The Power of Bull----

No, not the papers turned into college and high school teachers on a weekly basis. I'm talking about the power of acutal bovine excrement and how it looks to revolutionize sub-Saharan Africa. Sound like yet another cockamamy scheme cooked up by "entrepreneurs" who want to skeeze a bundle of bills out of Bill (Gates, that is). Well, you'd be right; it does sound like that.

But don't throw your hands up just yet; the idea has some significant backers: Iqbal Quadir and Dean Kamen. Okay, now you can throw your hands up. Those names are going to be unfamiliar to all but the savviest of the savvy (I do not count myself among such ranks). The latter mystery man, though, is actually pretty well known: he's the inventor of the Segway.

At this point, you might be arguing that ol' Dean's revolutionary people-mover has just become another reason to laugh at your local law enforcement. Fine, but consider Iqbal. He came up with the idea of combining microfinance and cell phone distribution to radically alter communication in underdeveloped countries. Long story short, his one idea has enabled upwards of 10 million people to become better connected, as one person in a village takes out a loan to get a phone, then rents it to others to pay the it back and make some shekels for him or herself. Quadir's idea is a true success story.

But all that doesn't explain how on earth the two of them think that they can boost impoverished economies, improve the lives of millions, and even slow global warming with cattle scat. Fine, but that's not my job. I leave that up to Tim Worstall on TCS Daily who covered the plotting of the two in a quick, easy read. Check it out.