Renewable Energy

This weeks reading consisted of multiple case studies regarding energy sources. In class tonight we discussed the innovation of renewable energy in China, India and Brazil. We highlighted "new energy" sources such as Wind, Solar, and Coal power. While wind and solar are much more efficient and cleaner than coal, coal is much less expensive. China for example has mainly employed clean coal technology, but is also one of the world leader's in solar production. Also, China has become an industry leader in producing electric and hybrid vehicles. India, on the other hand, has had very little concentration on wind power and has focused their country's attention to the future of their solar power industry. The environment in India makes for the perfect solar power industry. In Brazil, we saw that rather than wind or solar, their main sources of energy were hydroelectric power and ethanol. We also discussed the issue of deforestation. With most of these industries we saw common themes and government regulations that promoted domestic markets. While these renewable energies can be costly, they produce a lot more energy. Without question, renewable energies are the future of energy use in the world. The question is how these technologies will be developed and deployed in certain areas of the world. While companies have made lucrative businesses out of these technologies, there has been very little commercialization and controversy has arisen. Why won't China adapt cleaner energies compared to their heavy industrial coal use? Why is wind power better than solar power in some places (and vice versa)? what are the economic, social, and political benefits on new energy technologies? Renewable energy remains a question of the future and only time will tell how societies adopt different types of energy.

An Edible History of Humanity - Tom Standage

In class, November 22, we discussed Tom Standage’s report, An Edible History of Humanity. In the reading, Standage introduces the invention of ammonia on the industrial scale and research on crossbreeding of crops to help increase the crop yield. These innovations significantly helped reduce world problems such as starvation and malnutrition, which serve the first Millennium Developmental Goal. With a continuation of research and development in the agricultural industry, we could alleviate greater numbers of people starving and malnutrition. Some of the questions posed in class pertained to how India has adopted the new agricultural method years ago but why are so many people in India starving of hunger? Also how the heavy usage of fertilizers is contaminating rivers and streams with chemicals, how can people fix this problem?

Health Technology Access and Diffusion

This week’s readings focused on access to health technologies in developing countries and the hierarchies involved in the adoption of these new products. Architecture, availability, affordability and adoption are four determinants of access that must work simultaneously to ensure success. Several “findings” were mentioned in the reading, a few of which are the following: The success of a product depends on its support by a product champion that constructs and manages the architecture of success. Product champions must also create expert consensus about health technologies. Producers in general should greatly consider users’ adoption of technologies, focus on being cost effective and employ supply side strategies to increase availability. Overall, for a technology to be successfully implemented and sustained, solid infrastructure must be present, the technology must be affordable and easily accessible, and “consumers must have the desire and knowledge to use this technology”. The latter portion of our reading looked into the individuals and organizations that play a role in influencing the adoption or refusal of new technologies. The input of hospitals, manufacturers, doctors, public regulators and private parties make sure that a product put on the market is well received.

Design Challenge: Latrines

Proper containment of waste is one of the problems plaguing developed countries. The challenge was to make model-scale latrines.

Economist Reading

T

 r     Tuesday's reading from The Economist  discussed how cellular devices are facilitating the lives of third world citizens. Access to cell phones allows these citizens to voice their opinions on human rights, learn more about political candidates, gain vital information for profitable business ventures, and  provide their families with financial capital through cellular banking. The reading also discussed how micro-financing has played a large part in the cellular boom and that small scale businesses have rapidly expanded due to increased access to cell phones. One of the most alarming statistics for this article was that 10 phone calls for every one-hundred people in developing nations adds an additional .8 percent GDP per citizen. The article also highlighted the success of Chinese and Indian telecommunication models through the newly applied strategies of tower sharing, off-shoring, and dynamic transferring. The article concluded with a forecast predicting that the future of cell phone technology in developing nations lies in internet accessibly: an area that would further alleviate citizens from their financial shortcomings.  

Business vs Aid

Over the semester, we have had several conversations about the role of technology in economic development. Access to technology, appropriate or more advanced seems to be key to the economic take-off that developing countries are yearning for. The aid community is promoting the adoption of technologies but questions remain about the sustainability of these initiatives. Would private companies be a viable alternative then? Can big multinational companies contribute to the adoption of technology and thus help the poor? We are not talking about philanthropy here, we are not talking about short term projects. These companies are seeking profits at the bottom of the pyramid, viewing the poor as potential customers. The class was quite skeptical. Here is another reason for skepticism: these companies have shown in the West that profits take priority over human rights and local economic growth. Over the last decades, the frequent lawsuits against Walmart remind us of the essential role of regulatory checks and balances. Developing countries not only lack these legal boundaries, but they are also desperate for economic growth, a disastrous combination!

