The New Economy-Tailor Your Business to Survive.

One of the problems with big businesses is that it takes so long for them to change to fit market conditions. The usual big business response to a a failing economy is to cut jobs. That response makes the economy that much worse so the big businesses fall in on each other like so many dominoes. Big businesses waste money on advertising programs that are out of date, pushing luxury items to a consumer base that is cutting corners to survive, again the delay time is the killer for big business. Instead of looking to the future, they are stuck 5 minutes in the past. Instead of leading the way in trends, they are held back by past performance and unrealistic sales goals. This stubborn adherence to the tombstones of past profit margins will be the end of them and really that is a shame considering how well big business can manage large numbers of trained, work-ready, people.

In light of the coming economic changes, I suggest that businesses also change the way they operate.

Heavy manufacturing could switch 1/2 of their workforce over to energy technologies. Let GM build wind turbines. Let Chrysler build solar energy plants. If there isn't a market for the machines, then set up power plants and sell the electricity. Require local power companies to buy percentages of the power at slightly over base cost so that companies can afford to keep building and employing people.

Big Box stores should be focusing on basic durable consumer goods like solar panels, food preservation systems, Do-It-Yourself kits, and support for these products. If I could get a Circuit City credit card to buy a computer or big screen TV--why can't I buy solar panels instead? Why not hydroponics equipment to grow food at my house?

Massive grocery stores can help buy converting all store roof tops into greenhouses. These stores waste a lot of energy in the form of excess heat, so this is a natural way to use the heat one more time.(This goes double for Google's Blade Farms which produce enough heat to supply thousands of homes as well as acres of greenhouses!) Food grown would only need to be transported to the produce department rather than halfway around the world.

Contractors can pull back from building new houses and offer more basic services such as retrofitting existing houses with white roofs and energy efficiency packages--90% of American homes need this service at a reasonable price. In many cases programs already exist to help seniors and low income people buy these improvements for their homes and even for their rental homes.

Landscaping companies can focus on lawn removal and food garden installation. Help people start gardens and offer reasonably priced consultation. The time of gouging for these services is over...just help people get started for a price that makes it affordable for the people who need it.

Auto dealers can help by renting some of their unwanted trucks by the hour, so people can use them to haul supplies for home projects. Most people can't buy a truck but would rent one if they were easier to get and affordable.

Cities and States can help by making more land accessible to grow food. What is the use of acres of grass in a park when people are going hungry? Most parks already have water systems installed, so open them up to groups of people for gardening and even small livestock projects. Currently community gardening programs are overwhelmed with waiting lists of a year or more in most cases. This proves we need to devote more City owned land for these programs.

Coal Can Do That

Yes, Coal can do this! This is Centralia, WA, home to TransAlta Centralia Mining as well as the TransAlta Coal Fired Power Plant. The upper gray blotch is the 1,700 acres around the Coal Plant. This plant started in April of 2001 and already boosts 5 Huge settling ponds to contain the waste ash produced by the Coal Fired Plant.

The lower gray blotch is the actual mine property. About 5,000 acres have been strip-mined and the mine has been closed for over two years. The company promised to reclaim the land when it closed back in 2006, so far very little has been do to return the 14,000 acres to anything resembling useful land.

This is just one very small operation of more than 140 Coal Fired Power Plants in the Western States. These companies have sold the idea of Clean Coal for years, but now it is easy to see just how "clean" it really is. Centralia lost 14,000 acres of prime farm land to "Clean Coal" and the SECOND that TransAlta had to start cleaning up the mess they closed the operations.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published a notice of intent in the April 7, 2006, issue of the Federal Register (71 FR 17840) to prepare an EIS on TCM's proposed Pit 7 Mining Project. By November, the coal mine was "closed with reservation to reopen in the future." The environmental Impact Study was canceled. The area lost 600 jobs and the company canceled health insurance for more than 2000 employees, spouses and children.

