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Solar Lights Replacing Kerosene Lamps in Africa

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As technology and resources start to reach more remote parts of the globe, we face a stark reality. Will the remote folks of Africa, Latin America and Asia follow in the same unsustainable footsteps as the West? Or will they be insightful enough to realize there must be a different way, one that preserves all life on this planet.

 

May 1st, 2015 by Aisha Abdelhamid

Using a unique business model to sell solar lights in rural African off-grid communities, SolarAid aims to eradicate the dangerous and toxic kerosene lamp from Africa by 2020. Working in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda, the lives of over 10 million people in Africa are being improved through solar technology.

Announcing another record-breaking year, SolarAid recently reported that its social enterprise, SunnyMoney, sold 624,468 solar lights last year, bringing its total distribution close to 1.7 million solar lights.

“The light has changed our life. My kids eat well, study well and we are a happy family now,” said Dickson Murumbi, a teacher in Kenya.

“The First and Most Crucial Step on the Energy Ladder”

“A clean, affordable and better source of light,” said SolarAid CEO Andrew Webb, “is the first and most crucial step on the energy ladder.” Webb continued, “The benefits to families, schools and communities is truly staggering and the fact that 10 million people in rural Africa, as we speak, are using these lights is testament to the hard work and dedication of our SunnyMoney teams.”

The total number of people across Africa now benefiting from solar light is estimated at around 50 million. As the largest seller and distributor on the continent, SunnyMoney solar lights account for one fifth of all sales. Webb pointed out, “The off-grid sector reaching 50 million people is fantastic, but there are over half a billion people in Africa still reliant on dangerous and very poor light sources like kerosene. In 2015, this is simply not acceptable. We need more support so that we can continue to give people across the continent the chance of a brighter future.”

The Dangers of Kerosene Lamps

Releasing black carbon into the environment, kerosene lamps pollute the air inside homes, resulting in health problems such as lung and eye diseases. Not only producing dim light which is inadequate for work or study, wounds and fatalities often result from the open flames of kerosene lamps.

In Uganda alone, the International Energy Agency estimates that 30 million people, or 80% of the population, live off the electrical grid. “Electricity is only available in the cities and main towns,” explained Alison Gallagher, SunnyMoney Uganda Operations Director. Gallagher added, “This forces families living off-grid to spend an average of USH 15,000 per month on kerosene for lighting.” Kerosene costs account for up to 25% of a family’s monthly income, and Gallagher pointed out that this money could be better used “to improve household nutrition, pay school fees or put towards new business opportunities.”

Across the African continent, it is further estimated that over 600 million people do not have access to electricity. With a total population of nearly one billion, it is reported that there are likely 100-200 million kerosene lamps damaging the health, polluting the air, and wasting the precious money of families in rural African off-grid communities. From my own personal experience as a resident of a rural community in Egypt, that number is vastly underestimated, as kerosene lamps represent the standard light source during the frequent power outages that we experience here.

SolarAid and SunnyMoney Shines in Africa

Based in London, SolarAid is an international charity that believes in business-based solutions to poverty and global warming. Creating a social enterprise called SunnyMoney in 2008, SolarAid relies on SunnyMoney to run its on-the-ground operations in African nations.

Testing and selecting the best solar lights and products from quality manufacturers, SunnyMoney began selling the solar lights in 2009. At that time the number of solar lights in use around Africa was estimated at fewer than 40,000. But by creating demand, solidifying markets, and bringing a commercially viable and scalable solution to this market, sales have begun growing all across the continent.

“We are product neutral which means we only sell lights that meet customer’s needs,” states the SunnyMoney website. “All of our lights exceed the Lighting Africa World Bank standards and come with a warranty. You can count on our SunnyMoney service guarantee of high-quality products with the best possible prices.”

The Benefits of Replacing Kerosene Lamps with Solar Lights

Replacing kerosene lamps with solar lights not only mitigates global warming – it also offers comfort to anxious mothers. “I don’t have any worries with the risk of the kerosene to spill and burn the house, because solar is easy to use and the children can put it on without me around,” reported Victoria Materu, a mother in Tanzania.

