3 June 2009
Your Letters
Solar lantern enlightening
I read with interest the 29 April newsletter story "Solar lanterns enlighten India's poor" (www.isa.org/link/Solar_042909). While the facts are generally in order, the writing is biased. India’s less privileged consider education as a priority after food and shelter. To that extent, lanterns are in order. Mind you, the tropical Indian days are long, and the sun provides enough direct light in their study time. Of course, there is a vast amount of research to engineer energy efficient solar lanterns, and in that, we will produce better lanterns not only for India, but also for the poor of Africa and South America. Maybe you can visit India to get some better meaning for “enlightenment.” Our understanding of science and life is different from a fixed Western viewpoint of rich and poor.
Ramani Iyer
ISA Pune Section, Asia Pacific District 14
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