TheHotSpring.net » Discussion Forum

Toward a Deep Green Economy

Joseph Robertson — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:18:27 +0000

We are moving through a period of global economic transition. The new economy will favor complexity over hierarchy, and work with ecosystems and civil society, to achieve a more harmonious relationship between individuals and their environment. There are certain key points that will define this progress and build resiliency and generative capacity into the global economic system:

The Oakland Crackdown (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:56:46 +0000

The city of Oakland is experiencing a deep crisis of conscience, amid what appears to be the moral confusion of its administration. The mayor, who had marched with the Occupy Oakland demonstrators, has now ordered not one but two paramilitary strikes against nonviolent protesters, in which tear gas, “flash-bang” grenades, rubber bullets and powerful sonic [...]

Is Europe Closer to Full Integration? (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:49:47 +0000

The European Union has reached an agreement to relieve Greece of half of its sovereign debt, and to boost the Eurozone bailout fund to €1 trillion. The agreement may well be funded, in part, by non-European governments, even private investors, but it shows a new commitment to the Union as such, even amid a surge [...]

Critical Thinking, Humanities Needed for Widespread Educational Success

Joseph Robertson — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:11:29 +0000

There are two visions of what education can provide, as a service: it can provide the opportunity for integral cultivation of the full human self, with the aim of yielding productive, conscientious citizens of a dynamic, free society; or, it can produce workers to take their place in a faceless workforce, where individual rights are subsumed in the thrust of the major forces that govern society.

Clean Water Scarce for 3 Billion People Worldwide

staff — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 19:36:37 +0000

Clean, safe drinking water is scarce for over 3 billion people across the world. At least 1 billion literally never have access to clean, safe drinking water, putting them at constant risk of severe thirst-related ill health effects, infectious diseases or toxic contamination. Over 100 countries face either sporadic or chronic crisis-level problems [...]

Discussion on Generative Economics: Expanding Resources, not Depleting

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:27:39 +0000

A generative economics seeks to tap into the more democratic nature of markets, not for the concentration of wealth, but for the dissemination of prosperity. It aims to establish mechanisms for protecting genuine manifestations of conumser-oriented innovation and systems serving the public good —the status of which is itself a major economic driver—, keeping market leaders honest, preventing collusion, corruption, distorted accounting practices and non-generative (i.e. predatory or parasitic) commecial behavior, with the aim of ensuring that the most far-reaching economic trends actually contribute to the resource base, instead of eroding it.

Sustainable Use of the Oceans: Overfishing + Pollution Dead Zones Depleting Ocean Life (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:35:50 +0000

Overfishing has depleted fish-stocks the world over. Subsidies and lack of enforcement of sustainability measures drive the fishing industry to deplete the very stocks on which its existence depends, while climate interference and global contamination are leaving oceans so hypoxic (oxygen deprived) they cannot support marine life. At least 405 such 'dead zones' have been identified across the globe.

UPDATED 6/30: Ideas for Capping the Ruptured BP Oil Well (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Mon, 31 May 2010 17:28:19 +0000

With the blown-out well spewing between 800,000 and 2 million gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico, we need new ideas. Join the discussion now to propose any ideas on the technical challenges of the Deepwater Horizon disaster…

Knowledge is Wealth: School Funding Cuts Degrade Future

staff — Wed, 12 May 2010 18:02:36 +0000

Knowledge is wealth in its purest form, fully possessed by and inseparable from the individual. As noted in previous sections of this essay, the application of deliberately obtained knowledge to complex situations establishes the sovereignty of the individual. Variety is wealth insofar as it offers an array of options which may be combined in countless ways to confront the problems of living in the world. Variety in knowledge offers adaptability, and adaptability is the key to survival and prosperity at all levels. Ultimately, resilience, rooted in such flexibility, is the real meaning or value of wealth, of any kind.

Financial Regulatory Reform: Neural Architecture & Practical Proposals

Joseph Robertson — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:02:36 +0000

That too many people, including policy-makers and media figures "are out of their intellectual depth and easily manipulated" by the bewildering complexity of the financial-political feedback-loop is almost irrefutable, and I agree with comments in this debate it's "a symptom of the limitations of our neural architecture". But I don't know if we should take the question of neural architecture in the biological sense. There's a cultural and practical response that needs to be considered at least as strongly.