The benefits of one solar light include:

Through numbers and research offered by SolarAid, combined with research from the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (GOGLA), the following figures highlight the benefits of replacing kerosene lamps with solar lights:

● Improving the lives of around 6 people
● Saving a family £130 (~$200)
● Enabling an extra 1200 hours of study
● Averting half a tonne of CO2

Furthermore, this research concludes the following, based on the lifetime of a solar light:

● 10 million people currently have access to a solar light
● 9 million of whom live below the World Bank $1.25 p/d poverty line
● Families will save £200 million (~$309.19M)
● 2 billion extra study hours will be created
● 900,000 tonnes of CO2 averted
● 6 million people experiencing better health from reduced indoor air pollution
● 1 million kerosene lamps packed away

“Using SunnyMoney solar lights,” reported Stanley Ruget, a Head Teacher in Kenya, “the school has improved from a mean score of 227 to 247. Most students use their solar light to study til midnight.”

Eradicating the Kerosene Lamp through Off-Grid Lighting

Placing a greater emphasis on knowledge sharing, SolarAid recently made a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to “build the alliance to eradicate the kerosene lamp.”

According to SolarAid, off-grid lighting is the most cost-effective way of contributing to the United Nation’s Sustainable Energy 4 All goal of universal energy access by 2030. The charity is currently advising a number of organizations on entering and supporting the off-grid lighting market, and is a leading member of the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association(GOGLA).

As of December, 2014, GOGLA estimates that around 7.52 million lights have been sold throughout Africa. Additionally, with the inclusion of home solar power systems and accessories, GOGLA estimates the off-grid solar market sector to be worth around $50 billion.

Improving Lives While Reducing Impact on the Planet

Following up with buyers of SunnyMoney solar lights, 90% of buyers interviewed had “immediately changed their main lighting method to solar soon after buying a solar light.” This same 90% were previously using kerosene lamps or candles. The 10% who did not change their main lighting method were purchasers who are connected to their national grid, and bought solar lights for a back-up source. 100% of the solar light users indicated that “having a solar light has generated income-earning opportunities.”

As SolarAid CEO Andrew Webb noted, “The growing off-grid solar market is a beautiful example of how we can reduce our impact on the planet and improve the lives of those living on it at the same time”.

Solar Plane Can Fly Forever! China to Hawaii – No Stop No Fuel

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The Solar Plane has been criticized by many sceptics as an option far from reality. It doesn’t have enough power – we get it! However, the concept of the Solar Plane being able to fly indefinitely is something that raised our eyebrows here at Valhalla. Imagine the opportunities this can provide. McClatchyDC provided the story…   …

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We Asked Kids: 10 Creative Ideas To Help Solve Global Waste Issues

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Massachusetts-based creative research firm and marketing company Latitude teamed up with schools in France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the United States to ask the kids how they might deal with one of today’s most intractable issues: waste.

In my recent move across the country from Toronto to Victoria, I was hit with a hard realization about consumerism: Humans collect and dispose of too “stuff.”

Although my partner and I made a conscious effort not to accumulate unnecessary things in our tiny Torontonian condo, even the bare essentials proved to be a challenge to get rid of. We had to sell pretty much everything we had accrued during our few years in Toronto in order to make the cross-country jump as simple as possible (minus the Vitamix and coffee machine, for obvious reasons).

Once we had gotten our belongings down to nearly zero, we caught a flight to Victoria where it was soon time to build our assets up yet again. Sigh.

I became nauseous at the idea of throwing down thousands of dollars on furniture and household items, but even more sickened by the amount of garbage we were creating by stocking our new pad with only the bare essentials. Luckily, my handy partner put his creative skills to the test and built our kitchen table, along with my office desk.

After unpacking all of our new things, such as a toaster, salad spinner, wok, and other kitchen utensils, along with a couch, a bed, and some groceries, we were left with a pile of waste too shameful to look at. Plastic, cardboard, and other various disposables filled our different waste and recycle bins, oozing guilt and ecological disappointment.

Then the thought crept into my head: nearly everyone out there has all of this stuff and more. And some a LOT more than others. Every person in our society creates this amount of waste on the regular. And even with the compiled efforts of recycling programs worldwide, are we really keeping up, considering the vast amount of material goods currently being consumed by the global population?

Technological innovation and clever marketing has perpetuated a cultural appetite for the latest and greatest, but at what ecological expense?

