VOALearningEnglish2012.2.7---Light Bulbs From Plastic Bottles, Water and Bleach

VOALearningEnglish2012.2.7---Light Bulbs From Plastic Bottles, Water and Bleach

Bright Idea: Light Bulbs From Plastic Bottles, Water and Bleach
This is the VOA Special English Technology Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish

Nearly a billion and a half people, mainly in Asia and Africa, were living without electricity in two thousand nine. That latest count from the International Energy Agency was an improvement. In Asia, three out of four people in developing countries had electricity in rural areas. So did almost everyone in cities. But in Africa the rate was less than seventy percent in cities, and just one-fourth of the people in rural areas. There are many efforts to find low-cost ways to light homes. One idea is a "water bulb." This system has recently been used to brighten more than one hundred homes in the Korogocho settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. These included the home of Madina Muhsin's family. Members of a youth group installed the water bulb. First, they filled a two-liter plastic bottle with water and a little bleach. Next, they cut a hole in the metal roof. They pressed the bottle halfway into the hole. Then they used silicone caulk to seal around it to prevent rain from coming in. In no time, the home was lit with about fifty to sixty watts' worth of light. The combination of water and bleach refracts light from the sun and a full moon. The bleach keeps the water clear. Madina Muhsin, like many of her neighbors, was spending a lot on kerosene to light her home. Now, she says she will save almost half of her weekly income. Her son Abbas can now read a book at home in the middle of the day. Veronica Wanjiru and her two children also have a water bulb in their home. She says her older son had to repeat a grade in school because he could not get his homework done when their home was dark. She says, "I've seen a big difference, especially with my children's education. If they're given homework, they can finish it on time. And they don't have to wait for me to come and light the candle or go outside and do their studies outside so that they can finish their homework." In the Philippines, a nonprofit group called My Shelter Foundation has used a similar low-cost lighting solution in thousands of homes. The project is called "A Liter of Light." The head of the group, Illac Diaz, says the idea is better than candles and kerosene, and offers a great new use for old plastic soda bottles: "It's safer. It's healthier. It's brighter, and the funny thing is the light bulb actually comes from the place you'd least expect it, which is the trash bin. So it's the cheapest light bulb in the world." For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal. You can watch a video about the water bulb at voaspecialenglish.com. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 09Jan2012)

好主意：從塑料瓶，水和漂白劑的燈泡
這是VOA特別英語的技術報告，從http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglish

近15億，主要集中在亞洲和非洲，半人無電生活在兩個千9。從國際能源機構的最新統計是一種進步。在亞洲，在發展中國家，四分之三的人在農村地區的電力。所以幾乎每個人都在城市。但在非洲率不少於百分之七十的城市，只是在農村地區的人的四分之一。有許多努力尋找低成本的方式，以光的家園。一個想法是“水燈泡。”該系統最近已用於，照亮一百多個家庭在肯尼亞首都內羅畢的科羅戈喬解決。這些措施包括家裡的麥地那穆赫辛的家庭。青年組的成員安裝了水的燈泡。首先，他們填補與水兩升的塑料瓶和少許的漂白劑。下一步，他們將在金屬屋頂的洞。他們半按入孔瓶。然後，他們用矽膠填縫密封周圍，以防止雨水在任何時間英寸，家庭價值約五十至六十瓦的光照亮。用水和漂白劑的組合，折射光從太陽和滿月。漂白保持水質清澈。馬迪納穆赫辛，許多像她的鄰居，花很多煤油照亮她回家。現在，她說，她將節省近一半，她每週的收入。她的兒子阿巴斯現在可以讀一本書，在家裡，在中間的一天。萬吉魯維羅尼卡和她的兩個孩子也有一個自己的家中的水燈泡。她說，她的大兒子不得不重複一年級在學校，因為他不能讓他做功課，當他們的家是暗。她說，“我已經看到了一個很大的區別，尤其是孩子們的教育，如果他們給的功課，他們可以按時完成。他們不必等待我來點亮蠟燭或去外，並做他們的研究外，使他們能夠完成他們的功課。“在菲律賓，一個非營利性組織叫我的住房基金會已在幾千家類似的低成本的照明解決方案。該項目被稱為“一公升的光。”該組的頭，Illac迪亞茲，說的想法是比蠟燭和煤油，並提供1偉大的新使用的舊塑料蘇打瓶：它的安全它是健康它是光明的，和有趣的的光球其實。來自你最不期望它，這是垃圾桶的地方，所以它是世界上最便宜的燈泡。“美國之音特別英語，我亞歷克斯比利亞雷亞爾。您可以觀看視頻關於在voaspecialenglish.com水的燈泡。 （改編自一個電台節目中播出09Jan2012）