How can we promote technological innovation?

In class we began with a quiz on the Hojo Colliery and innovation readings. Then Professor Dressaire gave a lecture on National Innovation Systems. We discussed recent approaches towards innovation and how it is working in countries such as China, Thailand, and even developed countries like the U.S. After that we took some time individually to formulate a paragraph on how to improve national innovation systems in Russia.

Following the writing session, we had a discussion on academic writing and how it is different from high school to college. We also talked more about transitioning academically into college. Lastly, we read an article on new business models from The Economist.

Hell in coal mines

Developing economies need energy to fuel their growth. In China, the cheapest and most readily available source of energy is coal. Coal currently accounts for 71% of the energy consumed in mainland China. But coal is dirty and dangerous... Can China learn from the past, use modern technologies and avert an environmental catastrophe?

In order to better understand the 'coal hell', we studied a chapter of Toxic Archipelago (Walker, 2010), a book that captures vividly the human suffering caused by Japan's economic growth at the turn of the twentieth century. In this chapter the author describes mining accidents that led to the deaths of hundreds of miners in the name of economic growth. The author also presents the environmental damages caused by oil refineries.

China's contemporary situation is fairly similar to Japan's in the 1900s, as both countries experience exponential economic growth. The scale of China's energetic needs and the rate at which it is producing and importing coal are alarming. Mining accidents, acid rain and air pollution are the prices that China seemed willing to pay up to a few years ago. And then the central government started pushing for reforms and new technologies, whether or not these new regulations will be enough to have a positive impact on the environment, they constitute a step in the right direction... a bold move that Western powers seem to have so much trouble making!

S-curve and Writing Well

Last class we started by covering our readings about ways underdeveloped countries can catch up with technology. The S-curve was a main focus on our readings and illustrated how less developed countries can catch up in technology adaptation because developed countries often reach a plateau with their technology adaptation. We also learned about the idea of "leapfrogging" or skipping intermediate stages of technological development that are sometimes unnecessary. We then looked at some countries initiatives to start aircraft manufacturing companies in their country. Many of these companies successfully built small air-crafts, but then struggled to build more complicated large air-crafts. I concluded my presentation by showing some of the problems with this technological catch-up including the problem that while less developed countries learn these technologies, it is very possible that developed countries will move onto a new more advanced technology making the previous innovation less useful or entirely obsolete.
Next we focused on how to write convincingly. Many of our four paragraphs did not do this so we learned a few techniques on how to improve our writing. We discussed the importance of evidence to support your claims, being specific with ideas, and using clear and concise language. As well we talked about staying on topic, connecting ideas, and not using casual language. We concluded the class by fixing our references so that they adhered to the APA format.

Design Challenge: Sustainable/Cheap Water Containers

One of the problems plaguing the third world is the transport of water in regions that lack a proper water and sanitation infrastructure. The challenge to T-Lab then was to come up with easily-used containers to transport water in a time and energy-effective manner in fuel-poor regions.

Team 1: Reid, Cris, Tinashe, Chloe, and Aysen

Team 2: Yun, Chase, Binod, and Natalia

Team 3: Jon, Zander, Elias, and Luke

Infrastructure

We discussed the importance of infrastructure in developing countries. Without adequate infrastructure, developing countries are unable to advance at a faster way. Infrastructure provides a foundation for technological learning, faciliates trade and intragration into world markers and helps grow the local expertise. Infrastructure is essential for development of academic and research institutions. Stable infrastructure will also attract foreign investment. Adequate infrastructure will also increase employment and increase the development of small and medium sized businesses. African countries need to be capable to develop, operate and maintain infrastructure services.

In addtion, we also talked about the seriousness of plagiarism. All sources and quotations must be properly cited. We also can not submit the same paper to two classes, this is call self plagierism.

Issues Facing the Developing World

Last class we discussed the role of science and technological innovation in the least developed countries. Due to high tariffs and low investments, least developed countries are faced with sporadic imports creating a lack of exposure to international technological developments. When combined with a weak internal educational system and the high emigration level of skilled workers, a "brain drain" is created within the country leading to a deepening marginalization in the global economy. The class discussion mainly addressed the two proposed U.N. solutions. The "surge" idea and the "know how" idea. The "surge" idea proposed immediate technological development in the least developed countries. In essence, bringing the least developed countries to the level of developed countries. Though a good concept, the weaknesses of this proposition make it very risky and expensive to attempt as it requires enormous investments from developed countries and nearly instantaneous development in the abilities of internal enterprises and workers. The "know how" idea brings up the point that technology is not simply technological means and information but also technological understanding. The idea proposed that the main focus should be commercial innovation rather than technological acquisition. As agricultural and farming techniques need to be bred to the unique conditions of each country the "know how" idea appeared noticeably stronger. This way least developed countries could join the global economy without having to "copy" developed countries. Lastly, we discussed the importance of internal policy developments that created framework to enhance education and learning of technological developments.