Ecology is About Awareness, not a System of Control

Joseph Robertson — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:59:53 +0000

The field of ecological research and reporting is a part of the basic human urge to engage the world through reason and a quest for understanding. It is not about seizing control of society's urges and services and limiting the freedom of anyone, but rather about making sure we have the information we need to make the best choices, then advocating for those choices, when inertia and custom stand in the way of better health — for individuals and in the manner in which human individuals respond to their social and natural environments.

Sony advances touchscreen e-paper paradigm with Sony Reader Touch Edition

staff — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:49:42 +0000

Like the Amazon Kindle family of e-readers, the Sony Reader Touch Edition uses an e-Ink e-paper display. But it’s interface works like a touchscreen. The advance is a major improvement for the standards of design in e-paper e-book readers. The touchscreen standard may be the most significant challenge Sony has put forth for the Amazon Kindle readers, none of which uses a touchscreen interface.

Fuel Efficiency: Hybrid, Electric, Solar or ‘Exotics’ (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:15:20 +0000

The quest for the most fuel-efficient vehicles has entered a new phase, with major government private-sector investment in research and development for industrial-scale commercial production of a new class of gas-electric hybrid vehicles and EVs (all-electric cars). Swiss-based Solar Impulse is building the world's first 100% solar-powered airplane, an achievement that will revolutionize the travel, industrial production, transport and fuel sectors.

Manuka Honey Kills MRSA: How Best to Apply Antibacterial Properties? (discussion)

staff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:49:11 +0000

What methods and strategies can be developed for speeding MRSA-effective Manuka honey to production and distribution for clinical treatment? What similar discoveries hold promise for treating multi-resistant bacteria?

Diversify Wheat Crops to Prevent Fungus-induced Global Harvest Collapse (discussion)

staff — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:43:00 +0000

A crop-borne fungus that targets wheat, named Ug99 because it was first identified in Uganda in 1999, has become one of the primary threats to global food security. Newfound virulence in the evolving stem-rust strain suggests the fungus could destroy as much as 80% of the world’s most widely grown crop: wheat.

Solar Impulse Unveils 1st 100% Solar-powered Airplane (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:02:05 +0000

Swiss-based Solar Impulse unveiled this month the first ever 100% solar-powered airplane with global reach. The HB-SIA is the culmination of six years of daring research and hard work. The aim of Solar Impulse is to demonstrate the ability of solar power to enable a plane to fly around the world with no combustible fuel.

Is Expanding National Debt Built into Co-dependent Relationship between US, China Growth? (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:58:45 +0000

Earlier this year, Chinese finance officials chastised the US for perceived risks to long-term fiscal solvency. Many economists of widely diverging views on best economic practice or theory have observed that a "symbiotic" relationship has emerged, in which cheap goods from China are sold in the US, where consumer spending is enabled by easy credit, funded by low interest rates, in part supported by the expanding market for US government bonds, funded by Chinese buyers, who are essentially closing the circuit, turning US consumer dollars into Chinese bond buys, which in turn facilitate consumer spending.

Airtight Online Security Against Identity Theft (discussion)

staff — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:41:28 +0000

How can we reach the state of affairs in which online activity is entirely secure against identity theft? Hyper-convergence means media and services of all kinds will be increasingly integrated across a broad-spectrum multi-media fabric, where one's actions and interests, private information and financial data, will be increasingly widespread.

Transparency Network for Dispersed Persistent Examination of Financial Institutions (discussion)

Joseph Robertson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:54:37 +0000

The underlying problem in the financial system —which allowed banking institutions to hide bad debt in bundled assets, and resell it to trading partners who may not have been given full disclosure on the unsustainable nature of much of the underlying debt— is transparency. A fierce individualist ideology led to a convenient clouding over of the reporting mechanisms intended to make financial institutions more ethical, more stable, and more useful to those outside their walls.

What Effect Will European Parliament Vote Have on Environmental Policy? (discussion)

staff — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:10:44 +0000

The European Parliamentary elections are the world's largest transnational democratic vote, with 375 million people across 27 nations, choosing among 650 parties for 785 seats in the Parliament. It is worth asking what effect these elections, held once every 5 years for all the seats in the European Parliament, will have on EU environmental policy. Will these elections speed the spread of clean energy resources, like wind, solar and wave power, across the EU member states and neighboring states?