Home » Posts tagged 'resource insights' (Page 6)
Tag Archives: resource insights
Economists and climate change: Building castles in the sky
Economists and climate change: Building castles in the sky Economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said that “the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” Unfortunately, when some economists turn their sights on the economics of climate change, their unreliable methods imperil not just the economic life of humankind but its very existence. I […]
Imagination, STEM and Reading Lolita in Tehran
Imagination, STEM and Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi, author of the international bestseller, Reading Lolita in Tehran, explains that the title of her book came from her diary in which she kept track of activities that were no longer allowed in post-revolutionary Iran, but which people engaged in as a form of resistance. One of those […]
The biggest obstacle to progress is our idea of progres
The biggest obstacle to progress is our idea of progress Those who oppose change, even in a single category of life, are often labeled as enemies of “progress.” In the modern era “progress” has become a catch-all word to describe every technological change by the proponents of that change. Thinking people will agree that not […]
The troubled Saudi Aramco IPO: It’s what you can’t see that counts
The troubled Saudi Aramco IPO: It’s what you can’t see that counts It’s what you can’t see—the oil beneath the Arabian sands—that potential investors in Saudi Aramco’s on-again, off-again initial public offering (IPO) ought to focus on. The truth about the remaining oil resources beneath the Saudi desert continues to be a state secret. I’ll […]
‘Factfulness’ may calm you down, but won’t change our ecocidal trajectory
‘Factfulness’ may calm you down, but won’t change our ecocidal trajectory Here and there people have been referring to author Hans Rosling’s idea of “factfulness” as an antidote to gloomy thinking about the trajectory of the human enterprise. Rosling writes: [T]he vast majority of the world’s population live somewhere in the middle of the income scale. Perhaps […]
Oops! Gene editing not as precise as advertised
Oops! Gene editing not as precise as advertised Sometimes a headline gives you practically the entire story. Take this one: “Gene-Editing Unintentionally Adds Bovine DNA, Goat DNA, and Bacterial DNA, Mouse Researchers Find.” The writer details how this happens, of course. And, there is an important subtext. The problem is chalked up by scientists and regulators to […]
Genetically engineered honeybees: Not the dumbest idea ever, but close to it
Genetically engineered honeybees: Not the dumbest idea ever, but close to it In the wake of widespread declines in bee populations, farmers and beekeepers are wondering who exactly is going to pollinate that third of the world’s food crops which require pollination. The declines have been attributed to pesticides, parasites and climate change. In Europe […]
Plastic, plastic everywhere
Plastic, plastic everywhere When we discard a plastic bag, an electronic device encased in plastic, a plastic pen emptied of its ink or any of the myriad plastic objects which populate our lives, we usually say we are throwing the object “away.” By that we mean into a trash or recycling bin and from there […]
Shale oil and gas: Destroying capital one well at a time
Shale oil and gas: Destroying capital one well at a time Recently, the former CEO of the largest shale gas producer in the United States told a roomful of conference goers what any competent financial analysis would have revealed many years ago: the shale oil and gas industry as a whole has been destroying capital since its […]
CO2 emissions: The trend is not your friend
CO2 emissions: The trend is not your friend When the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported in late March that energy consumption in 2018 rose at the fastest rate in a decade, it confirmed something that most of those who truly understand the climate crisis already know: Collectively, humanity is making almost no progress in doing anything significant […]
Does Chevron know exactly what shale oil and gas are worth?
Does Chevron know exactly what shale oil and gas are worth? Welcome to the bidding war that didn’t happen. The decision last week by international oil giant Chevron Corp. to leave its takeover bid for shale oil and gas-heavy Anadarko Petroleum Corp. unaltered in the wake of a higher offer from rival bidder Occidental Petroleum Corp. surprised […]
Life imitates art: Norway rejects oil prospecting in sensitive Arctic islands
Life imitates art: Norway rejects oil prospecting in sensitive Arctic islands In what seemed like an episode of the Norwegian television drama Occupied, Norway’s largest political party joined smaller ones in the nation’s parliament to prevent oil exploration in the scenic Lofoten archipelago. The Labor Party’s environmental wing made climate change and scenic beauty big issues. Unlike another […]
Deep adaptation, post-sustainability and the possibility of societal collapse
Deep adaptation, post-sustainability and the possibility of societal collapse I write this piece primarily to get you to read an academic paper that has attracted relatively widespread attention. It is entitled “Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy.” It is remarkable in a number of aspects. First, it was written by a professor of sustainability […]
“Which species are we sure we can survive without?” Revisited
“Which species are we sure we can survive without?” Revisited Two years ago I asked the question in the title of this piece. Now comes a wide-ranging study that suggests we are about to test that question in a major way. The study predicts that at the current rate of loss of insect species, 40 percent could be […]
Has U.S. shale oil entered a death spiral?
Has U.S. shale oil entered a death spiral? The bad news coming out of the shale oil fields of America could all be put down to slumping oil prices. That is certainly a big factor. But as investment professionals like to say, when the tide goes out, we all find out who’s been skinny-dipping. The […]
