With the economy still doing laps in the toilet and most conventional tech markets showing the resiliency of warm Jell-O, maybe it's time we tried something different to jump-start the electronics industry. My suggestion? Making stuff that's actually useful. Rather than concentrating so much of our efforts on developing gigabit buses for home entertainment systems or cell phones that let us send photos of our pets to friends, many of us could be making our living by creating systems that provide energy, communication, clean water and other essential services to the 2 to 3 billion people on the planet who desperately need them.

The market for these items has already been validated, with a dozen or more companies already tooling up to deliver sustainable technologies in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The small-scale solar systems, water pumping and storage products, communication and transportation technologies they are delivering are beginning to improve both the quality of life and the environment in developing nations. Equally important, the microenterprises they so often create are allowing people to end their reliance on foreign aid and begin to create their own wealth.

An excellent case in point is the Light Up The World Foundation (www.ligtup-theworld.org). They have developed a small solar-powered solid-state lighting system that's a clean, safe and healthy alternative to the smoky kerosene lamps used to light homes in many parts of the world. A typical system consists of a 4-watt solar panel, a small battery and a couple of 1-W high-output white LEDs. Between their efficiency and light quality, each LED out-lights a kerosene lamp, without the harmful fumes, fire hazards and recurring costs of fuel. The trial units already deployed in Nepal, Sri Lanka and India have been a raging success as they bring clean, affordable light to homes, schools and community centers. Once in volume production, they can be sold profitably at $30 to $40-a price that the savings in fuel alone would easily justify, even in the poorest areas of the world.

This sort of "eco-preneurism" is popping up worldwide, giving people the tools to live better with less negative impact to the land. You can now find everything from foot-powered irrigation systems that triple food production, and sturdy, low-cost cargo-carrying bicycles that do the work of gas-burning trucks, to solar-powered communication systems that bring phone and Internet services to even the most remote locations. Go visit the Web sites of the Greenstar Foundation (www.greenstar.org/components.htm) and the ApproTEC Enterprise Creation group (www.approtec.org) to see a small sampling of the many innovative technologies that are providing hope, reviving economies and saving fragile ecosystems.

Write me at: lgoldberg@green-electronics.com.

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