Value of introverts

Not everyone thrives in groups.  Not all good ideas are birthed in groups.  For quiet people, creativity takes off in solitude.

This author observes the extrovert/introvert split in her four boys, and provides appropriate environments for both ("In the Whirled: Socializing our kids to death")

Broken higher education

John Mark Reynolds, provost at Houston Baptist University, says that it's obvious that higher education is broken:

"College is expensive, dominated by faculty unions, and hostile to moral education. Higher education does research well and is vital to our continued economic growth, but it no longer forms leaders fit for republican values."

Reason is one tool - but not the only tool - to aid in building a strong society because :  "All the scientists in creation cannot get an “ought” from the “is” they study, but a republic requires a basic consensus on what “ought to be.”  He is so right.

"Parents and students have a choice in higher education: schools with a strong Western core, a commitment to science and research, and traditional moral values still exist."  Choose one of these.

Future of business

Jason Nazar started his business in 2007 with pretty much just the $20k he had in savings.  But he says that it would have taken at least a million if he had tried to start it ten years earlier. 

 Counter-intuitive?  According to Jason, this surprising change has come about largely because of enormous economies of scale resulting from technology.

Speaking of technology, it's technology that holds your network together, and "Your network is your key currency."  "It will always be who you know that gives you the competitive advantage in business."  

Why?  Because business owners are essentially taking risks all the time - gambling that the cost of providing their product or service will be offset by the price their customers are willing to pay.  Therefore, they will want to do business with you . . if they know that you have a good track record.   It's one less thing for them to worry about.

There's much more from this thoughtful observer of business and entrepreneurship regarding the future of business here.

Local food, LA & NY

Stanford Law student Rohit Kumar turned his whole yard into a food-producer to the tune of 5,000 pounds of food per year.  Living in Los Angeles has probably helped climate-wise.

 But New York City has urban farms too.  Gotham Greens is a farm on a rooftop supplying New Yorkers and restaurants with fresh herbs and lettuce, grown without soil hydroponically.  This rooftop produced nothing - and then co-founders Eric and Viraj started creating food and wealth with this resource and their idea.  Now consumers have a source of nearby nutrition and jobs are created.

Brooklyn Grange Farm  produces 40,000 pounds of produce per year on 2.5 acres of cultivated NY rooftops, using 1.2 million pounds of soil.

Here's their mission:  "at our core, we are a farm, and growing nutritious, tasty food is our passion.  Doing so in New York is our dream.  We believe that this city can be more sustainable; that our air can be cooler and waterways can be cleaner.  We believe that food should be fresh, not sitting on the back of a flatbed for two weeks.  We believe that food should taste fresh.  Because at the end of the day, it’s about sitting down with our farmily, admiring that sunset over the city skyline, snacking on a perfectly ripe, sweet tomato and remembering: this is what real food is."

More very local food

Front yard, back yard, where else can you grow some food for yourself?

You can garden on a flat roof.  Chicago's City Hall has had a garden eleven stories off the ground for years, an inspiration for other cities.  If you want to try gardening on a roof, do get some good advice.  It's not exactly like digging a hole in your yard.

You can garden in your truck ("Truck Farm").

You can garden vertically - lots of different ways.

You can even garden in your apartment.

And of course, you can grow gardens and fish with aquaponics.

Real local food

You've heard the term "locavore," meaning one who makes an effort to eat food that is produced locally.   The food may be fresher, in season, and better quality than food transported hundreds of miles before it lands on your dinner plate.

If you shop your local farmer's market or farm stand, you support your neighbors and local businesses as an additional advantage.

But - the most local?  That would be your own yard.

Vegetables used to be relegated to the back yard, but I've seen some examples that use the front yard when it has a lot of sun.  It's a great way to make the land you have productive.

For this lunch a few weeks ago, I picked my own kale, cherry tomatoes, and Thai basil in my backyard.  It's a good feeling.

Gen Y unhappiness

Standard disclaimer: no, the following does not apply to everyone who is Gen Y!  But as with most theories, it probably applies to some.

This Huff Post article maintains that there is a subgroup of generation Y, the GYPSY, which is "Generation Y Protagonists and Special Yuppies."  They've been brought up to know that they are not just full of potential, but they're Very Special and therefore entitled to success (unlike their parents, who expected that only hard work would earn them rewards).

