The outcome of this recession will decide the fate of the environment and our ability to sustain our levels of resource use. The Economist explains well the state of the global economy and also gives a good article on the condition of banks.
The Economist also had an article this week about Brazil and their forests.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The future begins with today
Welcome to the future; a US company is shooting for harvesting solar energy in space, the technology exists but the cost is high.
Britain is not looking so good though in regards to solar energy, Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) promised government investment in alternative energy but is lagging on the part where he gives alternative energy companies money.
Wind Power is doing well in this recession. Wind power has a promising future but we have to find a better way to build these things, it takes a lot of steel to build a single turbine.
MotherJones gives an informative rant on our economy and the waste we create, we throw away enough aluminum every three months to replace the world's plane fleet. Finding our way to a new economy is difficult, it takes us being informed and driving the market with our consumption, or lack thereof.
A recent "green" hype for governments is to offer cash for old cars, seems like a good idea, right? This article is critical of the idea, and so am I. I think that we should be putting new non-combustion engines in old cars, it is the most efficient way to change over our vehicle infrastructure. The only reason governments are so happy about this program is that it can temporarily push up the purchase of new vehicles from failing car manufacturers. We spend too much energy keeping dying industries afloat, we should be focusing on retraining our workforce to work in the economy of the future.
Oil prices are low and staying low due to increased demand from the current recession. I will always say this about oil prices: as long as oil prices are low private investment in alternative energy will be slow.
Stoves in poorer regions of the world: a new focus for abating climate change. Sometimes environmental degradation is due to poverty, solution: either buy them new stoves or develop their country out of poverty.
Obesity is killing us, in many ways. Check this out: many environmental problems would be less severe if people in the industrialized world ate less food and less meat. The damage we cause by eating so much meat is unneeded. Vegetarianism is not the answer, just eating less meat. Why do we as a society take so long make such needed changes?
Telsa is creating more affordable electric cars.
Britain is not looking so good though in regards to solar energy, Gordon Brown (UK Prime Minister) promised government investment in alternative energy but is lagging on the part where he gives alternative energy companies money.
Wind Power is doing well in this recession. Wind power has a promising future but we have to find a better way to build these things, it takes a lot of steel to build a single turbine.
MotherJones gives an informative rant on our economy and the waste we create, we throw away enough aluminum every three months to replace the world's plane fleet. Finding our way to a new economy is difficult, it takes us being informed and driving the market with our consumption, or lack thereof.
A recent "green" hype for governments is to offer cash for old cars, seems like a good idea, right? This article is critical of the idea, and so am I. I think that we should be putting new non-combustion engines in old cars, it is the most efficient way to change over our vehicle infrastructure. The only reason governments are so happy about this program is that it can temporarily push up the purchase of new vehicles from failing car manufacturers. We spend too much energy keeping dying industries afloat, we should be focusing on retraining our workforce to work in the economy of the future.
Oil prices are low and staying low due to increased demand from the current recession. I will always say this about oil prices: as long as oil prices are low private investment in alternative energy will be slow.
Stoves in poorer regions of the world: a new focus for abating climate change. Sometimes environmental degradation is due to poverty, solution: either buy them new stoves or develop their country out of poverty.
Obesity is killing us, in many ways. Check this out: many environmental problems would be less severe if people in the industrialized world ate less food and less meat. The damage we cause by eating so much meat is unneeded. Vegetarianism is not the answer, just eating less meat. Why do we as a society take so long make such needed changes?
Telsa is creating more affordable electric cars.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Climate Change Bill: it is late, but it has arrived
Obama is drafting a climate change bill, finally! The climate bill establishes a cap-and-trade system for CO2, an ambiguous issue thus far is how many of the permits for emissions trading will be auctioned off and how many will be given away. This piece from MotherJones explores the subject.
A short article on how when industrial agriculture has to pay for externalities it is not cheaper than organic agriculture.
As money dwindles for investors people that use money to promote causes (ex: environmental, justice, poverty reduction) are less active. The economist gives an interesting article on the subject.
Climate Change will effect everything, even national parks in the US. The CSMonitor reports.
A short article on how when industrial agriculture has to pay for externalities it is not cheaper than organic agriculture.
As money dwindles for investors people that use money to promote causes (ex: environmental, justice, poverty reduction) are less active. The economist gives an interesting article on the subject.
Climate Change will effect everything, even national parks in the US. The CSMonitor reports.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
3/31/09: Obama and the rest of the world
This article from the economist is a good outline of Obama and the current state of his administration. Obama is not perfect, but he is better than Bush II and that is what we asked for.
