Green Energy: Recent Articles and Ideas

I looked at the current state of bicycle technologies and saw some nice things, but they're still quite expensive. The main ideas are to keep weight low with aluminum alloy frames, a lithium-ion battery (with motor to drive the wheels), a carbon-fiber "chain" (which doesn't break or rust or fear dirt), and an internal DaVinci-style gear hub. Look 'em up on the net or YouTube.com and there are a lot of videos and stories about them.

Super-Efficient Bicycle Drive: CeramicSpeed driven shaft drive


Here are a variety of articles I've seen over the last few months. They range from business-specific actions and products to business analyses of where the green energy world is headed to ideas for government.

Solar just hit a record-low-price in the U.S. - Earther

Natural gas markets renewable energ - Vox

China investment solar electric buses - Vox

Is it time to build a national energy grid for renewables? - Vox

Analysis reveals that the world's largest battery saves South Australia 8-9 million in 6 months - CleanTechnica

America's first big offshore wind farm sets record-low prices - RenewEconomy

Upgrading the grid to make the integration of renewables easier and cheaper - CleanTechnica

A Silicon Valley startup is giving lithium-ion batteries a much needed silicon-boost - Quartz

UK Scotland north-east Orkney Shetland Wave Power - BBC

SpiceJet to test India's first bio-fuel-powered plane - LiveMint

If Exxon-Mobil can learn to like renewable energy anyone can - TriplePundit

Groundbreaking spinning wind turbine wins UK Dyson award - The Guardian

Tesla model 3 becomes #1 best-selling car in the US - CleanTechnica

Millions of EV charging points planned for U.S. and Europe-by-2025 - Bloomberg

New carbon credits for charging stations could spur EV adoption - Axios

Coal-killing energy storage grows by 200 in US - CleanTechnica

Bombardier battery-powered electric train  - Engadget

World's first hydrogen-powered train hits the tracks in Germany - Quartz

Solar panels replaced tarmac on a motorway: here are the results - The Conversation

How used electric car batteries will turbocharge the renewables revolution - ThinkProgress

Wind energy prices market growth offshore tax credits turbines technology - InsideClimateNews

Wind solar farms produce 10 percent of U.S. power in 4 mo - RenewablesNow

All-electric ships on the horizon - Bloomberg

How Wyoming wind farms help Idaho replace coal - CleanTechnica

The Connection to Collusion: Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Russian lawyer, Agalarov, Putin

The meeting Rob Goldstone set up and his regrets: https://thinkprogress.org/rob-goldstone-donald-trum-jr-trump-tower-meeting-dirt-eb4d6439068a/

Rob Goldstone: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45625057

Guardian newspaper, on Goldstone: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/11/rob-goldstone-trump-jr-meeting-russian-lawyer

Think Progress has an article about Rob Goldstone (who set up the Trump tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer) and his regrets. He says, "Though he doesn't know what was said on the calls, Goldstone described it as incredible "to think that this conversation or these conversations could have taken place without discussion of funding, Russian funding, illegal funding, Democrats, Hillary, and it being of use to the campaign.""

The growing list of convictions and 'guilty' pleadings has indicated that people around Donald Trump have skirted the law in numerous ways, but none of those directly touched on Donald Trump in the way as has the Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer (representing an oligarch who represents Putin). Now, the man who set up that meeting is saying he doesn't know how they could have had that meeting without discussion of "dirt on Hillary" and Russian government help. When Russian president Vladimir Putin was asked in Helsinki (at a joint press conference with Pres. Trump) if he wanted Trump to wni the presidency or if he had helped the Trump campaign, Putin said, yes, he wanted Trump to win and he had helped them.

The connection is being established around this one meeting. Will there be other provable connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government (Putin)? So far Robert Mueller has been ahead of the public knowledge, so we will have to wait and see what his investigation reports.

Here's another article about the financial aspect of the "collusion" deal: Follow the money trump tower to russia

Who Funds Politics in America?

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/15/john-roberts-campaign-finance-crossroads-825761

The law says that if a contributor to a PAC doesn't specify that their contribution is to support a particular candidate, their identity doesn't have to be revealed to the government. recent case involving Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS organization questioned how far the law and regulations should go to keeping Americans unaware of who is funding campaigns. The District of Columbia (DC) Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that the names have to be revealed in many more cases than had been previously thought. The 3-judge panel were appointed by George H W Bush and Barack Obama. Apparently this displeased our conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He, and he alone, decided to stay the lower court actions, so that (at least temporarily) the identities will NOT be revealed.

A lot is happening in the world of politics and government, but this is the only story about this Court decision which I have seen.

One detail which is important: we don't know how temporary this stay may be. Will it extend through the mid-term elections?

The Koreas Talk

Now would be a good time for Sec. of State Mike Pompeo (or other State Dept officals assigned to the task) to keep tabs on the progress on the Korean talks and to recommend any needed changes to the U.S. - N.K. relations in order to smooth the development of N.K. That is a necessary part of bringing them into the international community (no more 'hermit nation'). It would be difficult for N.K. to develop properly if we have old trade barriers still in place. We would be slowing or ruining the entire process Pres. Trump has begun.