The author quotes a study "finding that Gen Y has 'unrealistic expectations and a strong resistance toward accepting negative feedback,' and 'an inflated view of oneself.' He says that 'a great source of frustration for people with a strong sense of entitlement is unmet expectations.'" 

If you have observations/opinions, share them.

US wind energy

USA Today (June 2013) reports the same thing we read last Thursday in Spiegel Online, that Germany's wind power projects have cost German consumers dearly.  They are not working out satisfactorily as a replacement for nuclear power, per Germany's intention after the Fukushima, Japan, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Wind and solar power are often mentioned together as the most promising of alternative energy options.  Wind has some disadvantages in comparison though:  wind turbulence is created by landscape features, and, unlike solar, it involves mechanical moving parts that can break down.

The author reports, first, that our government has held up Germany and Spain as successful leaders to be followed in the development of wind or solar.  But Germany and Spain seem to have decided their efforts so far are un-successful.

The author reports, second, that our government may guarantee a $2 billion loan from a foreign bank to the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts.

Considering actual results in Germany and Spain, and considering our previous wasted loan guarantees, I hope they think that through very carefully.

Most healing foods

Dr. Fuhrman (see yesterday's post) has a different take on eating advice:  it's a ratio of nutrition to calories.  Greens are at the top of this scale because they give you the most nutrition for the least amount of calories.

With greens as the top priority, the rest of the super-good-for-you foods are beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds/nuts, and this is on his website.  While you're there, check out "success stories."

For another radical but inspiring success story, see the dvd "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead."

More healing foods

There seems to be no disagreement on the incredible nutrition of plants and their primary importance in diet.  Nobody advises against eating more vegetables and fruits.

Dr. Joel Fuhrmann has published books about the supreme nutrition in particular vegetables/fruits, and includes pictures of people who have been healed of degenerative disease by adopting his plan.

Here he is on the TV show of Dr. Oz, with two enthusiastic fans.  He'll tell you how to get more of what your body really needs you to eat.

Diet and cancer

Prevention is better than therapy!  Dr. Li is excited about foods you can eat to starve cancer and keep it from growing in you.   

Debt: Stop digging

In case you haven't seen it: this is the popular video about America's debt and the folly of spending our kids' future resources.  If a family went into debt to the same scale as our government has, and tried to get even more credit from the bank, it might look like this:

"Reckless" green policy

Germany's Spiegel Online International has only criticism for their government's green energy policies:

"Germany's aggressive and reckless expansion of wind and solar power has come with a hefty price tag for consumers, and the costs often fall disproportionately on the poor. Government advisors are calling for a completely new start."

Consumers already pay more for electricity in Germany than in any other European nation, and the cost is going to go up another 20%.  More carbon was released into the atmosphere in 2012 than in 2011.  A steel mill may be asked to shut down to protect the grid when there is a shortage of electricity.  These unintended consequences please nobody.

photo:  www.spiegel.de

"When Stefan Becker . . of the Catholic charity Caritas makes a house call, he likes to bring along a few energy-saving bulbs. Many residents still use old light bulbs, which consume a lot of electricity but are cheaper than newer bulbs. 'People here have to decide between spending money on an expensive energy-saving bulb or a hot meal,' says Becker. In other words, saving energy is well and good -- but only if people can afford it."

from:  Spiegel Online International 09.04.2013, "Germany's Energy Poverty: How Electricity Became a Luxury Good"

Green energy problems

Germany has invested hugely in green energy in the hope that wind or solar energy will eventually be produced efficiently enough to replace nuclear or fossil-based fuels like oil and gas.

So far, the they have little to show for their efforts.  Solar energy companies have gone under, and now wind farms are producing bad news.

photo:  www.spiegel.de

Riffgat is Germany's first wind farm in the North Sea.  Der Spiegel calls it "a masterpiece of German engineering," and says that its 492-foot wind turbines "work perfectly".  

But consumer prices for electricity are going up and the "market is collapsing."  Those turbines are turning at this time, but they're being fueled by onshore fossil fuel!  Chancellor Angela Merkel has changed her mind about showing up for the dedication.

"Instead of being a showcase project, the Riffgat offshore wind farm has become a symbol of the government's failed offshore wind policy."

