Archive for April, 2008
Clinton, McCain share dillusion; Obama chooses reality
I saw this in the news :
(my commentary below)
Clinton Joins McCain in Criticizing Obama on Gas Tax | The Trail | washingtonpost.com via kwout
What planet are these people on? Are gas prices going to magically fall come fall? What about the winter heating oil? Or next summer?
Will India and China politely decline from growing their economies so we can enjoy $2.00 gas?
Is OPEC sitting on a giant oil field that they’re waiting to tap until oil gets really expensive?
These gas-tax-relief plans are built on pure fantasy–the fantasy that we can all keep driving our cars a few hundred miles a week and not change a thing. Those days are over. Gone. Not coming back. We have exactly two choices at this point : either embrace this change and start rapidly planning for a low-energy lifestyle, or invest our remaining national wealth in a vestigial enterprise that should have gone out with the 1970s.
For Clinton & McCain, it’s cheap gas or bust. For the sake of our country, I hope they don’t win.
Filed under economics, energy, politics : Comments (4) : Apr 28th, 2008
Brady Street Skate Vid
I did a little video project with my friend this weekend :
Filed under Milwaukee : Comments (4) : Apr 27th, 2008
It’s happening
Over the past few years, esteemed blogs (such as tadfad.com) have espoused at great lengths why suburbs are not a wise investment for our nation in general. Now, as gas prices are on the way to $4/gallon and the credit markets are tightening up, home buyers seem to agree.
Home Prices Drop Most in Areas with Long Commute : NPR via kwout
The part that’s sad about this is that almost everyone is going to lose in the end. We’ve spent trillions of dollars building not only the suburban homes themselves, but all the infrastructure to support them. As these areas become less and less desirable (and hence, less valuable), much of this investment will simply go to zero. The negative effect to the U.S. economy will be significant.
Fortunately, there’s hope. In cities all across the U.S., there’s plenty of space to expand. After decades of suburban flight, many neighborhoods are living with low population density and ample opportunities for improvement. We’ll need to act wisely as we re-urbanize and ensure that low income families aren’t forced out to the fringes. Again, history is a wise tutor as most cities dealt with mixed income housing quite well prior to WWII.
The key to this equation will be wise investment. There will be enormous pressures on state and federal governments to prop up the suburbs with cheap loans and road building. We need the forethought to gradually close the book on the great suburban experiment and rediscover what city life can be.
[Side note : Anyone looking for an investment opportunity? Check out the Riverwest neighborhood in Milwaukee. ]
Filed under Milwaukee, culture, economics, energy, environment, suburbs : Comments (3) : Apr 23rd, 2008
Happy Earth Day
Filed under climate change, energy, environment : Comments (1) : Apr 22nd, 2008
Roundy’s does organic
Roundy’s is a supermarket megapology in the Midwest area (they own Pick N’ Save, Copps, and Rainbow Foods). They also sell store brand foods under the Roundy’s brand.
Imagine my surprise when I was cruising the organic dairy case (looking for my favorite Silk soymilk) and discovered that Roundy’s now offers organic milk. Huzzah!
This tells me a few things :
- Organic is officially mainstream (+)
- Organic appeals to people outside the lefty tree hugging crowd (+)
- Organic is done on the industrial scale just like conventional (-)
So with two (+)’s and one (-), this is a good thing. I’m walking the organic line; some things I like to buy organic (like my Silk) while others I go conventional. Let’s hope that we all continue to realize that energy intensive farming is not a winning strategy and keep moving the needle.
Filed under Milwaukee, economics, energy, environment : Comments (5) : Apr 20th, 2008
