It is better to light just one little candle...

Sustainable living is all relative, I find. As we struggle to decide whether to drive or take the bus... to buy locally or splurge on peaches in the middle of winter... to use incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescents... there are a lot more people who are just trying to get a meal on the table. Or even, in places like Darfur or Nepal, to find enough firewood to cook the meal, often at great personal risk. Cooking fires may be a necessity, but having light after darkness falls is a luxury.

I was pondering all of this as I read a very heartening article in this week's Newsweek about Mark Bent, who has invented a solar-powered flashlight, and is now distributing it via his web site BoGo.

BoGo stands for Buy One, Give One, and that's how it works. You buy one for yourself (a useful item to have around in the winter time, when our power seems to go out at the drop of a wind gust) and the BoGo folks will give one away. You can even choose who gets your "gift" - a relief organization or U.S. troops in Iraq or Afghanistan.

There are some great photos here of people using and even celebrating their BoGo lights... And some inspiring articles elsewhere on the web site.

Giving a BoGo seems like an unqualified Good Thing. No throw-away batteries. No kerosene lanterns, which can cause serious burns and toxic fumes—and seem to attract malaria-bearing mosquitoes. With a self-contained light source, the night becomes safer for women and kids.

My hat is off to Mr. Bent and his invention. I think I'm going to buy a few BoGos right now.