A lot of money was spent (which ultimately comes from taxpayers) for such a disappointing outcome.

Papuans: engaged & capable

(cont'd)

"Strong, free, brave, capable" (see yesterday's post) people of Papua New Guinea talk about why they initiated their new school, motivations they share with all parents everywhere.  Watch the parents and leaders explain that they want their children educated in character, prepared to prosper and to be comfortable with globalization.  These Christian parents and leaders, associated with their local church, seemingly out in the outback of Papua New Guinea, have chosen a strategy to educate their children:  they are demonstrably not "hopeless and helpless."

Papuans: not helpless

From the blog of Darrow Miller, who served with Food for the Hungry International from 1981 to 2007, from 1994 to 2007 as its vice president:

"Papuans were totally self-sufficient for thousands of years so it is a difficult task to convince them that they are hopeless and helpless. 

"But in the last decade well-intentioned outsiders have made significant headway. The Papuans, who viewed themselves as “the people”–strong, free, brave and capable–are becoming dependent on government, mission, and aid organizations."

Incomes in the recovery

The recession ended in 2009 - they told us.  But according to CNN Money and Sentier Research, incomes across America took a hit from which they have not come back.

American incomes in general have declined since that, ahem, end of recession in 2009 by at least 4%.  But some incomes have declined by much more than that.

Demographic groups whose income has dropped the most are:

• Non-Hispanic Black - 10.9%
• Under age 25 - 9.6%
• Men living alone - 9.1%
• Single mothers - 7.5%

Africa's resources

Africa has been called "one of the most resource-rich destinations on earth" but its people have not historically been among the among the most prosperous on earth.  Thanks to a period of relative peace and stability (see yesterday's post), however, African nations have seen good economic growth in the last decade.

Oil and gas have fueled economic boom on the east coast.  About three quarters of the world's rhodium and platinum come from Africa and are essential to the catalytic converter in our cars.  Cobalt is used in electronic devices and in batteries, and Africa provides 58% of the world's needs.

Africa has always been rich in natural resources.  But until they are developed, retrieved from the ground, refined into something people can use, the natural resources might as well not be there.   Businesses must be started or imported which can develop this abundance.

African growth

When the economy grows, people have better lives.  They spend a smaller share of their resources (time, labor, money) getting the material essentials of life, and more on the non-material blessings of life like leisure time, education, etc.

Economic growth is a blessing that can and should spread to some extent throughout the community/nation, partly because those who have more income spend it with others who have something to sell.

What does it take for an economy to grow, that is, for wealth to be created?  There are several factors that will help anywhere, and have set the stage for Africa's accelerated growth in the last decade.

One important factor in Africa's growth has been increasing stability.   Africa appeared in the 1990's to be "uniquely prone to nasty political violence," but since those days wars have been on the decline.

Warlords and dictators make turmoil not only socially but also economically.  Business owners, small or big, must be able to anticipate conditions like taxes, whether employees can get to work, and whether their property will remain secure.

Fear and uncertainty caused by wars or unpredictable government can make building and maintaining a business terminally risky.

"Work" is honorable

Work is a good thing in the Western worldview.  Christianity has made a distinct contribution to this view, as articulated by Chuck Colson in 2003:

"We are made in the image of God and as such we are made to work—to create, to shape, to bring order out of disorder."  This is what you do (as we all do) in your business or job.

"Christians have a special reason to celebrate Labor Day, which honors the fundamental dignity of workers, because we worship a God Who labored to make the world—and Who created human beings in His image  . . When God made Adam and Eve, He gave them work to do: cultivating and caring for the earth."

"In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans looked upon manual work as a curse, something for lower classes and slaves. But Christianity changed all of that. Christians viewed work as a high calling—a calling to be co-workers with God in unfolding the rich potential of His creation."

We create - we shape - we organize our world to unfold its rich potential.  Inspiring!

African economies growing

It's good to hear that sub-Saharan African countries are growing economically at a healthy pace.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts growth of well over five percent for the region, with individual nations reaching growth rates of 6-8%.

The IMF projects economic growth in the next year for Nigeria at about 7%.  By way of comparison, America's economy is growing ~2% at this time (during the past century it grew by around 3% annually).

photo: coons.senate.gov