I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas

I’m not going to deny it — a partridge in a pear tree would be a pretty amazing holiday gift.  Ditto for twelve drummers drumming.  I would even settle for four calling birds, provided they turn their ringers off at night while I sleep [groan].

 

If your true love dwells more on the practical side of life (or doesn’t understand the magic that is the 12 days of Christmas) then you might want to drop hints for the following five solar-related gadgets and gizmos:

 

1.  The Ray Solar Charger.  Ever walked into a meeting late with your laptop that can’t hold a charge, only to find all of the outlets taken?  Quirky’s Ray to the rescue.  It suctions to a desk (or a car window, or any other flat non-porous surface) and provides enough juice to fully charge a cell phone.

 

 

2. Lux solar powered jewelry turns sun into swank.  Two hours in the sun equals four hours of dazzling LED “pearls,” which should be enough bling to impress even the grinchiest grinch.

 

 

3. A sun table comes in handy when you want to sit outside and Skype or Facetime with your friends , but your computer’s battery icon is lingering in the red zone.  When fully charged, the table provides enough power to fuel a laptop or portable TV for four hours.

 

 

4. Feeling the need to share your solar milestones?  How about a SOCIAL solar charger?

 

 

The Changers charger lets you share how much electricity you create via your social networks #ElectrifyingInnovation

 

5. If you’re been 0% naughty and 100% nice this year then you might just get away with asking for a hybrid automower (think Roomba, but bigger, badder, and with blades).  Yes, it’s $3,000, but it’s also “the world’s first fully automatic lawn mower that is partly powered by the sun”.

 

 

Those are my top 5 picks for solar gifts this season, so. . .

 

What was that?

 

I forgot the best one of all?

 

YOU’RE RIGHT!  I DID!  The best one of all is the gift of light to a child in need.  Sungevity has paired up with Empowered by Light to fight energy poverty in Zambia.  For just $22 you can join the battle and make a real difference in someone’s life.  You can donate a Pharox solar light here, or if you don’t have a PayPay account you can donate over here.  It might not be as flashy as a partridge in a pear tree, but the gift of light is the gift of education, as the lights allow students to study after dusk.

 

Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. “Light! Give me light!” was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.
Helen Keller

Every Child Has a Light

In the developed world we take light for granted.

 

We have fluorescent light, incandescent light, halogen light, and LED light.  We have rope lights, Seasonal Affective Disorder lights, task lights, overhead lights, under-cabinet lights, recessed lights, track lights, clip-on book lights, outdoor holiday display lights, and even mood lights.

 

We literally have a light for every occasion.

 

When blackouts occur we are rendered nearly paralyzed by the darkness.  We scurry around frantically, trying to remember where we put the flashlights.  We know they’re in a drawer somewhere…but WHERE?  We fumble around for our candles, which will likely be near the table linens since we use them for formal dining.  If we are lucky enough to find the candles, then we’re never going to hone in on the matches.  That would just be too easy.  Alas, the people who make up the household inevitably end up sitting together and sharing one or two flashlights.  One stays with the group and the other is allocated to bathroom treks.

 

Imagine if that was your life every night; that’s what it’s like for some families in Zambia, but minus the flashlights.  How would you read?  How would you cook?  If you were a school-aged child, how would you study or do your homework?  Most families in Zambia don’t sit in complete darkness: they burn candles at night.  Other families use kerosene lamps, which might sound like a luxury, but they are expensive and come at a cost that is greater than what one pays at the market.   The cost is health-related.  One must be in fairly close proximity to a kerosene lamp to receive adequate light, and when the fuel is burned it emits toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

 

I’m not into stories of doom and gloom, so rest assured that there is a light at the end of this tunnel; and that light is powered by the sun.

 

 

Enter Every Child Has a Light.

 

Sungevity is now partnering with our customers and with Empowered by Light to help Zambians light their world from the outside and help children in Zambia build their futures with the help of the sun.  For a child’s education, giving them light is the difference between learning and not learning, so for every solar system we sell, we give a solar powered light kit to a child in Zambia. Get solar, give solar. It’s that simple. What a bright idea!