-Elias Riskin

Class discussion on the White Man's Burden

Yesterday we spoke about a chapter from the book White Mans Burden which looked at aid and the method in which aid has been disbursed and utilised in the world. Throughout the conversation as I stood in front of the class and leading the discussion I was amazed at how many different strong and well thought opinions were in one classroom!
I listened as my classmates pointed out how aid has been used in some governments in a corrupt manner making it difficult for the country to grow (which is the purpose of the aid) and how it might be unfair to ask countries like the USA to give grants to the developing world when the USA is at its highest debt ceiling to date. On the other end of the argument spectrum I listened to how some countries in the developing world had effective governments that managed to utilise the little or no aid they have received to make their country work.

The discussion left us with many questions like should there be aid at all, or are small specific grants effective and a myriad of other questions that perhaps we might not be able to answer this semester but later in life as we progress.

Good news!

I just received some exciting news from ONE and wanted to share them with you.

Malaria deaths reduced by 38percent since 2000, says a new report

http://one.org/blog/2011/09/21/malaria-deaths-reduced-by-38-percent-since-2000-says-new-report/

This is quite a success for simple technological solutions such as long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets. Looking forward to seeing your smart and simple water containers.

Discussion on Sept 13 at Library Learning Center

Sources of information:  The End of Poverty, Jeffrey Sachs

                                    The official websites of the organizations

                                    Bailing Out the Poor, William Easterly

During the presentation, we highlighted the scenario of poverty in Sauri, Kenya and in the slums of Mumbai, India. We also discussed the possible solutions to the poverty there. Several donor organizations ( IMF, World Bank, UNDP, USAID) have been working to help eliminate extreme poverty throughout the world. We discussed their programs and the extent to which they have been successful.

Most of the problems in Sauri, Kenya seem to be related to health and agriculture. The donors need to invest on the Big Five development interventions: agricultural input, investment in basic health, investment in education, power transport and communication, and safe drinking water and sanitation. They also need to ensure that the aid reaches the village, not freeze within government's corruption. Inhabitants in the slums of Mumbai need to be educated about their rights to all facilities that other people in Mumbai enjoy.

The IMF (since 1945) and the World Bank (since 1944) provide low interest loans and grants to countries in financial crisis. UNDP (since 1965) is more awareness based and tackles issues like capacity development, women empowerment, disease prevention and environmental conservation. USAID (since 1961) has been providing economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world.

Although there are many organizations working to eliminate poverty, not every one of them has the efficient policies and programs; therefore, the end of poverty is still not within the grasp. The IMF, for example, faced problems at times due to bad decisions made. Eliminating poverty needs fine planning, far-sightedness, wise investments and global collaboration.

Chase's Introduction

Hello, my name is Chase Seegars. I was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with my twelve year old brother and seven year old sister. Living in such an urban environment, I was exposed to poverty and misfortune at an early age. While my family never suffered from such hardship, it was difficult for me to go anywhere without seeing a person in need. Any time I left my house and headed downtown I would be met by beggars and homeless individuals looking for enough money to make it through the day. In our current economy, poverty is so widespread that our neighborhood has beggars resting outside our churches and seconds away from our homes. I find this quite frightening especially considering that I live in a suburban type setting where poverty has never so blatantly manifested itself. I feel sympathetic towards these poverty stricken individuals and give them money whenever I have the chance; however I feel that there is much more that can be done for them. My primary objective in taking this course is to discover ways in which I personally can make a difference and reduce poverty not only in our country, but throughout the world.

Aysen's Introduction

Hi, my name is Aysen Muderrisoglu. I am originally from Turkey and spent 8 years of my childhood there, but I was born in Boston and have been studying in the area for the past couple of years. My first choice for a career path was medicine, but there was a class in high school that really peaked my interest in another subject. It was a Spanish class on economics where we discussed the financial and social situations of countries such as Colombia, Argentina and the United States. When I read Kidder’s book on Farmer, I found myself asking questions more about poverty than disease. The two are inevitably linked, and after taking that Spanish course, I wonder, “How can we fix this? How can we fix the global economy?” Technology certainly plays a great role in the development process; we also need a stable political system. It seems as if what has been done so far has not worked, considering the fact that 5/6ths of the world is in poverty, so that’s where my interest in design began- it’s important that we think of new ways to tackle the problem at hand. Designing models (waterways, routes, new inventions, advanced technology, etc.) to better our societies will be a great factor involved in our improvement as a global community.