Sadly, the consequences of the latter may only ever be witnessed down the road by the newest generation of consumers, and the solutions to these issues may only every be tackled by the same generation.

This notion was the inspiration behind a recent project from Massachusetts-based creative research firm, Latitude, who went to children across the globe with the pressing questions about global waste management. Researchers wanted answers for the following three questions:

  1. How much do children know about the journey of trash once it’s thrown away?
  2. How do children think we can reduce and re-use trash more intelligently?
  3. What possibilities do “digital natives” see for technology to create a more sustainable future?

Some of the kids’ answers were adorably brilliant, while others may be considered far-fetched, but regardless, these pictures give us a glimmer of hope for the future of our planet. Check out their creative responses below!

An indestructible cell-phone.

What are your thoughts on these imaginative solutions? Are any of these kids on to something? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Prayer For Nepal

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On April 25th just a few hundred kilometres away from Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu a magnitude 7.8-8.1 earthquake shattered the ground, homes and hearts of millions. The event has devastated many of us in the Valhalla community, as well as our network of friends in the Mountain Country. I was in my room, working on my …

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He Holds the Patent that Could Destroy Monsanto and Change the World

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If there’s anything you read – or share – let this be it. The content of this article has potential to radically shift the world in a variety of positive ways.

And as Monsanto would love for this article to not go viral, all we can ask is that you share, share, share the information being presented so that it can reach as many people as possible.

In 2006, a patent was granted to a man named Paul Stamets. Though Paul is the world’s leading mycologist, his patent has received very little attention and exposure. Why is that? Stated by executives in the pesticide industry, this patent represents “the most disruptive technology we have ever witnessed.” And when the executives say disruptive, they are referring to it being disruptive to the chemical pesticides industry.

What has Paul discovered? The mycologist has figured out how to use mother nature’s own creations to keep insects from destroying crops. It’s what is being called SMART pesticides. These pesticides provide safe & nearly permanent solution for controlling over 200,000 species of insects – and all thanks to the ‘magic’ of mushrooms.

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Grasshoppers killed by the entomopathogenic fungus.

Paul does this by taking entomopathogenic Fungi (fungi that destroys insects) and morphs it so it does not produce spores. In turn, this actually attracts the insects who then eat and turn into fungi from the inside out!

This patent has potential to revolutionize the way humans grow crops – if it can be allowed to reach mass exposure.

Couple Creates Sustainable Off Grid Floating Island After 20 Years Of Work

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The floating fortress of sustainable living can be seen on the coast of Vancouver Island British Columbia. This masterpiece of hard work and effort just goes to show how amazing off grid living can be. Wayne Adams, 66, and Catherine King, 59, established this floating home together in 1992. They have been growing and fishing for their own food ever since they built the palace you see before you. I for one can admire all the stress and strain they probably had while building this grand abode.

“Freedom Cove” consists of 12 floating platforms that include a dance floor, an art gallery, a guest lighthouse, a studio for Adams and King, and 5 greenhouses. All I can say is wow. The settlement has half an acre of land for growing edible crops. The couple gets water from a nearby waterfall during the summer and from rainwater during the winter. The settlement had been powered by an array of 14 solar panels, but recently switched to a generator after the panels broke down.

When they aren’t working on their sustainable lifestyle, they still manage to keep busy; during the summer, visitors come from nearby Tofino to experience the family’s sustainable lifestyle. Adams is also a carver, while King is a painter, dancer, writer and musician. This is a dynamic duo i desperately wish to meet. Check out their amazing work in these pictures below.

(h/t: boredpanda, browningpass, huffingtonpost)

People Hunt Endangered Animals, So This Woman Hunts Poachers

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A group of retired US vets have just landed in Africa, and their mission is to deter poaching before it contributes to the elimination of endangered species.

The effects of poaching are not to be taken lightly. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, rhinos, elephants, and other types of African wildlife may go extinct in our lifetime. Take, for example, the Black Rhino: populations of this magnificent animal have decreased by 97.6% since 1960. It’s very clear that unless some heavy force and invested interest is given to help reduce rates of poaching, the entire planet will suffer from loss of biodiversity and the greed that is causing it.

One way activists in the United States are supporting an end to poaching is by enlisting retired vets to take part in an organization that puts their years of combat training to work overseas. The non-profit VETPAW (Veterans Empowered To Protect African Wildlife) is focused on protecting African wildlife from illegally being hunted and captured.