In 2005 Germany attempted to prosecute Donald Rumsfeld for War Crimes. The charge did not go through due to the argument that the USA should see the case instead. Now Spain is prosecuting Sr. officials in the Bush II admin. that were crucial to the torturing of many prisoners of war. By Spain law they have to follow through with the charge.
These articles are all from the economist.
A good analysis of USA's private banks during this crisis.
A good analysis of Obama and Afghanistan.
A good analysis of the current state of NATO.
A good analysis of the G20 Summit.
In 2005 Germany attempted to prosecute Donald Rumsfeld for War Crimes. The charge did not go through due to the argument that the USA should see the case instead. Now Spain is prosecuting Sr. officials in the Bush II admin. that were crucial to the torturing of many prisoners of war. By Spain law they have to follow through with the charge.
These articles are all from the economist.
A good analysis of USA's private banks during this crisis.
A good analysis of Obama and Afghanistan.
A good analysis of the current state of NATO.
A good analysis of the G20 Summit.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
3/5/09: The world is getting better.....
Organic and Local have been Buzz words in the last several years, but they may not deliver all that we want them to deliver. By making standards too strict many farmers are left out of the game of making their farm more environmental. This article from MotherJones gives a good analysis of current food trends and where a more favorable path may be found.
While the world is attempting to figure out how to emit less carbon into the atmosphere Exxon is investing US$150 billion during the next five years in oil and natural gas extraction. They should invest in alternative energy, but no, they are counting on increased carbon fuel use which will be a self-fulfilling prophesy.
The US Dept. of Energy is looking to restart a project, that Bush killed, that captures carbon emissions from coal powered plants so that they do not enter the atmosphere. This research is greatly needed as coal will be a fuel that we will use greatly in the next 50 years. The question is, will we do it, and will it be the cheapest way to deal with emissions from burning coal.
NASA launched a new satellite that would have provided us with better tracking of where carbon emissions are coming from and going in our atmosphere. But, it crashed and over US$200 million has been wasted.
While the world is attempting to figure out how to emit less carbon into the atmosphere Exxon is investing US$150 billion during the next five years in oil and natural gas extraction. They should invest in alternative energy, but no, they are counting on increased carbon fuel use which will be a self-fulfilling prophesy.
The US Dept. of Energy is looking to restart a project, that Bush killed, that captures carbon emissions from coal powered plants so that they do not enter the atmosphere. This research is greatly needed as coal will be a fuel that we will use greatly in the next 50 years. The question is, will we do it, and will it be the cheapest way to deal with emissions from burning coal.
NASA launched a new satellite that would have provided us with better tracking of where carbon emissions are coming from and going in our atmosphere. But, it crashed and over US$200 million has been wasted.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
2/22/09: The world might turn out all right after all
Manufacturing is on the decline all around this globe. While it is advantageous for the environment to have humans manufacturing less stuff, it is wealth that brings environmental protection to urban areas. If a person is poor no coaxing will get them to put the environment before themselves. First comes wealth, then health, and manufacturing will need to be restored to create wealth and health.
During Hillary Clinton's first voyage out of the US as secretary general she visited China and started a movement with the Chinese to protect our environment. The USA and China are the largest polluters in the world, just our two countries making small changes is more powerful than any action from the rest of the world.
Governments of the world are waking up to environmental degradation and are now moving to regulate mercury on a global level. Mercury is one of the worst pollutants we emit in large amounts and is one of the main pollutants emitted by coal fired power plants. A move to regulate mercury on a global level is a move to regulate coal fired power plants, most of which are in China and the USA. With this movement in regulating mercury and the USA's EPA move to regulate CO2 via coal fired power plants they will hopefully only be a memory in 70 years.
Democrats in Congress are planning to present a climate change bill to Obama by the end of the summer.
In imagining the new economy of "green power" many forget the infrastructure that will need to accompany "green projects." To be sustainable and cost effective we need to act very carefully, the doctrine of "any action is good action" is dangerous at this point.
One of the greatest humanitarian efforts and economic efforts is underway in India. A company has created the 2,500 USdollar car. This will bring wealth and opportunity to millions and will bring millions of tons of pollutants to the environment. At 50mpg this little car does little damage for the amount of benefit it will bring the people of India. Wealth before health i say, let them build themselves up then let them sustainably develop. If the industrialized world wanted to address the issues of environmental degradation and poverty at the same time they would help industrialized countries develop sustainably. We talk about it in UN conferences but we do little of it.
