“The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000…” – Michael Pollan, author of “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” Written in 1906, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair ends with the main character Jurgis realizing the workers, not a few wealthy capitalists should own factories and … Continue reading A Response to Food Inc. (2010)
Author: michaelhperrin
Domestic and Global Investment in Renewable Energy
Renewable energy currently accounts for 13% of the domestically produced electricity in the United States and 11% of total energy generation. Biomass fuels account for about half of renewable sources, hydroelectric as 30%, wind power as 15%, solar as 2% and geothermal as 2%. 2011 was the first year since 1997 that renewables exceeded nuclear … Continue reading Domestic and Global Investment in Renewable Energy
From the Great Depression to the Great Society
President Calvin Coolidge gave his final State of the Union address in December 1928, saying, “No Congress of the United States ever assembled…has met with a more pleasing prospect than that which appears at the present time.” His last term had conquered the highest record of economic prosperity the nation had ever seen but as … Continue reading From the Great Depression to the Great Society
The Function of Time in the U.S. Senate
“C-SPAN, the official network for wide shots of empty chairs…every time I tune into C-SPAN it looks like they just had a fire drill…C-SPAN is one unpaid electric bill from being a radio station…people think bin Laden is hiding in the Hindu Kush but did you know every day from 4-5 he hosts a show … Continue reading The Function of Time in the U.S. Senate
The Symmetry Between the Individual and the Universe
There are around two hundred sovereign states in the world and of all those states with so many different kinds of people and cultures, we all have one similarity, our mortality. Because our time here is so relatively short, we strive for glimpses of being, belonging, meaning, and ecstasy. Religion offers us a sense of … Continue reading The Symmetry Between the Individual and the Universe
All Politics is Social
“Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee.” - Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of Huffington Post, in theNew York Times (11/7/08) Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill coined the phrase, “All politics … Continue reading All Politics is Social
A Brief History of Energy Use
Up until the Industrial Revolution which began in 1760 and ended about eighty years later, water and wind were the main sources of energy. The sun was the main source of heat as well as burning wood and straw. Transportation was empowered by horses and the wind in the sails. Animals did the work people … Continue reading A Brief History of Energy Use
All We Need Is Love
For my first blog I would like to share a paper I wrote recently on how we can make the world a better place. My definition of World Order is the following: where there is stability among every sovereign state, not a “balance of power” that could shift at any moment, a community where we … Continue reading All We Need Is Love