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Category Archives: Sustainability
Dec
12
Santa Baby, bring me coal
I want a coal plant for Christmas, and not because I’m a naughty girl. I want lots of coal so I can power up the high-tech toys Santa is bringing me, including an electronic robot maid that cooks and cleans, a 32-meter-wide TV and a modern, coal-fired steam locomotive that allows me to bypass the TSA Grope Squad when I travel cross-country.
OK, so Santa probably won’t be sending a full-size, coal-fired train down my chimney. But, like many of you, I may be getting small electronics for Christmas (or Hanukkah). As millions of us ring in the New Year by adding new gadgets to the power grid, we need to make sure we have ample electricity to fire up our cutting-edge iPads, TVs, sound systems and smartphones.
Americans get almost half of their electricity from coal. I think coal is a wonderful source of energy and we need to continue producing it.
Posted in Economy, Law, Sustainability
3 Comments
Dec
05
Frack, baby, frack!
I have a slam-dunk plan for creating jobs: Frack, baby, frack. Move like Shaq. Let’s beat the buzzer, Shaq-style, and score points for the U.S. economy. Frack Attack!
Like basketball referees, ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch Ratings are signaling they may join Standard and Poor’s in calling a foul on the U.S. economy. The good news is that we can move toward recovery by fracking shale for gas and oil—producing energy and creating jobs simultaneously.
Posted in Economy, Law, Sustainability
5 Comments
Nov
28
Dump the EPA
Like a bad lover, the EPA is a nagging, beguiling mooch. The EPA unconstitutionally barged into our lives and we need to break free from this destructive relationship; let’s give the EPA a two-letter title beginning with ‘E’ and ending with ‘X.’
President Nixon formed a group called the President’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization to help him sidestep Congress and mold public policy. On April 29, 1970, the Council wrote a memo advising Nixon to establish: “an Environmental Protection Administration, a new independent agency of the Executive Branch. … [and the] Executive Branch should be so structured that a high order of public interest is served in making policy, rather than a narrower advocacy position.”
Posted in Economy, Law, Sustainability
3 Comments
Nov
21
Piping Up Oil Jobs
Like a good neighbor, Canada is there—offering America tens of thousands of jobs, protection against soaring gas prices and up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day for Oklahoma and Gulf Coast refineries to process—if America accepts TransCanada’s proposal to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to the Gulf Coast.
Let’s say your neighbor invites you over to her holiday party and you respond: “No way, you’re an animal killer. Last year, you served meatballs at your party and I’m against animal cruelty.” Don’t expect your neighbor to ever talk to you again.
Posted in Economy, Sustainability
4 Comments
Nov
10
Taking a Safari with Jamal Hashi
I love trying new food. I also love entrepreneurship. Combine the two and you get “Safari Express” – an exciting new fast-casual restaurant in Minneapolis run by Jamal Hashi.
Hashi is a friendly, energetic go-getter who immigrated to the United States from Africa. He quickly discovered that “Africa is a neglected market” and he set about starting a restaurant that would “introduce people to Africa.”
Posted in Economy, Sustainability
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Aug
15
I like big trucks and I cannot lie
By Katie Kieffer 
So, fellas! So, ladies! Do you want cheap gas and big, safe rides? Then, drill. Drill. Drill a healthy life. No, I’m not Sir Mix-A-Lot. I simply think we should responsibly utilize our natural resources to improve the security and prosperity of all Americans.
Posted in Economy, Sustainability
3 Comments
Jun
20
Entrepreneurship helps animals
By Katie Kieffer 
I’m going out on a limb with the koalas to say that entrepreneurs are better caretakers of animals and endangered species than politicians who call themselves environmentalists. Last month, the journal Nature published a study showing that mathematical models for determining species extinction are unreliable and may be leading us to overestimate extinction probabilities by up to 160 percent. The study’s authors encourage the scientific community to not become complacent, but, rather, adopt better mathematical models for forecasting extinction rates.
Posted in Economy, Sustainability
1 Comment
May
24
Ending high gas prices
By Katie Kieffer
I’m picking out bananas at the grocery store when a young woman slides up beside me and starts adding fruit to her cart while she carries on a loud cell phone conversation with a girlfriend:
“Jess, I think I’ll stay over at your place on Wednesday night, because, with gas prices so high, I just can’t justify my commute into work. I might stay over on Thursday too, but I’ll let you know.” Her dry tone made it sound like she was making a dental appointment, not planning a girls’ night with pjs and cocktails. As she jaunted off toward the broccoli, I thought, “Wow, gas prices really are dominating our lives if adults are planning weekly sleepovers to avoid driving.” Continue reading
Posted in Economy, Sustainability
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Apr
26
Green Tech Needs Capitalism
By Katie Kieffer
Earth to Washington: The free market offers practical solutions for going green. Private entrepreneurs will literally fly to the moon to solve the U.S. technology crisis while government initiatives to support green technology fall flat.
The set of 17 rare elements known as “rare-earths” is integral to normal technology like iPads, fiber–optic cables and military equipment as well as “clean” technology like wind turbines, solar panels and electric batteries. Continue reading
Posted in Economy, National Security, Sustainability
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Apr
05
Love oil and it loves you back
By Katie Kieffer
Listening to morning shows is a good way to wind up in a psychiatrist’s office. I flip between 300 channels and have three basic choices: Bad economic news, high-profile violence or cotton candy interviews with reality stars. I try switching to Twitter and a trending topic is a cobra that escaped from the Bronx Zoo. I almost choke on my Pop-Tart.
I’m tired of negative news and hearing people whine without offering solutions. So, I’m defying the world by being optimistic. Continue reading
Posted in Economy, National Security, Sustainability
2 Comments