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Update on Inflation
July 11, 2008, I warned in my article "Hyper-inflation coming soon!" that we're about to experience some serious pain with regard to the USD and the American standard of living. Six months later, we're in the midst of serious financial turmoil, Wall Street investment banks have either gone under or converted to traditional bank status, thousands have lost their jobs with many thousands more to come and the value of our USD sunk 20% in the last year.
With all the gloom around us, sometimes it's nice to share a little humor. So, here's a picture that made it's way into my inbox from my uncle. We'll just have to learn to enjoy the ride!
P.S. One may surmise that all the bubbles have burst, but there's one more to go: treasuries. Compare the current treasury bubble (dollars) with the housing (2007), internet bubble (2000) and commodity bubble (2008). One of
Click here to continue readingFrom Trash to Cash. Good Common Sense Policy.
Another couple month-old news article that is still worth mentioning amid the crisis of today. Hope is on the horizon…
MSU leverages public, private funds for farm waste-to-energy project
Contact: Mark Fellows, University Relations, Mark.Fellows@ur.msu.edu,
Cell: (517) 819-5437, Office: (517) 884-0166; Steven Safferman,
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Office: (517) 432-0812, safferma@msu.edu; Ajit Srivastava, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Office: (517) 353-7268, srivasta@msu.edu
Published: Oct. 15, 2008
E-mail Editor
Story
A
large-scale anaerobic digester at the Scenic View Dairy in Fennville.
Photo courtesy of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
MSU
researcher Steven Safferman with an anaerobic digester of the sort his
team hopes to mate with power generators to produce power from animal
waste. Photo by G.L. Kohuth
Click on an image to view a larger or high-resolution version.
EAST
LANSING, Mich. — State and foundation grants exceeding $3 million will
assist Michigan State University researchers in developing technology
for smaller farms to turn animal waste into usable heat, electricity
and other valuable products.
MSU’s
planned Anaerobic Digestion
Spain soon to be the first Carbon-FREE Country
I came across this gem while catching up on news that happened during my time at Marine Corps Officer's Candidate School, October through December. In short, Spain expects to have a significant fleet of EVs on Spanish streets by 2011. Since 40+% of the country's electric grid is powered by wind, the entire Electric Vehicle fleet and their respective power source will be carbon-free. This is a country that understands the direction in which the world is heading and is not delaying in getting there. Congrats to Spain!
Spain And Renault Study Electric Car Plan
Date: 21-Oct-08
Country: SPAIN
"We
are going to put together a working group before February to study a
medium- to long-term plan to develop an electric car in Spain with
Renault as a main player," Sebastian said.
The government hopes 1 million electric cars will be criss-crossing Spanish streets by 2011, he said.
Sebastian
said the country's electricity producers had also expressed interest in
the plan, following
Pentagon Goes Green
For those of you who are still skeptical that we'll ever move to an electric-vehicle platform, news that the DoD is moving more aggressively towards electrifying their fleet should be viewed promisingly.
Army Green: Why the Pentagon's Energy Plans Matter
The benefit is clear. With 70% of supply lines devoted to carrying fuel, we'd be able to allocate more resources at the front lines at less cost.
Click here to continue readingPresident Obama’s Inaugural Address
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 12:25pm BY Amy Hamblin
Placing his hand on the Bible once used by Lincoln,
Barack Obama took the Oath of Office at 12:05 p.m. on the steps of the
U.S. Capitol. Immediately following, he delivered his Inaugural Address
to a sea of flag-waving Americans stretching down the National Mall to
the Lincoln Memorial and beyond. The full text of his address is below.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the
trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our
ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as
well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this
transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The
words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still
waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst
gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has
carried on not simply
Public Enemy #1: Runaway Congressional Spending
A friend of mine brought to my attention a review published by Booz Allen Hamilton in 2002 of past military dominance and the implications on the current US military advantage. If you’re just interested in the overview, skip to the last chapter, titled "Implications for the US".
Download military-advantage-in-history.pdf
According to the review, and I agree, military advantage is gained through tactical and operational dominance, weapons and the employment thereof. However, enduring military advantage, the goal of US military strategy, hinges upon institutional advantage: political, economic and military. Therefore, preserving US hegemony is not as simple as maintaining the best tactical use of the best weaponry. We must maintain institutional advantage as well.
What does that mean? Well, it means ensuring that America protects what makes it great: American faith in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, as well as faith in our constitution, government and military to protect those ideals. Should
Click here to continue readingSubsidies Are Not the Solution
Many environmentalists, which I consider myself to be, are calling for subsidies for wind, solar and other alternative energies to get those markets off the ground. Unfortunately, a government directed subsidy to any industry, even solar, is not going to solve the energy and financial mess that we’re in. Rather than directly subsidizing these industries, a better approach is a comprehensive cap and trade system in which polluters pay and under polluters earn, simply put.
Moreover, contrary to the author’s position in his "Fighting Big Solar" article, Renewable Portfolio Standards are not bad policy although it is technically a manipulation of the market. This minor government interference, in this case, can be justified by offsetting gains in security, both financial and military. Fewer imports from adversaries offset by domestic power production from renewable/unlimited sources such as wind and solar, will lessen the outflow of American wealth to other countries and increase the
Click here to continue readingEnergy Independence = Fiscal Responsibility
While reading an article about the convergence of oil supply and demand issues permanently driving up the cost of oil, I came across this precious piece of information: oil imports account for roughly HALF of our current account deficit!
Basically, what that means is that we’re charging our oil purchases to our national credit card, which of course, we’ll have to pay back at some point. That time may be sooner rather than later if the US Dollar doesn’t start increasing in value.
The problem is that with the mortgage problems at Fannie and Freddie and the government’s willingness to back up their debt, we could add much more the to national debt which will drive down the value of the dollar. As the dollar goes down, investors will opt for other currencies and investments that yield a higher return. As investors shun the dollar, the due date for repayment gets
Click here to continue readingAmerican Life Worth Less Today
I stumbled upon this one a few days ago. Apparently the government places a dollar value, currently $6.9 million in today’s dollars, according to the EPA, on each American life in order to determine whether an environmental regulation yields a sufficient return on investment when compared with the supposed cost to the private market for a regulation. In other words, when considering whether to limit or at what level to limit acid rain producing pollutants or carbon emissions into the atmosphere, mercury into the water, et cetera, the government weighs the cost to industry versus the projected number of lives to be saved by the policy.
Once you get past the appalling nature of applying a dollar value to a human life, this becomes nothing more than a fairly standard cost-benefit analysis, which is used successfully in business all the time. The problem with government managing by these figures rather than
Click here to continue readingPollution-free Wind Power in Michigan
Looks like some of the communities in Michigan get it even if the state doesn’t. Oceana County’s Elbridge Township is exploring a 60MW wind project that would include 30 turbines spanning 5000 acres. Beyond the obvious health benefits of wind versus coal, cleaner air and reduced likelyhood of developing asthma, wind projects share generated revenue with land owners providing, in effect, a private market subsidy or additional income stream for Michigan’s farmers.
Elbridge Township has the right idea. Now only if we could get the Michigan legislature to open the Michigan market to competition rather than maintaining the anti-competitive, cost-increasing, walled garden for Michigan’s utilities whose campaign is dubbed "Michigan Jobs & Energy". A more appropriate name would be, "Sure you’ll get a few jobs, but no where near as much as you would otherwise have, but please accept our thanks for agreeing to pay more for your electricity than you would
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