Simple solutions scale better

One of the most significant environmental challenges of the 21st century will be how to address the threat of global climate change.  Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from human activities will require the development of new technologies and energy sources, at potentially high cost.  Most solutions are seen through the eyes of newer technologies and integrative designs.  The context of these solutions is usually the developed world.  A more important issue is the developing world; with their rural villages, burgeoning cities and slums, and dilapidated infrastructures, developing countries especially need renewable electricity, and they now buy the majority of the world's new renewable capacity.

The video below also demonstrates another alternative - - a simple plastic soda bottle that can become a light source.  Two things are important - - the first is the idea that sustainability works best with local procurement.  What is more local than a used Coke bottle?  The second is simple solutions scale better than hugely complex solutions - - and nothing is simpler than the same Coke bottle.

Coke and Pepsi ought to join forces and offer $50,000 for the most innovative and worthwhile use of a used one liter bottle.