Will Greentech Equal Greenbacks?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on December 3, 2008 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008Don’t burst my energy bubble
I was talking to a friend today who was reconsidering her possible future in environmental work because of quite reasonable concerns about what may happen to the economy in the near future. I hope that in spite of (or maybe because of) these economic concerns, she and others stay focused on the idea of developing a clean & green future for America. I personally believe that our current economic woes could be the motivation to shift the paradigm and put the country back on track as a leading innovator. It seems I’m not totally crazy; Barack Obama promised during his campaign (and stayed on message in his recent radio/web address) that he intends to invest $150 billion to “build an American green energy economy” in the belief that as well as creating 5 million jobs, it is in fact the only way forward in the current energy/economic environment. It’s nice to see that there seems to be an international consensus – Brazil is committing to reducing Amazon deforestation by 70%; in Hawaii (that’s a country, isn’t it Sarah?) there are plans for an electric car network; BMW is looking for 500 lucky field testers for their Mini EV, and in the general picture, green technologies have enjoyed an astounding 1400% increase in investments since 2001. There are so many great ideas busting out (and nice sites like CleantechGreentech.com with great info on the topic) that it’s almost impossible to keep track. Some of these ideas are really simple, but game-changing. Things like Crowdsourced Green Venture Capital Funds. Anybody have a positive story about greentech economics to share?
It’s The Stupid Economy
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 23, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008…stupid
I always feel a little ignorant went it comes to finance and the economy. That is, until I sit with a typical group of Americans and listen to them talk about either. If you feel a little less than enlightened on the big picture yourself, Good Magazine has a simple chart (which cops the Bill Clinton campaign slogan from the ’92 election) to fill you in on some of the basics. If you’re putting the pieces together intelligently (the corporate media has no reason to want to help you with this), it would be hard to believe that things will get much better before they get a lot worse. But don’t worry. This whole capitalism thing is probably a dying paradigm. We’re probably ready for a smart economy. We just need to rework that pesky social contract a bit. I think there are reasons you don’t here the words “Economics” and “Ethical” in the same sentence very often these days.
Silly Billionaire Doesn’t Realize Economy Was Fixed Last Weekend
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 14, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008George Soros on the Economic Crisis
In these troubled financial times, it’s refreshing to hear a successful financial expert (George Soros is worth about $7 billion) talk commonsensically about the current economic crisis. Except that he’s basically saying that we’re completely screwed. If you have about six minutes, watch this Bill Moyers interview, in which Soros basically says that the extreme form of capitalism that we’ve been playing with (he calls it free-market fundamentalism) could lead to the end of the human race. He balances that seemingly extreme notion with more common-sense talk about how capitalism and socialism have something in common that could make either one succeed or fail catastrophically, i.e.: the human element. He distills that “human element” down to the sense of social responsibility possessed by the leaders of a given society, not only during a time of crisis, but in the ongoing management of the society.
George Bush on the Economy: “Wall Street Got Drunk”
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 23, 2008 by admin in Politics
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008Off the record, the president shares his latest economic theories.
Well, if that isn’t the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. If you watch this exclusive clip (he thought all cameras were off) you’ll get to hear Bush joking not only about Wall Street getting drunk, but also joking about how rough it’s been for him being on government pay for 14 years. Gee George, if only all the rest of us had to suffer a $400,000.00 yearly salary, free luxury housing, private air and ground transport, and full time security teams, as well as access to virtually anything else we want in the world, we could join you for a chuckle. To see some excellent clips of George himself being drunk, check out this YouTube compilation. Or this one to see where it all began. My suggestion for the new 2008 GOP slogan: “Ish thuh ick-onomy, shtoopid….”