A recent survey by RBC Capital Markets showed that many Americans are becoming more open to living near wind, hydro, geothermal, and even nuclear power generation facilities in response to high energy prices and environmental concerns. Only 16 percent of Americans said that they would oppose the construction of any type of energy plant or facility in their hometown, down from 23 percent in 2007.In addition to power generation related companies (mentioned in the following video) infrastructure manufacturers such as Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Foster Wheeler, and Woodward Governor Company, are just a few of the firms which could capitalize on the…
Author: Noah Graff
World trade is like a chameleon, constantly changing colors to survive and flourish. This is why I tend to disregard the Lou Dobbsians who are constantly searching for bad guys rather than opportunities.With the developing world growing so fast now and the added strain of material flowing to China to heal the wounds of the horrible earthquake, the container system is simply overused. The China trade is sopping up all slack in capacity, which means rates are triple those of six years ago if you can even find a container to send goods from the U.S. to Europe.The cost of…
Just when you think that we Americans have it bad with gas prices between four and five dollars per gallon, look across the Atlantic. Europeans are paying around nine dollars per gallon. Spanish truck drivers have protested by simply parking in a long line along the highway. Now in Spain and France people are protesting high prices by riding bikes in the nude. Also, farmers are leaving fields and clogging roads with their tractors. Source: www.thestreet.com
Now people can replicate replicating machines from replicating machines. Sounds kind of like Dolly, the cloned sheep, being cloned to produce a new sheep. http://blog.reprap.org/2008/06/reprap-achieves-replication.html Adrian (left) and Vik (right) with a parent RepRap machine, made on a conventional rapid prototyper, and the first complete working child RepRap machine, made by the RepRap on the left. The child machine made its first successful grandchild part at 14:00 hours UTC on 29 May 2008 at Bath University in the UK, a few minutes after it was assembled. [Sorry this news is a few days late, RepRap fans. We had a press…
A Gas Guzzler May Save You Money With ridiculous gas prices sweeping across the U.S., it might seem intuitive for a car buyer to look for something fuel efficient like a Smart Car, Prius, or Honda Civic. But with dealers struggling to get rid of trucks and SUVs (domestic brands in particular) some unprecedented deals for gas guzzlers are appearing which may actually make sense for buyers to jump on. Manufacturers are offering between $2,000 and $5,000 in discounts on once popular models like the Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Suburban, and dealers say there’s room for negotiation after that. Used…
Fredric Baur, the man who invented the tubular can that packages Pringles potato chips, died May 4, 2008, at the age of 89. Yesterday it was announced that he has had some of his ashes put into a Pringles can which was put into his coffin. Baur was an organic chemist and food storage technician who specialized in research and development and quality control for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. A patent for the can was granted in 1970, according to P&G archivist Ed Rider. Pringles have always been my favorite potato chips. I’ve always felt their flavoring was superior…
The 100 mpg Gas Guzzler Jonathan Goodwin dropped out of seventh grade to help pay the bills and follow his passion for cars and engines. Today the automotive world bows to his genius and wonders if this car nut might actually win the 10 million dollar X PRIZE for producing a low emission, competitively priced, 100 mile per gallon car. His partner in this venture is Neil Young, rock legend, who contributed his 1960, Lincoln Continental “boat” as Goodwin’s test car. Goodwin works out of a garage where he specializes in converting Hummers into fuel sipping diesels while boosting their…
Noah and I visited Vienna, Austria, recently on a business trip to central Europe. Our first order of business was to find the original Julius Meinl coffee shop, which is my favorite in Chicago. After several missteps, we found Meinl at about 6:00 in the evening on Sunday. The only part of the store which was serving customers was the outdoor seating area. The blond fraulein who came to take our order spoke no English. She was quite pretty but she carried a near scowl on her face. I tried to order a latte, but she only understood cappuccino, so…
Remember the last scene of Back to the Future when Doc Brown returns in his flying DeLorian to take Marty to the year 2015? As a 5 year old kid in 1985 I still remember being fascinated, not only because the car was flying, but because the new DeLorian was powered by garbage instead of plutonium. At the time I didn’t even know what plutonium was. But garbage fuel – now that was a cool concept.In 2008, people are finally starting to work on garbage-powered aviation. The Solena Group, a Washington DC company that builds and operates renewable energy power…
An old friend of mine at Columbia University business school recently returned from Dubai where he had traveled with his class for spring break. He told me that there were tons of chic restaurants and bars, but that the place had “no real culture.” Everyone on the street was from a different country and speaking English, every type of food was available much like one would find in any major city, and the nightlife scene reminded him of South Beach, Florida. The place exists for foreigners – business people and rich vacationers (primarily from Europe). My friend said that the…