Based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and as shown in the two graphs that follow, the global climate is clearly warming. In fact, February 2023 will very likely be designated as the 458th consecutive month in which temperatures, at least nominally, were above the 20th-century average. That means anyone under the age of 38 has—not even once—experienced normal or below-normal monthly temperatures.
A Thought Experiment Reflecting on Rio+30? Or, Merely the Result of Heat Stroke? Because I roam the desert a lot, the UV Index is something I pay attention to. It is an international standard that measures the strength of ultraviolet radiation
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
In honor of my long-time colleague, mathematical physicist, and economist, but also a likely nominee for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, Dr. Robert U. (“Bob”) Ayres, I call it the Blue-Green-Red Resource Squeeze on the American economy. It is
Yes… If we invest in a more productive infrastructure and a more energy-efficient economy (and as I’ve said before, if we retire our old arguments and thinking!) If we choose to run a business-as-usual investment and spending pattern over the
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
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
John A. “Skip” Laitner There is a good deal of worry about the robustness of our nation’s future economy. And rightly so. Especially since the recession of 2008 and 2009, and as shown in the chart below, we still have
John A. “Skip” Laitner In the Sonoran Desert, where I live, the bizarre is very real. The heat of the sun and the harshness of the environment have forged an amazing assortment of wonderfully complex and adaptive life forms. The
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