For a long period of time, China was predominantly an exporter of coal. However, this coal consumption pendulum has swung from an exporter to an importer of coal. This has pushed up the price for coal. According to golbalCoal (an international trading platform), the benchmark price at Australia's Newcastle port for the type of coal burned at power plants (thermal coal) hit $108 a metric ton, which is the highest price since October 2008.
This shift from exporting to importing coal began last year. In fact, China's imports of coal jumped 165% from March 2009. It seems this level of consumption will remain. Even though China has been pushing for alternative energy solutions, such as wind and solar, 70% of China's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. This is demand is expected to expand by 10% for this year.
There have been a variety of factors that have created China's demand for foreign coal. There has been a drought in southwestern China, which has made the rivers too low to power its hydroelectric dams. Also, there have been several mining accidents that have slowed production as the government is cracking down on safety violations. However, it is possible that this pendulum may swing back to China being an exporter of coal. But, one thing remains certain is that China's demand for coal will increase as it continues to run its factories to supply products to the world economy and also to its growing middle class. China needs a lot of electricity to run these factories and coal still remains the primary source of to create such electricity.
Data Source: Wall Street Journal.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
How much does a gallon of gas cost?
Many of us are watching from a far the ecological, economic and human tragedy that is unfolding in the Gulf Coast. People are throwing out numbers of the cost to clean up this oily mess in there to be in the billions. BP has stated that it will take full responsibility to pay for this clean up; however, as this cost grows, I am not sure that humanitarian and ethical stand that BP is taking now will remain. In fact, BP may have law on its side that caps the liability of oil companies from these types of events at $75 million. So if the law is on BP's side, who will pay the rest of the tab? Yes. The American taxpayer.
This made me think about the real cost for me when I fill up my car with gasoline. The gas pump says $3 a gallon. That must be the real cost. Right? Nope. There is study by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which claims we are paying a lot more than $3 a gallon (http://www.iags.org/costofoil.html). According to this articles, when you add the tax breaks and subsidies we provide to the oil companies along with the foreign aid to the oil rich countries and the defense costs for securing these regions, you are actually paying $5.28 a gallon.
The response may be is that we need to extract oil domestically; however, all of those off shore oil rigs peppered throughout the US coastline, including the BP's oil rig, do not extract the oil for US consumption only. That oil goes onto the world market where other countries consume the oil.
The fact is that we must stop making compromises on what needs to be done. Does further off shore drilling make sense when the mistakes are too large? Are we going to learn that we have no right to take certain risks that can wipe out species that have no say in our decisions? Can we start committing to other real alternatives and force us to got off oil? I do not know the answers. I believe many of us have the fight in us to get off this oil addiction and, perhaps, this other Gulf Coast disaster will convince the rest of us that we need to stop this addiction too. We keep on saying it, but we do nothing. Unfortunately, we have to have a natural disaster like this to admit that we have an addiction and we need get treatment. Also, unlike many things, the literal and figurative residue of this natural disaster will not disappear for a very long time and will remind us again and again what type of damage our addiction is causing to other species.
This made me think about the real cost for me when I fill up my car with gasoline. The gas pump says $3 a gallon. That must be the real cost. Right? Nope. There is study by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, which claims we are paying a lot more than $3 a gallon (http://www.iags.org/costofoil.html). According to this articles, when you add the tax breaks and subsidies we provide to the oil companies along with the foreign aid to the oil rich countries and the defense costs for securing these regions, you are actually paying $5.28 a gallon.
The response may be is that we need to extract oil domestically; however, all of those off shore oil rigs peppered throughout the US coastline, including the BP's oil rig, do not extract the oil for US consumption only. That oil goes onto the world market where other countries consume the oil.
