So, what is really good about going green?
The green revolution, global effort to cut back on detrimental exhausts and byproducts by adopting eco-friendly technology, is coming into full swing. With Al Gore’s film, An Inconvient Truth, reaching critical acclaim and being honored with an oscar; much of the country and the world are proposing plans to reduce their "carbon-footprint". A Carbon Footprint is a term used to describe a certain groups negative impact on the environment in the form of carbon emissions resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. More and more business and corporations are promoting "green campaigns" within their business model.
This step is smart, considering the increasing concern for the environment on the parts of their customers. If customers are working to be more eco-friendly, they would LOVE to see the companies they invest in doing the same. In fact in some cases by promoting a brand as an eco-friendly brand, they draw in their original customer base as well as those who recognize that they should support a company who is supporting the environment. One downfall, which most cope with, is usually a slight rise in costs coming from the green transition. It is more expensive to don an environmentally friendly business but an investment now would prove to be smart considering the future of energy consumption.
I speak of energy consumption because I was looking through my BW.com feed and 6 out of 24 articles were about ethanol and other eco-friendly energy sources. Ethanol from corn is becoming quite the fiasco in Washington, as livestock farmers are protesting corn subsidies for ethanol producers. If corn is expensive for livestock farmers to acquire in order to feed their animals, the animals will be expensive for food producers which will in turn increase the prices on beef, chicken, pork, etc. that we buy from the grocery store. Another interesting twist in the ethanol story is that the government has put a tax on sugar ethanol produced in Brazil in order to corner the market in corn ethanol within the U.S. Why can’t we support our environment and energy concerns by buying some of our ethanol from Brazil? Buying from Brazil creates competition in an emerging market. It would force the corn ethanol producers to bottom out their prices and urge the public to transfer to their energy source as opposed to gasoline and other fossil fuels.
A couple quick questions for you all:
1. Should the U.S. follow through with subsidies for corn ethanol producers?
2. If so, how would this affect agriculture within the country?
3. If not, what could we do to promote alternative energy consumption?
Think GREEN!
When I think about the content of our economy today, I think of Neverland- Peter Pan and TinkerBell flying through the air. I know, it is quite a far out thought but bear with me here. Neverland, a world created by the imagination and ideas of children, is all too similar to where our world is heading.
I am referring to how we make money, how we develop business, how we meet with each other, how we get work done, how we buy music, how we learn, how we communicate, how we live. Yes, that’s right. Virtually. Intuitively. Imaginatively. A world built on imagination where the exchange of ideas is completely and utterly virtual. How cool is that? Interestingly enough, our entire idea of time and space has "been given a run for its money". We can be anywhere and everywhere in mere milliseconds. Science-fiction is becoming more and more reality. Take a look at Star Trek, communication via video and audio displayed on a screen. Teleportation to distances far reaching, i.e. conference calls, virtual business, etc. Now look at Star Wars, communication via holographic projections which are slowly making their way into our world beginning with projection TV’s [now a display of the past] and moving onto 3D projection.
The onset of social media as a prime conduit for the transfer of ideas intensifies innovation. As time and space become things of the past, I would argue that reality is no longer a graspable concept. What is real? What constitutes something being real? Is it merely a physical presence? An observable action? Space is no longer a relevant idea now that I can sit at home in New York, talk with a friend in California, all while completing a job in Ohio. Time is becoming more irrelevant as standing on line for tickets has gone out the window. Christmas shopping hell is now a breeze through paradise. What more need do we have for time? We have all the time in the world to get things done. Time is exponentially reduced each and every day. What is artificial? What is real? Potentially, nothing.
I love this episode of The Simpsons! One of my favorites.
Ok all. That is my other worldly post of the month. I have loved science fiction my entire life. While letting my mind wander during my lunch break at school today, I looked up old sci-fi stories and current science and tech articles. Sparks began to fly in my head as the neurons bounced off of each other in a bevy of realization and thought. We all need to let go of reality sometimes. Music is my outflow. Try it. Check out my LastFM weekly favorites.
Rolling through my daily reads I came upon a post by Robert Gorell of FutureNow. Newspapers, as I’ve been discussing lately, seem to be leaning toward increasingly irrelevant forms of getting news. Robert brings up an interesting point concerning publishers; are they growing weary of newspapers being given a run for their money by online news and television? One has to wonder if those holding ownership and investment, albeit a great deal of investment as in Warren Buffett’s case, will ultimately be the death of the paper news medium. Are they willing to risk their money to try and hold out against the internet onslaught? Nahhh– They will just convert their paper to pixels. I.e.– see USA Today, embracing the social media craze and a revamped website. But there are others such as philanthropist Eli Broad concerned about the future of newspapers, specifically the L.A. Times, "I believe that a newspaper is a great civic asset and that ownership
is best in the hands of foundations or wealthy families that want to
own it for reasons other than maximizing profits… I also believe newspapers should remain in local hands." See article by USNews.com.
Publishers these days have the assets to keep a newspaper going which is bringing in less than significant numbers. Money makes the world go round. Will their money keep the papers rolling around the world???
More to come later, got some paperwork to get through.