Juggling Dynamite

Here’s a novel business idea for driving strong growth in an aging, heavily indebted world:  build a product that lowers the financial burden of transportation and climate change.  Since March 31, Tesla Motors says reservations from Model 3 surpass 276,000:

The Model 3 is a sedan capable of seating five and going 215 miles on a charge and 0-60 mph in less than 6 seconds, starting at a price of $35,000.

To give a sense on the scale of the backlog, BMW sold about 95,000 3-series sedans in 2015 in the U.S. The Model 3 is roughly the same size and price and would likely outsell the U.S.’s best-selling compact luxury car in its first year of production if Tesla can make enough cars….

The 276,000 reservations equates to an $11.6 billion backlog of orders, based on Mr. Musk’s assessment that the average Model 3 would cost about $42,000 with options. Last year, Tesla’s global revenues were about $4 billion.

Just think how much further we could all be today if pig-headed, short-sighted, dumb GM had not ripped its much loved EV1’s out of leasee hands to destroy them all in 2003. They might have even prospered and not needed another taxpayer bailout in 2008.  Imagine.

With the American media focusing all its attention on who will be the presidential candidates for the Republican and the Democratic parties, it’s easy to forget that there is a third party. We have not heard much about it, in the midst of what has become a political circus.

The Green Party of the United States will hold its own nominating convention in August. Members of the U.S. Green Party have been elected in state legislatures in California, Maine and Arkansas. Others hold positions at the municipal level, on school boards, city councils, and as mayors.

Dr. Jill Stein is the leader of the Green Party of the United States; she is running for President for the second time. She is a physician and a committed activist. Here is a direct audio link.

I have been a vegetarian for many years, but it was not until I understood the nexus between animal agriculture and climate change that I gave up dairy. It was an adjustment to learn new recipes for sure, but the upside is huge. The food is incredible and I am lighter both physically and mentally knowing that my dietary choices are part of the solution rather than the problem. With great cookbooks like “Oh she glows”, the whole family is now on board and loving it.

A major new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week lays out the facts of why plant-based diets are key to better health and a sustainable biosphere:

The food system is responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions while unhealthy diets and high body weight are among the greatest contributors to premature mortality. Our study provides a comparative analysis of the health and climate change benefits of global dietary changes for all major world regions. We project that health and climate change benefits will both be greater the lower the fraction of animal-sourced foods in our diets. Three quarters of all benefits occur in developing countries although the per capita impacts of dietary change would be greatest in developed countries. The monetized value of health improvements could be comparable with, and possibly larger than, the environmental benefits of the avoided damages from climate change.

See:  How reduced meat consumption can save $31 trillion–and the planet.