The fact is that we must stop making compromises on what needs to be done. Does further off shore drilling make sense when the mistakes are too large? Are we going to learn that we have no right to take certain risks that can wipe out species that have no say in our decisions? Can we start committing to other real alternatives and force us to got off oil? I do not know the answers. I believe many of us have the fight in us to get off this oil addiction and, perhaps, this other Gulf Coast disaster will convince the rest of us that we need to stop this addiction too. We keep on saying it, but we do nothing. Unfortunately, we have to have a natural disaster like this to admit that we have an addiction and we need get treatment. Also, unlike many things, the literal and figurative residue of this natural disaster will not disappear for a very long time and will remind us again and again what type of damage our addiction is causing to other species.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
It's Climate Change and the Economy, Stupid
After surviving a horrible winter on the East Coast, one must wonder whether or not global warming truly exists. I have told my daughter to drop the reference to global warming because people will brush her off and point to the 4 feet of snow piling up next to the driveway. Also, it is too difficult to explain the science in arguing that the 80 plus inches of snow dumped during the winter is a result of global warming.
However, if you change the message and say that it is climate change, a person might stop and listen. This is especially true when you point out the extreme weather that we are getting from huge snow storms to massive flooding to the reduction in certain types of local plants, vegetables and wildlife. Perhaps explaining this in a broader picture will be a more effective message. In fact, the number of Americans that believe in global warming has dropped down to the 50% range. It seems to me this is a result of bad marketing. In the northeast, we just had one of the heaviest snow falls for winter in recorded history and are now facing one of the wettest springs. These are better arguments than telling a person that the polar ice caps are melting. More importantly, if you can tie in the economy with this message, then a person might really start listening.
Let's face it, America needs another economic revolution. We went through another gilded age in which many of us ended up with higher debt, lower wages and a growing economic disparity between the wealthy and the poor. We are looking at 10% unemployment rate and a fragile economic recovery with no really foundation to build from.
So we have a teetering economy and climate change. Many of us may want to get back under the covers and waive the white flag to the Gods of fate. Actually, now is the best time to take action to help the economy grow and confront climate change.
First, we need to reevaluate how we design buildings, houses, sewage systems and our general infrastructure to handle the new type of weather patterns. We may need to reassess our sewage and flood control systems to deal with additional rain on the East Coast and redesign water capturing systems in the West to deal with droughts.
Second, we need to preserve, recreate and reassess our local plants and vegetation. This might be tricky as the climate changes because plants that might normally grow in one area now can grow in another or can no longer grow in that original area where is was indigenous. We need to evaluate what can be effectively grown in certain areas and promote it.
We also need to diversify our agriculture system. We have become primarily a two crop agriculture system where corn and soybeans reign. We need to diversify our crops and rely on locally grown products. This will help revitalize local economies and maintain the community.
Third, we need to take action to improve our energy and transportation infrastructure. As I mentioned in the past, the United States is falling way behind other countries in providing renewable energy resources, especially at the residential level. We need to take an initiative similar to the US took with the race to the moon in the 1960s or revamping its military in 1940s. We need a concerted effort to push this technology through to become part of our daily lives. This will help create the next revolution for Americans.
Also, we need to reassess how we get from point A to point B. I believe the latest down turn has demonstrated that America can survive with only one major US car manufacturer. Perhaps, the days of every American having a car are over. If you add up the expense of owning a car, it might make sense to reduce the number of cars on the road.
I just took the train down to South Carolina for vacation. It was a 14 hour trip with two kids; however, for the most part it was very enjoyable. I got to read and watch a movie along with spending quality time with my family. More importantly, I did not have to deal with traffic or place wear and tear on my car and my carbon footprint for this trip was very small compared to driving or flying.
Last, we need to reevaluate how Americans work. The days of 9 to 5 job in an office seem to becoming a workplace relic. There are some many alternatives in regard to how we work. We can telecommute, work from a location close to home or work at different times of the day or days of the week. As we become a global society, our work patterns are dictated less on the American work schedule but rather the global work schedule.
Clearly, this is not a panacea to stopping climate change and turning around the economy however, the combination of these will help prepare us for a changing climate, reduce further negative impact on the environment and help the economy grow in a more sustainable manner.
