The World Health Organization reports that 1.6 million women and children around the world die each year from respiratory diseases caused by the toxic smoke produced from indoor burning stoves used for cooking. In Central America, 90% of rural families and 50% in urban areas still use traditional stoves for cooking all their meals. These stoves waste 90% of the potential wood energy and the burning contributes to global warming. Trees, Water & People (TWP), the Aprovecho Research Center (Aprovecho) and several Central American NGOs have teamed up to introduce improved stove technology to Central America. The result is the "Justa Stove" with a metal griddle for cooking tortillas, the basic food staple; an elbow-shaped combustion chamber with wood ash for insulation to increase fuel efficiency; and a metal chimney to remove the toxic smoke from the kitchen. So far, we have built more than 12,500 improved stoves. Each stove costs $80 to build, including materials, training, transportation costs and staff time. Help reduce toxic smoke in the kitchens of Central America while reducing the need for wood by up to 70%! To find out what you can do to help click on the Channel G logo on Link TV's What You Can Do page. You can navigate to the What You Can Do page by clicking on the link to the right.