As cities in developing countries grow and become more prosperous, energy use shifts from fuelwood to fuels like charcoal, kerosene and coal, and, ultimately, to fuels such as liquid petroleum gas, and electricity. Energy use is not usually considered a socio-economic issue. Yet, as this book demonstrates, the movement away from traditional fuels has a strong social class dimension, as poor people are the last to attain the benefits of using modern energy. The result is that health risks from the continued use of wood fuel fall most heavily on the poor, and indoor pollution from wood stoves...

This volume is part of the collection which brings back landmark books published by Resources for the Future throughout its nearly 60-year history as the pre-eminent research institution devoted exclusively to environmental issues.