I recently read a news story about a little village in Austria named Rattenberg. It is “the smallest town in Austria, and getting smaller each year. The town has lost 20 percent of its population in the past two decades, and as of 2005 had only 440 residents. The reason? Darkness. Rattenberg is nestled behind Rat Mountain—a 3,000-foot obstruction that blocks out the sun from November to February.” Can you imagine that? No sunlight at all for 4 months of the year! “But thanks to some clever new technology, the town’s situation is about to get a little brighter. An Austrian company ... has come up with a plan to bring sunshine into the darkness by installing 30 heliostat mirrors onto the mountainside. The mirrors will grab light from reflectors on the sunny-side of the mountain and shine it back into the town.” The cost of this project? $2.4
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