Environmental Blog

Assessing Methane’s Potency and Long-Term Effects on the Environment by Kat Sarmiento When talking about climate change and/or global warming, the greenhouse effect is inevitably brought to the table. The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that happens in order to sustain life on Earth. However, a notable increase in the concentration of greenhouse gasses…

As the Earth’s climate continues to change, its impact on various aspects of our lives becomes increasingly evident. One area significantly affected by these changes is agriculture, with shifting weather patterns posing challenges to farmers and threatening our global food supply. However, amidst these challenges, a sustainable solution called biochar offers a glimmer of hope….

by Kat Sarmiento It’s becoming increasingly important for all companies to take responsibility for their impact on the environment and strive for a more sustainable future. One way we can achieve this is through embracing the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). By following its framework, companies can make informed decisions…

Guest Post Edited by: Andrew Dunn Written by: Amy Galloway By adopting a more eco-friendly lifestyle, homeowners can make a big difference in the battle to help protect the planet. But what does eco-friendly actually mean? To put it simply, being eco-friendly means causing no harm to the planet. For a homeowner, it means thoughtfully selecting and…

By Michael Shafer We suffer two scourges: haze and social inequality.  Are they connected?  Yes.  Must they be?  No.  Both the haze and social inequality that afflict the North can be dealt with in a single largely costless – indeed, profitable – way: empower the North’s millions of marginal smallholders to make biochar and sell…

Global crop waste burning – micro-biochar; how a small community development organization learned experientially to address a huge problem one tiny field at a time “The world’s 2.5 billion poorest people – small farmers living at the far fringe of the developing world – and their billion or so slightly better off neighbors burn 10.5…

October 31 – November 12 world leaders will meet at the COP26 UN Climate Summit for the purpose of “Uniting the world to tackle climate change“. We are running out of time and more than “talking” needs to be done if we are going to make a significant difference in reducing the greenhouse gases that…

 “Inherit, retain, and continue to create sustainable highhill land” On July 22, 2020 the Shangri-la/Warm Heart biochar project donated 10 tons of biochar to the Recover Forest Project in Mae Wak. In attendance at this climate action activity was the Chiang Mai Governor, Mae Na Chone sub-district department, Highland Research and Development Institute, Hug Mae…

There is an activity that we consider our resources which decline every year by humans and nature. The mangrove forest is provided hugely overlooked for environmental health and diversity habitat. This proposed is started in hugely act to replant mangrove in the wetland area. We can restore the mangrove forest by contributing to making up…

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Hopefully, this is a sentiment you’ve heard many times. Unless you grew up in a household where these were already the guiding principles your family lived by, it’s far more likely you have to make a concerted effort to think green. While those three words inspire many to think within the long-term…

Warm Heart strongly supports the Chiang Mai Breathe Council efforts to reduce the haze that plagues Chiang Mai every burning season. We are excited by the Council’s plan to “Start the operation of the smoke stove or bio-burner stove in collaboration with Maejo University. Operate in communities in Mae Taeng District, Hang Dong, Mae Rim, Mae…

We are so excited and wanted to share this news with you! Warm Heart Malawi Biochar Project reaches captive audience to reduce countrywide malnutrition! Zumba, where the hunger relief project is located is also home to the Zomba Central Prison, one of Malawi’s biggest. Like all of Malawi’s prisons, Zomba Central feeds itself from large, prison…

THAILAND: SOLUTIONS BUILT FOR SCALE Other rural communities throughout Asia have come together in support of solutions for local air pollution for a reason that needs no explanation — financial gain. In the mountains of Chiang Mai, a non-profit called Warm Heart, founded by Dr. Michael Shafer and his wife, Evelind Schecter, is helping farming…

By: Dr. D. Michael Shafer; Warm Heart Foundation, A. Phrao, Chiang Mai, Thailand Dr. D. Michael Shafer is a retired Professor of Political Science from Rutgers University in the USA who founded the Warm Heart Foundation in 2008. After first learning about biochar at an ECHO conference, in 2013 Warm Heart began to design and…

by Carol Culver De Leo I mean really, why should you care about a small town in Thailand that has repeatedly earned the dubious honor of being the most polluted city in the world for 4 consecutive days? Chiang Mai agricultural fires are killing us, figuratively, and literally. Agricultural smoke is a big contributor to…

From hazy to clean, from black to green: no longer a dream! Stop the smoke forever! Eliminate the cornfields that burn every year. Plant green forest, bamboo and coffee in their place. Be the solution! Help us raise $13,000 (390,000 THB) to supply biochar fertilizer made from crop waste to feed perennial bamboo, coffee and…

GlobalGiving “Protect Our Species – Reduce Global Warming” Climate Project Details Every long journey – like reversing climate change – starts with a small step. You can start this critical journey by helping the poor farmers of a mountain village in North Thailand build a sustainable social enterprise to convert their crop waste into eco-friendly…

The Trench: Best biochar technology for the poor We are mesmerized by the new and the high-tech – proven or not. Sure, social media took off really fast, but it is the exception. As a rule, new technologies take a long time to bring to scale. Our climate is at the tipping point; we do…