However, if you change the message and say that it is climate change, a person might stop and listen. This is especially true when you point out the extreme weather that we are getting from huge snow storms to massive flooding to the reduction in certain types of local plants, vegetables and wildlife. Perhaps explaining this in a broader picture will be a more effective message. In fact, the number of Americans that believe in global warming has dropped down to the 50% range. It seems to me this is a result of bad marketing. In the northeast, we just had one of the heaviest snow falls for winter in recorded history and are now facing one of the wettest springs. These are better arguments than telling a person that the polar ice caps are melting. More importantly, if you can tie in the economy with this message, then a person might really start listening.
Let's face it, America needs another economic revolution. We went through another gilded age in which many of us ended up with higher debt, lower wages and a growing economic disparity between the wealthy and the poor. We are looking at 10% unemployment rate and a fragile economic recovery with no really foundation to build from.
So we have a teetering economy and climate change. Many of us may want to get back under the covers and waive the white flag to the Gods of fate. Actually, now is the best time to take action to help the economy grow and confront climate change.
First, we need to reevaluate how we design buildings, houses, sewage systems and our general infrastructure to handle the new type of weather patterns. We may need to reassess our sewage and flood control systems to deal with additional rain on the East Coast and redesign water capturing systems in the West to deal with droughts.
Second, we need to preserve, recreate and reassess our local plants and vegetation. This might be tricky as the climate changes because plants that might normally grow in one area now can grow in another or can no longer grow in that original area where is was indigenous. We need to evaluate what can be effectively grown in certain areas and promote it.
We also need to diversify our agriculture system. We have become primarily a two crop agriculture system where corn and soybeans reign. We need to diversify our crops and rely on locally grown products. This will help revitalize local economies and maintain the community.
Third, we need to take action to improve our energy and transportation infrastructure. As I mentioned in the past, the United States is falling way behind other countries in providing renewable energy resources, especially at the residential level. We need to take an initiative similar to the US took with the race to the moon in the 1960s or revamping its military in 1940s. We need a concerted effort to push this technology through to become part of our daily lives. This will help create the next revolution for Americans.
Also, we need to reassess how we get from point A to point B. I believe the latest down turn has demonstrated that America can survive with only one major US car manufacturer. Perhaps, the days of every American having a car are over. If you add up the expense of owning a car, it might make sense to reduce the number of cars on the road.
I just took the train down to South Carolina for vacation. It was a 14 hour trip with two kids; however, for the most part it was very enjoyable. I got to read and watch a movie along with spending quality time with my family. More importantly, I did not have to deal with traffic or place wear and tear on my car and my carbon footprint for this trip was very small compared to driving or flying.
Last, we need to reevaluate how Americans work. The days of 9 to 5 job in an office seem to becoming a workplace relic. There are some many alternatives in regard to how we work. We can telecommute, work from a location close to home or work at different times of the day or days of the week. As we become a global society, our work patterns are dictated less on the American work schedule but rather the global work schedule.
Clearly, this is not a panacea to stopping climate change and turning around the economy however, the combination of these will help prepare us for a changing climate, reduce further negative impact on the environment and help the economy grow in a more sustainable manner.
Friday, January 22, 2010
George Washington Carver
Its black history month and I thought it would be a good idea to highlight one man who was the vanguard of the agriculture and bio-green movement. That man is George Washington Carver.
He was born on or around July 12, 1865 into slavery. After slavery was abolished, he was raised by his original slave owner as his son. He was taught how to read and write at a time when African-Americans received no such fundamental training because they were not allowed to go to school where he lived. He ultimately went to a school for blacks and later attended college in Iowa where he ultimately studied agriculture.
In 1896, he joined the faculty at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (nka Tuskegee University), which was founded by Booker T. Washington. He became the school's director of agriculture. He devoted his time to research projects for helping farmers improve there methods of agriculture. He conducted experiments on soil management. He was shocked coming from the beautiful diverse agriculture and farming industry of Iowa to the limited astere cotton growing agriculture of the South. He wanted to change this myopic method of agriculture in the South.
