The State Dept.’s Keystone XL report found that the pipeline is unlikely to significantly add to global carbon emissions. But foes say the project still may not be in the ‘national interest.’ The US State Department has concluded that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline – the 875-mile long oil link from Alberta to the US Midwest and ultimately to Gulf Coast refineries – is unlikely to add significantly to global carbon emissions. The much-anticipated finding in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the pipeline, released Friday, thrilled energy producers and dealt a blow to environmentalists. They have long argued that the pipeline would supercharge development…
Author: Lloyd Graff
As far as long-term investments go, the renewable energy sector has a bright future Around the world, investment in renewable energy companies has fallen. According to a studyby Bloomberg, $254 billion was invested in renewable energy worldwide last year, a drop of 12 percent from 2012, which itself was a nine percent fall from a 2011 high of $318 billion. This is a rather strange development. As a group, solar companies were one of the best-performing investments of 2013. The renewable energy sector as a whole is booming, and solar capacity is growing at an immense rate. So why is investment falling? There seem to…
In Manhattan, the upscale clothing retailer Barneys will replace the bankrupt discounter Loehmann’s, whose Chelsea store closes in a few weeks. Across the country, Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants are struggling, while fine-dining chains like Capital Grille are thriving. And at General Electric, the increase in demand for high-end dishwashers and refrigerators dwarfs sales growth of mass-market models. As politicians and pundits in Washington continue to spar over whether economic inequality is in fact deepening, in corporate America there really is no debate at all. The post-recession reality is that the customer base for businesses that appeal to the…
This map, printed by the Merchants’ Association of New York in 1922, shows industrial activity in the city, as reported to the 1919 Census of Manufactures. The map was meant as a promotional tool—beige areas represent areas “available for industrial development”—and to boost the city’s profile in the larger business community. In the upper right-hand corner of the map, a box lists the “lines” (or types of manufactured goods) in which New York’s factories competed. In 1919, this list shows, New York produced more than 50 percent of total national output in 12 lines of manufacture, and was competitive in…
The over-under line on the length of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl by opera star turned pop singer, Renee Fleming, is 2 minutes 25 seconds. It’s the Super Bowl. Everything is a hustle. Denver by two. Earlier in the week, Pete Seeger, the wonderful American folk singer, died at 94. Could you ever imagine Pete (“If I Had a Hammer,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”) singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at The Meadowlands? Funny thing. I love the Super Bowl, with its $4 million a pop ads, and I love the old lefty guitar picker, Seeger. They are both my America,…
In the runup to this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama has been busy trying to fulfill pledges from last year’s. He went to Raleigh, N.C., to announce it would become a high-tech manufacturing hub to ensure that the U.S. attracts “the good, high-tech manufacturing jobs that a growing middle class requires.” The president is one of many politicians of both parties as well as pundits who think manufacturing deserves special treatment. But this factory obsession is based on flawed economics. As the Brookings Institute economist Justin Wolfers asked recently, “What’s with the political fetish for manufacturing? Are…
I’ve driven in a Tesla. It’s for real. If you are making parts for internal combustion engines, I am warning you – things are changing. Tesla means it when they tell us they are coming out with their BMW 3 Series competitor in 2017. They plan to price it between $30,000 and $35,000. They think they can sell as many as they can make. The Fremont, California, plant (San Francisco) may be able to ramp up to 500,000 units per year. Some people sneer when they see Tesla Motors stock valued higher than Nissan. Scoffers always doubt the real movers…
Imagine being able to lease a 3D printer to build your entire house. The technology, called Contour Crafting, is already here and can build a 2,500-square-foot home in 20 hours. The massive robot printer was invented by University of Southern California professor Behrokh Khoshnevis, who says that the technology is so versatile that it can be used to build homes in slums or human habitats on Mars. The technology is ideal for the world’s slums and areas destroyed by natural disasters, claims Khoshnevis, because the robot’s construction is cheaper, stronger, faster, safer and more eco-friendly than manual construction. Khoshnevis also says NASA is supportive…
Last week, I attended the Shot Show in Las Vegas, one of the largest gun shows in the world. I went with Rex Magagnotti, my coworker at Graff-Pinkert, intent on selling multi-spindle screw machines to exhibitors and getting a good scoop for Today’s Machining World. One of the more surprising things I saw at the Shot Show was a commemoration of the late Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47, who passed away in 2013. Several portraits of him were placed throughout the show and the Arsenal/K-Var booth had a special display honoring him. The homage to the Russian Lieutenant…
IN my last year on Wall Street my bonus was $3.6 million — and I was angry because it wasn’t big enough. I was 30 years old, had no children to raise, no debts to pay, no philanthropic goal in mind. I wanted more money for exactly the same reason an alcoholic needs another drink: I was addicted. Eight years earlier, I’d walked onto the trading floor at Credit Suisse First Boston to begin my summer internship. I already knew I wanted to be rich, but when I started out I had a different idea about what wealth meant. I’d…