And a recent addition to that group is Kinessa Johnson, a US Army veteran who served for 4 years in Afghanistan. At the end of March, she and a team arrived in Africa to take on a new mission: According to her, ” We’re going over there to do some anti-poaching, kill some bad guys, and do some good.”

Johnson and her team of fellow Vets arrived in Tanzania on March 26 th, quickly getting down to work. She has already noticed a decrease in poaching activity in her team’s immediate area because their presence is known.

…And if you take a minute to look at the build and confidence just Johnson exudes from years in dangerous territory, you likely can understand why. Her team’s primary focus at the moment will be to train park rangers and patrol with them to provide support.

African park rangers are in serious need of assistance, as she mentions, “they lost about 187 guys last year over trying to save rhinos and elephants.” The training they will provide includes marksmanship, field medicine, and counter-intelligence.

Kinessa joined VETPAW because she loves animals, and because protecting endangered species is a cause that speaks to her heart. Because Africa experiences the highest rates of poaching in the world, it made sense for her to volunteer her strength and skill to help protect some of the wildlife who are too easy of a target for poachers. Another incentive is because revenue made from selling parts from slaughtered endangered species usually goes to fund war and terrorism in Africa. So helping to combat the first act of violence will hopefully help to reduce other aspects of conflict elsewhere.

According to Johnson, “After the first obvious priority of enforcing existing poaching laws, educating the locals on protecting their country’s natural resources is most important overall.”

Taking to social media, Ms. Johnson is helping to raise money and awareness for the cause. She now has over 44,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram. And if you take time to check out her profiles, you’ll discover amazing photos of exotic African animals and updates on what her team is accomplishing.

You can also support Johnson and her team by donating to VETPAW and sharing their mission. Soon you’ll be able to watch Johnson and her team on a new show, as their efforts are being captured by the Discovery Channel!

When asked if her or her team had killed any poachers yet in a Q & A forum on Reddit, she stated, ” We don’t operate with the intent to kill anyone.” The African poachers would be well advised not to test this All-American bad-ass on that though.

This article is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.Com. .

Union Of 30,000 Doctors In Latin America Wants Monsanto Banned!

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It was announced this week that over 30,000 doctors and health experts throughout Latin America are demanding that Monsanto’s products be banned. One of the primary cases that these doctors are bringing against Monsanto is the recent confirmation that their main herbicide RoundUp is actually responsible for causing cancer.

“In our country glyphosate is applied on more than 28 million hectares. Each year, the soil is sprayed with more than 320 million liters, which means that 13 million people are at risk of being affected, according to the Physicians Network of Sprayed Peoples (RMPF),” Argentina’s union of medical professionals, Fesprosa said in a statement.

The Fesprosa union is comprised of over 30,000 medical health professionals, most of whom wish to enact the ban on Monsanto products, and specifically the chemical glyphosate, the active chemical in RoundUp.

“We believe the precautionary principle should be applied, and that we should stop accumulating studies and take decisions that could come too late. We advocate a ban on glyphosate which should take effect in the short term with restrictions on purchasing, spraying and packaging,” Javier Souza, coordinator of Latin American pesticide action network said.

” We cannot allow the business interests of a North American multinational to be more important than the health of the people of our region. Governments should promote the technology and practices of organic farming to protect growers, consumers and the environment,” Franco Segesso, coordinator of the campaign at Greenpeace Andino said.

As we reported earlier this year, Monsanto is continuing to lose profits into the second quarter of 2015, shedding an exceptional 15% profit amid falling GMO seed sales – even more than most experts projected.

John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.

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This Vending Machine Sells T-Shirts For 2 Euros, But No One Will Buy One. See Why…

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Who made your clothes?

Who doesn’t love a great deal? Whether it’s on household appliances or a new t-shirt, consumers worldwide are always looking for a great bargain.

So of course when shoppers came across a vending machine in Berlin, Germany selling t-shirts for only 2 Euros each (about $2.19), they flocked to benefit from the supreme sale.

€2…? Seems like a bargain!

But there was a catch…

In order to buy a €2 t-shirt, shoppers had to first watch a video about the exploited sweatshop laborers that make cheap clothing possible.