6th Recommendation -- About Tax Havens

I've written about tax havens in the past, but I don't see any posts in my list, so I may have written on social network sites. Anyway, I just read an interesting article which helps elucidate the topic and clarify much of the issue.

The US love affair with tax havens helps solve an economic mystery -- Quartz

It's a great article. Here's one of the most important statements from it: "The economists make a counter-factual calculation that, if US corporations couldn’t shift profits to tax havens and were forced to pay the normal US corporate tax rates on their foreign profits (less credits for taxes paid abroad) it would reduce the US investment advantage by 1.2 percentage points, on average."

My proposal is to allow the IRS to examine off-shore tax havens to determine if a corporation is actually doing business there (as oil corporation divisions clearly would be) or if it is merely a "place" to hide money from the tax collector. Clear rules would have to be in place for this to be well done. The issue of whether a patent or copyright was created in a tax haven or merely "shifted there" would have to be solved too.

When the IRS can declare an off-shore tax haven corporate division is (essentially) phony, then the corporation would be given a chance to rebut that argument and challenge the decision. But, when all is said and done, a lot of off-shore tax havens would become illegal for Americans and American corporations.

If eliminating ALL off-shore tax havens would reduce the US foreign investment advantage by 1.2 percentage points, then this more limited reduction in the use of off-shore tax havens would probably reduce it by no more than .5 percentage points. Someone with better access to data and analytic abilities than me could determine that. However, it would also increase government revenues to pay down the federal debt or be used for defense, infrastructure bank, or any other government spending.

"Fake News" in the Automobile Business

It's interesting what we see and how people categorize stories. It's even more interesting in the Trump era when he's calling anything he doesn't like as "fake news". The social media and other internet news sites add to the confusion.

Well, here's an interesting article reporting a bit of news you won't likely see anywhere else. I read a lot of pop culture article headlines about both Tesla and it's CEO, Elon Musk (weird name, what). This article gives some basic info which changes the picture significantly.

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/09/09/tesla-model-3-becomes-1-best-selling-car-in-the-us/

Of the top 5 cars sold in America, the reports says the only America-based corp car is Tesla. The others are 2 Honda and 2 Toyota models. But, more than this, if you count units sold Tesla is 5th and if you count dollar value of sales, Tesla is #1. Their car is valued higher than the other 4, so total sales times $ value makes Tesla's revenue from sales of this one model (Model 3) the #1 seller in America.

Have you seen anything like that in the news or on any web sites? I haven't. All I've seen was pics of Musk smoking pot while criticizing weed's effect on a person's creativity.

Tesla doesn't even have dealerships across the country. Some states have outlawed selling of Teslas. There aren't many charging stations. Yet they're #1 on that one model.

Isn't America an amazing place.

Cancer, Autism, and Marijuana

Here are a few stories which I think are of great interest with regard to cancer, autism, and marijuana.

1. Now The first human trials of this experimental, cancer-killing drug could change everything - USA Today

2.Experimental cancer VACCINE - experimental-cancer-vaccine- combo-has-100-success-rate-in- mice/
 

"... the mice given the combination of Diprovocim and the vaccine had a 100 percent survival rate of over 54 days. Mice given the cancer vaccine and alum had a 25 percent survival rate, and those given just the vaccine had a zero percent survival rate.When researchers attempted to re-introduce the tumor in mice, "it wouldn't take," says Professor Boger. "The animal is already vaccinated against it." "

3. Successful test for autism: First physiological test for autism proves high accuracy in second trial

4. Aspen pot sales exceed alcohol for the first time as people ditch booze for marijuana

5. New studies show that legal cannabis access reduces opioid abuse | TheHill

5th Recommendation -- about Inheritance Tax Changes

I was thinking about potential changes to inheritance taxes, but I had considered that once before and came to the conclusion the system that exists is pretty good. The main issues have been the deduction which protects family farmers from losing their properties and the marginal tax rate on any other wealth beyond that. Today i read another article which addresses the issue in another way which I found quite interesting. Here's a link:  One tiny tax reform could mean billions for America

It has to do with retirement accounts and other kinds of accounts which currently don't require a pay-out. I fully endorse the idea, though I'm not informed enough to suggest any kind of specifics other than the simple identification of the accounts and requirement they pay-out in the same way as retirement accounts. It may be just that simple.

Global Trade War -- China

The Chinese are set on gaining as much from thievery as they can. They insist that any company wishing to have access to their markets must submit to becoming partners with a Chinese firm, so they can steal any intellectual property (IP) of the foreign firm. This isn't acceptable for things we would call high priority or of national security importance. But, some companies have been and will continue to be willing to accept these terms.

The U.S. government must pass any laws necessary to protect us from the loss of high priority national security IP (plans, blueprints, devices, processes, etc.). There is simply no other way to keep these things out of the hands of foreign governments. As for businesses willing to risk their IP to gain access to the Chinese market, good luck.

