Peak Beer the horror of it all

So people are tired of peak oil, ignore stories of peak food, but this will hit much closer to home folks, how about Peak Beer!!!!!

That's right folks due to drought and flooding Hop supplies are at multi decade lows causing the price of hops to rise 300% and often cutting the supply right off for those smaller yummy craft brewers.

If nothing else will wake up the beer swilling climate change denying rednecks and get them off their loathsome spotty asses, maybe rising beer prices or shortages will do it. (no offense to climate change accepting beer swillers, swilling beer is a time honoured tradition.)

For humanity sake people, SAVE THE BEER!

This should be be a great ad campaign to turn the redneck vote Green.Recommend this Post

Rice: shortages, inflation and famine

I've posted a number of times on peak food and the coming crunch of real modern day famine with few if any hits or comments. I don't know if this is a lack of concern because we are a rich country or if constantly whining about Harper and Dion is really that much more fulfilling than looking at a real issue that will impoverish or kill millions.

In just the last week major rice exporters such as India and Vietnam and also Egypt have either cut or banned the export of rice outside their countries in order to maintain supply and keep their internal food inflation in check.

Vietnam will cut exports 22%, India will raise the minimum price for exports by 50% virtually killing all non Basmati exports, and Egypt will outright ban the export of rice to keep prices under control and maintain sufficient domestic supplies. Cambodia a much smaller exported also announced similar measures which when totaled with the other exporters will take a full 1/3 of the rice off of the international market.

These most recent moves have raised spot prices by 30% this week and doubling rice prices since January.

So who will get hurt the most a world rice shortages?

The poor naturally, rice is a staple for a good portion of the worlds poorest peoples. At the low end of the spectrum the poorest people already end up paying a large portion of their yearly income on food alone and for their main staple to double will mean starvation for some, and malnourishment for many more.

The Philippines and Africa both are major net importers of rice,as is the Middle East. Africa as the poorest of these regions is destined to be hurt the most aggravating a region already suffering from wars, droughts, and the disaster that is Zimbabwe.

Another major hit will be taken by aid agencies like the U.N. who will find this year their donor dollars will feed 50% less people.

Yet somehow, western nations can still justify burning grain ethanol. We should be rioting in the streets in sympathy with these people not burning their food.Recommend this Post

Carbon Tariffs can save N.A. Jobs and the environment

Another voice has joined the choir supporting the taxation of carbon. For the most part these calls have been from economists supporting the GPC concept of a domestic carbon tax as the most effective way of lowing green house gases but now Jeff Rubin chief strategist and economist at CIBC World Markets claims a Carbon Tariff will not only lower green house gases but allow the west to repatriate lost manufacturing jobs! How much better than that could it get?

CALGARY — Manufacturers that have relocated to China may soon be coming home if the Western world imposes a “carbon tariff” on countries that spew greenhouse gas emissions, according to Jeff Rubin, chief strategist and economist at CIBC World Markets.

Mr. Rubin, in a report issued on Thursday morning, said it is clear Western countries are moving quickly to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions and he highlighted that China's estimated emissions in 2007 supplanted the United States after rising rapidly through this decade.

Given the increasing emissions imbalance between the developed world and countries such as China, Mr. Rubin said the “only leverage is through trade access,” specifically a “carbon tariff.” Mr. Rubin predicted such a tariff, based on $45 per tonne of carbon dioxide or equivalent, would be $55-billion annually, a 17-per cent levy on all Chinese imports to the U.S. — almost six times greater than the effective current import tariffs.

The main impact of such a scenario would be on companies that have moved their factories to China — and consumers in North America. In a world where carbon emissions cost nothing, moving to China, with its cheap labour, made perfect sense, Mr. Rubin said. That situation is unlikely to last, he added.

“For many industries that joined the exodus to the cheap labour markets of East Asia, imposing a carbon tariff means coming home,” Mr. Rubin said in his report entitled “Coming Home,” co-authored with economist Benjamin Tal.

“Without such a tariff, the earnest efforts of [developed] countries to decarbonize their own economies would become absurdly quixotic in the face of the avalanche of emissions that will come from the rest of the world.”

Companies — because of their high carbon output — that are mostly likely to re-relocate are makers of chemical products, as well as makers of non-metallic mineral products such as cement, glass and lime, according to Mr. Rubin. Printing, primary metals makers and machinery manufacturing are also exposed.

