LED Lights in Tanzania

Our friends at Dissigno are replacing kerosene lighting with LED lights with a grant from the World Bank (part of Lighting Africa initiative).  Six hours of pedaling stores enough energy to light 6 homes for 30 days.  San Francisco-based Dissigno is currently on site in Tanzania.  

About 2 billion people have no electric lighting a home.  Fuel (typically kerosene) is expensive, inefficient, unhealthy, and unsafe.  The costs of fuel dependency and subsidies are very high.  Lack of lighting is directly linked with the cycle of illiteracy and poverty.  You Tube video:  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2nASqdJw3rg

Dissigno was recently written up in Discover mag and on the Wired Science blog.  Pretty cool stuff.

Photos: John Dickey

Global Warming and Frozen Markets

Dan Shapely of The Daily Green assembles a few points about the environmental movement that come to the forefront given the large losses in the capital markets:

1. Green power creates jobs, however contributions from the private sector will be more scarce.

2. Annual environmental losses outweigh financial ones (deforestation alone costs as much as $5 trillion/year, BBC News recently reported), and take much longer to reverse than capital markets. 

3. Carbon tax may see more support (Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia U) as it requires less financial engineering than the Cap-and-Trade programs favored in Kyoto.  

Financial capital is a huge part of assuaging global warming:  particularly when it comes to alternative power generation, like offshore wind farms and solar projects. 

Financial Turmoil, and Thoughts on Green

When jobs implode, business credit lines are yanked and the bills are due, keeping green might not be at the top of anyone's list.  Historically, in tough economic times, people are going to focus on their own needs first.   We're already reading about the impact of disappearing banks, lost jobs, foreclosures and the immediate effects on personal spending.   It's down.  Predictions for the rest of the year: way down.

Here's some thoughts on general trends in the markets.

• More people trying to make ends meet to supplement income.  This boosts the supply of stuff sold by small business and individual internet sellers on venues like craigslist and ebay.
  
• Price sensitivity and lower demand for goods in general.  
  
• Decline of interest in luxury brands. 
  
• Increased demand for used items, bargain items, and products with lower markups.  
  
• Less charitable giving.  

Buying green typically has status associated with it.  However, many things green can become desirable in a recession.  

1. Lead with practical goods.
   
2. Focus on cost savings.
   
3. De-emphasize status.
   
4. Show the human element of who benefits from the sale.  
   
5. Add items with lower price points.
   

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