Humans have necessities some count as bare necessities and some are left as, well necessities. One of the thing humans need to have nowadays is you guessed it! Electricity. It is such a small intricate yet incredibly useful discovery that is often overlooked. Sure, it seems simple and not such a bizarre discovery but what happens if electricity is taken away? To put it in simple terms, there will be no light, no wi-fi, phones can not be charged, even cooking is a pain! See how important electricity is? Nearly 87% of the world’s population have the privilege to gain access to electricity, but what happen to the other 940 million? The other 13%?
A simpler way to experience this ‘no electricity’ thing is by blackouts and power outages. During a blackout nearly all of the electricity in houses and neighborhoods are cut off, and almost immediately there is absolutely nothing to do. In this technological era, electricity is needed everywhere and anytime.
Electricity was discovered by none other than Benjamin Franklin, but someone under the name Thomas-Francois D’Alibard conducted an experiment, researching about lightning. The two met at some point of their lives thus leading them to be friends. The research was to find out if lightning and electricity are the same thing. Some other experiments are also conducted by other incredible scientists to find out about static electricity.
The infamous Thomas Alpha Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, but behind the tremendous break of inventions, a handful of other inventors and scientists made a few and tried their hands on making the “light bulb” and thus, it became one of humanities most important discovery and invention. Though, just like back in those eras, not all people can afford such a luxury. Up until now, there are still people in certain secluded areas who aren’t able to afford such a basic thing.
They managed to move past this lightless past and turned to kerosene lamps, which are flammable and incredibly dangerous. That is until a certain individual came up with an idea to create a bleach-based lamp, and that certain individual goes by Alfredo Moser. He acknowledges that the “no electricity” problem is a major one, and inspired by the constant power outage in Brazil, Moser intended to do something to help them. He’s brilliant idea was founded in 2002. Until in 2012, MyShelter Foundation was reached out by the individual to make his project known and alive. The project soon expanded into a project called Liter of Light. Liter of Light was a society movement as one of its main goals is to give that 13% of the society a chance to experience light. Though it is not exactly powered by electricity, it still gives off the same feeling and function. Most of the time, bleach and water are much more accessible than electricity. Thus, the idea struck the individual.
The name was not without a meaning as the Moser Lamp, named after Alfredo Moser, used plastic bottles discarded and thrown away by others. Just because it’s trash to you does not mean it’s trash to others. The plastic bottles are washed and filled with 2-3 liters of water and 3 milliliters of bleach is added. During the day, the bleach-filled plastic bottles refract light and created 40-60 watts worth of light. The MyShelter Foundation found a way for the lamp to be used at night as well, that is by placing a small LED light powered by solar panels in a test tube, and place it inside the manmade light.
People are also able to grow hydroponic plants using the light created by Moser. The entire idea gives hope and helps people, it helps the society to make the world a much fairer place for them. It’s a life-changing situation for them. It gave them proof humanity still exists and it wants to help them, it gave them a chance to experience what it’s like to not live in the dark.
The bleach bottle is now a source of light for some society in 15 different countries, with the LED bottles being the most popular amongst the 15 countries. Moser stated himself, that light is for everyone, the sun exists so people have access to light. The Moser Lamp, is a safe alternative as the lamp is not able to give off any electric shock and it does not cause a penny to make it.
One will not realize how privileged they are until misfortune strikes, the same thing occurs with the Moser Lamp, you will not realize how important and a privilege having electricity is, until it is no longer there.
By Kaelyn Sun