For North American consumers, such a tariff of course would mean imported products would become more expensive. At a carbon cost of $45 a tonne, Mr. Rubin projected the U.S. inflation rate would be increased by about 0.6 percentage points, roughly a 25-per-cent increase from the current core U.S. inflation rate of 2.5 per cent.

If such a carbon tariff will mitigate the differences in labour costs it should also help offset reductions in manufacturing from a high Canadian dollar. So what the hell is the problem folks? let's move on this it's a WIN/WIN proposition.Recommend this Post

The ethics of web based shaming

At first glace I thought this was hilarious but after mentioning to other people who were appalled at the idea I thought it would be a decent point of debate that would not be politically charged.

As a member of the betting pool involved and knowing all the actors I will not take a stand either way, but as the site specifies the poster won said pool honestly and is correct that he is owed money. The person shamed knew it was for money and has since moved away from the region all other players live.

Since there has been no bounces from the email provider we have to assume it is not a logistics problem but an active decision not to pay his debt. So, is announcing it to the world in such public manner a reasonable or ethical thing to do? (Certainly cheaper than small claims court which would frown on our pool.)

p.s. In the big scheme of things no information other than the miscreants name was used, if you support the shaming, how much information could you justify releasing?

CommentsRecommend this Post

Fear and loathing from Garth land.

It seems Garth Turner has taken on a job akin to John Baird's ,aka attack dog.

Garth has apparently taken offence about something and is coming after Elizabeth May and the Greens.

(c) The gloves are off between Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May. Seemed like a good idea at the time…

“There will never be a Green government, a Green official opposition or likely even Green Party status in the House. That means those of us desperate for a climate change strategy - now - have but one option for prime minister - Stephane Dion. If Elizabeth May cared more about that cause than her own cause, she’d work towards this end. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but the times demand it. — Garth”

Do you think the big shift in Vancouver Quadra from Lib to Green is scaring them?

Does he really want to shit one the one person outside the Liberal party who says Dion is a decent guy?

Does he really want to bring the full scrutiny of E May and her credentials down on Liberal environmental policy?

I hope so!

How long now before the Libs show their real colours and change their minds about supporting Green participation in the debates?
or
Cancel their non compete deal?Recommend this Post

Bear Stearns going going Gone!

Time line

Tuesday Bear Stearns claimed they had good liquidity.

Thursday the cracks were showing as clients pulled billions out of the company.

Friday a huge bailout deal was thrown together so the Fed could loan money from the discount window through JP Morgan to Bear. By market closing the stock price had been severely beaten up and was siting at $30 , the powers that be decided the bailout had failed to stop a collapse of the stock and that the run on the bank would continue.

Tonight a $240 million dollar buy out of Bear Stearns has been reported giving stockholders who closed the week at $30 a share a meagre $2.

5 days people, that's all it took for many Billions to become $240 million, anybody not paying attention to their portfolio last week lost around 95ish percent. Take this seriously and protect yourself from the same happening to you, be it the loss or freezing of you bank account or the destruction of your portfolio.

This will not be the last bank collapse this year.Recommend this Post

Dion finally admits Green Party of Canada policy is better than Liberal one

The G&M reports that Dion has finally embraced GPC ideas on Carbon taxes,

"We Liberals are open to consider different solutions. We will consider, with a lot of attention, what the province of [British Columbia] is doing, but I just want to tell you we need to have a price on carbon."

"Tax neutral is the way to go if you proceed with this solution," he said, although he also suggested that funds might be directed into green incentives".

"I have a huge regard for both Gordon Campbell and Carole Taylor. They're doing something that's remarkable on climate change, not just with respect to a carbon tax, but they're actually doing things, not just talking,"

We should have know this was in the offing when Rae offered up support for Carbon taxes during a Toronto Centre debate. Now has this been actually accepted as party policy or are they just testing the waters to see how it flies?

If Rae had not come out with it first I would have suspected Dion was sucking up for a new job with us once they kick his sorry ass out of the Liberal leadership.

Well at lest it's nice that they are giving lip service and validation to our GREEN platform but hearing them and trusting them to implement anything are two distinctly different matters.

The choice is Green or green poser.Recommend this Post