James-Speaks
Sunday, December 07, 2008
The Big Three
07-Dec-2008
The issue is whether to bail out the big three (GM, Ford, Chrysler) or to punish them for being bad and making big SUV's Americans love to drive.
How about a third alternative? Why don't we use this opportunity to fund a re-tooling of our transportation industry which is adaptable to the needs of fossil fuel shortages and nuclear plant derived electricity?
07-Dec-2008
The issue is whether to bail out the big three (GM, Ford, Chrysler) or to punish them for being bad and making big SUV's Americans love to drive.
How about a third alternative? Why don't we use this opportunity to fund a re-tooling of our transportation industry which is adaptable to the needs of fossil fuel shortages and nuclear plant derived electricity?
Obama Speaks
07-Dec-2008
For President-Elect Barack Obama, fixing the economy is only one "Job One" among several Job Ones bequeathed to him by Bush's ineptitude.
Other Job Ones include repairing America's damaged reputation, restoring the rule of law, locating and neutralizing criminals before they terrorize via pathogens or radioactive materials. All of these require money, and thanks to Bush and his so-called 50-billion dollar war, we're out of money, credit, and our economy is in no position to create wealth.
So there, we're broke and the first thing Obama needs to do is to put us on the path towards fiscal health. This is the one thing he can do before the "Elect" drops from his name and he assumes actual control of our defense apparatus.
I hate to say it, though, but there is something he has missed and it is a crisis that is building. The effects won't be realized for a decade or two, but the opportunity to act will not last. Soil quality in the absence of nitrogen fertilizer will become the issue of the teens.
Obama hasn't addressed it yet, but I have hope that his plans for a revitalized infrastructure, transportation and education systems will extend the window of opportunity before we face food shortages.
For insight into the ways fuel prices and credit problems create food shortages, check this out.
***
(Comment regarding Informed Comment today.)
Fascinating. Now that a competent person holds the highest office in the land (I am saying that Obama's status as President-Elect surpasses W's lameness), it is safe to step back from crisis mode and investigate the little things that cause history. Discussing the hydrology of the Levant is one such thing and the implications for our times are so profound that it takes a Shinseski kind of a guy to have the apparent temerity to raise them.
Climate change will affect soil moisture, which affects food crop production, which affects whether average people have enough food to eat, which affects whether civilizations rise, maintain, or fall. Global warming affects sea level which affects the extent of arable land. More than the economy is at stake; the fabric of civilization is being stretched.
Leadership is required.
07-Dec-2008
For President-Elect Barack Obama, fixing the economy is only one "Job One" among several Job Ones bequeathed to him by Bush's ineptitude.
Other Job Ones include repairing America's damaged reputation, restoring the rule of law, locating and neutralizing criminals before they terrorize via pathogens or radioactive materials. All of these require money, and thanks to Bush and his so-called 50-billion dollar war, we're out of money, credit, and our economy is in no position to create wealth.
So there, we're broke and the first thing Obama needs to do is to put us on the path towards fiscal health. This is the one thing he can do before the "Elect" drops from his name and he assumes actual control of our defense apparatus.
I hate to say it, though, but there is something he has missed and it is a crisis that is building. The effects won't be realized for a decade or two, but the opportunity to act will not last. Soil quality in the absence of nitrogen fertilizer will become the issue of the teens.
Obama hasn't addressed it yet, but I have hope that his plans for a revitalized infrastructure, transportation and education systems will extend the window of opportunity before we face food shortages.
For insight into the ways fuel prices and credit problems create food shortages, check this out.
***
(Comment regarding Informed Comment today.)
Fascinating. Now that a competent person holds the highest office in the land (I am saying that Obama's status as President-Elect surpasses W's lameness), it is safe to step back from crisis mode and investigate the little things that cause history. Discussing the hydrology of the Levant is one such thing and the implications for our times are so profound that it takes a Shinseski kind of a guy to have the apparent temerity to raise them.
Climate change will affect soil moisture, which affects food crop production, which affects whether average people have enough food to eat, which affects whether civilizations rise, maintain, or fall. Global warming affects sea level which affects the extent of arable land. More than the economy is at stake; the fabric of civilization is being stretched.
Leadership is required.
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