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The Italian experiment and the truth about government debt
The Italian experiment and the truth about government debt Money is a slippery concept. Today we think of it as paper certificates and coins. But actually, anything that is generally accepted in trade can be considered money. The rise of cryptocurrencies is demonstrating this truth. In wartime scarce but desirable and easily transported commodities such […]
Puerto Rico: When the electricity stops
Puerto Rico: When the electricity stops When the electricity stops in modern civilization, pretty much everything else stops. Not even gasoline-powered vehicles can get far before they are obliged to seek a fill-up—which they cannot get because gas pumps rely on electricity to operate. When I wrote “The storms are only going to get worse” […]
The solar panel imports case and the future of self-sufficiency
The solar panel imports case and the future of self-sufficiency Last week the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the American solar panel industry had been harmed by cheap imports though it did not specifically find that the competition was unfair. The decision has stunned the solar industry which has relied on cheap panel […]
The high cost of an easy-care, low-maintenance world
The high cost of an easy-care, low-maintenance world I may be a member of an endangered species. I prefer a perfect crease in a pair of pants resulting from the use of an actual iron rather than a crease maintained by a toxic brew of chemicals that can make cotton-fiber pants not only “wrinkle-free,” but […]
In media res: Houston, Harvey and the catastrophe of climate change
In media res: Houston, Harvey and the catastrophe of climate change “In media res” is Latin for “in the middle of things.” Frequently, it refers to the literary device of plunging readers into some central action of a story (often an epic) and then filling in the details and background later. The residents of Houston […]
Arctic riches: A most insane discussion
Arctic riches: A most insane discussion As climate change rips away the icy armor of the Arctic, nations surrounding the North Pole and companies eager to exploit the area’s mineral wealth–particularly oil and natural gas–are growing giddy with anticipation. So reports the Associated Press, though the AP is by no means the first to report […]
Do Saudi Arabia And Russia Really Want Higher Oil Prices?
Do Saudi Arabia And Russia Really Want Higher Oil Prices? The jawboning of oil prices by the Saudi Arabian/Russian tag team should be wearing off after more than a year of actions that don’t measure up to the words. Oil prices slumped recently, dropping from around $54 per barrel to just below $50 as of […]
“Reform” won’t solve our biggest problems
“Reform” won’t solve our biggest problems “You never cure structural defects; you let the system collapse.” As I contemplated this proposition taken from a recent piece by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, I realized what profound implications accepting it would have for all those engaged in attempting to address our current social, political and environmental ills. If […]
Split personalities: We like some science, but not all of it
Split personalities: We like some science, but not all of it We modern folk are in a bind. We embrace what the sciences and the technology that flows from them have to offer, but we refuse to believe that we live in the world described by those very sciences. Here I’m not merely talking about […]
Communications breakdown: Can we even talk about our environmental and energy problems?
Communications breakdown: Can we even talk about our environmental and energy problems? Conversations that seek genuine understanding by all sides ultimately require a common frame of reference. If we aren’t talking about the same things, how can we understand one another? We usually refer to this as talking past one another. Sometimes this happens because […]
Risk, double-edged swords and imagining the worst
Risk, double-edged swords and imagining the worst A friend of mine recently said that intellectual honesty often requires imagining the worst. Of course, in the study of climate change and natural resources one needs only to read the analyses of scientists to imagine the worst. Imagining the worst in not necessarily the same as believing the […]
To confront power, one must first name it: Neoliberalism and the sustainability crisis
To confront power, one must first name it: Neoliberalism and the sustainability crisis Recently, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ordered references to human-caused climate change be deleted from the state Deparment of Natural Resources website. Scientific findings concerning the natural world have become an embarrassment for the neoliberal world view. The answer in this case seems to be to […]
Deepwater Horizon and our emerging ‘normal’ catastrophes
Deepwater Horizon and our emerging ‘normal’ catastrophes While watching the recently released film “Deepwater Horizon” about the catastrophic well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history, I remembered the term “fail-dangerous,” a term I first encountered in correspondence with a risk consultant for the oil and gas industry. We’ve […]