The video showed who is behind the cheap clothing for sale…

Often under-age employees are the laborers, who work for up to 16 hours a day.

…and for as little as 13 cents an hour.

“Do You Still Want To Buy This 2€ T-Shirt?”

Not surprisingly, most chose to donate instead of purchase the t-shirt.

This brilliant social experiment was put on by the non-profit Fashion Revolution, who wants shoppers to reconsider how they shop for their clothes. Watch the entire experiment below:

The video was released on April 24th, or Fashion Revolution Day. This day commemorates the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013, which killed more than 1,000 garment workers who had been making clothing for American brands, like J.C. Penney, Benetton, Walmart, and others, in unsafe conditions.

The workers at such factories, according to aplus, are often underage, and most are also underpaid and overworked. Fashion Revolution wants to encourage people to start asking questions about their clothes, like where they were made and under what conditions they were manufactured.

“We’re not asking people to boycott their favorite stores, we need to change the fashion industry from within by asking the brands and retailers where we like to shop ‘Who made my clothes?'” Fashion Revolution Day founder Carry Somers told Marie Claire.

As you can see in the video above, consumers’ reactions to the video were varied, but almost everyone chose to donate to the cause instead of support cheap labor. This goes to show how powerful a tool education is.

“Consumers didn’t cause this problem, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be part of the solution,” she added. And by encouraging people to take a stand and show fashion brands they need to start taking responsibility for their actions, Fashion Revolution is already helping to inspire much-needed change. To learn more, follow the #fashrev hashtag on social media.

What are your thoughts? S hare in the comments section below.

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How Buddhist Monks Are Helping Those Displaced By Nepal’s Earthquake

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Tens of thousands of people have been left homeless by Nepal’s devastating earthquake on Saturday, but a fraction of these have found temporary shelter at a Buddhist monastery in the hardest-hit region.

The Shechen Monastery, just outside Kathmandu, is housing roughly 2,000 people, including the monastery monks and staff, according to a press release from the center. The monks are trained in disaster relief and are providing tents, food and drinking water to those camping on the monastery grounds. Several monastery buildings sustained severe damage in the quake, according to the press release, including the main temple.

Doctors and staff at a nearby health clinic, run by affiliated humanitarian organization Karuna-Shechen co-founded by prominent French monk Matthieu Ricard, are helping to assess injuries and provide medical aid to the displaced, according to the center’s website.

The monastery’s efforts are in line with the ethos of compassion that Ricard wrote about in a blog on The Huffington Post just days before the earthquake.

“To protect the practice of mindfulness from any deviations, a clear component of altruism needs to be embedded from the start,” Ricard wrote. “Doing so offers a very potent, secular way to cultivate benevolence and promote a more altruistic society, while cultivating mindfulness at all times. To be fully transformative, the mindfulness revolution has to go hand and hand with the altruism revolution.”

Other Buddhist monasteries and organizations were quick to respond to the disaster as well, offering updates to the world through social media. They also are sheltering and providing medical attention to those in need and raising funds for relief efforts.

On Sunday, the Dalai Lama wrote to the Nepalese Prime Minister, Sushil Koirala, saying: “The people of Nepal and Tibetans have been neighbors throughout history and many Tibetan refugees live in Nepal. I offer my condolences to you and to those who have lost members of their families, friends and their homes in this tragedy.”

He added that he has asked the Dalai Lama Trust to make a donation toward rescue and relief efforts in the country.

McDonalds Shuts Down Hundreds Of Stores Worldwide As Sales Decline

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It was announced this week that McDonalds will be closing hundreds of stores worldwide, as global sales continue to decline. To begin the year of 2015, the infamous fast food chain will be closing at least 700 of its locations, which is double the number that was planned for closure earlier this year.

In the first 3 months of 2015, McDonalds saw a 2.3% decrease in sales and a 28% drop in operating revenue, continuing a trend of loss that the company has been experiencing for years.

Speaking in a conference call with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, the company’s new CEO, Steve Easterbrook said that massive changes will be needed to improve McDonald’s struggling reputation.

“I think there is a hunger and an interest in our business to embrace change. McDonald’s management team is keenly focused on acting more quickly to better address today’s consumer needs, expectations and the competitive marketplace,” Easterbrook said.