The internet is cool, google is cool, but there is much more to come:
This is an article about the future of the internet.
And this is a video about the future of the internet.
During Hillary Clinton's first voyage out of the US as secretary general she visited China and started a movement with the Chinese to protect our environment. The USA and China are the largest polluters in the world, just our two countries making small changes is more powerful than any action from the rest of the world.
Governments of the world are waking up to environmental degradation and are now moving to regulate mercury on a global level. Mercury is one of the worst pollutants we emit in large amounts and is one of the main pollutants emitted by coal fired power plants. A move to regulate mercury on a global level is a move to regulate coal fired power plants, most of which are in China and the USA. With this movement in regulating mercury and the USA's EPA move to regulate CO2 via coal fired power plants they will hopefully only be a memory in 70 years.
Democrats in Congress are planning to present a climate change bill to Obama by the end of the summer.
In imagining the new economy of "green power" many forget the infrastructure that will need to accompany "green projects." To be sustainable and cost effective we need to act very carefully, the doctrine of "any action is good action" is dangerous at this point.
One of the greatest humanitarian efforts and economic efforts is underway in India. A company has created the 2,500 USdollar car. This will bring wealth and opportunity to millions and will bring millions of tons of pollutants to the environment. At 50mpg this little car does little damage for the amount of benefit it will bring the people of India. Wealth before health i say, let them build themselves up then let them sustainably develop. If the industrialized world wanted to address the issues of environmental degradation and poverty at the same time they would help industrialized countries develop sustainably. We talk about it in UN conferences but we do little of it.
The internet is cool, google is cool, but there is much more to come:
This is an article about the future of the internet.
And this is a video about the future of the internet.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
2/15/09: The bailout bill is covered in green. Is it enough? No, but it is something, $60 billion of something.
The stimulus package being passed currently carries $60 billion for the development of a green economy. This large pulse of money was made possible by a financial crisis and an environmental crisis. Disturbance yields progression.
Bio-fuels have been a large controversy because they either divert farm land from food production to fuel production or they convert land from wilderness. Cellulosic ethanol is the new thing. It is amazing because it uses the inedible parts of plants to create fuel. This article discusses the rise of this fuel, but it views it as a process that does replace food crops instead of portraying cellulosic ethanol as a way to make fuel out of plant waste. This article however does discuss this aspect of cellulosic ethanol.
This article from The Guardian is a letter from Jim Hansen, a climatologist at NASA, explaining that coal fired power plants need to be shut down and no more should be built. He also defends the theory of Global Climate Change, but this article is important because it gets to one of the biggest roots of our problems: the existence of coal fired power plants.
Two satellites have been put into Earth's orbit to record green house gas concentrations in our atmosphere. To know the solution we need to know the problem. These two satellites will greatly aid us in intelligently deciding what to do about global warming.
As sarcastic as the Economist can be, this article shows what happens when an environmental movement is fractured and has activists that are unwise. Why are extremist environmentalists unwise? Because they demand perfect outcomes for the environment and by not negotiating they lose out on doing any good at all. Environmentalism should never forget the needs of humans, we are our environment.
Populist American support for prosecuting Bush II is on the rise.
Also, Halliburton is being prosecuted for their illegal actions. Read about it.
Bio-fuels have been a large controversy because they either divert farm land from food production to fuel production or they convert land from wilderness. Cellulosic ethanol is the new thing. It is amazing because it uses the inedible parts of plants to create fuel. This article discusses the rise of this fuel, but it views it as a process that does replace food crops instead of portraying cellulosic ethanol as a way to make fuel out of plant waste. This article however does discuss this aspect of cellulosic ethanol.
This article from The Guardian is a letter from Jim Hansen, a climatologist at NASA, explaining that coal fired power plants need to be shut down and no more should be built. He also defends the theory of Global Climate Change, but this article is important because it gets to one of the biggest roots of our problems: the existence of coal fired power plants.
Two satellites have been put into Earth's orbit to record green house gas concentrations in our atmosphere. To know the solution we need to know the problem. These two satellites will greatly aid us in intelligently deciding what to do about global warming.
As sarcastic as the Economist can be, this article shows what happens when an environmental movement is fractured and has activists that are unwise. Why are extremist environmentalists unwise? Because they demand perfect outcomes for the environment and by not negotiating they lose out on doing any good at all. Environmentalism should never forget the needs of humans, we are our environment.
Populist American support for prosecuting Bush II is on the rise.
Also, Halliburton is being prosecuted for their illegal actions. Read about it.
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