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Searching for a winning model - Part 2 |
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| Topic: Science |
8:37 pm EDT, May 31, 2004 |
Water, or more specifically, irrigation, is an industry already going through what many signposts indicate the future holds for energy. Water is the backbone of life. We can live without power, but we can't without water. The most important resource battles being waged today in the United States are not over energy. They're over water. Wars have been fought over water. And, as demand for this precious resource increases, more wars will be fought -- mainly in court here in America, on the battlefield in other parts of the world. Fresh water resources are scarce. More battles loom. The lesson that was missed by the electric companies is that they apparently did not take seriously the fact that the water would continue to deplete, and instead of investing wisely in transmission and distribution, they invested poorly -- and are now starting to live with millions of dollars worth of what eventually will become stranded assets. We'll come back to "stranded assets" in a minute ... Searching for a winning model - Part 2 |
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Searching for a winning model - Part 1 |
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| Topic: Science |
8:32 pm EDT, May 31, 2004 |
I believe we are entering a new energy era in the United States. And not just in our country, but around the industrial world. I believe that this new era is forcing -- or will force -- end-users to become much more energy-minded, efficient and more aware of the true cost of energy. Not a future based on scarcity; mind you, but one that requires efficient use of energy. There is an industry that offers many legitimate parallels to this scenario -- water. Searching for a winning model - Part 1 |
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Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water |
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| Topic: Science |
8:23 pm EDT, May 31, 2004 |
Amazon wrote: The definitive history of water resources in the American West, and a very illuminating lesson in the political economy of limited resources anywhere. Highly recommended! Publishers Weekly wrote: This stunning work of history and investigative journalism tells the story of conflicts over water policy in the [American] West and the resulting damage to the land, wildlife and Indians. This timely and important book should be required reading for all citizens. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water |
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Looming threat to water security |
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| Topic: Science |
8:11 pm EDT, May 31, 2004 |
The very large Ogallala aquifer in the American mid-west is under severe stress. The Great Lakes, the largest repository of freshwater in the world, are losing water and have suffered considerable pollution and contamination. Mexico, once rich in water, has become dry because of the destruction of old systems, and is sinking because of extensive groundwater-extraction. Big corporations, sensing profits in the emerging water scarcity, are moving in (Suez, Vivendi, RWE-Thames, Bechtel, the soft-drinks giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, and so on), and are trying to obtain control over the world's water resources. The growth of the global water lords and the emergence of water cartels make frightening reading. The book is a very important one, and one hopes it will be widely read in this country. Acidus recently asked, "Do salesmen/upper management need to better understand their products?" Perhaps what's central to success is to understand scarcity, the lack thereof, and which model applies in any given scenario. Looming threat to water security |
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| Topic: Science |
4:22 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
There is both good news and bad news in the flurry of reports describing the decline of American preeminence in science. More research anywhere creates more possibilities for innovation everywhere. The decline is not only relative. It is also absolute: American science is growing weaker. Low expectations, in turn, have led to a dearth of teachers. Because of the lack of trained Americans, urban school districts across the country must now rely on international recruitment and generous visa rules to find any high school math and science teachers at all. Similarities between the Catholic church and public schools? Fewer graduate students means less basic research, less innovation and ultimately fewer students. In the long term, everything from improved environmental protection to successful computer software start-ups depend on this country maintaining its commitment to the physical sciences. Starving Science |
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Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. |
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| Topic: Science |
2:27 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
All across the country, "The Day After Tomorrow" has started debates the movie itself cannot resolve -- debates, all too often, between the prejudiced and the ill informed. As it happens, several significant new books ... could settle the debate right now -- if people take the trouble to read them. Most public debates in the US seem to fall into this category. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. |
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