Newsweek published a great article in its October 8th issue entitled "The Power of the Sun". In it the author argues that with oil prices high, and companies focused on their carbon footprint, workers are finding job opportunities in the emerging energy economy. The jobs range from companies hiring scientists [...]
Wind is the nation's fastest-growing form of renewable energy. One of the drawbacks of wind generated power is that windmills sometimes make more power than needed, especially at night. If you could store energy generated from wind power, how would that alter this renewable technology's appeal? A lot, think a [...]
A Management Information Services study in July 2007 estimated that the renewable and energy efficiency industries generated upwards of $1 trillion in revenues in 2006 with 8.5 million workers in the industry. Those numbers seem to be on the way up and the number of green companies, products, and technologies [...]
So do you ever think about how climate change will affect energy production in North Carolina? One increasingly important factor is drought. Water is important for cooling in energy production systems and without it systems get shut down.
Water shortages are a problem currently with both coal-fired and nuclear power plants. [...]
This is what I worry about. Put in simple terms: We are performing a giant experiment on planet earth which is the only habitable planet we know of. Life on earth depends upon many interlocking natural systems, which behave in unpredictable ways (non-linear, as an economist might say). We don't [...]
In the midst of the sub-prime lending mess, lenders have jumped on the environmental-marketing bandwagon. Citigroup, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Indigo Financial Group are offering mortgage products that offer discounts if the homeowners make energy- efficient improvements or the homes meet certain energy efficient standards. Typically, these [...]
In order to think about our energy future, it is helpful to think about our energy past. Such reflection yields simple observations that can serve, at the same time, as expectations. Such observations include the following:
* The use of non-human, non-animal energy on a large scale (i.e. fossil fuel) [...]
The Economist reports on the shifts that are pushing us towards nuclear energy. As the article states: "Geopolitics, technology, economics and the environment are all changing in nuclear power's favour." In the U.S., the America's Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) expects to receive the first full application for a new [...]
The past two weeks have seen two lead articles on the issue of utilities making money on energy efficiency. First, the New York Times columinst Tom Friedman recently wrote about it in an article entitled "Go Green and Save Money" (see http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/duke_energy_corporation/index.html) and now Governing magazine's front page story is [...]
By Mai Thi Nguyen
GlaxoSmithKline Faculty Fellow
Introduction
According to many local officials in North Carolina, Hispanic population growth has hit a “critical mass” – critical enough for local jurisdictions to take an anti-immigration stand and adopt ordinances that create a hostile living and working environment for immigrants.
Historically, the responsibility [...]
An article from the June issue of the Washington Monthly takes higher education to task in many ways. Anyone interested in transforming higher education--for example UNC President Erskine Bowles--should read the whole thing. Below is a passage touching on familiar themes:
For years, colleges and universities have hidden behind the [...]
A recent rule change will begin to hold hospitals accountable for its own mistakes. Medicare will no longer cover the costs associated with extended hospital stays or extra procedures resulting from mistakes made by the hospital itself (including various nosocomial infections). Finally-- a step in the right direction!
With Medicare no [...]
When we peer into our energy future, it quickly becomes clear that price and impact on the environment are no longer the only things that matter. However, we always need to remember that price is crucial. Competitive energy prices have been an important element of this state's economic development strategy [...]
Thomas Friedman, in today's NY Times, has a piece on the recent ideas proposed by Mr. Rogers of Duke Energy, which would be a paradigm shift in NC electricity markets: Go Green and Save Money (subscription required).
The proposal centers on shifting the incentives for untilities, away from sales and [...]