I love the page sponsor listed at the bottom www.coalcandothat.com a whole site dedicated to promoting the positive side of coal. There isn't a single web page devoted to pollution, fly ash impoundment, strip mining, mountain top removal, water quality, black lung disease, mine reclaimation. Not a single page devoted to cleaning up the messes that the coal industry has already left in thousands of locations around the world. Yes, Coal can do that!

Stop The Waste--Legalize Marijuana!

Dear Obama Team,

President Elect Obama has pledged to fight waste in all levels of Government, so Will Barack Obama consider the waste involved in the marijuana issue?

The monetary value of Marijuana in the United States is staggering, even with the Government's attempts to abolish it at every level. Most recent reports state the marijuana sales are over $35 Billion per year and have been increasing every year. That money is mostly being paid to Foreign Drug Cartels that profit at every turn selling this controlled substance. The drug wars being fought around marijuana are killing thousands of people every year and leading to the incarceration of many thousands more. All of this adds up to near $8 Billion a year to arrest, prosecute, and house people for possession of a substance no more addictive and much less harmful than alcohol. The waste must stop!


Abortion Laws, Doctor Assisted Suicide, and the rejection of Prohibition all point to the public's demand for Self-Determination, the right to live, control our bodies, and die the way we want to. Adults in America demand and receive the right to drinks as much as we want, have relationships with those we choose and in many states the right to die when we want to. Marijuana laws need to reflect the spirit of Self-Determination and be freed from outside influences that are counter to Self-Determination.


A Better Way: Follow the Alcohol Model for Marijuana- Decriminalize Growing and Possessing Marijuana for personal use. Allow growers to apply for a Permit to sell marijuana to their state governments for a set price based on a set potency. The States control the potency, sale and taxation of the marijuana.

The current street value of marijuana is $20 per gram. Let the States buy it from licensed growers for $5 per gram. The jobs created in the US growing marijuana--about 4 Million jobs at $40,000 per year in the first 2 years. (Triple that number to include hemp growing as an agricultural product that can be used in over 25,000 products.) The States sell the marijuana with a taxation rate of 200% making the street price about $15 per gram. The States would gain $22 Billion per year in taxes. And, that is just the first year. Following years would see even more jobs created and more taxes collected.

Will the Obama Administration stop the WASTE of law enforcement efforts, WASTE of salary and tax money and WASTE of non-violent incarceration by decriminalizing marijuana and hemp?

* Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and never will use marijuana due to an allergy to the plant and all of it's parts. Even though I cannot smoke it, I do see the benefits of legalizing it for Adult Usage as well as an agricultural product.

The Consequences of Foreign Debt--Good Bye America

National Debt & Immigration

In the United States, we are watching in horror as our government digs us ever deeper in debt. Billions in bailouts have quickly soared into Trillions and there is no end in sight. What happens when that debt is so great that the US is forced to support foreign policies whether we agree with them or not just because we owe another country so much money that they have purchased our agreement? Just the last 8 years has proved this is not only possible but currently happening.

In the 1960's Mao Zedong forged links with African countries including South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Senegal by loaning the countries money, selling them weapons and generally supporting local revolutions. Later, China used that debt as leverage to open the way for Chinese Immigrants to those countries. The current estimate by the South African Institute of Internal Affairs states that 750,000 first generation Chinese have moved to Africa complete with Chinese bank loans and governmental approval.

These are not the standard type of immigrants looking to blend in but a whole new kind of wealthy businessman-immigrant looking for fresh opportunities to exploit and share(for a profit) with China. Lax immigration laws enable them to bring even more Chinese in as cheap labor, excluding local workers from working in the new businesses. They advertise their businesses in Chinese, they advertise job openings in Chinese--locals not needed or wanted.

