Steve Newcomb Blog

My Sustainable Brands Speech

2009-06-16T22:13:50Z

Steve Newcomb

Birth of the Apollo project factory

The reason, logic and wonder behind the Virgance way

by Steve Newcomb

Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?

Bottom Line

Why it doesn't matter if our leaders believe in Global Warming

2009-03-18T18:09:16Z

UNBOUND LOGIC

Green Libertarians...Huh?

In a society driven by the rules of capitalism and consumerism, it actually doesn't matter if an individual believes in global warming, it's whether the masses of consumers believe in it or not. See how I convinced a Libertarian that this will be the century businesses will go green. This is an extra sentence to test out my new styles. I need to see what happens with overflow. ...more/less

Green Libertarians...Huh?

Why all Libertarians have to be Green by definition

by Steve Newcomb

A while ago, one of the folks that read my blog accused me of being a tree hugging dark green liberal and stated that he thought global warming was a fad, that none of it will stick and emailed me a slew of videos, papers and information to support his argument. In response, I sent him an email letting him know that his premise was flawed - that whether or not we will do anything about global warming is a separate question from whether or not it is happening. In other words what I told him is that perception is reality in human movements and what consumers perceive as reality in a capitalistic world is what is king.

You see, while I personally believe global warming is in fact happening and that we need to do everything we can to halt our negative effects on the climate, I don't think it is actually relevant to whether or not the world is going to do anything about it. What is relevant is whether or not people who by products (the Jones') think global warming is happening. But isn't this an incredibly capitalistic and, dare I say, libertarian view? Well, maybe... but keep reading and I will go full circle back to power to the people.

The way I see it is that if consumers are worried enough about global warming that they see products that fight global warming in some manner are worth more, or have added value, then they will buy those products. Companies, who want to improve the bottom line, will react to this consumer sentiment regardless of their position on global warming.

Thus, I think that it is not only possible, but probable that even a company who thinks global warming is all a bunch of hogwash will still respond strongly to this type of consumer demand.

This was the basic argument that I laid out to the reader that had challenged me to the global warming duel. In the conclusion of my email, I let him know that if he is a true libertarian then he will have to agree with me - global warming is as real as it gets.

The only difference between he and I was that I personally believe global warming is happening and he personally didn't believe in it - but we both had to agree the consumers overwhelmingly agree with it, are demanding products that fight it and are driving companies to react. What I asked him was "if you were a CEO of a company that sold products, would you be making 'green' products?"

His answer: "YES"

What this highlights is the growing power of the consumer, especially organized consumers. Think about translating my argument with my new libertarian friend beyond global warming and to all of the key areas of sustainability. Who cares if Pepsi or Coke believes in the importance of having enough drinking water for the world. I wouldn't waste a single second trying to convince the executives at those companies about the "goodness" of these things. I would spend every second convincing their consumers so these companies see a direct a substantial effect on the bottom line

It is for this reason that I think the power of social networks will play a major new role in the development of the human race. The people on these social networks are connected in a way that couldn't have even been imagined 5 years ago by the leaders of industry or the leaders of governments. There are over 900 million people connected across all social networks in the world and each social network could soon have power that rivals that of a single country - (if Facebook were a country, it would be already be the 5th largest in the world). In addition, while many claim social networks are simply one big teenage party, the demographics of the networks are rapidly changing.

Did you know that the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is 35-54 and the second fastest is seniors. Within 2-5 years the demographics of social networks, like Facebook, will be roughly equivalent to that of the voting population of the US - with one major difference - they have an incredibly powerful tool at their disposal to help them organize in ways that no government or business can control. What's more is that the power of social networks extend far beyond the democracies and developed countries. In fact the largest social network in the world isn't in the US, it's in China. And the third largest is in Brazil.

Have you ever thought?

More on this later, but something to chew on - "What comes after democracies? and What comes after capitalism?" an important question and thread that will go through all of my posts. I think that the power that social networks is going to be an important part of answering these questions.

Can the credit crunch kill Solar?

2009-03-18T18:05:33Z

Hello Death: Are You coming for me?

Will Death visit Solar?

After all the federal, state and local rebates it still costs quite a bit out of pocket to put solar on your house. For most people, that stops them in their tracks, but the solution is simple right? just finance it. But what happens when the credit market crashes? ...more/less

Will Death Visit Solar?

Why the collapse of credit is so dangerous for solar

by Steve Newcomb

If you answer no to any of these questions, then keep reading:

Did you know that we need to have about 20% of the homes in the world to have solar on top of them before we make a significant dent in carbon emissions?
Did you know if you increased the rate of adoption of solar in the US for a full year by 6,000X its current rate, we would only reach 1% adoption by the end of that year.
Do you know anyone who can tell you who to trust to install solar?
Do you know the difference between quality solar panels and piece of crap?
Can you name even one solar company that you would consider a trusted brand?
Do you know how much solar should cost per KW installed?
Do you know what your options are for financing solar - and within them what is a good deal and what is expensive?

