It had been 0n my mind for some time. Picacho Peak is a fascinating and major focal point of the Arizona landscape, located perhaps 40 miles north of Tucson. I wanted to once again explore both the peak and its
A serious essay on the need to retire our old arguments and economic thinking. It is time that we, all of humanity, stopped using 18th-century economic paradigm(s) to solve vastly different 21st-century challenges. For starters, the global population has grown
Climate scientists are shocked by the intensity and scale of floods in Germany. In the West and Pacific Northwest of the United States, we’ve had record-breaking heatwaves. In fact, June 2021 was the hottest June on record for the United
Hydropower is being left behind. Yet hydropower remains the largest source of U.S. renewable energy, but why is it no longer growing? And why is a resurgence crucial for both society and for our economy? The concept of using water
Yes! It is hot, hot, hot… June 2021 very likely will be designated as the 438th consecutive month in which temperatures, at least nominally, were above the 20th-century average. My 32-year old daughter has—not even once—experienced normal or below normal
What if… we could harness the mechanical vibrations of everyday objects we interact with and turn it into electrical energy? What if the fibers moving around in the pockets of our favorite shirts and pants could charge our cell phones while wearing them, or the motor mounts in our cars were also energy-reaping shock absorbers that re-charged the car battery while also powering other devices?
It is decidedly time we took a fresh look at the economics of job creation. And if we do so? Then we will find that investments in energy efficiency, clean renewable energy, other energy productivity upgrades, as well as decarbonization improvements can all create a larger and more sustainable number of jobs. Yes, the new employment opportunities include construction and manufacturing jobs as well as the many jobs created when the energy bill savings are spent locally.
At this time of year there normally would be a burst and a profusion of newly greened textures throughout the landscape of the Sonoran Desert. The monsoon rains from last year, and the early spring rains this year would have
All interactions of matter involve, and indeed require, energy. This is true whether the many different energy flows drive earthquakes, enable the movement of planets, or spark the various biological and industrial processes at work anywhere in the world. It
I call it the Blue-Green-Red Resource Squeeze on the American economy. It is neither a perfect nor a straightforward comparison, but it does result in what I think is a rather eerie warning. It is the kind of warning we
There is neither a law of physics nor economics that prevents us from quadrupling the productive use of energy and other resources. Rather, it is much more an issue of imagination and our political will to get it done.
– John A. “Skip” Laitner