Over 100 of the recent closures happened in Japan, where McDonalds has faced a number of scandalds relating to the quality of their food.

It is not hard to see that decline of McDonalds is happening, even in your own local neighborhood. Where once there were lines wrapped around the parking lot at multiple McDonalds locations in every town, there are now very sparse crowds at the restaurant, even in high traffic areas and during busy times.

In recent months, we have been paying close attention to how McDonalds and other popular junk food brands are falling out of favor as people become more conscious about their diets. GMO food in general is also quickly losing trust among consumers.

Several months ago, it was reported that organic food sales in the United States had risen to over $35 billion per year. This number is expected to climb as interest in organic food continues to grow exponentially.

Recently, we reported that junk-soda giant Coca-Cola is facing major financial challenges as sales steadily decline. Some fast food restaurants, such as Burger King, have been removing sodas from their kids meals, in an attempt to seem more concerned with health.

John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. This article (McDonalds Shuts Down Hundreds Of Stores Worldwide As Sales Decline) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and True Activist. .

Apple Purchases Land The Size Of San Francisco For Conservation And Is Building 2 New Solar Farms In China

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We can’t help but be sceptical when we hear a mega-company like Apple announce it will do something in the greater interest of mankind. We know and have heard -as we’re sure you have too- that Apple is moving copious amounts of cash to parts of the world where they are exempt from tax. Could this be how they reconcile their ability to share and be human? (*note: Apple is not a human)

I (Lawrence) certainly won’t disagree, that the government who claims right to this taxable profit may be the worst people to give the money to in any case (it will be more money to mismanage). However, I would like to point out that Apple executives are, also, in no way qualified to claim the right to stewart the whole planet on our behalf, on the behalf of those living, dying and thriving in a given community. So here is an article written by True Activist, consider it.

Apple is contributing to a cleaner, healthier environment in quite a few ways.

Recently the maker of the iPhone and Mac computers announced that it has just purchased 36,000 acres of forest land for the express purpose of protecting it from future development, as well is already constructing two new solar farm projects in China. Their aim is to duplicate clean energy efforts abroad which have already been started in the United States.

The joint venture undertaken with SunPower will produce two new 20 megawatt solar farms. As stated above, construction in China has already begun, and 2 MW of solar capacity are already sending power to the grid. “The technology combines single-axis tracking technology with rows of parabolic mirrors, reflecting light onto high efficiency SunPower Maxeon cells, which are the world’s most efficient commercially available mass-produced solar cells. Completion of the projects is expected in the fourth quarter of 2015. […] The projects are expected to provide up to 80 million kilowatt-hours per year while also protecting the ecosystem.”

The super-technology company is contributing to a greener planet in more ways than one. To ensure that the packaging for its products comes from sustainable managed forests, it has partnered with The Conservation Fund to manage 36,000 acres of forest that have been purchased in Maine and North Carolina. As shared by Inhabitant, ‘The forests will be protected from development, staying forests forever, though some wood will be sustainable harvested from them.’

Said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund, “Apple is clearly leading by example – one that we hope others will follow.”

AppleComputer2-1024x683.jpg

“By all accounts, the loss of America’s working forests is one of our nation’s greatest environmental challenges. The initiative announced today is precedent-setting,” said Selzer.

Apple’s efforts to preserve the environment have begun to change the tune of some of its critics, including Greenpeace. Said the non-profit’s USA Senior IT Sector Analyst Gary Cook, “Apple’s announcement today is a significant first step toward addressing its energy footprint in China, and sets an important precedent for other companies that have operations in China: they can take action to power their operations with renewable energy.”

In addition to their conservation plans in the States and abroad, Apple intends for its new headquarters in California to be 100 percent solar-powered by the time of its completion.

This is just one example of how successful businesses can reduce their environmental impact and help shape a greener, cleaner world.

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Italian Spends 40 Years Building a Human-Powered Theme Park, It’s Amazing!

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It’s social enterprises like this that we -at Valhalla- espouse. Organizations that bring people together while preserving our harmony with Gaia.

