Green and Non-Electric Technology

Abstract

YANKEE ingenuity was a saying we used in Nebraska, but when I moved to Florida, my students quickly corrected me. In the South we call it redneck know-how, they informed me. A friend of mine who is a native Southerner likes to say, We have the technology, which roughly translates into We can do that. Regardless of what you call it, there are a lot of ingenious ways to help solve problems. There are two practical reasons to discuss green and non-electric technology. First, if you've ever dreamed of a cabin in the woods, but there is no electricity, and you can't get a septic tank permit, green technology can make that dream feasible. Second, there are millions of people in developing countries whose only realistic option is green and non-electric technology. Various philanthropic efforts, such as those of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, have been in the news lately. They have been busy working to help eradicate AIDS and malaria, especially in developing countries in Africa. While we should certainly admire these efforts, what about ensuring that all people have clean water to drink? It seems to me that basic human needs might supersede eradicating diseases, however widespread and debilitating. I was first drawn to the topic of this column by a National Public Radio story about the efforts of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Here is an overview of AIDG from its website (www.aidg.org). Roughly 2 billion people do not have access to basic services such as electricity, clean drinking water, and sanitation. Development of the infrastructure is essential to breaking the cycle of poverty in developing countries. The ... AIDG works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies that meet these needs.... The AIDG is a young NGO [non-governmental organization] that received its 501(c)3 status in January 2005. It is currently establishing micro-manufacturing enterprises for appropriate technology in Guatemala and will expand its model to other regions in the near future. Peter Haas is AIDG's founder and executive director, and the group's first incubated business in Guatemala is XelaTeco. The Xela Project in Guatemala has devised a simple and ingenious way to purify water. It uses a clean drum with a layer of gravel at the bottom and progressively finer layers of sand on top of that, with the finest sand at the top. Friendly bacteria that grow on that top layer kill the bad bacteria in the water, and you end up with safe, cool water to drink. A water purification system such as the one shown above can provide a lot of water, but it probably needs to be used frequently to keep it in working order. A good source for any small-scale water purification system is Lehman's Non-Electric Hardware catalog (www.lehmans.com). Lehman's is unique! Where else can you buy original, tuned brass sleigh bells? And did you know that Aladdin is still making kerosene lamps? In fact, the company never stopped. (This also means that the kerosene lamps you might find in antique stores are probably not all that old.) Lehman's has interesting green technology products like water filters, composting toilets, and alcohol stoves. Lehman's offers a variety of water filtration systems, including the Berkey Light, which is an attractive tabletop unit that can purify four gallons of water an hour. The cost is $184.95, and the filter elements last 3,000 hours. Among the other AIDG designs is a bio-digester. The AIDG website describes it as essentially a well-constructed animal waste collection chamber. Here's how it works: Unlike a septic tank, which is not sealed and vents methane, as well as passing effluent to its leach field, a biodigester is a sealed system that intentionally promotes the controlled buildup of methane. …