Life, Money and Illuision is not about the magical arts or wizardry, though it does demystify money and Wall Street’s greedy aspirations abetted by the global push for more growth and consumption (and jobs).
In this second revised edition of Life, Money and Illusion, Nickerson explains that “Life” refers to the biological processes by which living things maintain themselves over time. “Money” represents our economic ideology that claims that as long as the volume of money changing hands increases, all will be well. “Illusion” refers to the fact that these two perspectives are directly opposed in terms of how they would solve current problems.
As one might imagine, a book of this stature and ambition — if providing meaningful analysis and argumentation (which it does superbly) — is not a cursory or a casual read.Running 448 pages, Life, Money and Illusion is meticulously fashioned in easy-to-understand language that makes Nickerson’s arguments and ideas both compelling and provocative.It draws from numerous fields, including ecology, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and, of course, economics.
Water scarcity resulting from climate change is the number one issue the world will have to grapple with in the future, according to chief climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.
On the one hand, we will have more water around us with sea level rising. On the other hand, though, drought caused by climate change will leave possibly billions of people without clean water.
This will cause great health and global security issues. Most of these problems will be caused by water imbalances.
Pirates may be figures of romance, like Captain Jack Sparrow, or historical fact, like the Viking raiders, but what they haven’t been, until the last few years, is a statistical risk. And that’s surprising, because piracy has always been with us. However, in the past five years, the ‘menace’ of piracy has begun to have serious impacts on international waters, and the worst peril is the inadvertent one.
The current Russia/Ukraine gas crisis is moving British gas companies to sell British gas supplies overseas, thereby keeping prices high and hitting UK consumers directly. Is is time for the UK to take political and economic control of their energy supply and run the industry for the public good and not for overseas profit?
With the recent election of Tzipi Livni to the leadership of Israel’s Kadima Party (the leading party in Israel’s ruling coalition), she has the opportunity to become Israel’s first female Prime Minister since Golda Meir and its second ever.
Whoever said that the environment doesn’t involve security? And here I’m talking about real politick, those issues that involve honest to gosh boots on the ground. Environmental scarcity or environmental disasters are quite capable of involving national security issues.
This morning I took a nice long bike ride around my current hometown of Annapolis, Maryland. As the home of the US Naval Academy (and lots of USNA alumni), it is a town that really pulls out the stops when it comes to recognizing Memorial Day as a day to remember the sacrifices made by US soldiers, sailors and Marines during our nation’s history.
Today happens to be a gorgeous, breezy day - perfect for flying the flag, for recreating in the outdoors and for thinking about ways to honor the memory of those who have made our freedom possible. From my own family, I spent some time remembering Uncle Gene, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, my cousin Todd, a career army medic who saved lives in Panama and the Persian Gulf, my father Ray, who repaired gyrocompasses as an enlisted sailor during WWII, and my daughter and her husband who both are currently serving in the US Navy. I also said a prayer for one of my best friends, a classmate who is currently in Talil, Iraq and for all of the other men and women who are doing their best in a challenging situation.
Rainwater catchment is an ancient practice used widely around the globe to harvest and store rainwater for human consumption and irrigation. Dating as far back as 4,000 B.C., it is now commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Europe, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand as well as the Caribbean, Central and South America.
With more than 250,000 practitioners in the U.S. alone, rainwater catchment is experiencing a revival in parts of North America including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Canada. Hawaii, North Carolina and the more dry regions of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas already boast government incentive programs. Although maintaining water supplies for increasing population demands is one of the California’s biggest challenges, the Golden state does not have government-backed, financial incentives for rainwater catchment.
What more can one say? CBS shocked the industry with this video of guards sleeping at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. They just happen to be in what they called “the ready room.”
While most of the focus in sustainable building is on energy efficiency, water conservation, and the efficient use of appropriate materials, preserving dark skies is a feature that may not immediately come to mind. But the LEED rating system includes a credit (Sustainable Sites: Light Pollution Reduction) for minimizing light pollution. So why are dark skies an element of green building?
Perhaps the most vocal advocates for dark skies are astronomers, both
For the first time ever, the United Nations Security Council has put global warming on its agenda and will hold a high-level meeting this month to discuss its potential impacts on international security.
We often hear of climate change’s threat to the environment, health, and the economy. But more and more policymakers and leaders are nervous about the global security issues we could face, such as conflicts over water resources and massive numbers of
Life, Money and Illuision is not about the magical arts or wizardry, though it does demystify money and Wall Street’s greedy aspirations abetted by the global push for more growth and consumption (and jobs).
Rainwater catchment is an ancient practice used widely around the globe to harvest and store rainwater for human consumption and irrigation. Dating as far back as 4,000 B.C., it is now commonly used in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Europe, Japan, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand as well as the Caribbean, Central and South America.
For the first time ever, the United Nations Security Council has put global warming on its agenda and will hold a high-level meeting this month to discuss its potential impacts on international security.