Reid's introduction

Hello, my name is Reid Atkinson. I am from a town in Western Massachusetts, called Northampton, located 20 minutes away from Springfield, MA. My whole life I have grown up surrounded by people in the middle and upper class. I have not been exposed to as much poverty as many other people which is why I am determined to do something about it. I feel as though too much time has gone by without getting involved and helping these people living in such poverty. I had traveled to Mexico when I was twelve years old , and that was the first time I had encountered poverty first hand. It was such a shocking and horrific sight to see so many people living extremely difficult lives without even having the basic essentials of life. There are so many things that we can, must do to help these people. I am confident and enthusiastic that our class will do great things to help these people in desperation. I can't wait to get started!

Elias' Intro

Hello, my name is Elias Riskin and I'm from Venice, California. My interest in this area of study arose after a month long trip to a remote village in Tanzania in which I lived in a small village among the Maasi tribe. I taught English and Mathematics in the local school while helping repair some of its structural damage. I chose this particular seminar because I wanted to do something that was both intellectually stimulating and hands-on. I have always had a passion for both sports and the outdoors and over the last few years I have gone several month long expeditions in places such as Alaska and Wyoming. Overall I'm excited to get work with everyone and accomplish something. Cheers

Luke's Intro for T-lab

Whats up guys, my names Luke Dutton I'm from Bronxville, NY which is in Westchester about 20 minutes outside of New York City. I play lacrosse and like all activities involved with the outdoors.

After spending a summer in Santa Fe, New Mexico doing community service and working at a Boys and Girls Club there where all the kid's parents are immigrants from Mexico many of them not citizens trying to make an honest buck in America sending money back home, I truly came to realize how many people struggle to live and that is only in New Mexico. I am very interested in technologies that can help large amounts of people for low costs and looking forward to this class a lot.

Hi guys, my name is Zander Rosenbluth. I'm from Bedford, NY, a small suburb about 45 minutes north of New York City. I spent most of my childhood growing up in northern California, right off of the Stanford University campus until I moved to New York about five years ago. Apart from the world of academia, I am a competitive tennis player and a die hard fan of the San Francisco Giants.

Throughout middle school I became very involved and driven to help out with Habitat for Humanity. Not only was I able to help build houses for some local fireman and community volunteers who were having a very hard time financially, but I also was part of a major flash flood disaster relief team in central Westchester county. For about 3-4 years, until I attended boarding school, I devoted about six to eight hours every other Saturday.

Even with many people helping out to build sustainable shelters for those who are less fortunate or homeless, there are still many more things we can do for for poverty stricken areas around the United States and more importantly, across the world. I look forward to finding solutions and helping out over the next semester with all of you. This is a wonderfully unique opportunity for us all to take advantage of, especially while being equipped with great resources and the knowledge of Professor Dressaire and Lorenzo. See everyone in class!

Jon's Introduction

Hello my name is Jon White. I am from Wellesley Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. I have lived in the same place my whole life and love going to Red Sox games.

During the summer a few years ago I was part of a service to Peru with a few kids from my high school. It really did open my eyes to the vast differences that can exist between countries and even within countries. The town we stayed in the longest was called Ollantaytambo in the mountains of Peru. The year we visited was the first year that the town had ever had internet. That fact alone really did help to shake up the bubble that I had previously been enveloped in.

With the money that my group had raised we were able to help improve one of the local elementary schools. This project has since increased my curiousity and made me wonder about different approaches that we could have taken.

I hope that as a class we can develop inventions to create a cost effective and sustainable way to help impoverished countries around the world.

Chloe's Intro

Hey guys! My name is Chloe Hirschowitz. I was born and raised in New York, New York. I have always had an interest in alleviating the struggle of poor countries. I have developed that interest mostly because of my family’s background. My father was born in Namibia and went to school in Namibia and South Africa. I have heard many stories of his work as a doctor for the Namibian government, traveling by camel to overcrowded clinics where TB was the ailment of the majority of his patients. One story that has really stuck with me was of a patient who in the US would have been rushed into surgery, was last in line to be treated because there were so many cases that were even more life-threatening waiting to be seen.
I have also visited Cape Town about a dozen times and the sights are beautiful, but the conditions on the streets are not. I spent the day in my friends school there. The teacher was asking kids about their allowances. They were all about 10 rand a week, which was about $1.50, at the time, and this was in a decent neighborhood. This experience and my dad’s stories have motivated me to take action.

