November 6, 2009
John Gerzema: The post-crisis consumer
John Gerzema says there’s an upside to the recent financial crisis — the opportunity for positive change. Speaking at TED, he identifies four major cultural shifts driving new consumer behavior and shows how businesses are evolving to connect with thoughtful spending.
November 5, 2009
The Energy Problem: What the Helios Project Can Do About It
Nobel laureate and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu proposes an aggressive research program to transform the existing and future energy systems of the world away from technologies that emit greenhouse gases. Berkeley Lab’s Helios Project concentrates on renewable fuels, such as bio fuels, and solar technologies, including a new generation of solar photovoltaic cells and the conversion of electricity into chemical storage to meet future demand. His talk was presented April 23, 2007.
November 3, 2009
Nazca Lines Point to Deforestation, Water as Civ’s Downfall
Nazca monkaay
Between 1,500 BC and around AD 500, the Nasca civilization prospered in Peru. Their famous remnants are the Nazca Lines – vast line drawings of animals (right photo) and abstract figures that can be seen from Space. But these Nascans, they disappeared suddenly. And no one knows why. Today, a couple of researchers have an idea.
Looks like they fell into the same pickle the Easter Islanders did, at least according to that analysis by Jared Diamond. Deforestation, yo. They cleared out the huarango forests to make way for agricultural clearances of cotton and maize. Trouble was, the huarango tree underpinned the entire ecosystem – which, in due time, collapsed, destroying the natural irrigation ecosystem that provided the water to grow the crops in the first place. Resource war! Resource war! Goodbye good, big-thinking Nasca folks. Here’s the full story if you wan’ it.
November 1, 2009
Water Sucking Solar Farms Breed Water Wars
If you thought there were water wars brewing before, just wait. The sun is often touted as a fantastic source of energy, which it is, but there’s a hitch: Many solar projects consume enormous amounts of water. How much water are we talking? According to a recent New York Times, proposed plans for two solar farms in Nevada would gulp up 1.3 billion gallons of water annually–or 20 percent of the area’s available water. And the worst thing is this heavy water use in renewable energy projects is all about the bottom line. -read more at treehugger.com article
October 7, 2009
Try Poking it with a Stick
Some bad news for those of us with dead US presidents in their wallets, the US Dollar is being battered by rumors of it’s growing impotence. Gossip speaks of a decision among the world’s major oil exporters in the Gulf to begin trading not just with the dollar, but on several currencies including yen, yuan, and the euro to name a few. Even though our friends in Kuwait have denied the report, markets weren’t buying it, sending gold to a record high and dragging the US dollar further below the euro. The monetarists are shaking their heads.
October 6, 2009
Forget the House and Senate
The effort to curb harmful emissions often gets tangled up in the partisan debate, but what else can be done to tighten up the slack? Believe it or not there are many things that can be done including tighter rules from the EPA, to the federal government’s own carbon emissions that exceed those of any other company in this country. McClatchy reports:
President Barack Obama on Monday ordered the federal government — the nation’s largest energy user — to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce its impact on the environment.
The president’s executive order also requires all agencies to conserve water, reduce waste and use the government’s enormous purchasing power to buy more environmentally sound products. Once the changes in place, they could touch everything from the kinds of vehicles in federal fleets to the use of recycled paper and non-plastic utensils in government cafeterias. - read more
September 22, 2009
“When Do The Heads Roll Again?”
Do I even need to mention people are angry out there? I apparently do, because despite our over-crowding prisons, they are not currently packed with bankers. A lot of us scratched our heads when the great bailouts weren’t followed by a stringing of the scape-goats, but is it too late for red eyed retribution?
Sure we have a few ponzi schemers locked away, but not one high profile banking executive has answered for the millions who watched their savings and investments get wiped out. It might not feel like it, but out there some folks are trying. There are a number of pending civil suits all over the country and the FBI has more than 580 large-scale corporate fraud investigations currently underway. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo just subpoenaed five board members of the Bank of America and plans to haul in ten more, but at the end of the day no one believes they will spend a night in jail.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they have to jump through a few hoops to keep their billions in bonuses, but if we don’t put them away soon will this country survive the turbulence of financial angst?
The whole thing boils down to one question, is it too late for comeuppance? I don’t think so.
Shakespeare teaches us that there is always time for just deserts.
September 21, 2009
Weekend Update: September 20, 2009
First up, Chris Dodd shares his vision of a new super bank regulatory committee, one far different than our president’s. He hopes to combine four different commissions into one, also limiting the role of the Federal Reserve. Senator Dodd says, “We clearly need to put in place an architecture that restores confidence and makes people feel that when they engage in financial activities, from making a bank deposit to buying insurance or investing in stock, that they can have confidence in the system,” Read more at the NYT.
In recent op-eds Thomas Friedman makes another pitch for a manly gas tax.
Next up, world leaders are meeting at the UN in New York to discus international efforts to combat climate change. Looks like yet again Europe is expecting a head to head confrontation with a timid America. Could be a tough fight because a recent study shows a slowing of current polar melting trends.
Finally, an interesting article on Roger Penske whose Penske Automotive Group is expected this month to complete its acquisition of Saturn from G.M, a brand that has lost an estimated 20 billion dollars in the last 24 years. A man with a long history of fixing quagmires, Penske may be making an educated bet, but at the end of the day it’s still a gamble.
September 17, 2009
Young William Builds a Windmill
William Kamkwamba went to the library when he was 14 years old and checked out a book about constructing windmills. Listen to how he manages to build and install his family’s main source for power with only the resources around him.
September 13, 2009
Weekend Update Sept 13
First up we have a serious oil spill off the coast of Australia. Read more at the BBC.
Next, we mourn the passing of Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug. He lead the green revolution, helping engineer important crops for poor nations, and was a large force behind the world’s doubling of food production from the 1960’s to the 1990’s. Some folks credit him for preventing a billion people from starving to death during his 95 year life.
Finally an update on the cap and trade bill in Washington. It looks like Senator Max Baucus from Montana has been quietly grabbing the reigns. Let’s hope he does better than his unfortunate performance with health care reform.
