⚡Imagination
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The IKEA of Microgrids
Yesterday, we covered how ski lifts and other gravity energy storage devices can be simple ways to change the way we produce and consume energy. Today, we want to follow-up on that conversation by featuring another simple, yet effective device — a box.
No, this isn’t the box you decided to play with as a kid instead of the present it contained. It’s a solar microgrid, designed by a startup called BoxPower, that is delivered in a container and “can be assembled and begin providing power in less than a day.”
It’s really simple. Angelo Campus, the CEO, refers to the company as the IKEA of microgrids — while there is some assembly required, it is color-coded, pre-cut, and pre-drilled. “Anyone who can assemble an IKEA dresser can assemble our solar array on top of the container. It doesn’t require any heavy equipment or machinery.”
The need. This solution was designed after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The standard fleets of generators were proven ineffective due to a massive fuel shortage, resulting in medical clinics and other care facilities shutting down. This caused the death of 200,000 more people, in addition to those that died in the earthquake.
How it works. Everything fits inside a 20-foot shipping container. There are solar panels, racks, a prewired battery, inverter, and backup generator that runs on fossil fuels (if needed). It provides enough energy to power 3-4 homes. And, if another disaster is going to hit — like a hurricane that can rip it to shreds — the device can be easily disassembled and put back into the container.
Impact to date. BoxPower delivered its first container after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, and it has now installed another 13 systems across the US.
BoxPower has truly done something unique — it’s amazing to see such a simple solution have the potential to impact the lives of so many around the world. This is also a unique example of how microgrids, a concept that has gained significant traction in developing nations, are getting applied in the western world. We should ask ourselves what other such knowledge can be gained in the developing world to benefit society overall.
The Human Cost to Conserving Earth
When it comes to preventing the collapse of nature, the most radical idea is about conserving half the planet.
What does that mean? The general idea is setting aside half of the entire planet and removing human interference. Currently, 15% of the Earth’s land is protected and 7.8% of the oceans. Protecting 50% of the planet is known as Half Earth (such a creative name), which has recently gained more support.
The challenge. A recent paper finds that taking a Half Earth approach could impact a billion people in a negative way. Of course, the highest proportion of the people impacted would come from low and low-middle income countries.
The math. On the other-side, the Half Earth supporters argue that their modeling shows conversing half is required to protect up to 85% of species. If we stick to the current approach and eventually degrade 90% of the planet, only 50% will survive.
“We noticed that the Half Earth proposal was gaining increasing traction among conservationists and policy makers, but that the debate was remarkably silent on the potentially very large social implications of such a proposal”
Chris Sandbrook, one of the authors of this new study and geographer at the University of Cambridge
Conservation is important. However, it is alarming to see that the implementation of Half Earth could greatly impact lower income communities. Conservation has an unfortunate history of dispossessing indigenous groups from their land, even though they are often just as effective or even better than their Western conservationist counterparts. We like to highlight how complex these problems are when looked at from multiple viewpoints. Even though the approach of “conserving half the Earth” would solve the degradation of much of the world, how can we do it while also improving society?
Understanding Global Development
Private sector players around the world are trying to align themselves with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals — in fact, Salesforce focused a significant portion of this year’s Dreamforce, it’s massive tech conference, on its commitment to the global goals.
Lots of companies are making such commitments, but the UN is having a hard time coordinating and prioritizing across different private sector commitments. Last week’s meeting in Canberra on how big data, AI, and other private sector solutions can be used to support the global goals was described as chaotic.
Why? There was a lack of understanding of the UN system across the private sector, creating barriers for their recommendations. Proposed ideas for targeting objectives like sustainable finance would likely create more red tape in a system that already has enough red tape, according to Shereen Zorba, head of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum.
The way forward. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is “adapting its approach to engaging and working with the private sector.” However, there is still little clarity today about how this will actually happen.
This is really important to understand. At Tomorrow, we truly believe that solving the world’s largest problems cannot be done through just the private sector or public sectors — they need to be able to work together. Yes, we are excited to see the private sector make significant commitments — but the mentality of “move fast and break things” cannot work here. Companies need to do a better job at understanding the complexities of the world of global development, and the public sector, in turn, needs to find a way to make themselves more accessible to these companies. As always, we’ll continue to show you stories to help you learn about all the sides to this equation.
Short takes
Temie Giwa-Tubosun, a Nigerian entrepreneur, won the top prize at Jack Ma Foundation’s first annual prize for African businesses. The organization plans to award a $1m grant to 10 African entrepreneurs every year for the next 10 years.
No Water Poop Flush. Magical coating saves water by making your toilet so slippery, poop basically flushes itself.
NASA found water on one of Jupiter’s moons, which could mean there’s life in the vast ocean.
Tomorrow Today
🎟️ Thursday, December 5: Intro to Unconventional Activism
Change cannot be achieved alone, only together. In that spirit, we are kicking off community events at our space in New York City. Eat some food and learn from seasoned unconventional activists who have started mission-driven companies to accelerate change. Stayed tuned for speaker announcement and the menu. Get excited!
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