Why I Give Watts

As some of you may know, I recently joined the Board of Directors of GIVEWATTS, a global nonprofit providing clean, free light to schools and clinics in the developing world. Following is a guest blog post I wrote on the GIVEWATTS website, the full post of which can be found here.

This is a truly worthy cause and I hope that you will join me in giving watts where they are needed.

Why I Give Watts

Energy represents the greatest challenge of our generation. Whether you are concerned with the dwindling supply of conventional energy sources, the environmental effects of those sources, or the social effects of global energy inequities, the story is the same: our status quo issimply unsustainable. During my first trip to Kenya I also recognized just how much the future of energy will be shaped by the developing world, whose demand for energy is growing at an extraordinary rate. If developing countries make the same mistakes that we (the most developed countries) have made, dark and terrible times are ahead.

GIVEWATTS is addressing this problem. 2.5 BILLION people–nearly half the world’s population–don’t have reliable access to electricity so rely on wood, kerosene, or other forms of CO2-producing “conventional biomass” for light and heat. Much of Africa falls into this category. Many African villages either operate with no light at night–meaning they cannot be educated or productive at night, furthering the wealth gap between them and the more developed world–or they burn fuels such as kerosene for their heat and light. The fumes from the kerosene not only damage the environment; they also cause respiratory illness in those nearby, reducing life expectancy and increasing healthcare costs. Furthermore, because fuel is expensive, it keeps the population in poverty.

Conventional efforts to address this issue have been largely ineffective. Creating the infrastructure for a modern electric power grid requires significant resources–and time–and too often corruption stands in the way of any real benefit. The GIVEWATTS solution empowers the people directly. By providing solar powered lamps and flashlights (solar powered heating and power generation coming in the future) to African schools and clinics, we help them break the cycle of poverty, illness, and environmental damage. The lamps charge all day then provide clean, free light as late as they are needed into the night.

The economics of this approach are extremely compelling. GIVEWATTS charges $25 (€20) to donate 1 watt of power to an African village. The watts produce light in renewable energy solutions, are used every day and has a life expectancy of 10 years (if solar; it also might require new batteries after 2-3 years) so the $25 donation provides 3,652 days of clean, free light to students, teachers, clinical staff, and patients, depending on which project is chosen. By contrast, it costs $0.21 per day, $775 per 10 years, for light from a dirty kerosene lamp (assuming current prices of about $1 per liter of kerosene and a consumption of 1,5 liters per week). Much of the African population lives on less than $1 per day per person, so paying 20% of that for dirty energy is a big deal.

This is what I love about the GIVEWATTS solution: by donating only $25 from the US, you reduce $775 of cost in Africa! This is INTELLIGENT wealth transfer from one part of the world to the other–a far cry from the ineffective, inefficient, corrupt transfer that we have been trying for decades. What’s more, each watt that is donated reduces CO2 emissions, alleviates a major healthcare epidemic (significantly reducing healthcare costs), and closes the development gap.

Another reason I support GIVEWATTS is their commitment to transparency. When you donate a watt of power, it is tangible and you understand the precise effect it will have. At givewatts.org we publish ongoing updates about the specific installations we have done so you can see your watts in action.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I support GIVEWATTS because of its people. I have known Jesper Hornberg, the founder, for years. I know him to be a man of highest quality and integrity. I have looked in his eyes and seen the true will to do good in the world and I know he has the talent to realize such a vision. It was one of the greatest honors of my life when he invited me to join the GIVEWATTS Board of Directors with a specific focus on developing US operations and I accepted it without hesitation.

So there you have it: a problem that must be solved, the best solution I have ever seen to that problem, and a great team to see it through. I hope you will join me in supporting GIVEWATTS. Together we will change the world–one light at a time!

Mini-UN

Our International Political Economy class discussions have really heated up over the past few weeks. The topics are intentionally provocative and Jean-Pierre does a good job of mixing class time between his expert knowledge and our inter-student debate. As we have 44 countries represented in our class, it's like participating in a mini-UN. Before our eyes we see age-old conflicts unfold between individuals.

For example, between our one Israeli student and two Lebanese students we saw the Arab-Israeli conflict play out last week. Each student had "facts" supporting an assertion that the other side was to blame, each pointed out the death and destruction wrought by the other, and each refused to back down. It was exactly the same thing that happens between countries. Both sides know that the only way to resolve the conflict (the original source of which may be long forgotten) is to step back and offer peace/goodwill but instead they just escalate the rehetoric.

On the one hand, it is frustrating. We aren't here to argue about who is right and who is wrong; we are here to learn a better way. On the other hand, though, it is instructive to witness the individual interactions and learn from them about the inter-country/inter-ethnic-group interactions and reactions.

It is also interesting to see the nationalism and defensiveness come out during these discussions. For example, I asked a question today about China's investment policy in Africa. China (and Africa too) claims that it is a no-strings-attached policy. This is contrasted with the historical Western policy of lending money or making investments but requiring democratic, human rights, economic, and other reforms in return. According to our African students, Africans prefer China's approach.

My question was about whether Chinese investments were really better for Africans or, given the presentation we had just heard about Africa's history of corruption and leaders embezzling government funds, were they just bribes by a more palatable name. I.e. by not attaching any strings was China just giving corrupt leaders more leeway to take the money for themselves? It was an honest question asked to understand the situation better, not an attack on China. The first response I received, from the presentation group, was fair and rational. However, it was then followed by several responses defending China. At the root of most of these arguments was, "It's no worse than what the West has done in the past."

This is, of course, a classic "tu quoque" fallacy: "Something we are doing is OK because, hey, you're doing it too." The objective isn't to point fingers; it is to find a better solution! I ran into a similar situation when conversing with a Chinese classmate about China's massively increasing polution levels that are predicted to lead the world in just a few decades. The rebuttal was, "Yeah, but the US currently leads the world--why do you want to accuse us of wrong-doing?!" I wasn't accusing anyone of anything; I was pointing out a trend that, now that it had been identified, we have an opportunity to reverse before it is too late. Can we please stop dwelling in the past and start finding ways to make the world a better place?!

Still, there is learning in these discussions. Perhaps the logical fallacies are not soley the fault of the arguers. Perhaps the way I present my questions is perceived as confrontational or accusatory. Perhaps I could find better ways to communicate across cultural boundaries, resulting in greater productivity in such discussions. I'm sure such learning could be applied not just to the individual interaction level but also to the group, company, and country interaction levels as well. I will collect feedback and work on it; I owe at least that much to my current and future colleagues.