Juggling Dynamite

Great article reminding us of the real reason the world is moving to stored electric power increasingly generated by a host of renewable energies–because it’s just far better:

“From cars to scooters to boats to locomotives to industrial equipment, we are in the midst of a transition that will electrify everything previously driven by combustion.

There are two simple reasons we’ll make this change sooner than most people think. First, electrically powered things just work better. And people want things that work better…

Cutting-edge electric cars today are better than their gas-powered counterparts. They are both safer and easier to maintain than conventional cars. No trips to the gas station, no oil changes; the bulk of upkeep lies in tires and windshield wiper fluid. They also perform on the road, with better acceleration, torque and responsiveness than their conventional counterparts.”

And it’s not just vehicles, it’s literally everything.  See:  The coming electrtification of everything:

“Today’s first graders will get to college and shake their heads when we talk about the good old days of using repeated explosions under the hood of the car to get around.”

This holiday season and everyday, reducing consumption is an over-arching goal for thoughtful people.  Plastic and trash washing up on beaches all over the world are a pressing reminder that nowhere is an island when it comes to humans and our wasteful destruction.

When we do consume we must devise ways to use less packaging. When we create waste we must carefully separate our garbage into compost and recyclables.  Once this is the family’s habit, it feels grotesque and dumb to toss everything into one receptacle.  Most places in the world are still tossing everything in together.  We can be so much wiser than this.  But to change, we the people, have to care and insist on policies and programs that require everyone to do their part, from cities and towns, to corporations and families.  When we lead through example and mandate, others will develop smarter habits of their own.

For castoffs that we no longer need, knowing where they can be recycled is part of the solution. David Suzuki Foundation has published a helpful list of resources in Canada (organized by location) to help us do just that:  See: Recycle your unwanted stuff.

Let’s get smarter and more disciplined in 2016.  Yes we can.

The US GDPNow Dec 23 read for Q4, undershot even the most pessimistic of consensus forecasts (blue band below), coming in at 1.3% (seasonally adjusted annual rate–green line) on large downward revisions in real consumer spending growth and residential investment growth.

Canada too is setting up for another weak quarter coming in with zero growth in October after contracting in September and broad weakness across manufacturing, utilities and retail trade.  See: Canada’s GDP unchanged in October.

The fact that a 32% plunge in the loonie against the US dollar (Canada’s largest trading partner–and the biggest economy in the world) has only brought ongoing weakness in Canadian manufacturing and retail trade, shows just how anemic demand continues to be this cycle.

With faltering growth on both sides of the border, the Bank of Canada wants to ‘stimulate’ wherever possible.  But in truth, after years of near-zero rates, and an already pummeled currency, the BOC has next to no monetary kindling left to ignite any fires of demand today.  Unlike the stimulus driven ‘V’ rebound in 2009, this downturn is no quick fix.  It will take a firming in commodity demand led by an organic rebound in the US economy. There is little reason to expect that we will see that for some time yet.  Paying back for the 2009-2014 cycle’s monetary excesses, will be a slow process.