Up On the Roof…

Here’s a good article about the pitfalls of what look like helpful efforts to save money and help the environment, but on closer inspection are not even close to fulfilling either one. Eco-Bling are these items that may make you feel better and show yourself and others that your fighting the good fight.

I was seriously considering solar panels and even researched wind turbines, but doing more practical things such as installing energy efficient light bulbs, wearing an extra layer of clothing and turning off lights/appliances can do more.

I think the tax incentives tied to some of these things had mislead me to believe that there was more value than what could be recouped.

Hybrid cars are no better especially when your current vehicle is fairly efficient. I could replace my 10 year old Honda (~36 MPGs still) with a Prius or Insight, but it probably would not make economic sense since real-life mileage claims appear to be just over ~40 MPG.

Besides the value of the savings, consider the time you spend researching, planning. Will you have to hire contractors, etc? Doesn’t sound easy.

Putting on a sweater and turning the lights off could be the best answer after all.

Last night I read a story on WSJ.com (may require subscription?) about the company, Monster Cables, and their practice of suing anyone who uses the word “Monster” in their business name or product.

In general, I lean toward a company’s right to protect the value of their name. I agree that If the name causes confusion in the marketplace, then that use should be contested.

However it seems Monster’s take on this is We used it first, anyone who wants to be a monster, pay up.

They’ve sued the Red Sox over names related to the “the Green Monster,” the TV show “Monster Garage,” but the one that was featured in the WSJ piece, and shows that this may be more of a revenue generator for them, was their lawsuit over the Rhode Island company Monster Mini Golf.
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Before you think this is a trick headline, written just to get clicks, please read on just a bit more.

We seem to have a serious but totally ignored problem here in the New York/New Jersey area. I’d be surprised if its not just about the same everywhere else in the US. Our State Highway Departments are foolishly wasting barrel after barrel of diesel, gasoline, oil and man hours too, mindlessly clipping the tips off of just sprouted spring grass along miles of highway medians and shoulders.

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China drives tech as US becomes the backseat driver

A report released from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Georgia Tech today link to pdfs, shows that China will soon overtake the US as the driver of high technology innovation. Press release. Anyone following the economy in the last year or two knows that China’s demand for raw materials (high oil prices) has already caused a dramatic shift in our daily lives.

Over the next week or so the government will work out details of a stimulus package to put dollars into the hands of Americans to avoid or delay a recession. When it finally is signed, people should see checks by late spring. I’m not going to debate the value of it here, or justify bailing out those who took risky mortgages. I have no idea, but maybe we can get the stimulus in an oil voucher? or if this report is right, in Chinese Yuan?

Back to the report. The have been studying these high tech indicators since the 80’s. It started as a way to measure what country would become the next Japan. In the last 14 years (93-07) the US has dropped some, but China has gained a HUGE amount. See their chart below.

Today the US has some leverage over China. We innovate and they manufacture. Even with the lost value in knock-off or bootlegged material, we still get value out manufacturing our goods there.

In the near future, they will not only manufacture, but innovate and create new products to sell to us, possibly keeping both slices of pie. China is growing fast and the younger leaders in charge are slowly opening up their economy embracing a more western outlook. I think its too soon to tell what the impact of this inevitable change in the world economy will have for us here in the US.