Archive for the 'Economy' Category
New Zealand: Polluted Paradise
September 7th, 2017Update: Part 2: Government Backing Policies Destroying Water Resources — Via: Al Jazeera: I also discovered that the country is harbouring a disturbing secret, little known to the rest of the world: its freshwater is in severe crisis. Two-thirds of New Zealand’s rivers are too polluted to swim in and half its lakes are irreversibly […]
U.S. House Unanimously Approves Sweeping Self-Driving Car Measure
September 6th, 2017Via: Reuters: The U.S. House on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping proposal to speed the deployment of self-driving cars without human controls by putting federal regulators in the driver’s seat and barring states from blocking autonomous vehicles. The House measure, the first significant federal legislation aimed at speeding self-driving cars to market, would allow automakers […]
MOTIVA: FLOODING SHUTS LARGEST U.S. REFINERY
August 31st, 2017Via: CNBC: The largest U.S. refinery was shutting down completely on Wednesday morning as heavy rains from Tropical Storm Harvey flooded the 603,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, plant, owner Motiva Enterprises said in a statement. “At 5 a.m. (CDT (1000 GMT) on Wednesday, Motiva began a controlled shutdown of the Port Arthur refinery in […]
Afghanistan: America’s Trillion Dollar War
August 29th, 2017Via: ZeroHedge: 16 years since the Bush administration launched its military intervention in Afghanistan, President Trump has announced his intention to increase the U.S. military presence in the country. As Statista’s Niall McCarthy notes, there are approximately 8,400 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan and reinforcements could start arriving within days. Trump’s new strategy […]
Energy Storage: Lithium from Supervolcanoes?
August 27th, 2017Cobalt is a much more serious blocker than lithium. Via: Smithsonian: There’s no doubt that in coming years, we’re going to need a lot of lithium. The growing market of electric automobiles, plus new household energy storage and large-scale battery farms, and the current lack of any technology better for storage than lithium ion batteries, […]
Most Americans Live Paycheck to Paycheck
August 24th, 2017Via: CNBC: No matter how much you earn, getting by is still a struggle for most people these days. Seventy-eight percent of full-time workers said they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75 percent last year, according to a recent report from CareerBuilder. Overall, 71 percent of all U.S. workers said they’re now in debt, […]
Bill Gates and Richard Branson Back Startup That Grows ‘Clean Meat’
August 23rd, 2017haha oh sure! Via: Bloomberg: Cargill Inc., one of the largest global agricultural companies, has joined Bill Gates and other business giants to invest in a nascent technology to make meat from self-producing animal cells amid rising consumer demand for protein that’s less reliant on feed, land and water. Memphis Meats, which produces beef, chicken […]
A Glut Has Used-Car Depreciation Accelerating
August 22nd, 2017Via: Bloomberg: Car sales in the U.S. have been rising for seven consecutive years now, and it’s denting the value of whatever is currently parked in your garage or driveway. With so many new cars rolling out of dealerships lots and instantly becoming used cars, the secondary market is glutted and the pace of depreciation […]
Confirmed: Grid Tie Inverter Continues to Generate Electricity During Grid Failure with Powerwall 2
August 13th, 2017Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — Man, I’ve been waiting a long time to see this confirmed. Here it is! Tesla remains silent on generator backup options, but I have no doubt that people are going to start rolling their own if Tesla doesn’t address it. In any event, very special […]
“Is Alexa Spying On Us? We’re Too Busy to Care”
August 12th, 2017Oblivion. Via: McClatchy: It’s an experience every computer or smart phone user has had. After downloading new software or an app, a window pops up with a legal agreement. At the bottom is an “I agree” button. One click, and it’s gone. Most users have no clue what they’ve agreed to. That single action can […]
