Sam Goldman and Ned Tozun first met in 2005 while MBA students at Stanford University in a class called Designing for Extreme Affordability. Goldman had spent four years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, where he experienced the problems of living without electricity and relying on dangerous kerosene lamps. As a result of that experience, the two decided to focus on an affordable, scalable light solution.
According to United Nations data, a billion and a half people in the developing world - especially Asia and Africa - still depend on kerosene or candles to light their homes once the sun sets. Kerosene lamps are a key contributor to indoor air pollution, which claim the lives of 1.5 million people each year, over half of which are under the age of five (Millenium Development Goals Report 2007). Kerosene lamps have also caused countless deaths by suffocation, burns and fatal fires. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL), the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in the developing world comes from hazardous and expensive fuel-based sources such as kerosene. Every year, kerosene lamps are responsible for over 100 million tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
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D.LIGHT brightens up the lives of the poor
4. Environment
Energy / Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
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Transmitter
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