anne Rice (@AnneRiceAuthor) May 29, 2016
This is one of the many reasons why #ImWithHillary #ImWithHer all the way. https://t.co/E8TtCYdQtN
— Ginger Zoe (@ZoePerdue) May 29, 2016
This woman knows her stuff! Listen to her talk seriously about causes of #respiratoryillnesses in the world #Hillary https://t.co/OOBX9JFM8h
— Bonnie Friedman (@Bonniecomm) May 29, 2016
Cookstoves are a simple but profound tool for improving the lives of women & protecting the environment. #ImWithHer https://t.co/f2waMvcz63
— Susanna Williams (@SusannaDW) May 29, 2016
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