Can you cut 1 Tonne of carbon pollution out of your life?
Take the challengeWhat started as a Harvard class project has ended in providing over 35,000 Nigerian families with ‘clean’ kinetic energy through the simple act of kicking a soccer ball.
Switching on a light requires no thought for most of us. But for about a fifth of the population - the 1.2 billion people around the world who lack access to a reliable source of energy – it's not a simple task.
Instead they rely on inefficient energy sources like kerosene lamps and diesel generators to carry out daily duties. These forms of energy come with extensive health and environmental drawbacks. They are dangerous, inefficient, and expensive.
As household tasks often fall to women in developing nations it means that women are the ones who feel the ramifications of using these energy forms. In fact, the World Bank estimates that breathing kerosene fumes on a daily basis is the equivalent of smoking two packets of cigarettes a day. Startlingly, two thirds of the adult females that present with lung cancer in developing nations are non-smokers.
Primitive energy like this is a constant source of C02 emissions. It's estimated that the developing world releases 244 million tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere through emissions of fuel-based-lighting each year.
But one young woman is trying to tackle the issue.
Enter Jessica Matthews and the Socckett II; a soccer ball that produces three hours of energy through just half an hour of kinetic play. The ball has an electronic port that can dock a light, charge a phone, or power a small heater.
[Image: Oh I See]
Purchases of the ball work on a one for one system. When you purchase the ball for yourself, a child in the developing world also receives one, giving them access to clean energy and encouraging play. You'll also be cutting down on your own C02 emissions and keeping yourself active.
Matthews who at 22 became CE0 of Uncharted Play, the company who produce the ball, has received attention from President Barrack Obama, Former President Bill Clinton, Stephen Colbert, Forbes Magazine, and TED. Of Nigerian descent herself, Matthews became aware of electricity scarcity and the toll it takes on a community during her family vacations to Nigeria as a child. "It's about educating people about clean, renewable, self-sustaining energy and doing so in a way that makes sense to them," she told CBS news.
The Sockett II is available for purchase here for US99.
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