Getting Workers to Columbus, Nebraska

Columbus, Nebraska, has a problem. The rural town has jobs, but it can’t find workers to fill them. Columbus officials have gone on recruiting missions to find new residents, but they’ve discovered that there are reasons people can’t move.

The Article

on the lighter side / Winter mtbking

a short film I made this week about my new “fat tire” winter mountain bike. Yes, the tires really are 4″ across…enjoy

Food for 9 Billion

An interesting series on feeding the world.

The Link

A New Sub-prime Bubble Threat

A new, and slightly bizarre, perspective on the future use of oil and gas reserves and the impact of climate change on those assets.

The Article

A Report on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

A new report is touting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for helping cut carbon dioxide emissions in the Northeast. The news is somewhat hazy for Rhode Island, however, and overall the data show that the cap-and-trade program is still a work in progress.

Environment Northeast (ENE), a nonprofit that tracks the 10-state, carbon-cutting RGGI program, said emissions from power plants are down 11 percent from last year, and are well below a cap set in 2009. The reason, ENE stated, is power plants are burning more natural gas and less high carbon-packed fuels such as coal and oil. Renewable energy, mild weather and improvements in energy efficiency also are being credited for helping reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

All good things for cutting carbon pollution, but much of the progress appears to derive from a single factor: the price of natural gas. Since 2005, natural gas prices have dropped significantly below coal and oil. As of Dec. 31, gas was about four times cheaper than oil.
The Article

EcoAsset Inc Brief History

EcoAsset Inc Historical Timeline

Peter and I decided – as a planning tool – to develop an EcoAsset Inc. Timeline for our all too brief history.

Ed Med

We were invited to a presentation this morning by the Rhode Island Governor, Lincoln Chafee, and the State’s Economic Development Corporation. In the Governor’s opening remarks he emphasized wanting to take advantage of “where the economic growth action is….Ed Med”. For us non-economic opportunist, Ed Med is education and medical industry – primarily academic medical research developments.

From my perspective…and accepting the importance of medical and educational advancements…I know of no other industrial economies that are more troubled and inflated than medical costs and educational costs. I would be willing to bet (and I don’t gamble) that the moment RI commits to huge infrastructure and development investments in Ed/Med…the whole system goes into cardiac arrest.

An article on college costs.

Organic Tomatoes in the Winter

The explosive growth in the commercial cultivation of organic tomatoes here (Mexico), for example, is putting stress on the water table. In some areas, wells have run dry this year, meaning that small subsistence farmers cannot grow crops. And the organic tomatoes end up in an energy-intensive global distribution chain that takes them as far as New York and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, producing significant emissions that contribute to global warming.

From now until spring, farms from Mexico to Chile to Argentina that grow organic food for the United States market are enjoying their busiest season.

The Article

Patagonia Becomes a “Benefit” Corporation

Perhaps a new model for corporate governance…. I think a move in the right direction (away from greed & and toward common good)

http://crooksandliars.com/kenneth-quinnell/patagonia-becomes-benefit-corpora

The Last Waterman of Wittman

The Last Waterman of Wittman from ListenIn Pictures on Vimeo.