Dramatizing the National Debt with Satire:

"Dear Congress, Your Credit Application has been turned down."

Dramatize the National Debt for $100,000

See the details for the contest here:  Powerline Prize. 

Business? Meet Ethics

A part of the original idea of this site was to blog items relating to business, society, communication, and ethics. The following story, about Doritos' and Pepsi's attempt to run an ad featuring Doritos and Pepsi as the body and blood of Christ during the Super Bowl, shows the degree to which the logic of contemporary market capitalism is really no friend at all to those who understand themselves as social or religious "conservatives." Let the buyer beware, indeed!

Debt and Power

"The history of debt is the very history of national power." Read it and consider. Carefully.

Japanese Debt

If things can't go on forever, they won't. With all the focus lately on European Union debt, Japan has been off the radar screen. But it is coming back into focus...

David Stockman returns

David Stockman, of Ronald Reagan "trickle-down theory of economics" fame, has returned with some grim ideas about America's economy--namely, that we're in a fiscal "race to the bottom." Not good news, but not good to ignore, either...

Alcoa fights N. Carolina for water rights

For those of you who read Robert Glennon's book on America's water crisis, you may recall his discussion about the water wars between states--states fighting each other over limited water supplies. Here is an example where a corporation is fighting a state--North Carolina--over a water license... Expect to see more of this kind of thing.

SW Day of Reckoning Drawing Near

Lake Mead is only 15 inches above its all-time low...

Limits to Alternative Energy Development?

50% of all the water we use in this country, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, goes to energy production. So whenever we develop more energy, we use more water--a lot more water. But I had no idea that "alternative energy" sources, such as solar power, were so water intensive. But at least according to this story, solar energy plants use 2-3 times as much water as traditional coal-fired plants! So our growing energy demands are leading inevitably to a growing water crisis. This crisis will manifest itself dramatically in the coming decades, regardless of whether global warming turns out to be the threat that Al Gore et. al. claim or not. So why isn't it being taken more seriously?

Uh-oh. Looks to me like Lake Mead has lost 50% of its water in the past 10 years. Not a good sign.

Pepsico on the Water Problem

Here is the report that Pepsico produced on how they plan to deal with the world water crisis. What do you think: are they just greenwashing, or is this serious commitment to corporate social responsibility?

Greenwashing the Bottled Water Industry

This really is a lame attempt by the International Bottled Water Association to boost their public image. This is probably a good example of how *not* to use the new social media... Don't miss the video.

Business Opportunity: Water for the Military

"Accessing, securing and transporting the water required to sustain the well-being of forward operating troops is one of the major risks to the U.S. military's mission success. In response to this challenge, GTEC has integrated and deployed multiple solutions to conserve, purify and package water to reduce transport exposure, risk and cost." The company that provides this service is Global Defense Technology and Systems, and is listed as GTEC on NASDAQ.

The EPA Wants More Info. on Fracking

Inquiring minds want to know...just what chemicals are used in fracking, anyhow?

Riverkeepers Fight Water Abuse

Here's an interesting project to try to keep our water clean...

FRACKING

If you don't know about fracking, you need to learn about it asap. In this article, John Hanger, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, is quoted as saying that “Fracking wastewater is one of the most toxic substances on earth.” And we're not talking about millions, or even billions, of gallons of water that fracking takes--we're talking trillions of gallons of water. Fracking is a nightmare. Fracking is what gas drilling companies apparently want to do to your water. What do you think about it?

It's World Water Week!

Who knew there was such a thing?

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“Bad water kills more people than HIV, malaria and wars together, affecting the lives of families and the economic development of many countries around the world. We are also increasingly seeing that ecosystems and their services are being degraded by pollution, which will affect all functions of society,” said Mr. Anders Berntell, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Institute, in his welcome address at the opening session.
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More here...

Who Says You Can't Ship Water from Alaska to India?

Check it out!

IVCRL

A water infrastructure company in India...

The Messy Business of Legislating Water Rights

Here's how it is playing out in New England right now...

"Water Could Be Issue With New Coal Plant"

Ya think? "Sunflower Electric Power Corp., based in Hays, estimates its new plant in Finney County in southwest Kansas will consume 3.9 billion gallons of water a year."

Forget the Financial Crisis; We Have a Global Water Crisis

Here are some investment opportunities (which I in no way endorse, by the way!) that focus on the water crisis.

Improving Water and Food Security

is crucial due to increasingly erratic rainfall patterns, they say...

More on Gas & Water Contamination

This time, in Texas... (Get a hold of the report they reference in this article, if possible, if you are interested in exploring this topic more...)