Since, 2002 more than 20,000 Chinese have immigrated to Angola alone. [1] They are invited and protected by the $4 Billion in interest free loans made by the Chinese government to oil-rich Angola to build infrastructure designed to pump the oil and then ship it back to China to repay the loan. According to the loan agreement, at least 70% of the work must be done by Chinese companies. Their paychecks come from Chinese companies so their taxes go back to China, not to the country where they are working.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil--The real Bush Legacy

China, once blacklisted as an American trade partner now enjoys favored trading status and leads the world in exports to America. Did China suddenly come to the light concerning human rights? Did China suddenly agree to stop polluting or allow Tibet to go free? No, China bought up enough American debt to force us to turn a blind eye to their problems, and throw open our ports to everything they had to offer. What does our future hold in terms of our freedoms to make policies and enforce trade regulations that benefit Americans? The outlook is not good.

Several writers have mentioned this concern in the last few years, even before the current crisis. Nikkei Weekly says Chinese leaders have boasted that because China is such an important lender to America, “Beijing is holding a dagger to Washington’s throat.” In September of this year China surpassed Japan as the largest American debt holder with the US owing China $585 Billion compared to $60 Billion in 2000. TheTrumpet.com even stated "serfdom is a reality many Americans may face in the future."

The Face of China in Africa--and Soon in the United States:

South Africa
Kenya & Nigeria
Uganda-- war financing leads to tourism and big business
Ghana
Senegal

Pirates or Patriots?

News calls them pirates....the men in the boats say they are acting as a coastguard to protect Somalia from illegal fishing vessels and waste dumping. Even with so much news available it is often hard to figure out what is really going on.

The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.

"The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas."

In a September 08 interview Sugule Ali, the spokesman for the Somali pirates said, "We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits [”sea bandit” is one way Somalis translate the English word pirate]. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard."

July 26, 2008: The UN sounded the alarm on behalf of the people of Somalia, saying, the combination of illegal dumping and illegal fishing, and now open piracy, has made the Somali coast one of the most dangerous on earth." Ironically, the most prized catch for fishermen, the yellowfin tuna, is being caught in waters that have proved to be unsafe to humans due to high levels of toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, mercury and radioactive uranium. Because of the secretive nature of illegal fishing( and the fact no one would buy fish known to be from Somali waters), these contaminated fish are sold, and consumed across Europe, to uninformed buyers. The same lack of regulation that allows European Fishermen to steal from Somali waters, also allows contaminated fish to be sold on the market without mentioning the origin.

This is far from being a new problem, in an article from 2001 the writer calls Somalia the **World's Most Attractive Illegal Hazardous Waste Dumping Site** and the pollution at that time was already over a decade old. Experts estimate that it costs about $2.50 to sink a ton of toxic waste off the African Coast compared to $250 that would have to be paid in Europe.

Going back even further, this abstract from 1999 tells about a meeting in 1991 that discussed how difficult is was to patrol 3333 km of coastline. At the time over 400 huge ships were illegally fishing the coast of Somalia to the extent that the local fishing industry was near collapse. It has since completely collapsed leaving the locals with no source of food or income. Illegal dumping was also discussed, and "2 Companies were named as perpetrators include an Italian firm (Progresso) and Swiss firm (Achair Partners)"

A story from 2002 names Achair Partners of Chapelle-sur-Moudon, in Switzerland as "authorized to build and operate a facility near Mogadishu for dumping or incinerating up to half a million tonnes of hospital and industrial waste per year for the next 20 years." The person who "authorized" (and profited to the tune of $80 Million) from the deal is Nur Elmy Osman, who called himself minister of health in the 'government' of Ali Mahdi Mohammed, leader of one of Somalia's warring factions. As a result of the UNEP's investigation, the contract was declared null and the facility was never built. Still it became apparent to the UNEP's director Dr. Mustafa Tolba that the firms of Achair Partners and Progresso were set up specifically as fictitious companies by larger industrial firms to dispose of hazardous waste.

During the Christmas tsunami of 2004, dozens of rusty barrels washed ashore. Since then, hundreds of local people have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections, and other ailments. Many of the barrels dated back to 1992 when a group of European companies recruited Swiss company Archair Partners and the Italian company Progresso, both specialized in the export of undesirable waste.

