i never thought i would compare the environment to basic economics, but in the scenario of india, the correlation is strong. everyone knows that you can’t spend more than you have: in that same way, with the environment, you can’t use more water than you have.

in some parts of india, that’s exactly the situation the farmers find themselves in. in other areas of the country there is an abundance of water, but the farmers can’t access it and don’t have the tools needed. so what are the suffering farmers to do?

that’s the problem ram fishman, assistant professor of economics at the george washington university, is attempting to solve. he has spent most of his professional career thinking about water in india, and focuses on finding ways for the farmers of india to use water sustainably.

after leaving israel, ram went to columbia university for a phd in sustainable development. with a background in math and physics, ram said he was more interested in the environmental aspects of the sustainable development program than the economics side. he has always had an awareness of his environmental impact, even as a child he said he held strong convictions.

india is a perfect country for ram to focus on. with a population set to overtake that of china’s by 2028, any solutions ram and his team find could have ramifications throughout the developing world. the developing world’s economic systems rely so heavily on agriculture, and as they grow, it is crucial they develop sustainably. not only that, but india’s dependence on the monsoon and having to deal with unreliable water could be close to what we in the us may experience if climate change persists.

as we get closer to 2050, and a population of nearly 10 billion, agriculture will prove to be extremely important in whether we successfully adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change in order to feed the massive population. india could be the place where the solution is found; ram fishman could be the one to find it. 

_{learn more about white’s six-year-long journey to help change
the economics of rural villages through off-grid refrigeration in
his tedx talk from july, then check out our bloomberg west
segment on promethean power.}

editor’s pick: what if you had to boil your milk every time you wanted a bowl of cereal?

while american farmers have the luxury of reliable, 24-hour refrigeration systems, farmers in india find it virtually impossible to get milk to the market without dangerous levels of bacteria due to the country’s unreliable power source. as a result, families are forced to boil their milk before drinking it, which diminishes its nutritional value. sam white and sorin grama, founders of promethean power, are focused on developing a diesel-free solution to help farmers in off-grid areas chill their milk. 

_{originally submitted june 18, 2012}

promethean has developed a thermal energy storage platform that eliminates diesel generators for cold-storage applications in rural india. thermal energy is stored using proprietary phase-change materials encapsulated in a modular container, essentially a new type of battery that stores cold liquid rather than electrical energy. this thermal battery pack stores and releases large amounts of energy quickly to cool agricultural products immediately, thereby preserving freshness. we have a repeat customer with india’s largest private dairy.

propane presents a greener alternative and helps protect the ozone layer. that’s especially important in india where some four million air conditioners are sold every year. still, propane is flammable, and critics say godrej’s devices are dangerous for consumer use. the company is trying to reassure customers of their product safety by sending “eco vans” throughout the country to distribute information.