Cris's Intro to T-Lab's

Hey everyone! My name is Christopher Lora; you can all call me Cris. I am from Bronx, New York but was raised in the Dominican Republic (D.R.). Didn’t grow up with much, but my family was able to move forward as most of them moved to the United States from the D.R. in search for better opportunities. By far in my family, I am the first to graduate from high school, the first to go to college, the first to speak English fluently, the first to be a computer savvy, and the first to plenty of other things.

D.R. may not be in extreme poverty such as the neighboring country of Haiti, but poverty is still a great issue, especially in the remote areas where most of my family is from. The differences I see every few years every time I go to visit my grandmother in La Vega are amazing. They may not have enough money to purchase up to date technology and luxuries, but they are all decently fed and have managed to control heavy rainfall in ways that do not destroy most of their agriculture. I find it amazing mostly due to the fact that they lack modern technology but are rich in survival skills. The role of my family in the U.S. plays in helping our family in D.R. is providing them with medical expenses and money for yearly school supplies for the children from around the village. I feel grateful that at least my family isn’t as badly affected as those in Haiti, but I wish more could be contributed to help a wider range of people, something that technology can provide.

Binod Representing Nepal

Hi, I am Binod Giri. I come from one of the remote parts of Nepal. As everyone has their own story to tell, I too have one. It was beyond my imagination to come to study in Kathmandu, let alone in USA. But as I kept expecting better of myself every time, I managed to pursue one of the best destinations for my education. I am typically interested in helping so many others back in my country, who have been forced to remain poor due to social, economic and political obligations. I really want to help them solve their hand-to-mouth problems and raise themselves so that they can see what actually is going on around the world.
To some extent, the condition in Haiti, Nepal and some African countries are comparable. There are so many other people in the world living pathetic lives. It is our responsibility to help them in what way is possible. Unless we employ some energy efficient and cost efficient technologies, eliminating poverty from the earth will take long decades, almost without an end. I want  to actually create something by the end of this year that I can proudly say 'I am at least one step up the ladder towards my goal'.

Tinashe's introduction

Hello my name is Tinashe chidziva and I am from Harare, Zimbabwe. (Zimbabwe is a small country in the southern tip of the African continent, right above South Africa, the country that held the world cup in 2010)

I went to school in Zimbabwe and South Africa and in my time at school I was exposed to poverty and how it affects everyday life. I interacted with people who lived in homes made out of scrap metal sheets and discarded plastic(known as shacks), people who literally lived in the bush and families that would go fr days without food.

Seeing such extreme poverty I felt that I had to do something. It is through this passion that I hope to come up with sustainable, cost effective and appropriate solutions to help eradicate poverty in my lifetime.

I hope to be dazzled and amazed by my own and my classmates creativity throughout this semester; and with some determination come up with a tangible solution for a real community.

Yun's Introduction

Hello, my name is Yun Gong. I migrated to New York from
China ten years ago with my family. Growing up in a rural area in Taishan,
Guangdong, I have both experienced and observed poverty. Imagine a small
village where young girls hike up mountains to streams to help their parents
wash their clothes since the parents are too busy farming and children walk a
few thousand kilometers every day to get to school, that's where I lived.
Therefore, the issue of poverty is very personal to me. When I returned to
China this past summer to visit my grandparents, the first thing I noticed was
the village's development over these past years thanks to technology. Many of
the dirt roads are now paved, there are wind mills on almost every mountain
top, and many had cell phones. When I was little, the whole village had only
two telephones, so imagine my surprise. Call me selfish, but I am mostly
interested in learning about these issues because they have affected me
personally. As for international development, I am interested in learning about
how other countries deal with the issues of poverty and steps they take to
advance.

Day Zero: Paper Tower

The challenge was to build the tallest structure out of paper and tape that could support the weight of an egg for 15 seconds without falling over, and I was amazed at the ingenious ways that T-Lab students came up with for doing that task. It's going to be a great semester!

Introduction

The T-Lab blog will be our attempt, as a class, as a community engaged in learning about poverty, to tell a story from our perspective. What is poverty? Why are people poor? How can we help those in poverty? Does technology actually give us the way to finally emerge from the dark ages which still persist in far and even close reaches of this beautiful planet?

The answers that we discover to these fundamental questions may one day change us, and we may one day change the world.