Archive for the 'Economy' Category
Genetically Modified Crops Pass Benefits to Weeds
August 21st, 2013Via: Nature: A genetic-modification technique used widely to make crops herbicide resistant has been shown to confer advantages on a weedy form of rice, even in the absence of the herbicide. The finding suggests that the effects of such modification have the potential to extend beyond farms and into the wild. … Making weedy rice […]
Abandoned Dogs Roam Detroit in Packs as Humans Dwindle
August 21st, 2013Via: Bloomberg: As many as 50,000 stray dogs roam the streets and vacant homes of bankrupt Detroit, replacing residents, menacing humans who remain and overwhelming the city’s ability to find them homes or peaceful deaths. Dens of as many as 20 canines have been found in boarded-up homes in the community of about 700,000 that […]
Japan Nuclear Agency Seeks Fukushima Alert Level Upgrade
August 21st, 2013Via: BBC: Japan’s nuclear agency wants to raise the severity level of a radioactive water leak at the Fukushima plant from one to three on an international scale. Highly radioactive water was found to be leaking from a storage tank into the ground at the plant on Monday. It was first classified as a level […]
WinCo: Meet the Low-Key, Low-Cost Grocery Chain Being Called ‘Walmart’s Worst Nightmare’
August 21st, 2013Via: Time: Retail analysts say the world’s biggest retailer has reason to fear a small grocery chain that’s based in Idaho and boasts a business model that allows it to undercut Walmart on prices. So about that eye-catching Walmart quote. Those are the words of Burt Flickinger III, a widely respected supermarket-retailing-industry expert who works […]
Soda Consumption In Children Could Lead To Violent Behavior
August 19th, 2013In other news: “When parents did cut television out of their homes, they reported that their kids didn’t bug them as much for junk food and toys advertised on TV.” Via: CBS: Studies of young soda drinkers often focus on added risk for childhood obesity. But now, a new study suggests the sweet stuff could […]
Lies, Damn Lies and Chinese Economic Data
August 16th, 2013Via: CNBC: China may be exaggerating the size of its economy to the tune of $1 trillion by releasing “willfully fraudulent” inflation and GDP [gross domestic product] data, according to a study out this week. Numbers from the world’s second largest economy are treated with skepticism by some economists, but this latest report has attempted […]
“Average Cost to Raise a Kid: $241,080” ???
August 15th, 2013Our annual household income is roughly what this report indicates the cost would be to raise one child for a year in the U.S. And we have two children. Living mortgage free is like living on a different planet compared to those who have a bank’s boot on their necks. Via: CNN: From day care […]
Democracy Now On Amazon and Jeff Bezos
August 14th, 2013Disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with Amazon. The Democracy Now discussion below contains some legitimate gripes about Amazon, which I’ve covered on here in the past. The most disturbing thing about Amazon (to me) is their work with CIA to build the agency’s new cloud computing infrastructure (news circa March 2013). That’s bad. But […]
World Changing Technology Enables Crops to Take Nitrogen from the Air
August 12th, 2013Via: University of Nottingham: A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world’s crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers. Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. […]
A Material That Could Make Solar Power ‘Dirt Cheap’
August 10th, 2013Via: MIT Technology Review: A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells. Although the potential of the material is just starting to be understood, it has caught the attention of the world’s leading […]
