Saturday, November 07, 2009
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Monday, October 05, 2009
Malawian boy uses wind to power hope, electrify village
from CNN
by By Faith Karimi
William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource that was freely available to him.
His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands. His family and others were surviving on one meal a day. The red soil in his Masitala hometown was parched, leaving his father, a farmer, without any income.
But amid all the shortages, one thing was still abundant.
Wind.
"I wanted to do something to help and change things," he said. "Then I said to myself, 'If they can make electricity out of wind, I can try, too.'"
Kamkwamba was kicked out of school when he couldn't pay $80 in school fees, and he spent his days at the library, where a book with photographs of windmills caught his eye.
"I thought, this thing exists in this book, it means someone else managed to build this machine," he said.
Armed with the book, the then-14-year-old taught himself to build windmills. He scoured through junkyards for items, including bicycle parts, plastic pipes, tractor fans and car batteries. For the tower, he collected wood from blue-gum trees.
"Everyone laughed at me when I told them I was building a windmill. They thought I was crazy," he said. "Then I started telling them I was just playing with the parts. That sounded more normal."
Read More>>
by By Faith Karimi
William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource that was freely available to him.
His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands. His family and others were surviving on one meal a day. The red soil in his Masitala hometown was parched, leaving his father, a farmer, without any income.
But amid all the shortages, one thing was still abundant.
Wind.
"I wanted to do something to help and change things," he said. "Then I said to myself, 'If they can make electricity out of wind, I can try, too.'"
Kamkwamba was kicked out of school when he couldn't pay $80 in school fees, and he spent his days at the library, where a book with photographs of windmills caught his eye.
"I thought, this thing exists in this book, it means someone else managed to build this machine," he said.
Armed with the book, the then-14-year-old taught himself to build windmills. He scoured through junkyards for items, including bicycle parts, plastic pipes, tractor fans and car batteries. For the tower, he collected wood from blue-gum trees.
"Everyone laughed at me when I told them I was building a windmill. They thought I was crazy," he said. "Then I started telling them I was just playing with the parts. That sounded more normal."
Read More>>
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sustainable Cooking
Whether it’s lunch for one, dinner for the family, holiday gatherings or large parties, being organized is an important way not just to save time and money, but also to reduce environmental impact. Learn more about ways to reduce waste and be more energy efficient when cooking, and get a chance to win an Amazon Kindle DX while you're at it. Read more about it here.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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