Due to the poor condition of the soil in the South, he provided solutions to revive the soil by planting peanuts and soybeans. These crops help inject nitrogen back into the soil restoring it to a more fertile condition.
During his research and an effort to promote other crops in the South, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, he developed 300 derivative products from peanuts, including inks, dyes, plastics and cosmetics, and another 118 from sweet potatoes, including postage stamp glue and rubber. His efforts help transformed the Southern agriculture to a multi crop and profitable business.
His concepts in reinventing agriculture were the stepping stones for other agriculture innovations that followed. Therefore, he was not only an important person in African-American history, he was a very important and influential figure in American history.
He was born on or around July 12, 1865 into slavery. After slavery was abolished, he was raised by his original slave owner as his son. He was taught how to read and write at a time when African-Americans received no such fundamental training because they were not allowed to go to school where he lived. He ultimately went to a school for blacks and later attended college in Iowa where he ultimately studied agriculture.
In 1896, he joined the faculty at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (nka Tuskegee University), which was founded by Booker T. Washington. He became the school's director of agriculture. He devoted his time to research projects for helping farmers improve there methods of agriculture. He conducted experiments on soil management. He was shocked coming from the beautiful diverse agriculture and farming industry of Iowa to the limited astere cotton growing agriculture of the South. He wanted to change this myopic method of agriculture in the South.
Due to the poor condition of the soil in the South, he provided solutions to revive the soil by planting peanuts and soybeans. These crops help inject nitrogen back into the soil restoring it to a more fertile condition.
During his research and an effort to promote other crops in the South, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, he developed 300 derivative products from peanuts, including inks, dyes, plastics and cosmetics, and another 118 from sweet potatoes, including postage stamp glue and rubber. His efforts help transformed the Southern agriculture to a multi crop and profitable business.
His concepts in reinventing agriculture were the stepping stones for other agriculture innovations that followed. Therefore, he was not only an important person in African-American history, he was a very important and influential figure in American history.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
What a Waste?
Americans have criticized for being wasteful in many ways even though there has been a slight shift to becoming a more frugal society due to the economic downturn. Nevertheless, there is one area, however, where frugality has not set in, our food consumption. I will not bore you with a story about America's obesity problem. The issue I am concerned about is that we tend not to do what my Grand mom always made sure I did at the dinner table, clean off my plate. We have become a wasteful society when it comes to food. There are reports out there stating that the rich countries throw away 25 to 30% of what is bought at the supermarkets.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in Bethesda, Maryland has looked into this issue in regard to Americans. They concluded that the average American wastes 1,400 kilocalories a day, which amounts to 150 trillion kilocalories a year for the entire country. This represents 40% of the US food supply, which is up from 28% in 1974.
The production of these wasted calories has accounted for more than 1/4 of America's consumption of freshwater and 300 million barrels of oil a year. Add in the amount of methane that this rotting heap of thrown away food creates, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, this level of waste is not just a food problem anymore.
One must be scratching his or her head trying to tie the obesity problem with this wasted food crisis. At first blush, they would seem to be contradictions; however, scientists concluded in their above report that there is a connection. They call it the "push effect" in which the increased supply of food and how it is marketed has created this wasteful food culture. Also, the fact that food still is relatively cheap is another contributing factor. If food was more costly, we would not be so wasteful because we would see both money and food that is being thrown away every time we turn to that garbage can.
Perhaps we can all make a another New Years resolution this year along with our goal to lose weight. Let's be less wasteful. Of course, this still means us cleaning off your plate, but this time we will not asking for seconds.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in Bethesda, Maryland has looked into this issue in regard to Americans. They concluded that the average American wastes 1,400 kilocalories a day, which amounts to 150 trillion kilocalories a year for the entire country. This represents 40% of the US food supply, which is up from 28% in 1974.
The production of these wasted calories has accounted for more than 1/4 of America's consumption of freshwater and 300 million barrels of oil a year. Add in the amount of methane that this rotting heap of thrown away food creates, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, this level of waste is not just a food problem anymore.
