From a high of 6.3 pounds of trash per day in 2005, Californians have lowered their output in 2011 to a record-low of 4.4 pounds/day. Good news for the state with the highest population, and yet compared to the national average – 4.4 pounds – that’s not much of a drop, more like stopping the …
Continue reading “Californians create record-low trash in 2011 – still more than national average”
I hate the doom-and-gloom focus of global warming. For an issue that asks people to make big changes, there couldn’t be a worse message. And so I’m proud to present another piece good news: As our economy grows we are lowering our emissions (blue lines) As our population our emissions are remaining steady or decreasing …
Continue reading “Good news – United States greenhouse gas emissions are declining (graph)”
Maybe it was all those vacations people took? From the Wall Street Journal: U.S. consumers in early September felt better about the economy as their expectations brightened, according to data released Friday. The Thomson-Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 79.2 early this month from the 74.3 final reading for August. Of course, …
Continue reading “Are you happy this month? – Consumer sentiment rises to 2008 level”
What if Mexico were to become a bigger economy than Brazil? In recent years Brazil has outplayed Mexico, growing at 6% or more as Mexico bumped along in the slow lane. But lately that has changed. Last year Mexico grew by 4% and Brazil by 2.7%. This year Mexico is expected to get close to …
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A refreshing, well-balanced look at climate change in America. You don’t have to be a climate scientist these days to know that the climate has problems. You just have to step outside. The United States is now enduring its warmest year on record…Meanwhile, the country often seems to be moving further away from doing something …
Continue reading “A refreshing look at climate change in America – what are we doing about it?”
Read this for news on the world economy, or just enjoy the interesting words the Brits use to describe their unemployment: Jobseekers Allowance (unemployment benefits), shadow work (?)… UK unemployment total falls to 2.58m The unemployment rate fell to 8.1% in the period, down from 8.3% in the previous quarter. The ONS figures showed that the …
U.S. venture capitalists put $8.1 billion into 812 deals in the second quarter of 2012, their single largest quarter in more than a decade, according to CB Insights. It’s clear that factors like the greater American economy and the bumpy tech IPO market don’t necessarily have a direct and/or timely correlation with venture capital spending. …
Continue reading “Venture capital investment had its biggest quarter (Q2 2012) of the decade”
The past decade was all about the BRICs, the massive economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which kicked off at the beginning of the new century, boomed and are now slowing like the rest of the developed world. Taking their place is a new group of fast-rising economies promising businesses outsized returns. The next …
Continue reading “Forget the BRICs it’s the CIVETS now – the new developing world”
The race is on to replace steel cars with carbon-fibre cars. All of the major automakers have inked deals to make the switch. The reason being that carbon-fibre is: “10 times stronger than regular-grade steel and one-quarter of steel’s weight.” “Using carbon fiber in lieu of conventional steel can lower the weight of a vehicle …
Continue reading “Soon cars will be ultra-light-weight and made out of carbon-fibre composites”
4 important facts about unemployment from economist Lee Ohanian: The economy should be creating 500,000 jobs/month, instead of 200,000. Long-term unemployed makes up half of those unemployed, and they have little or no value in our economy. The retirement age is certainly going to rise. Those with only a high school degree or less are …
Continue reading “The long-term unemployed make up half of those unemployed”