Organic fertilizer is the best soil amendment you can add to your garden. Do you want to grow healthy, nutritious vegetables in your garden? Of course you do! Organic fertilizer is easy to make It does not take much to set up a biochar oven, we even show you how to make one. There are…

Styrofoam R&D Repurposing styrofoam into a useful product has become a serious pursuit at Warm Heart. Biochar is not the only area of research and development at Warm Heart. Styrofoam is actually one of the worst contributors to ecosystem destruction. Styrofoam is non-biodegradable and non-recyclable. According to Washington University, styrofoam takes 500 years to decompose;…

This recent headline caught my attention: “California has a recycling crisis. The only way to solve it is to stop making so much trash“. Since China stopped accepting recyclable materials, California is not the only place that is accumulating excess garbage, it is becoming a problem everywhere. While recycling can help put a dent in…

This is a chulah, the basic cooking stove in rural India. It is fueled with dung, fuelwood, and trash. It is estimated that over 100 million households use these stoves to prepare their meals 2 – 3 times a day, every single day. As you can imagine, it is a major source of air pollution…

Smoky Season in Asia Smoky season in Asia is a real drag. I live in Chiang Mai, also known as the “Rose of the North”. It is located in Northern Thailand, offers lush landscape, a city full of culture and friendly people. It is a wonderful place to live. Until smoky season erupts, much like…

Cheers for The Plastic Bank I fell in love with The Plastic Bank because I like solutions that solve several problems simultaneously. Plastic Bank is a sustainable way to stop ocean plastic pollution before it happens by helping the world’s poorest people help themselves. What are the keywords here? • Sustainable: The Plastic Bank program will…

Beyond the 3 R’s By Carol Culver De Leo Where did we think our garbage was “going”? When I was a kid I had the unfortunate experience of visiting landfills with my dad a couple of times. The garbage was piled in disgusting mountains, the stench was awful. My father told me the garbage would…

The Warm Heart biochar training program now extends far beyond Phrao and even Thailand In February, 2017 Warm Heart Environmental Program provided a biochar training program for a diverse group of interested large farm holders from Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The training was held at our facilities in Phrao. Dr. Michael Shafer led the…

Pollution in Asia, Are You in Jeopardy? If you live on planet earth, the answer is a resounding “Yes”! Pollution is spread through air currents. Air pollution is not confined to any one region, which means we need to work together on a global level to combat this deadly problem. Warm Heart Environmental Program is…

Learning about biochar We visited Hod High School in Chiang Mai and introduced biochar burners to students. They had great fun while learning new DIY skills. Also check out our step by step video on how to build your own biochar burner.  

Doing Green – How’s it cooking? This update to our story Hospitality Embraces Biochar about how a local 5 Star resort, 137 Pillars House in Chiang Mai, is setting the trend for moving beyond “Going Green”, they have embraced “Doing Green” with a Backyard Biochar System. The new system they are using for addressing their biomass waste (i.e….

Doing Green: Setting Up A Successful Backyard Biochar Program The first thing you may ask yourself is how dies a biochar oven work? Biochar ovens are based on heating of any organic material (biomass) in the absence of oxygen. Because no oxygen is present the material does not combust but the chemical compounds (i.e. cellulose,…

Taking Action   The US Consulate in Chiang Mai has been a big supporter of Warm Heart’s Environmental Program going back to October 2015 when they funded our Breath of Fresh Air Grant. We are very pleased that the US Consulate recently announced they are going set up their own biochar program to handle their biomass…

Pursuing A Breath Of Fresh Air 137 Pillars House, a local 5 Star luxury hotel has shown a real commitment to corporate responsibility by recently setting up an onsite environmental program to do their part to reduce the haze and smoke that plague Chiang Mai every year. The tourist industry in Chiang Mai is largely…

RazorTV   For a few months every year, the tourist magnet of Chiang Mai turns to a living hell, as smoke from open fires during the dry season settles into the valley and creates a uniform, ash-coloured horizon.      

Reducing Health Hazards for Women and Children As part of the efforts funded by the US Department of States’ “Breath of Fresh Air” Grant, Warm Heart held two days of training for women of the Mae Pang sub-district. Over the course of two days, roughly 45 women were trained in how to use the TLUD…

Community Comes Together   Warm Heart completed two successful trainings for roughly 120 people of the community on January 26 and 27. Both days were spent learning how biochar works, and how to build a TLUD (“top lift up draft”) model. The trainings were an important step towards having the Phrao community (and beyond) use…

Giant Steps Forward for Warm Heart’s Biochar Project     Warm Heart was given the opportunity to present the biochar project as a complimentary solution to the “Action Plan 2016,” aimed to prevent and resolve smog in Northern Thailand. The Deputy Governor of Chiang Mai as well as representatives from the forestry department, district offices,…

  Funding for Biochar Project On October 1, Consul General Michael Heath announced a State Department grant award of $69,974 (2,099,220 THB) to Warm Heart Worldwide, Inc., to support efforts to assist farmers in reducing seasonal airborne particulate pollution in northern Thailand. The “Breath of Fresh Air” project intends to reduce pollution-based health risks to…