Promising for so many reasons

India’s Rural Cell Movement: Can You Hear Me Now?

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Last time I was in India I wrote about the amazing business model innovation that had allowed telecom operators to make money on a paltry $6 a month per average user. That compares to a desired average monthly payment of $50 or more in the U.S.
The results have been phenomenal—550 [...]

Tags: affordable mobile phone, business model innovation, India’s Rural Cell Movement, mobile phones
Posted in Communications, Consider This, Innovation, Innovation Needed, Promising for so many reasons, Shape of Things to Come?, Startups, TechCrunch, economics | No Comments »

Vittana Applies The Kiva Model To Help Finance Education In Developing Countries

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The microfinance model has proved to be a valuable way to raise funds for entrepreneurs all over the country, as exemplified by the success of Kiva. Seattle-based Vittana is taking a similar approach to helping fund education in developing countries by allowing you to lend directly to students in [...]

Tags: education in developing countries, loans for students, microfinance organizations, student loans
Posted in Civilization, Consider This, Innovation, Promising for so many reasons, Startups, TechCrunch, learning | 1 Comment »

Breakthrough in quest for solar hydrogen production

Scientists at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, have built on feats of Mother Nature to develop the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, which they hope will lead to producing clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight. Could cars of the future be powered by just water and a [...]

Tags: cars of the future, element cobalt, emory university, homogeneous catalyst, hydrogen fuel, hydrogen production, inorganic chemist, oxidation catalyst, renewable energy center, solar hydrogen, water oxidation, wocs
Posted in 5 Years Out, Consider This, Cutting-edge Research, Innovation, Innovation Needed, Project Energy, Promising for so many reasons, Resources, Shape of Things to Come?, disruptive innovation, environment, gizmag | No Comments »

Dreaming the Possible Dream

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USA-centric but world important
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
The thing I love most about America is that there’s always somebody who doesn’t get the word — somebody who doesn’t understand that in a Great Recession you’re supposed to hunker down, downsize and just hold on for dear life. I have a couple of [...]

Tags: calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide emissions, demonstration plant, Khosla, start-ups, thomas l friedman
Posted in Consider This, Innovation, Innovation Needed, NY Times, Process of Invention, Project Energy, Promising for so many reasons, Shape of Things to Come?, Startups, disruptive innovation, environment | 1 Comment »

A quantum leap for lighting

HOW many inventions does it take to change a light bulb? More than you might think. Around the world, many people are switching from traditional incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs, which require less energy to produce a given amount of light, and therefore save money and reduce carbon emissions. [...]

Tags: lighting technology, quantum dot, quantum dots, tiny light
Posted in 5 Years Out, Cutting-edge Research, Economist, Innovation, Innovation Needed, Project Energy, Promising for so many reasons | 6 Comments »