Well if you answered "no" to any of these questions, then you are not alone. In fact, you are in the majority. Most people answer "no" to every single on of these questions. So how in the world are we ever going to get people to adopt solar?

When television came out, everyone knew what it was, but it wasn't until prices came down and trusted brands emerged that adoption took off. Fortunately for the television industry, that happened quite rapidly. But why has it taken decades for solar to get to just .2% adoption in the US?

Until recently, solar has really only been an option of the wealthy. So what do we need to do to get it into the hands of the every day family? How can we make it like buying a television?

First, let's admit that buying solar will never be like buying a television. It's much more expensive and complex, but we should look to ways of characterizing the transaction in a way that makes it simple and understandable for consumers.

So in a vain attempt to do that let's look at how much it actually does cost to buy solar by breaking it down to a ridiculously simply example that probably has many things wrong with it as a result of over generalizations. (note: I'm covering my ass here)

Let's imagine that an average home would cost about $40,000 to install solar if you simply bought everything outright - and that would add up to covering say maybe 70% of your energy bill for the next 20 years (after which let's assume they need replacing) So if 70% of my energy bill is $200 per month, and that is the amount I no longer need to pay, then $200 X 12 X 20 is my savings to switching to solar = $48,000.

Hmmm.... ok so I guess it makes sense - IN 20 YEARS! - most people want to have a payback a little sooner than that.

So the government said, "ok, we could either wait until natural market forces and innovation reduce the price (which decades of relying on this strategy hadn't worked) or they could step in a provide an artificial influence that made the investment pay off faster than 20 years. So the federal government, followed by state governments, followed by local governments stepped in and provided rebates.

Ok. so let's look at the net effect. If you added up all of the rebates, that $40,000 price tag is now reduced to about $12,000 give or take. So let's redo the calculations. At $12,000, I break even in 5 years. That's better, but it is still 5 YEARS! So what happened to the adoption rate you ask - welp, not much. It seems 5 years and $12,000 is something that Americans just don't have.

The problem is that even with massive rebates from government, it doesn't get us where we need. Massive adoption will not occur until a consumer can switch to solar and it is cheaper than their utility from day 1 - so what is supposed to happen from here? Well, the idea is that various financing options would come in to provide options to take care of that last pesky $12,000.

in other words - the credit industry. In the late summer and early fall of 2008, there was a flurry of activity around creating a Solar Lease through Tax Equity Credits. Solar City, one of the largest installers was awarded a $100 million financing deal with Morgan Stanley to create the Solar City Lease. This lease was made available to consumers and guess what happened?

Over 80% of people in the sub urban areas chose to financing and demand went through the roof (no pun intended) In reaction, the whole industry went into a flurry. Panel manufacturers increased production, all of the installers sought similar types of financing options, the whole industry started hiring, acquiring, buying selling and it really looked like the engine of this industry had finally turned over the crank successfully and started up in first gear.

Unfortunately, that lasted about 1 quarter. Soon after this Boom (if you can call it that) the world economy fell apart, so did the credit market and Morgan Stanley had to pull out of the financing deal - thus leaving the solar industry in a lurch - with no money for creating a lease adoption quickly stalled.

Customers, who had signed deals with leasing attached were now in an awkward position. Solar companies that had to deal with angry customers and had geared up to expand also found them selves in tough spot. The whole industry seemed to revert back to the pre-"actually working" industry before financing came along.

Does this mean that solar won't survive. Not at all. In fact it means, that we already know how to make solar work, we just need to solidify the financing component. So how are we going to do this? Well here is my take:

As you know, 1 Block Off the Grid, which is owned by Virgance (which is a company that I am Chairman and CEO and own a significant amount of stock) is playing a key role in the solar industry to solve this problem.

1 Block Off the Grid is organizing city-wide solar buying clubs for the purpose of 1) getting financing in bulk and 2) using our consumer buying power to reduce prices. In the last 6 months since the economy fell apart, 1 Block Off The Grid has signed a major deal to provide $100 million in financing solutions in partnership with a new company called SunRun 2) we are working with local governments to create a new type of financing and we are looking at having access to about $150 million of that by the end of this year and 3) we have driven prices down from $7.25 per KW installed when we began to as low as $6.09 per KW installed.

The next result of the combination of 1 Block Off the Grid being born and the the collapse of the credit industry could end up being a net gain for the consumer. 1BOG, as we call it, can now offer solar at $1,000 down (5 months to payback) with month payments less that existing energy bills. In addition, the prices are continuing to drop - albeit not as a result of 1BOG, but rather as a temporary correction in market forces. When the panel manufacturers when into super production last year, then the market fell out, the result is an over supply of panels - thus the prices are dropping rapidly.

So actually, right now is the best time to buy solar - so check it out.

Have you ever thought?

