 So, how can a streetlight help ease poverty? Let's find out on the big idea. Nearly half of everyone on earth lives on less than $1 a day. And more than 1 billion people live without access to clean water. For example, in Ghana, people lack sanitation, clean water, and electricity. This leads to waterborne illnesses, particularly in children. To help solve these problems, a group of faculty and student researchers from ASU form Global Resolve, their addressing challenges in the developing world using smart engineering. Global Resolve considers multiple needs at once, so they can provide targeted science within the context of simple solutions. Using funding from a Gates Foundation grant, they designed and built a composting pit latrine using local labor. It also included a special feature, a microbial fuel cell which converts human waste to electricity. As waste breaks down in a biofilm, an electric charge is created, which can be used as a power source. If scaled up, this could one day be used to power a streetlight. Research is underway to design a more efficient fuel cell and to link multiple latrines together. So one day soon, this idea might light up a village. For The Big Idea, I'm Tyler Eglin. Follow us on Twitter using the hashtag ASU Big Idea.