"The iron in our blood was formed in stars, billions of years ago, trillions of miles away."- The Perot Museum of Natural Science


As human beings, we are not all acquainted with the same Earth. We do not all wake to the same walls of the same room or have the same two hands tuck us in at night. But when cut, we bleed. We all bleed. And although it sounds strange, we bleed stardust.

The iron that governs our red blood cells is composed of the same atoms that once burned in stars, meaning every human being can be traced back to the very same place. In today's world, it is incredibly easy to see the differences between us because we are so distracted by labels and media and stereotypes, but we must remember that we all need iron to live; what is essential to each of us is the same.

So in case you ever forget, we are here to guide you through the differences of our skin and into the samenesses beneath. We are here to remind you of the iron in our blood.

Send questions and comments to theironinourblood@gmail.com

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

EcoFuel Africa: Made By Locals, For Locals

 
Walking home one day, Moses Sanga passed his twelve-year-old sister on a road near their home. She was sobbing, incredibly disappointed at having missed school to walk twelve miles and collect firewood for the family's stove.

About eighty percent of Uganda's citizens use firewood as fuel. This has led to a myriad of social and environmental problems: rapid deforestation, death from smoke inhalation, and education deprivation for the women and girls who gather the wood. So Mr. Sanga took action. He left his job, sold all his belongings including his bed, and invested his life savings in his own project that ultimately culminated in the development of something superb. The technology Mr. Sanga created allows families to convert farm and municipal wastes into a revolutionary fuel that burns longer, cleaner, and costs far less than firewood. As a result, the forests have a chance to recuperate and the girls a chance to learn, uninhibited by the dire need for such a harmful source of energy.

Local man turned incredible innovator, Moses Sanga's business endures: EcoFuel Africa. Learn more details about this amazing story at www.ecofuelafrica.com.

(We apologize that this website is currently down. You can, however, find many stories detailing the organization online at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/arts/design/cleaning-up-the-african-kitchen.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 or http://fellows.ted.com/profiles/sanga-moses).
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