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.”

Four ways social media helps #Haiti

The first weeks of 2010 have proved social media and technologists can come together to tackle a serious issue; bridging gaps between technology and development. Before Haiti can push forward towards systematic, sustainable development, Haitians must address issues of safety, life and psychological well-being. Of course, before the international community spends money funding wind farms and other long-term sustainability-focused projects, priorities are food, water, medicine and shelter to those who need it immediately.



Thanks Joshua Schwodeck for the 'Help Heal Haiti' picture.


Since this crisis has started, there have been four ways that social media has improved the likelihood of development in Haiti:



#1 Increased online and texted donations

An inspiring blogger and award-winning communicator on social media for non-profits, Beth Kanter, charted ways social media and technology enhancing efforts to improve the situation of people-tracking and increasing online donations. These included the Charity:Water online donation drive video to urge people to help organizations (including Partners in Health and Concern Worldwide US) offering support where’s it’s most needed.

Also, Beth noted the utility in the American Red Cross texting for #Haiti campaign, which has since raised over USD$24m through mobile donations of $10 contributions. The Rotary Foundation made a similar Texting campaign for #Haiti (ROTARY to 90999) and raised nearly USD$50K for their new Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.


#2 Using Twitter to find missing people and co-ordinate #Haiti


Global Voices, a community of collaborative bloggers, wrote on twitter users on the ground telling the story of events. This helps mapping the crisis, and also helps international communities and regular citizens connect with Haitians on the ground.

Real-time tweets are also clear on Twitter lists, like Those-on-The-Ground (in Port au Prince) from @Georgiap. Another list by @Jilliancyork led me to logistical co-ordination of food and supplies on Twitter. These lists are an amazing real-time list of problems and solutions happening in Haiti right now, and are a useful way to see how your donations are being utilized.


Another innovative service by the Extraordinares called the Haiti Support Center enables micro-volunteering to support the collection of missing people via an online database where thousands of participants can identify and tag missing people or disaster images.




#3 Crisis mapping

Crisis mapping, by Ushahidi, also provides another way to track friends and family, and maybe where a solar panel could be best positioned? This will prove useful and interesting for the future of Haiti. The foundations of sustainable development for Haiti will likely depend on these few weeks.






#4 Offline organizing--@CrisisCamp: a worldwide event to create apps to help Haiti

During the Social Justice Camp DC, another inspiring and interesting event happened called Crisis Camp DC. Similar events happened internationally to help conceive applications to help NGOs, non-profits and individuals inside and outside help Haiti more effectively. For example, one project is a Wiki which maps NGOs in Action, including e-mail and Twitter contact info.




One thing that you might ask is why can’t governments help find missing people with their already existing information infrastructures? While attending Social Justice Camp DC on 16-17 January weekend, David Hale (aka @lostonroute66) made a session on Haiti. In July 2009, David talked about how social media improves collaboration and communication around health issues. From what David said, it seems government has avoided serious involvement with missing people because giving out patient’s information is illegal. In this case, it seems systems are now being built around information actively being given up by families and people. This is an important component of the sustainable development of Haiti because governments that support the health of their people will be far more sustainable.

Five ways Copenhagen activates the climate change movement

There are many reasons why Copenhagen (lovingly #cop15) is (was soon) one of the most influential events of my lifetime. I attended on behalf of the WWF with a videoblog called Inside Cop15, managing the Twitter stream for #incop15 and #cop15 throughout the duration. Tomorrow I leave, but this event will impact my life for much time to come.

In fact, many others believe this conference is important because although we haven't yet achieved a binding and ambitious treaty (I've just heard a UN leaked document shoots for 450ppm and 3 degree rises from 1990 levels). Either way, I remain positive about the impact on my generation and generations to come.

Friends like Ben Wikler, Jason Mogus, Joe Solomon and Claire Carlton from the WWF International, believe that change can and is possible, and tools we've got already are a great way to enable communications for reducing emissions and urging for an ambitious, binding international climate treaty.

Five ways that #cop15 has activated the climate change movement (and me):


1. The Global Day of Action unites the climate movement

As of currently, over 3,200 registered events happened internationally for 350 to support 350ppm emissions reductions. From Australia to Zambia, I sat beside the 350.org crew at their Headquarters in Copenhagen and saw these videos and pictures live as they rolled in via #RealDeal.

Over 50K (at least) attended the Copenhagen Day of Action. Despite the cold (around 0 °C), young and old; Jew and gentile; hippie and capitalist, came along to support a binding treaty at #cop15. Although 3-15K were expected, over 50K attended and when the Executive Director of Greenpeace said he had news from local police, I expected the worse. In fact, Kumi Naidoo said local police estimated participants at 100K. Along with around 10 influential speakers, there were 3 Climate Witnesses, a supermodel and Danish actor and parliamentarian. It was probably the most inspiring day of my life.


2. Young people mobilized and participation enhanced through Copenhagen demos

Action! Aid had Climate Debt Agents, WWF had numerous stunts including my favorite 'The Climate Rescue Team', a Flashmob of Climate Flood-ers in Bella Center (where all the action happens and where NGOs were mostly excluded from which is another post in itself), the alternative #cop15 at the KlimaForum, and campaigns such as TckTckTck and 350.org, UK Youth Climate Coalition, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, PowerShift, as well as online and offline stunts from Avaaz, SustainUS: Youth for Sustainable Development who were actively participating online. Climate Justice Now also staged an important walk-out which met up with protesters. Although some violent protests happened, actions magnified that young people really care about climate change.


3. Climate change business and non-profits more successful with more offline contacts

Copenhagen connects loose loops from within green economies internationally. At Green DrinksNetSquared (among many other networking events) in Chicago, New York and London, I've networked alongside hundreds of green businesses and non-profits. Low carbon economies grow continuously in what the World Bank might call highly developed and developing economies, all personalities are welcome and valuable. Overall, connecting people face-to-face moves the green and low carbon economy forward.


4. Politicians driven to consider climate change

It's hard to believe in politicians. Constituents rarely know their politician by name. Until, for example, their representative takes away a specific right, many participate passively in politics. Obama has infused politics with hope, politics isn't very desirable in many countries. Politically, it's inspiring to see over 100 world leaders have agreed to come along to cop15 (ie. new industries and traditional businesses changing).


5. Raises awareness of climate change

Copenhagen overtook sex on Google as the most searched item online. This is not only surprising, it's seriously impressive. For an issue that's so near and dear to those working within climate change, it seems amazing that so many people are interested in what's happening. This means the world is interested in how politicians will craft legislation or what the future of the climate change movement will bring.


Of course, there are also ways that Copenhagen harmed the climate change movement. For instance, the energy used for transport to Copenhagen from around the world is expansive. Congruently, the energy consumed through video commentary is also massive. But this is the first step of the low carbon economy and with alternative sources of energy, we can solve many questions about energy consumption. This we can discuss later...