Five ways Haiti can use solar power for sustainable development

Have you seen the tweets requesting solar panels? This one is from @pierrecote, a multimedia producer in Haiti. Comprehensive approaches to energy sources are important for Haiti considering the infrastructure prior to this disaster. According to the World Bank, 78% of Haitians lived on $2/day in 2005, compared to the Latin America & Caribbean average of 23%. The CIA Factbook also says of the Haitian economy, "2/3 of all Haitians depend on the agricultural sector, mainly small-scale subsistence farming, and remain vulnerable to damage from frequent natural disasters, exacerbated by the country's widespread deforestation." For Haiti today, this means the power needed immediately needs to come from a variety of sources, including renewables. Solar panels are most relevant because there's no shortage of sun.

As Janet Shoemaker-Galloway of @TriplePundit found, there were many useful ways that energy could and needs to be used in Haiti. Particularly, “solar-powered equipment [could be used] for

water, lighting and communications being sent to Haiti as part of the reconstruction efforts.” These four items and ChrisBaskind's tweet about solar power playing a role in Haiti's recovery made me think--how and why sustainability is important in Haiti now--in the midst of widespread hunger and poverty.

Thanks Ken Lennox for the photo.

Dozens of news organizations are supportive of using solar power to energize Haiti, and are following this topic including World Changing, CNET, MIT Technology Review, USA Today; MSNBC even calls it 'solar salvation' since solar-powered talking Bibles are to be donated in February.

#1 Lighting can be used for extending medical efforts and increasing safety. Darkness means a higher likelihood of theft and violence during evening hours, in addition, medical services could extend their hours with lighting. Haitians recognize this and have started burning whatever they for kindling, including tires. In addition to having a poor roads and health systems, Haitians also had a poor infrastructure for electricity notes Treehugger.

#2 Health. Lighting and electricity go hand-in-hand, but electricity is also used for numerous other uses. Treehugger quote the Solar Electric Light Fund that around 1/2 of Partners in Health clinics in Haiti are powered by diesel generators--trucked across Haiti's mountainous roads. When rains are heavy, clinics must go without power. Of course, many hospitals and small clinics are without medicine--but without energy for medical equipment and sterilization, the health of Haitians will be in danger. For SELF, this means powering clinics with solar installations that integrate with existing generators to power critical loads.

#3 Water needs energy to be purified, unless it's transported from small streams across the Haitian countryside. Already, thousands of Haitians are fleeing to the countryside so logistically this makes no sense. The [US] Mayo Clinic recommends men drink 13 cups (3.3 liters) of water per day and women drink 8 cups (2.2 liters) of water per day and they base their information from the Institute of Medicine. On the other hand, USAID says 4 gallons per day or a minimum of 8 million gallons a day for the Haitian population of 2 million, says the San Francisco Chronicle (although World Bank indicators put the population at around 9 million). A solar panel manufacturer, SolarWorld, says it’s donating enough panels to power 10 water pumping stations (operated by Water Missions International) –which will provide clean water for as many as 175,000. What about water for the other millions of Haitians?

#4 Eating is also kind of essential. Sun Ovens International, a Solar Powered oven company, will partner with Friends of Haiti Organization next Thursday and send around 300,000 meals and solar powered ovens to Port-Au-Prince. Of Triple Pundit, “A donation of $40 will purchase one solar cooker kit for a family. One hundred percent of all donations are used to send the ovens to Haiti – no expenses are deducted. Additional shipments of the Sun Ovens are being planned."

Thanks Mark Turner for the Sun Oven photo.

#5 Communicating

“Communication is critical in getting humanitarian aid, services and information into the disaster area" of TriplePundit. Communication has been absolutely foundational in getting the word out through social and traditional media. Although many tweets are from international organizations, texting from within the country (and internationally) is also a great way to communicate simply and easily. For friends and relatives inside Haiti, texting can potentially both save your life, as well as confirm you're still alive to friends and family. There was even one case of a survivor saved by a First Aid iPhone App. Although laptops aren't at the top of the list of things to survive, communication is very important to Haiti in the long-term.

XO laptops with solar-charging backpacks are being distributed via One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) says their blog.

What about you? How can you help back in New York?

@CrisisCamp and other offline get-together's are a great way to raise money, awareness and ideas around sustainable innovation for Haiti. If two positive things develop from this horrible disaster, improving fundraising models and crowdsourcing relief efforts are probably the two most influential for improving the lives of Haitians immediately.

Still wondering if this social media thing really impacts sustainable development?

I recently moved to New York and met Damien Basile who connects New York ‘Digital Somethings’. Damien is helping publicize Non-Profit 2.0 in February in Washington, D.C. which you might consider attending. The co-creator, Geoff Livingston, blogged about Five social media lessons from Haiti on Mashable, which summarized the deep impact of social media on relief efforts. Wendy Harman, the Social Media Manager for the American Red Cross said, “This was the first time I truly felt like people were using these tools to take action for good.. More than 2 million people [texted ‘Haiti’ to 90999]. The impact was huge – that money is right now providing people with basic needs like water. I have no doubt it wouldn’t have spread so quickly without social media.”