Global Warming Scoreboard

January 18, 2013
Environment
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I think I’m going to go with the scientists on this one.  Sorry American Petroleum Institute and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

For a more serious take on the matter check out Jeremy Grantham’s quarterly letter from 2010 (link) – skip to the section “Everything You Need to Know About Global Warming In 5 Minutes” (p.7 of the PDF).

These Groups Say The Danger Of Manmade Global Warming Is A . . .
FACT FRAUD
U.S. Agency for International Development
United States Department of Agriculture
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Energy
National Institutes of Health
United States Department of State
United States Department of Transportation
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Smithsonian Institution
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Council
African Academy of Sciences
Australian Academy of Sciences
Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts
Academia Brasileira de Ciéncias
Cameroon Academy of Sciences
Royal Society of Canada
Caribbean Academy of Sciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Académie des Sciences, France
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina of Germany
Indonesian Academy of Sciences
Royal Irish Academy
Accademia nazionale delle scienze of Italy
Indian National Science Academy
Science Council of Japan
Kenya National Academy of Sciences
Madagascar’s National Academy of Arts, Letters and Sciences
Academy of Sciences Malaysia
Academia Mexicana de Ciencias
Nigerian Academy of Sciences
Royal Society of New Zealand
Polish Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
l’Académie des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal
Academy of Science of South Africa
Sudan Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Tanzania Academy of Sciences
Turkish Academy of Sciences
Uganda National Academy of Sciences
The Royal Society of the United Kingdom
National Academy of Sciences, United States
Zambia Academy of Sciences
Zimbabwe Academy of Science
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Physics
American Medical Association
American Meteorological Society
American Physical Society
American Public Health Association
American Quaternary Association
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Society of Agronomy
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Statistical Association
Association of Ecosystem Research Centers
Botanical Society of America
Crop Science Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Federation of American Scientists
Geological Society of America
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Natural Science Collections Alliance
Organization of Biological Field Stations
Society of American Foresters
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society of Systematic Biologists
Soil Science Society of America
Australian Coral Reef Society
Australian Medical Association
Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
Engineers Australia
Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
Geological Society of Australia
British Antarctic Survey
Institute of Biology, UK
Royal Meteorological Society, UK
Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
European Federation of Geologists
European Geosciences Union
European Physical Society
European Science Foundation
International Association for Great Lakes Research
International Union for Quaternary Research
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
World Federation of Public Health Associations
World Health Organization
World Meteorological Organization
American Petroleum Institute
US Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Manufacturers
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Industrial Minerals Association
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Great Northern Project Development
Rosebud Mining
Massey Energy
Alpha Natural Resources
Southeastern Legal Foundation
Georgia Agribusiness Council
Georgia Motor Trucking Association
Corn Refiners Association
National Association of Home Builders
National Oilseed Processors Association
National Petrochemical and Refiners Association
Western States Petroleum Association
“FACT” organizations from Is There a Scientific Consensus on Global Warming?, SkepticalScience.com.
“FRAUD” organizations are petitioners v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.

Source: Think Progress

This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For

January 16, 2013
Everything Else
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The White House’s website has a special section that allows people to create and sign petitions online called We The People.  The intent, as stated on their website, is to “give all Americans a way to engage their government on the issues that matter to them”.

As it turns out 35,435 citizens have petitioned the US Government to “Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016”.  Seriously.

The administration, politely replied as follows:

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TOSecure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016.

This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For

By Paul Shawcross

The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:

  • The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
  • The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
  • Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

You can read the rest of the official response here.

Growth Hacking

January 16, 2013
Business, Investing, Startups, Technology
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Great lecture from Chamath Palihapitiya. Relevant to any early stage business.

I like his simple framework for growth:
– Acquisition (how do you get people in the front door?)
– Activation (how do you get an “a-ha” moment from the user as quickly as possible?)
– Engagement (how do you deliver core product value, keep them coming back?)
– Virality (don’t even think about this one until you’ve figured out the first 3)

It’s based on a continuous cycle of measuring, testing, and trying new things (see Lean Startup).

I also like his term for trying your own product “Dogfooding” (i.e. eating your own dog food).

Regretsy

January 15, 2013
Everything Else
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Etsy – the online marketplace for handmade / vintage items hit a major miles stone in Nov. – they broke $100M per month in GMV (gross merchandise volume).  Hats off to them.

While I’ve never shopped on Etsy, I do enjoy skimming some of their finer offerings on the blog Regretsy.

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One Hundred Dollars?

January 14, 2013
Finance, Infographics, Investing
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If only US Treasuries came with this kind of warning label.  Poor time to be buying longer duration USTs (loaning money to the government); on the flip side, it is a GREAT time for the US Gov. to borrow money / refinance their debts.  Keep in mind, over the long haul the 10 year UST averaged about a 5% yield (with some pretty massive swings).  Even if rates get halfway to their long term average you’re looking at an 8% discount to par.  Pretty lousy returns for what is widely viewed as a “risk free” asset.

Source: WSJ

Best Trade of 2012

January 4, 2013
Economics, Finance, Investing
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Looks like the long Lumber short Orange Juice trade would have made you a bundle in 2012.  Was there anyone out there that saw that coming?

Also, it looks like the Japanese were much better at debasing their currency / inflating their stock market than their American counterparts.  Oh well, better luck in 2013!

Postscript: it turns out the chart embedded below updates automatically, so it is no longer illustrative of the post above…

Nyan Cat

January 3, 2013
Everything Else
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Just when you thought you’ve seen everything, someone goes and makes a web site like this (the running cat is in fact a link).  Apparently it’s been around since 2011 and the original incarnation, a YouTube video, ranked as the #5 most viewed video in 2011.

Hat tip: LS

…. Now back to our regularly scheduled program…