4th Recommendation -- about an Infrastructure Bank

The 4th recommendation is one I've discussed earlier this year. It's the creation of an infrastructure "bank" which will let Congress decide projects which need to be done and a way for private contractors to secure the project.

There are always going to be some projects government has to do by itself, but there are also many instances where it is most advantageous for government to merely push along certain projects by providing some extra financial gain or to provide some extra security from problems for private contractors. I have it in mind that government should use the "bank" to assist contractors with money for projects the government wants done, so long as the contractor(s) adhere to certain standards. For one, they should use union labor. They should be required to finish the job on schedule or face penalties. They should have to insure projects which are inherently more risky (such as bridges) for some time period.

There have been many people who have studied this idea, so I won't go into any more detail. Congress can rely on many experts on this topic.

The benefits of this plan are to get infrastructure projects done. These would be maintenance, repair, and new construction. It would employ people at good wages. It would provide work for construction firms.

Poppy's Soup

Poppy is a friend of mine whose real name is Mirta. She's from Argentina and is in excellent shape for someone 82 years old. She exercises regularly, takes loads of vitamins and supplements, and eats healthy foods. This recipe is one she has been telling me about for years. Well, today is the day we tell the world.

Poppy's Soup

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (unsweetened)
1/2 cup black beans
1/3 cup oatmeal (quick 1-minute oats)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 handful of walnuts (chop if you like)
water to make a thick soup
parmigiano cheese (grated)

Condiments: tumeric, black pepper, salt (to taste)

Mix the ingredients and refrigerate over-night.
The next day, bring to room temperature if you like.
Heat to simmer for a few minutes.

Add grated parmigiano cheese on top and serve.

                                                    Bon appétit.

Trump's Plan

His whole life, Donald Trump has been an empty shell with a name and a sales pitch. He learned this during his youth and he built his Trump Organization on that pattern. He added to it by learning enough business to know he could borrow money from banks, put it into a business, build up the image of the business and bring in some customers (for a while). Then he would sac the business, take its assets (being a raider before Carl Icahn taught America about that technique) and bankrupt the company. Banks eventually got tired of this and he had to go overseas for money, When he ran for president, he asked a foreign government (Russia and Vladimir Putin) for help. But, he has built his presidency on his name, fake reputation, claims the good things were his doing (as president he claims the good things Obama did) and produce no actual good results (Congressional Republicans have done a few things). To the contrary he has tried to pay back Putin with idiotic things like legalizing use of asbestos. What kind of monster would do that and endanger everyone's health? Now that he's been uncovered and Mueller is closing in, he's preparing to "go bankrupt, go home, rest on his fake laurels". His pattern is just repeating.

The timing is partly because the mid-terms are coming and Congressional Republicans can see they're in a fight for their careers. When even dark red Texas is considering a Democratic senator to replace Ted Cruz, they're worried.

Does Trump care about the disasters he leaves behind? Not at all. In fact, he has already insulted AG Sessions and his southern style. It merely magnifies what Trump said years ago, that if he ran for president it would be as a Republicans because the Republican voters are so stupid they're easily conned.

He sees this as victory.

The United Kingdom may also reform their economy

A major think-tank in The United Kingdom (which advised the Blair government and the Labour Party) has suggested reforms they consider important to correct some problems which are identical to those we face in America.

Think-tank calls for major overhaul of Britain's economy

It should be interesting to compare their ideas with the ones I'm suggesting.

3rd Recommendation - About the Minimum Wage

A lot of the recommendations I have (and will) make about the economy are about the behavior of the financial sector and how it sucks money away from the "real economy" or how corporations (mostly large and with international affairs) direct money away from investments which could be profitable and employ workers or away from higher wages & compensation for employees.

To overcome that the government has often raised the federal minimum wage to ensure sufficient money goes into the pockets of the working poor (and some just above that). I don't always think that's the perfect solution because it also affects much smaller businesses which cannot manage sudden changes to their labor costs.

Today we are at a place, after some years of business growth, where I believe we should be able to increase the federal minimum wage. The federal minimum wage was last changed July 24th, 2009 to $7.25 per hour. Many states have already raised their minimum wage above the federal level, so it won't be a shock to them at all.

These are the states with a higher state minimum wage than the federal.

Axios did an article on state minimum wages. The main takeaway from the article is that the minimum wages (both state and federal) are too low.

For a bit of recent history of our federal minimum wage, take a look at this U.S. Dept. of Labor article on the minimum wage.

There are about 30 states which have a state minimum wage higher than the federal, there are about 15 states which have the same rate as the federal, there are 5 states with no state-wide minimum wage, and there are 2 states with lower state minimum wage rates (of course, companies there are required to pay the higher federal minimum wage rate).


These are the states with the same state minimum wage as the federal:

What should the new level be? Of states with a minimum wage rate higher than the federal government, there are a few with greater than $10.00, but most are in the $8.25 -- $9.65 range. I would suggest a new rate should be in the lower third of that, perhaps $8.50 per hour. That would give pay raises to people in about 25 states (1/2 of our states).