Bruno first began his journey to create one of the first human powered theme parks in Battaglia, Italy on June 15, 1969 with two jugs of wine, a bag of sausages and a grill. Two individuals walked by Bruno’s odd, but interesting display and asked, “What is this?” Bruno responded, “It’s a restaurant!”, and Ai Pioppi was born. The family run restaurant still operates to this day, even after 45 years later. The work that Bruno has created over the years to attract customers is phenomenal.Bruno began to build rides like: swings, slides, seesaws, gyroscopes and roller coasters all by his own two hands. Bruno, being the passionate builder that he is, hoped the rides would attract families and provide a memorable experience for the kids, who would in turn encourage their parents to return.The end game for Bruno and his park was fantastic. The spirit of adventure is definitely a bonus in this seemingly dangerous (but fun) place to be. This video allows you to see the masterpiece and hard work that Bruno has put into his park. I couldn’t help but be a little curious myself to actually believe how some of these rides work.

Ai Pioppi Rides

(Photos by: Alessandra and Oriol Ferrer Mesià)

None of the world’s top industries would be profitable if they paid for the natural capital they use

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The notion of “externalities” has become familiar in environmental circles. It refers to costs imposed by businesses that are not paid for by those businesses. For instance, industrial processes can put pollutants in the air that increase public health costs, but the public, not the polluting businesses, picks up the tab. In this way, businesses privatize profits and publicize costs.

While the notion is incredibly useful, especially in folding ecological concerns into economics, I’ve always had my reservations about it. Environmentalists these days love speaking in the language of economics – it makes them sound Serious – but I worry that wrapping this notion in a bloodless technical term tends to have a narcotizing effect. It brings to mind incrementalism: boost a few taxes here, tighten a regulation there, and the industrial juggernaut can keep right on chugging. However, if we take the idea seriously, not just as an accounting phenomenon but as a deep description of current human practices, its implications are positively revolutionary.

To see what I mean, check out a recent report [PDF] done by environmental consultancy Trucost on behalf of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) program sponsored by United Nations Environmental Program. TEEB asked Trucost to tally up the total “unpriced natural capital” consumed by the world’s top industrial sectors. (“Natural capital” refers to ecological materials and services like, say, clean water or a stable atmosphere; “unpriced” means that businesses don’t pay to consume them.)

It’s a huge task; obviously, doing it required a specific methodology that built in a series of assumptions. (Plenty of details in the report.) But it serves as an important signpost pointing the way to the truth about externalities.

Here’s how those costs break down:

The majority of unpriced natural capital costs are from greenhouse gas emissions (38%), followed by water use (25%), land use (24%), air pollution (7%), land and water pollution (5%), and waste (1%).

So how much is that costing us? Trucost’s headline results are fairly stunning.

First, the total unpriced natural capital consumed by the more than 1,000 “global primary production and primary processing region-sectors” amounts to $7.3 trillion a year – 13 percent of 2009 global GDP.

(A “region-sector” is a particular industry in a particular region – say, wheat farming in East Asia.)

Second, surprising no one, coal is the enemy of the human race. Trucost compiled rankings, both of the top environmental impacts and of the top industrial culprits.

Here are the top five biggest environmental impacts and the region-sectors responsible for them:

UNEP

The biggest single environmental cost? Greenhouse gases from coal burning in China. The fifth biggest? Greenhouse gases from coal burning in North America. (This also shows what an unholy nightmare deforestation in South America is.)

Now, here are the top five industrial sectors ranked by total ecological damages imposed:

UNEP

It’s coal again! This time North American coal is up at number three.

Trucost’s third big finding is the coup de grace. Of the top 20 region-sectors ranked by environmental impacts, none would be profitable if environmental costs were fully integrated. Ponder that for a moment: None of the world’s top industrial sectors would be profitable if they were paying their full freight. Zero.

That amounts to an global industrial system built on sleight of hand. As Paul Hawken likes to put it, we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it GDP.

This gets back to what I was saying at the top. The notion of “externalities” is so technical, such an economist’s term. Got a few unfortunate side effects, so just move some numbers from Column A to Column B, right?

But the UNEP report makes clear that what’s going on today is more than a few accounting oversights here and there. The distance between today’s industrial systems and truly sustainable industrial systems – systems that do not spend down stored natural capital but instead integrate into current energy and material flows – is not one of degree, but one of kind. What’s needed is not just better accounting but a new global industrial system, a new way of providing for human wellbeing, and fast. That means a revolution.

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