Renewable Morality

Renewable Morality

Hello Everyone,

Could the future of humanity depend on our ability to develop renewable energy?

Most informed people recognise that the unequal distribution of wealth is one of the biggest issues facing humanity at present.  This is because whoever controls the energy controls the wealth.   The interesting point is that our ability to develop renewable energy is going to  play a huge part in how wealth is distributed in the future. 

In the history of our species initially whoever owned land, owned wealth, because our energy came from the land.  It came via energy from our bodies, from animals and from wood.  Hence the more land you owned or stole the richer you became.

Once technology accelerated and at the same time, it became possible to extract oil from fossil fuel then huge fortunes were made and human well-being improved.    Since 2000 the limits of fossil fuel became apparent - fossil fuel for energy on the planet is a limited resource and is running out.

We need to find and use energy sources that are accessible to all equally if we want to have any chance of redistributing wealth on the planet.  Finite resources and greed are a recipe for disaster for humans especially as oil and gas prices rise.  Wars and land grabs for example are just the tip of the iceberg for what humans will do to gain wealth/power.

Renewable, available resources however have the potential to become cheaper and even more readily available.   Solar energy for example has seen major price decreases and for many it will be cheaper than fossil-fuel electricity by 2016.

It is confronting to think that renewable energy is a moral crusade.  In a world where we have such ingenuity and technological advances it is exciting to think what could be achieved.  The alternative of more wealth and power in the hands of a few violent and selfish people is frightening.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

Source:            The Sun-Herald 8-9 November 2014

Why the Battle for Renewable Energy is a Moral Crusade by Noah Smith 

(Opinion Business Day 5)

To read more of these ideas see Roz's Love Well or her latest book Future Words available on Amazon

Something to chew over

Hello Everyone,

Have you ever eaten spam?  It is leading the way in creating a new food form called 'fossil' food.

Spam is a tinned precooked meat first introduced in 1937 in the US.  It gained popularity during World War II and is unique for its incredibly long shelf life.  The expiry date on the tin is usually two years but this is only to keep the product turning over rather than a true reflection of its use-by date.  Evidently its real shelf life is 12 to 15 years.

The philosophy behind the long life of Spam is behind this new movement to create 'fossil' foods.  Napoleon's need to find  a ready supply of long-lasting food to feed his army ie canning changed the food industry but now scientists are looking at the next level of food preservation beyond salting and freezing.  

One next development is high pressure food processing (HPP)which pulverises bacteria and is already used for meats instead of some chemicals in the food industry. The advantage of HPP is that it does not significantly affect the flavour and nutritional value of foods.

Imagine what we could do with nutritionally sound food products that last 3 to 5 years without refrigeration.   The potential for creating safe and stable world food supplies is enormous especially for periods of famine, disasters and energy failures.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

To read more of these ideas see Roz's latest book Future Words available on Amazon

Source:           

The Sun-Herald 26 October 2014

Hungry for an aged sammie   by Caterine Armitage

Are you the comic type? Comic Sans I mean!

Hello Everyone,

Are you the comic type? I am talking about the font style Comic Sans.

Comic Sans was developed by Vincent Connare when he worked with Microsoft in 1994.  He designed the font to be used for cartoons and applications like 3D Movie Maker.

The debate is about the quality of Comic Sans which some claim is poorly made.  It was, however, made purposefully to be irregular and more like handwriting.

In Australia the font created much criticism when it appeared on the front page in a speech bubble.  The characters in question were politicians who had been caught out lying in an Independent Commission of Inquiry into Corruption.  Most canny readers got the irony of the font but nevertheless because the font appeared on the front page of such a prestigious newspaper it got people talking.

Readers tend to have strong reactions to the font - they love it or hate it.  Since 1994 it has  become ubiquitous and is one of the most popular typefaces.  Whether we like it or not it is a success.  In Britain for example there is a charity  campaign called Comic Sans for Cancer.   More than 500 artists from 38 countries have created posters to celebrate the font's 20th birthday.

I think with such popularity we will see a lot more of Comic Sans.

Until next time,

Roz Townsend                                         www.roztownsend.com

To read more of these ideas see Roz's latest book Future Words

Source:        Comic Sans Storm  News Review 

                   The Sydney Morning Herald p 36 6 September 2014

Politicians and Lawyers - do we need them or is something else possible??

Hello Everyone,

Did you know that a book has been written called The End of Lawyers? by Richard Susskind?

Susskind was contemplating the demise of mercers, cordwainers, wheelwrights and tallow chandlers.  Although we can still buy silk, leather, wheels and candles, the crafts people who made these have in the main disappeared.  Their professions have morphed due to economic conditions.

Susskind wondered if this could happen to lawyers.  He proposes that the rising cost of legal services and the ready availability of cheaper alternatives is likely to transform the industry.   Susskind refers to the 60 million disputes which comes from sales issues with eBay and the online dispute resolution.  The online resolutions allow problems to be solved with a minimum of human interaction.

If this can happen with eBay then it is likely to spread. The high demand and high cost of legal services  is likely to give rise to new ways of settling traditional problems.

Outsourcing in the legal field is already common for back-office jobs, contract reviewing, drafting and legal research.   Software is also being developed to replace human judgements and systems are being developed to support a wide range of needs in this area.  Technological trends will continue and this will have a huge impact on the nature of the legal industry.

Other professions are also likely to change significantly die to technology.  Other writers such as Daniel Finkelstein ponder the longevity of professional politicians as we know as we know them.  In the US State Department, for example, computer modelling is used to help it understand and resolve international disputes.  Game theory and and computer simulations are used to help determine the outcome of foreign elections and predict terrorist activity.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

To read more of these ideas see Roz's latest book Future Words

Source:           

'Do we really need MPs now we have Twitter' by Daniel Finkelstein

The Times Wednesday July 2 2014  

Decision Making and Neuro-finance

Hello Everyone,

Have you heard of the field of study called neuro-finance?  It includes research in economics, behavioural psychology and neurology to work out how people make financial decisions.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Australia think that the stress hormone norepinephrine in the brain has an impact on the final decisions that people make.  Evidently, in some people, norepinephrine is very sensitive to change and can rapidly alert people to changes in their environment. Yet for others it can be quite slow. 

The ability to adapt quickly to an ever-changing financial environment is a definite advantage in the business world.  How quickly responses are made to adversity can determine the success or otherwise  of a business.

It will be interesting to see if there is a chemical that can assist quicker more appropriate decisions not just in business but in every aspect of our lives.

Roz Townsend  www.roztownsend.com

Source:            The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday  10 May 2014 p 13