The Economic Crisis and Climate Change
March 9th, 2009
McKinsey Quarterly just published this interview in which Economist Nicholas Stern says that we should use the economic crisis to address climate change.
“We need to have a reflationary package, which lays the foundation for future growth. And if we look into the future, it’s actually quite exciting. Because what we see is the biggest technological opportunity that we’ve had for a very long time: as big as the railways, as big as electricity, as big as the motorcar, and, most recently, information technology. It’s the opportunity to go for low-carbon growth.”
Opportunity in Crisis
March 7th, 2009
The blogosphere’s theme for the remainder of 2009 should be the Rahm Doctrine. Clearly we are in the middle of a pretty major economic crisis. Hopefully it won’t last much longer than 2009. I also think we are in the middle of a more subtle social crisis that will likely go on for much longer. Don’t believe me? Think about the climate, income inequality, healthcare, increasing global conflict, rising food prices.
With so much in the way of crisis going on right now, according to the Rahm Doctrine at least, there should be plenty of opportunities. Especially for entrepreneurs.We’ve already highlighted a few of these opportunities, and will continue to do so. Other bloggers are doing the same (everyone from Gary Vaynerchuk to Paul Krugman)
President Obama in his weekly address this morning confirmed this belief. What we’re going to see in the coming months is a global willingness to try new ideas out, mostly because many of the old ideas are broken. And we’re already seeing signs of it. Americas workforce is switching sectors. We are investing in our homes to increase their efficiency (and stave off loss in value). For a great article on what some of the coming changes could be, check out this months Atlantic.
And if you have your own ideas of opportunities within crisis please share them with us. One of our favorites is here.
Another Source
February 23rd, 2009
Quick - Post
Fast Company’s piece on Marine Energy is a good introduction to an area that’s often overlooked in our search for renewable energy.
Check it out here http://tinyurl.com/b9v4y4
Intersection of 2 lines
February 22nd, 2009
There’s a lot of talk about how entrepreneurs can save the day.
Who will get us out of this economic mess? Entrepreneurs.
Who is going to lead us towards clean energy? Entrepreneurs.
Who is going to save the New York Times from Rupert Murdoch? Entrepreneurs?
There is an enormous amount of truth to this idea, but its a bit incomplete. Sramana Mitra recently posted an article for Forbes as part of a running series that is exploring a variety of topics related to the economy and entrepreneurs. One article in particular, Barriers to Innovation, reminded me something that I think a lot of people need to bear in mind: We cannot rely on entrepreneurs alone. We need to value the solid research and technical skills that come from academia, science and engineering. Its when they intersect that real value is generated. Read the rest of this entry »
