In Bound to Burn, an article copied here, Peter Huber lays out a realistic perspective of the challenge of redirecting our energy consumption patterns. It is very sobering. He outlines the seemingly intractable and growing demand for carbon based fuels, comparing them with an insignificant impact of alternative fuels, concluding that carbon sequestration is the …
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Category:Living
Losses of $ 4 Trillion (that’s 12 zeroes).
The IMF has warned that potential losses from the credit crunch could reach $4 trillion and damage the financial system for years to come. It says that even if urgent action is taken to clean up the banking system, the process will be “slow and painful”, delaying economic recovery. It says that banks may need …
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Get happy – get off the earnings ladder!
People who compare their earnings with others are damaging their health, becoming less happy, more depressed, and less satisfied with life overall, according to new research by Professors Andrew Clark and Claudia Senik from the Paris School of Economics, to be presented at the annual conference of the Royal Economic Society. (BBC report here.) This …
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CO2 acidification of oceans threatens mass extinction of sea life
Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are acidifying the oceans and threaten a mass extinction of sea life, warns Dr Carol Turley from Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Though it is impossible to know how marine life will cope, she fears many species will not survive. Since the Industrial Revolution, CO2 emissions have already turned the sea …
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Legalisation is the least bad solution: stop the drug wars and save money.
How to stop the drug wars – An unusual leader for The Economist, and perhaps a bit surprising in this economic crisis. But the arguments are sound. In a nutshell, prohibition doesn’t work, it rewards criminals, penalises poor farmers, and costs governments much money. Legalisation, though imperfect would save billions and allow governments to focus …
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Friends mean money
Well, at least good social skills raise income. That’s according to a study correlating the number of friends at school with income. The underlying driver appears to be teh ability to get on with people. So while doing well in school helps, getting on with people is as important. This finding supports both the incentive …
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Black is the new green,
A popular article from the FT describing the benefits of adding charcoal to the soil. Eprida is commercialising this technology. And we add charcoal to the compost/soil when we have it. Black is the new green By Fiona Harvey In Brazil’s Amazon basin, farmers have long sought out a special form of fertiliser – a …
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Cooking makes humans intelligent.
It’s a pet hypothesis that interesting food makes interesting (and interested) people. There seems to be a correlation between interesting people and their interest in food and cooking. People who appreciate variety in food and who can play in the kitchen seem to be that little bit more passionate about life. … well, that’s the …
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Is a food crisis looming? Can solutions be implemented fast enough?
The cost of food remains high. The UN is addressing the issue as a matter of urgency. While energy prices have halved over the past year, the cost of food remains high, particularly for people who spend most of their wealth on food. The buoyancy of trade also hinders access to food. Though the financial …
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TV to change our world.
I came across a most extraordinary billboard yesterday. It announced a number of planet saving cries such as: “love more”, “be vegetarian”, “go green” and purported to be from SupremeMasterTV.com. I was so intrigued that I had to log on and see if it was true. And it is. SuprememasterTV is a global free to …
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