Capitalism is evolution

I am not arguing the pros and cons of capitalism, only pointing out the parallels between evolution and capitalism.

1) Small genetic changes in an organism can cause a population explosion or extinction of its species. This might be kind of vague when applied to capitalism, but any small changes from a change in CEO or a bad or good decision can cause a company to either go out of business or stamp out the competition.

2) Adaptation or extinction. Companies like organism need to adapt to new environments quickly or face collapse.

3)Survival of the fittest: I don't have to explain much here. It is pretty obvious how this applies to both evolution. For capitalism in its purest form (.i.e no bailouts) a company that allows itself to be caught in on the wrong foot will go out of business or be bought up by a fitter company.

4) The meek will inherit the earth, this is not exactly a part of evolutionary theory but it has happened over and over again. The biggest example is the current dominance of mammal which happened as a result of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Bye bye Fossil fuels?

Many products are now available online from companies like First Solar, Evergreen Solar and GoGreensolar that will reduce our carbon footprint. Cheap easy to install solar panels, wind turbines can be used to generate a percentage of our energy use and with the expected implementation of a smart grid (which I will talk about at another time) any excess energy can be sold to electric company. Not only will we reduce our dependence on environmentally costly fuel but also have the opportunity to reduce the dependence of others.

A case study: This was reported in the economist last year. Farmers on a small island of the coast of Denmark, were encouraged by the government to place wind turbines on their farms. I am not aware if any subsidies were provided, but the farming community invested in the several turbines over the last few years and have succesully generated enough power to be able to sell it to the electric company which then supplies it to the main land. Denmark now generates 15% of it power from wind,(17000 megawatts of electricity) which was made possible by encouraging schemes such as these.

I don't want to lecture but this is an opportunity for each one of us to make a difference. So approach your local community organization, city or town hall to implement applicable clean energy technology. If thats not possible you can buy panels or turbines for your home and reduce your footprint.

What tragedy of commons?

A bit dated this article might be, but it will be relevant until we overcome the tragedy that is staring us in the face. At the expense of sounding like a broken record, I will once again talk about global warming and the urgency of taking steps to combat this phenomenon.

Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist, won the Nobel Prize for Economics recently. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized her "for her analysis of economic governance," saying her work had demonstrated how common property could be successfully managed by groups using it thus debunking the tragedy of commons. Each of us working in groups can compromise for the conservation and thereby the rejuvenation of resources.

Renewable energies are getting cheaper by the day. The problem so far has been that coal was extremely cheap to use compared to the energy obtained through Solar and Wind technologies. In Jan 2009, First Solar announced that they had beaten the industry milestone of $1 per watt of solar energy. Compared to the prices per watt of coal this is still expensive. While the renewable energy companies work on the innovation, we can lend a hand by driving demand. It has always been the case that demand leads to innovation. Kinda like necessity and invention.

Hard work

GIVING 103% AT WORK

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100% Here's to achieving 103%. Here's a little
math that might prove helpful in the future!

What makes life 100%?

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

equals:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

then:
H A R D W O R K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98 % Only

K N O W L E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96 % Only

But:
A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100 %

However:
B U L L * * * T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%

Urgent Changes to the UNSC

It has been over 60 years since WWII. The victors granted themselves a special position on the geo political arena by creating the UNSC and giving themselves the power of the veto. This veto power has been used on many instances to thwart progress and also as a tool to instigate peace or war. I am not arguing against the veto power, but against limited number that it has been granted to. It is important now to acknowledge that the UNSC permanent membership is outdated and does not truly represent the interests of the globe. It only represents the vested interest of the few powerful nations.

England and France: As the EU becomes more organized and stable its only fair that the position that these two countries hold in the UNSC be handed over to the EU as it truly represents the interests of Europe and not just those of the two countries.

Russia, China and USA: No changes here

Expansion of the UNSC: To be truly democratic the UN needs to expand the UNSC. There is nor representation of South America, Africa, South Asia. It important that every continent is represented in the council and also important that a large population like that of South Asia be given a place in the council. The BRIC countries Brazil and India would be the ideal candidates for this purpose. Brazil is the largest country in South America and India has a population of more than 1 billion.

There is no way that the current council will allow an expansion. Who would want to share power or be interfered with by more than what they already face. China will oppose India’s entry and Brazil will be opposed by the Venezuela, Bolivia among others. For this purpose the UNSC should be temporarily stripped of the veto power, a vote with equal weight from each country taken, the UNSC expanded and then the UNSC be handed back the veto.

The cap and trade story

I cannot tell you about the what the cap and trade will achieve better that this video. While the best of the solutions available right now, the control over the cap and trade should rest with individual governments completely.The trade should be regulated, somewhat, to ensure fair play.

Its easy to be satisfied with what we have right now but as the video will show you, and history has constantly proved, businesses will try to serve themselves, not the planet.

Link to video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA6FSy6EKrM

Possibilan-ism

To expand out horizons we must first admit ignorance. -Olivia Judson

Everybody seems to be dealing in certainties, even in this age. Religious institutions and cults are certain that their book explain everything and only that is the truth, Atheists are certain that the path science has adopted is the best way forward and both are at each throats. I was, until recently, a part of the latter.

David Eagleman introduced Possibilan-ism. "Possibilans are those that celebrate the vastness of our ignorance, are unwilling to commit to any particular made-up story, and take pleasure in entertaining multiple hypotheses." This is the simplest yet the best definition. There is no church, no principles to adhere to -only a recognition of our ignorance and an adaptation of the middle path. David Eaglemen presented this view in his book and SUM and will follow up in his 2010 book "Why I am a possibilan".

So open up and explore this possibility.