Category: Economy

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What Is Global Warming and Climate Change – Facts & Effects

climate-changeClimate change – specifically global warming – is one of the more controversial issues mankind is facing. Consensus about climate change’s definition, effects, and causes, especially the role that humans play in the acceleration of climate change, is virtually impossible to reach. The controversy is particularly clear in the energy industry, where many assert that there is no scientific agreement about the causes of global warming or its potential problems.

Differing Opinions on the Effects of Climate Change

James Taylor, senior fellow for environment policy at the Heartland Institute, claimed in a 2013 Forbes Magazine article that the majority of scientists “believe that nature is the primary cause of recent global warming and/or that future global warming will not be a very serious problem.” His conclusion was based on what Taylor stated was a “peer-reviewed survey” appearing in Organization Studies.
 
Further fact-checking reveals that the scientists surveyed for the Organization Studies paper were not considered experts in climatology. And despite the claim of Mr. Taylor, the study wasn’t designed to to gauge scientific belief in global warming. In fact, the study group consisted of 1,077 professional petroleum engineers and geoscientists in Alberta, Canada, and its purpose was to understand the bias and rationale of those who consistently deny a link between global warming and human activity. As such, the scientists were specifically chosen because they worked for the oil industry.
 
The difficulty of sourcing impartial and accurate information about global warming and its possible causes in the midst of aggressive campaigning by both sides (environmentalists and energy advocates), dilutes the importance of the issue and confuses the average citizen. And interestingly, concern about global warming and its existence is split along partisan political lines according to a Pew Research Poll released January 27, 2014. It found that:
 
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3 Benefits of Downsizing Your Life and Living Lean

live-lean1Americans born after World War II have grown up in a culture that seems to promise them everything. The greatest economy in history was built, in part, by creating an insatiable demand for “more.” Unfortunately, however, its consequences can be measured in part by an unmanageable national debt, the approaching scarcity of many natural resources, increasing class conflict, and the high degree of stress and unhappiness of society at large.
 
Many retirees, as well as those who hope to retire within the next decade, are discovering that their resources may not be able to provide the lifestyle they’d anticipated. For some, there is little alternative except to severely cut back expenditures and lower expectations. For those who have not yet reached those years, there is another option: living lean.

The Lure of Possessions and Immediate Gratification

Younger Americans often find themselves at a crossroads in life: They must choose whether to maximize their immediate pleasures, or balance them with their future needs. Unfortunately, too many opt for the former. They often do so because they believe the following.

1. You’re Only Young Once

If you don’t grab all you can now – big homes, expensive cars, extravagant vacations – you may not have another chance. However, what folks with this mindset don’t realize is that adventure, excitement, passion, and satisfaction are not exclusive to a particular age, or even income.
 
Former President George H.W. Bush recently celebrated his 90th birthday by skydiving, a feat he has performed every five years since turning 65. Boone Pickens, at age 86, is leading a national campaign to replace petroleum with natural gas and wind energy. Mick Jagger is still touring with the Rolling Stones. Grandmothers and grandfathers fill golf courses, ski slopes, and universities learning new skills and pursuing dreams.
 
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The truth is, there is no single age or stage of life that is better than another. And being young is not an excuse for irresponsibility.

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Technology & Society – The Consequences

robot Technology has been both a boon and a curse throughout history, upsetting the apple cart of the established order with new opportunities for some and great losses for others. Consider the impact of the automobile, first on the horse and buggy industries, then on railroads. Television almost destroyed the movie business until the more creative people adapted. eBooks currently threaten longstanding bookstores and traditional publishers. The pace of technological advance has accelerated during the last half-century, challenging cultures, societies, and individuals to adapt to the new environment.
 
The benefits of technological advances are disproportionately enjoyed among the world’s communities, exaggerating the differences between those countries with stable, modern economies and those yet to develop. Even within a single economy, the benefits generally accrue to those who are better educated, more flexible, and less invested in the status quo.
 
In the past, technology primarily leveraged or expanded man’s physical and mental skills. The coming advances have the capability of replacing those skills, eliminating the need for man’s labor or direction. Simply stated, machines are capable of replacing much – if not most – of the jobs in our industrialized societies.
As the transfer occurs, how will cultures, economies, and political systems adapt? Will the future be the long-sought utopia, or the beginning of a cultural apocalypse, the societies depicted in science fiction novels such as “1984,” “The Hunger Games,” or “Soylent Green“?
 
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United States of Texas – The US Under Tea Party Influence

texasflagFew people are aware that, in 2008, Igor Panarin, dean of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s academy for future diplomats, predicted that the United States would break into four separate countries in 2010. He believed that the national and regional effects of the recent recession, and the people’s dissatisfaction with the status quo and the Federal Government, would result in the creation of five distinct, autonomous, political regions.
 
Panarin divided the U.S. into these new republics:

  • 1. Californian Republic. Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and all continental states west of them. Panarin predicted this group would fall under Chinese influence.
  • 2. Central North-American Republic. He expected all states between Montana, Colorado, Missouri, and Ohio to be absorbed by Canada.
  • 3. Atlantic America. Panarin believed the region from Maine to South Carolina and Tennessee would join the European Union.
  • 4. Texas Republic. All southern states, plus Oklahoma and New Mexico. Panarin predicted this group would either become part of Mexico or form its own government.
  • 5. Alaska and Hawaii. Panarin also believed that Alaska would become part of Russia, and Hawaii part of Japan or China.

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    While Panarin’s prediction was wrong, or perhaps premature, he was right in identifying regional clusters of dissatisfaction, and their desires for change. For example, California voters are considering a proposal by venture capitalist Tim Draper to split the large state into six smaller units, so that “people will be closer to their state governments.” If implemented, the region would have 10 more senators.
     
    Another venture capitalist, Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has funded the development of floating cities in international waters off the coast of California which would assume a libertarian form of government completely outside U.S. control. In Thiel’s view, these cities would be free of regulation, laws, and moral conventions. They would provide no welfare, impose no minimum wage, and have loose building codes and few restrictions on weapons. While such efforts may be considered extreme by some, they reflect an underlying sentiment that is very real.

    The Lone Star Loophole

    While California would need congressional approval to divide into smaller units, Texas may not actually have that same restriction. Some people argue that within the terms of annexation, when the Republic of Texas joined the Union in 1846, there exists a right reserved by the state to split into five smaller states. This theoretical transformation would allow the resulting region to have 10 senators, rather than two – and eight more electoral votes.
     
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