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Why ‘overregulated’ California is leading the way
Why ‘overregulated’ California is leading the way Ideologues hate it when the facts get in the way of their theories. California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed trailblazing legislation last week that commits the state to audacious greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030 of 40 percent below 1990 levels. Not surprisingly, longstanding critics from the business community were howling once […]
Hanjin shipping bankruptcy: ‘Efficient’ just-in-time delivery not so efficient after all
Hanjin shipping bankruptcy: ‘Efficient’ just-in-time delivery not so efficient after all We are about to learn once again that lack of resilience is the flip side of efficiency. The world’s seventh largest shipping firm, Korean-based Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd., failed to rally the support of its creditors last week and was forced to file for bankruptcy. […]
M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil
M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil Almost synonymous with the term “peak oil” is M. King Hubbert, perhaps the foremost geophysicist of the 20th century, who first theorized about the eventual decline of oil production in the 1930s. His life has now been chronicled by science writer Mason Inman in a new […]
Disconnect: Congressional hawks hate sustainability, but love military that seeks it
Disconnect: Congressional hawks hate sustainability, but love military that seeks it Recently, I toured a U.S Navy mine sweeper and destroyer during Fleet Week. Just before the tour entrance line a tent with exhibits caught my attention. On the first table were a set of small bottles containing various kinds of liquid fuels, a sampling […]
Can the world go all-electric?
Can the world go all-electric? Recently, word leaked out that Norway may ban the sale of diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles by 2025. The move toward electric vehicles is part of a dream shared by those concerned about climate change and about fossil fuel depletion (especially oil depletion), namely, to turn the world into one big all-electric […]
The faux insurgency of the climate change deniers and the need for closure Climate change deniers like to style themselves as latter-day Copernicuses and Galileos, lone visionaries bucking the established wisdom of the ages embodied back then in the teachings of the Catholic Church. There is a certain appeal to imagining oneself as isolated and embattled but unbowed. […]
Why you can’t argue with a “modern”
Why you can’t argue with a “modern” The modern world is filled with things many of us regard as antiquated and old-fashioned. Modern people often say that ancient rituals are mere superstition, that science tells us what is real and what is not, and that we are now free from ideas including untestable ideas from […]
Why the fight for GMO labeling is (possibly) over
Why the fight for GMO labeling is (possibly) over Ever since it became clear that Vermont’s law for mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically engineered ingredients would actually go into force this summer, the big question has been how many food companies would choose to label their products and how many would choose simply not to […]
Corruption, resources, climate and systemic risk
Corruption, resources, climate and systemic risk Corruption is a loaded word. One person’s corruption is another’s sound social policy. Some people believe providing unemployment benefits to laid-off workers corrupts them by making them “lazy.” Many others think such benefits are sound social policy in an economic system that is prone to major cyclical ups and […]
Vermont calls Big Food’s bluff on GMO labels
Vermont calls Big Food’s bluff on GMO labels Large food processors have long claimed that state laws forcing them to label foods containing genetically engineered ingredients would lead to 1) higher prices for consumers who would end up paying the cost of special labeling for one or just a few states and/or 2) fewer food […]
Energy policy and uninformed opinion
Energy policy and uninformed opinion Famed economist John Kenneth Galbraith used to respond to questions about the direction of the economy and financial markets by saying: “I answer because I’m asked not because I know.” Such is also the case with poorly informed members of the public whose views pollsters seek on every conceivable topic […]
Oregon says yes to coal-free electricity
Oregon says yes to coal-free electricity The Oregon legislature has adopted a first-in-the-nation plan to phase out electricity from coal, a major source of climate-changing greenhouse gases. The state’s environmental community had been gearing up for a ballot initiative this year that would have forced the state’s utilities to abandon coal as a fuel for electricity. But negotiations between […]
Ready for more punishment: Investors load up on oil share offerings
Ready for more punishment: Investors load up on oil share offerings The $9.2 billion investors paid to snap up new equity offerings from U.S. oil companies in 2016 proves those investors are indeed ready for more punishment. The amount is in line with the pace of such equity offerings in 2015 even as the mood in the […]
“The Future” as a sales pitch
“The Future” as a sales pitch No one can know the future. But it turns out we can invent a place called “The Future” and invite people to inhabit it. In order to inhabit “The Future”–which is really just an enactment of our ideas about the future–you need the right accessories. For starters you’ll need the basics: the latest […]
Stability begets instability: The challenges of the post-2008 world
Stability begets instability: The challenges of the post-2008 world Most people value stability in their lives. And, this makes perfect sense. Stability usually means an adequate, secure income; an established group of friends and family members with whom we are close; an identity in our communities based on our jobs, community involvement, and personal networks; […]