The very company hired in 2005 to patrol the coastline has been linked to government contracts sold by the ousted Somali Transitional Federal Government(STFG), which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters. The ships they were escorting seem to be the same ships that are carrying waste from Europe. What little government is left is supporting itself by selling dumping rights and poisoning the people they claim(from Nairobi) to be representing. In truth, much of the waste was being carried from Italy aboard fishing vessels belonging to a company called the Somali High Sea Fishing Company, working out of Yemen harbors, supported by big money deals between the Italian Mafia aka "The Pirates of Rubbish" and the STFG.

There are no fish left to catch, the ones that can be caught in the traditional ways are poisoned, the water poisoned and the land is at war. No wonder the Somalian people are ticked off enough to become "pirates!"

Oil tankers do not double as fishing vessels, but since there are no safe fish to catch, tankers provide the next best thing---CASH. Piracy makes up 35% of the GDP of Somalia and without it, up to half of the people would starve to death. European(and World) politics created this problem and like other problems resulting from blind greed, this particular problem has grown into a Monster. Shipping companies can either pay the ransom or pay the people of Somalia to clean up the mess directly and pass the cost onto their customers. One way or another, someone is going to pay for years of neglect and corruption.

More Recently, stories have been emerging that point to the Ivory Coast as being the new "Best Place to Dump"

The ship Probo Koala, a former oil tanker that has been used more recently for waste disposal, dumped waste into an Ivory Coast lagoon in September of 2006 after deeming European disposal methods too expensive. The ship was chartered by the Holland-based oil trading firm Trafigura.


UPDATE 7/23/2010:

A Dutch court has found multinational Trafigura guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam and concealing the nature of the cargo.

In 2006, Trafigura transported waste alleged to have been involved in the injury of thousands of people in Ivory Coast. Trafigura denied any wrongdoing.

It expressed disappointment in the ruling and is considering an appeal.

The firm was fined 1m euros (£836,894) for its ship, the Probo Koala, transiting Amsterdam with its cargo.

The ship then went on to unload its cargo in Ivory Coast.

One of those who fell ill after waste was dumped, Ivorian Guy Oulla, told the BBC: "I believe it is a very good decision because people should pay for what they do, you know. So, I agree with that decision. You know, we live in Africa and it could happen again because in Africa people do everything for money."

Cheap Low-Tech Desalination Using a Greenhouse

Water, Water, everywhere, but just .5% to drink!

The world is facing a serious clean water shortage and scientists everywhere are hard at work on solutions, but too often the solutions are so expensive that they are out of reach for the people who need them. One simple solution is to change a problem into a solution.

I have had many greenhouses over the years, and I can tell you a major problem is condensation. High humidity can cause fungus in many crops, and it is no fun to work in a greenhouse when you are being rained on! But if the goal is to harvest water then that problem can be turned into a solution.

In this example, a very simple hoop house can provide the heat needed to extract water from wet soil, brackish ponds or even the ocean. The sun warms the air inside the hoop and causes the water to be evaporated. The condensation collects on the ceiling and runs down the walls into a channel where it can be pumped into a reservoir. On land, as the moisture inside is depleted, more nasty water can be added. This step is not needed for a floating system.

Advantages of this system.
1) Very low tech and low cost.
2) Suitable for use in tropical climates. The more sun it gets the faster it makes clean water.
3) Moisture additions can be salty, water laden plant materials or even animal or human waste buried under a layer of soil.
4) Floating system would not damage sealife since only a small percentage of surface area is covered.
5) This system can be erected in 1-2 days by 2 people for about $24.00. It would last up to 3 years and produce up to 100 gallons a day(at 80 F. outside temperature)
6) Inside temperature would be 140 F.-150 F. effectively pasteurizing the water and preventing most fungus, & bacteria including tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio, salmonella, strep throat, scarlet fever, and typhoid fever.

One of the Reasons I Hate SPRINT!

Sprint Charges fees for whatever they want to and there is no way to opt out of paying them.