Global Oil Outlook: A Crude Reality
Consumers and businesses alike are suffering from higher energy costs. How did we get here? There is no short answer, as a number of factors together have led to today's prices. Research from the International Energy Agency (IEA) has determined that primary energy demands will more than double by 2030. Manufacturers are disproportionately affected by energy price instability, according to the...
Read More »The Home Energy Savings Checklist
Energy and utility prices continue to rise and suck up ever more of our income. Cutting energy costs in the home requires minor changes, commitment and a shift in thinking. In 1999, residential customers paid an average 8.16 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh). And perhaps you recall the average price of residential electricity in 2006 was about 10.4 cents per kWh. The average United States delivered...
Read More »Food and Fuel Compete: The Downside to Biofuels
Not long ago, ethanol was being billed as a solution to the world's energy crisis. Now the alternative fuel is being blamed for higher food prices and even today's struggling economy as a whole. We ended 2007 with headlines foretelling the end of cheap food, and we entered 2008 with the lowest grain stockpiles on record, near-record grain prices and prospects for even tighter supplies as global...
Read More »2008 Fuel Efficiency Guide
As car buyers' preferences change, automakers strive to increase fuel economy and cut fuel inefficiencies. Some manufacturers are already ahead of the curve. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, signed into law in December, now requires automakers to boost fleet-wide gas mileage to 35 miles per gallon (14.8 km/l) by 2020. Today, all passenger cars sold annually in the United States...
Read More »A Thousand Barrels a Second: The Coming Oil Break Point and the Challenges Facing an Energy Dependent World
In A Thousand Barrels a Second, economist Peter Tertzakian gives all the bleak numbers but still manages to have an optimistic energy outlook — without engaging in the doomsday approach of so many books on oil. FROM THE PUBLISHER How the world's dizzying consumption of oil is poised to forever change the world economies and businesses. This is an informed and compelling look at one of the...
Read More »Understanding and Coping with Procrastination
Understanding procrastination's root cause can help employees better manage it in the workplace. Consider these procrastination-busting tips to improve your productivity. Experts agree that procrastination is a complex psychological behavior that affects everyone to some degree. Perhaps surprisingly, though, procrastination has very little to do with time management, according to a paper at the...
Read More »10 Green Heresies to Accept
Global warming is promoted with a ferocity and intensity that is similar to a religious fervor. Skeptics are treated as heretics, and believers are considered lunatics. In preparation for tomorrow's biweekly IMT e-mail on energy, here are 10 recently proposed "inconvenient truths." Note: Welcome back, dear readers! Hopefully, you had Monday off and used the three-day weekend to rejuvenate....
Read More »Light Friday: It's Baaaaack!
OK, so maybe it never went away, but the relationship between God and Science is again gaining traction as new arguments from a diverse set of voices attempt to answer the question, "Does science make belief in God obsolete?" Heavy. Yet it's still Light Friday, so herein we also have barbershop policing and LEGO brick boulders — Indiana Jones-style! Addressing the God-Science Relationship A...
Read More »Pain and Comfort in the Eurozone
Eurozone factory orders have recently slumped, according to official EU data released today. Yet some comfort can be found in the fact that unemployment continues to fall and that the euro-area economy should avoid a full-blown recession in 2008-2009. Major global concerns continue to depress companies facing a combination of weak market conditions and rising inflationary pressures. Input cost...
Read More »Meetings: Do I Really Have to Look at You?
The time and money spent for business travel does not always result in a high return. With travel costs edging ever higher, another look at virtual meetings could yield significant savings in time and expenses. Considering rising travel expenses such as food bills, hotels and car rentals, business travel costs add up quickly for firms. In its survey of 215 travel buyers last fall, the National...
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