Holding back the ocean (via The Cost of Energy)
The Costco Connection – July 2013 – Page 47:
Really cool about Chia.
We knew about the tea and the drinks, but who knew about all the other uses of Chia.
Substitute for eggs.
Even tells a little history. Short article is jam-packed as is the little Chia seed.
The Rise of the Intangible Economy: U.S. GDP Counts R&D, Artistic Creation – Businessweek:
WOW. GDP is going to be re-calibrated to include Intangible assets. They hadn’t been included because, well, they were kinda hard to measure. ? Huh ?
So expenses on a bridge or a factory becomes part of GDP and part of the “capital” of a working economy, but investment in R&D is simply an expense, with no intrinsic value for the future of the economy and economic development.
It is about time that Intangible assets finally get some respect.! Intellectual Property has been the Rodney Dangerfield of assets. Yet they are far more important than anyone in business schools will admit. And more critical than most companies realize (except media like Disney and Big Pharma).
It looks like the book Perpetual Innovation: A(tm): Guide to Strategic Planning, Patent Commercialization, and Enduring Competitive Advantage, Version 2.0. is simply ahead of its time.
Reference
US energy use dropped in 2012 as renewables, natural gas rose | Ars Technica:
Yes, the US has backed off a little with energy use during the recession, especially.
That would be a good thing if not for the emissions from China and India.
This is an AMAZING chart of the energy in and the energy out within the USofA. This has been an interesting chart to watch over the years.
~95.1 Quads
That is Quadrillion BTUs. (British Thermal Unit). If you think a Quadrillion is a LOT, you are right.
Double interesting in this picture is the the “rejected energy”. That is 58.1, estimated to be the same as that used. Therefore the right side is about 116.2 (58.1 + 58.1). I guess the left side is the 95.1
It takes some time to fully understand this diag, over time it is very interesting.
Note the drop in Coal in the US. Nat gas is so clean and cheap it is likely to put coal out of business. In the USA anyway.
We’ll send it to China? By now China must have exceeded half of the worlds coal consumption.
Want to look at forecasts of the future, go to US Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2013.