When it comes to fighting global warming, much of the world’s attention has focused on ways to eliminate coal-fired power plants, promote electric vehicles, and build wind farms. But what if there were something far simpler and more low-tech that would have the same benefit as taking more than half the cars in the United States off the road Well, it turns out there is—which is why everyone from the U. S. Congress to the United Nations and the philanthropic (慈善事业) wing of Shell Oil is suddenly talking about cookstoves. For years activists have tried to convert people to more efficient chimney stoves as a way to improve health. But old habits die hard. Plus, cleaner-burning stoves were either too expensive or too unreliable to be attractive to the poorest of the poor. The energy bill passed by the U. S. Senate in May calls for the government to help distribute stoves. A similar bill passed by the U. S. House of Representatives in 2009 even mandated that 20 million homes be provided with better stoves within five years. The history of cookstoves, however, is one of a succession of well-intentioned failures. India paid tens of millions of dollars to supply stoves to rural villages between 1984 and 2004. But the government stoves were of poor quality and, because they were given away, there was no natural after-market for servicing them. As a result, within a few years the vast majority were no longer in use. Many, though, think this time will be different. A handful of private companies have decided there is money to be made in stoves, and they are marketing models that are efficient, durable, and priced between $ 25 and $100. That’s still too costly for many of the world’s poorest. But some are hoping that the growing ranks of microfinance banks will be persuaded to lend money to villagers to bridge this gap, or that Western companies might be persuaded to finance distribution in exchange for carbon-trading credits. But it remains unclear whether enough of the world’s poor can be persuaded to change the way they cook in time to keep the entire planet from roasting. What are microfinance banks supposed to do
A. They should try to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. B. They should provide loans for the poor to make the stoves affordable. C. They should encourage the use of credit cards among the poor. D. They should provide financial assistance for the stove-makers.