One must be scratching his or her head trying to tie the obesity problem with this wasted food crisis. At first blush, they would seem to be contradictions; however, scientists concluded in their above report that there is a connection. They call it the "push effect" in which the increased supply of food and how it is marketed has created this wasteful food culture. Also, the fact that food still is relatively cheap is another contributing factor. If food was more costly, we would not be so wasteful because we would see both money and food that is being thrown away every time we turn to that garbage can.
Perhaps we can all make a another New Years resolution this year along with our goal to lose weight. Let's be less wasteful. Of course, this still means us cleaning off your plate, but this time we will not asking for seconds.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Bill McKibben Interview of 350.org
I heard a great interview with Bill McKibbon of 350.org at Speaking of Faith. Here is the link.
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/moral-math/
He has some interesting points about the cost of climate change to the world economy.
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/moral-math/
He has some interesting points about the cost of climate change to the world economy.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
America is falling behind in the Green Revolution
Just like the automobile industry, the US is falling behind Asia in the area of green technology. Japan is about 10 years ahead of the US in solar technology. That country offers residential solar technology on a large scale. China has been putting in tons of money in development of wind technology.
According to a report from the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, as reported in the Financial Times, the US attracted about $56 billion in private capital for renewable energy technology between 2000 and 2008. China ended this same period with $41 billion in private capital invested. However, the report states that over the next 5 years, Japan, China and South Korea would between them invest a total of $509 billion in clean technology. In contrast, the US will invest about $172 billion over that same period.
This report states further that China is poised to repeat the same success in green technology that South Korea and Japan had established in electronics and automobiles. It looks like these "Green Tigers" will be the leaders in the gren technology industry with the US trying to play catch up once again. This will be a missed opportunity for the US the shift its economy from an unbalanced service oriented economy back to a balanced service and manufacturing economy. This economic transformation will benefit the US both in economic growth and security.
Unfortunately, we may be too late. China is already the leader in exporting solar power components and has one of the biggest wind turbine manufacturing industries. This year China will export the first wind turbine destined for use in a US wind farm valued at $1.5 billion. With a 10% unemployment rate, this is unacceptable that we would not be providing these wind turbines by our own companies to US wind farms.
According to the report, the US relies on foreign-owned companies to manufacture most wind turbines and produces less than 10% of the world's solar cells. In addition, we have already fell behind the other foreign automobile companies in hybrid and electric car technology.
The US needs to take the lead in this. There should be no debate on this by Congress because it benefits all Americans: conservatives, liberals, independents, farmers, city dwellers, the wealthy and the poor. Let's get to work become the leader in the Eco-economy.
According to a report from the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, as reported in the Financial Times, the US attracted about $56 billion in private capital for renewable energy technology between 2000 and 2008. China ended this same period with $41 billion in private capital invested. However, the report states that over the next 5 years, Japan, China and South Korea would between them invest a total of $509 billion in clean technology. In contrast, the US will invest about $172 billion over that same period.
This report states further that China is poised to repeat the same success in green technology that South Korea and Japan had established in electronics and automobiles. It looks like these "Green Tigers" will be the leaders in the gren technology industry with the US trying to play catch up once again. This will be a missed opportunity for the US the shift its economy from an unbalanced service oriented economy back to a balanced service and manufacturing economy. This economic transformation will benefit the US both in economic growth and security.
Unfortunately, we may be too late. China is already the leader in exporting solar power components and has one of the biggest wind turbine manufacturing industries. This year China will export the first wind turbine destined for use in a US wind farm valued at $1.5 billion. With a 10% unemployment rate, this is unacceptable that we would not be providing these wind turbines by our own companies to US wind farms.
According to the report, the US relies on foreign-owned companies to manufacture most wind turbines and produces less than 10% of the world's solar cells. In addition, we have already fell behind the other foreign automobile companies in hybrid and electric car technology.
The US needs to take the lead in this. There should be no debate on this by Congress because it benefits all Americans: conservatives, liberals, independents, farmers, city dwellers, the wealthy and the poor. Let's get to work become the leader in the Eco-economy.
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