I’m evermore skeptical of the policy prescriptions demanded by those convinced climate change threatens civilization. Al Gore, the leader of this pack, asserts that if we do not act “within 10 years” (to reduce CO2 emissions) we are likely to reach a “tipping point” making it impossible “to avoid irretrievable damage to the planet’s habitability.” […]
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Many small towns throughout our region peaked in 1917 and most have declined ever since. Such economic factors as resource depletion, mines played out, and the worldwide agricultural depression of 1919 drove these declines. Further, economies of scale encouraged larger farms and ranches as mechanical replaced muscle power. Concurrently, with superior cars and trucks running […]
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The admonition “don’t burn your bridges” warns against rash behavior that makes retreat impossible. Nobel economist Tom Schelling argues that to the Roman army burning bridges, or boats, was actually an effective military strategy. By making retreat impossible, the generals signaled their choice to conquer or be killed. This concentrates the minds of friends and […]
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Here’s some good news worth sharing. It’s from a paper by Harvard economist Andrei Shleifer. “The last quarter century has witnessed remarkable progress of mankind. The world’s per capita inflation-adjusted income rose from $5,400 in 1980 to $8,500 in 2005. Schooling and life expectancy grew rapidly, while infant mortality and poverty fell just as fast. […]
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A friend recently passed on a chain letter urging independence from Middle Eastern oil. It’s a seductive idea. Here’s the gist: “Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that don’t import their oil from the Saudis. Nothing is […]
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“Stimulus: something that incites or rouses to action; an incentive.” Last week Congress approved a $168 billion economic stimulus package to help our slowing economy. One hundred and sixty-eight BILLION dollars—a staggering amount to most of us, but only a drop in the bucket of our $14 trillion dollar economy. At first glance, the bill […]
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This January I’ve had the luxury of previewing retirement. It was not, however, what I hoped for, no skiing or even driving off our place. Being allergic to TV, I spent time reading, writing, and listening to more NPR than ever before. This experience broadened my perspective on winter. Consider this introduction to an “All […]
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Will Tata Motors’ Nano be the Third World’s Model T Ford? Sixteen million Ts were produced during its 20-year lifespan from 1908 through 1927. It initially sold for $850, about $15,000 in today’s dollars. By 1915, due to the advantages of mass production, the price dropped to $440. It had a 2.9-liter engine, ran on […]
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Two thirds of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa. It’s home to 34 of the 35 states with the lowest life expectancy. More than 300 million people survive there on less than a dollar a day. (This figure has gone up by around 100 million over the last 10 years.) All this despite the […]
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On January 7th, the Sheriff’s Office Report in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle noted, “A man fell from his roof on Cottonwood Road while trying to reattach roofing that had blown loose in the wind.” The last thing I remember, before becoming semi-awake in the American Medical Response ambulance, was reaching to sink the last roofing […]
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