Resilient technologies can be applied across the spectrum, from the black holes of consumption in developed economies to the most isolated village in the global hinterland, to radically improve security and enable vibrant prosperity.

A good example of how resilient tech can be used for the most basic development is Gobar Gas. A simple underground bioreactor that produces methane energy for cooking, lighting and other household uses from vegetable waste and dung. The intrepid and well traveled Michael Yon has a brilliant post on the topic. He delineates the myriad of benefits from the addition of this simple production system to a household:

Energy independenc e. Methane energy production replaces dozens of hours spent daily gathering firewood. The conversions saves 2,500 kg of wood per year (reduces deforestation) and has important social benefits in that it frees women and children to focus on education and household income generation.

e. Methane energy production replaces dozens of hours spent daily gathering firewood. The conversions saves 2,500 kg of wood per year (reduces deforestation) and has important social benefits in that it frees women and children to focus on education and household income generation. Food security . The bioreactor yields a high quality fertilizer slurry that radically improves crop yields (enough to produce income, especially if combined with a greenhouse).

. The bioreactor yields a high quality fertilizer slurry that radically improves crop yields (enough to produce income, especially if combined with a greenhouse). Economic development. A village equipped with numerous bioreactors can become a hub of economic activity.

Michael goes on to point out that Gobar Gas can be applied to counter-insurgency and stabilization programs (he uses Afghanistan as an example). He's right. As I've pointed out many times before, resilient technologies are central to security and prosperity in the 21st Century, not just in subsistence areas abroad but in the developed world as well.

I'd be more than happy to work with Michael and other smart folks on identifying, building, funding, and deploying the resilient technology arsenal necessary to achieve this. It wouldn't cost much to get going, but I can promise you that it will deliver much, much more bang for the buck, in terms of tangible security and economic progress, than ANY: weapon in the US military's arsenal, CIA/NSA intelligence program, or IMF financial stabilization package.