Sustainable Dream or Pyramid Scheme?

Poverty is the majority condition in our world -- an estimated 4 billion people make less than the local equivalent of about $3,000 per year. That population makes up what is lately being called the "base of the economic pyramid," or BOP. Economists point out that, taken together, the BOP represents a potential market worth $5 trillion. Seizing on that potential, some sustainable development advocates are now arguing that selling potentially "disruptive technologies" -- like, say, photovoltaic panels and light emitting diodes -- to the poorest of the world's poor could become a model for both fostering sustainable development and commercializing green technology. Then again, it could become just another wrinkle in the age-old game of exploiting the poor to enrich corporations. Skeptical, the Why Files investigates.