What other industries are tied to the credit industry in the same way? The more you think about it the more you realize that nearly every industry has been and will be affected by fall out from the collapse of the financial markets. The bigger question is "Has the collapse of the US-based financial market weakened the world opinion of capitalism and global economies? Is it actually good to have everything tied together...?

How do we bring NEWS back to news?

2009-03-18T18:01:24Z

Feeling uninformed lately? your not alone

What happens in a Democracy when news sucks?

There are 3 things wrong with news 1) there seems to be no sustainable business model 2) news sucks and 3) the decisions that a democracy makes are based on the quality of the news received by its people. See why I decided to take action myself. ...more/less

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Section 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat." 1914 translation by H. Rackham "On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."

Distributed Energy, why we're SCR!%$@D without it

2009-03-18T17:55:51Z

What the Internet could teach us

Distributed Energy, why we're SCR!%$@D without it

Just ask yourself 2 questions. 1) Are you convinced that without energy (like after Catrina) any city will turn into a 3rd world country in a matter of days? and 2) do you know how many bombs it would take to knock out a city's energy supply? The answers - yes & 1. ...more

For Profit Activism? WTF!

2009-03-10T16:29:33Z

How capitalism can save us

For profit activism? WTF!

There are a lot of companies popping up in this space and not all of them are good. Can companies use the principles of capitalism to cause positive change or are companies simply using our good will as a tool to sell us crap? This topic deserves a lot of debate and I for one am not going to shy away from it. ...more/less

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Section 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat." 1914 translation by H. Rackham "On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."

What if we could cause the tipping point for Solar Now

2009-03-09T16:35:28Z

Grasping the Obivous

What if we could cause the tipping point for Solar now?

What if we already had all of the ingredients needed to make solar go mainstream in the US? I think we do - When we combine federal, state and local rebates with community discount programs and accessible financing demand goes through the roof....more/less

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" Section 1.10.33 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint occaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. Et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. Nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio cumque nihil impedit quo minus id quod maxime placeat facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. Temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. Itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat." 1914 translation by H. Rackham "On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains."

Hail to our savior - the caulking gun!

2009-03-08T16:39:04Z

Do you feel a draft?

Hail to our savior - the caulking gun!

Van Jones said it best and I agree. Our ability to reduce our energy dependance, reduce our carbon footprint, increase green jobs, improve the lives of the under-served and our ability to dig our way out of this economic mess all converge at the same point - the caulking gun. (i.e. efficiency)...more/less

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Free Market versus Regulation?

2009-03-07T17:10:39Z

What comes after Capitalism?

Free Market versus Regulation?

Has the crushing weight of the collapse of the financial markets damaged faith in the free market system? IÕm worried that reaction to our current economic condition will cause us to swing too far to the left - creating a nationalistic, insular and over regulated environment. Are you?...more/less

If you could quit your job and get one that saves the world, would you?

2009-03-06T17:12:50Z

Good: I want to go to there...

If you could quit your job and get one that saves the world, would you?

Do you have a nagging feeling that you just want to get up and leave your company and get a job where you are more fulfilled? Well your not alone - in fact, you may be the silent majority, and that silence is being broken in a big way....more/less

Why we are our greatest generation

2009-03-05T17:13:46Z

We are the change!

Why we are our greatest generation

I think we are at the edge of the biggest group effort ever undertaken in human history: retrofitting the entire human race so that it becomes sustainable for the next 10,000 years. When we look back on this part of the century, I think we will be referring to those that helped as our NEW greatest generation....more/less

Am I an Obamapreneur?

2009-03-04T17:14:32Z

I am Barack Obama!

Am I an Obamaprenuer?

The other day someone called me an Obamapreneur and I really didn't know how to respond. Is that a good thing? For some reason I felt like they were calling me an Obama Zombie. i.e. I blindly follow him - but that's not how I roll. Let it be known I am my own man... but I do love Obama. ...more/less

What comes after Capitalism?

2009-03-03T17:15:17Z

You mean it won't last forever!

What comes after Capitalism?

Ok. So if I remember correctly there was agrarian economies, copper, then steel, then feudal systems, a couple of attempts to base society on wine (ending with the fall of Rome) then basic trade and then, oh wait for it ...capitalism. But what comes next? Star Trek? ...more/less

I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but I think China is going to kill us

2009-03-02T17:15:50Z

CHINA

I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but I think China is going to kill us

Hmmm... you say? China is the fastest and largest developing country in the world. What if China doesn't build a sustainable energy infrastructure? ...more/less

Change I can believe in - Hmmmfff, I want change I can participate in!

2009-03-01T17:16:32Z

I want my Change TV!

Change I can believe in - Hmmmfff, I want change I can participate in!

Can Obama utilize the social web for more than just campaign organizing - can we use it for governing? or would that bring us too close to the scary edge of direct democracy? Can we put governing in crowd-source mode when our news is so sorely lacking? ...more/less