| Sourced From Greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com |
In keeping with the rising tide of businesses tapping into potentially lucrative markets at the bottom of the economic pyramid, Manna Energy is seeking to turn a profit someday by bringing safe drinking water to Rwandan schools.
The startup, which is headquartered in Houston, is currently providing solar-powered water purification systems which filter rainwater with sand and ultraviolet light at several secondary schools in Rwanda. In the initial phase, the systems, which cost $50,000 a piece, are subsidized by $1 million in grants from the Coca-Cola Foundation and the Global Water Challenge, a business coalition based in Washington.
But the companys larger goal is to sell carbon-reduction credits, and use the revenues to expand its operations.
Manna is waiting for the approval of a United Nations board to generate the carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism, a provision of the Kyoto Protocol that encourages projects in developing countries that reduce pollution (the companys purification systems help to curtail the significant emissions arising from burning wood, which is used to boil water).
Industrial polluters elsewhere in the world can then purchase those credits to offset their own carbon footrprints.
Ron Garan, a NASA astronaut and Mannas founder, said the initial stages of the venture would affect 350,000 people whose drinking water often has the same bacteria count as raw sewage.
Approval to sell credits under the C.D.M., Mr. Garan said, would help the company to install 400 more purification systems.
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- IDEA! Since all pop contains CO2, we should all be earning carbon offsets for drinking it!!!! Right???
- IDEA! Since all pop contains CO2, we should all be earning carbon offsets for drinking it!!!! Right???
- IDEA! Since all pop contains CO2, we should all be earning carbon offsets for drinking it!!!! Right???
- IDEA! Since all pop contains CO2, we should all be earning carbon offsets for drinking it!!!! Right???
