Friday, December 30, 2011

A Year for the Record Books | Planet3.0

A Year for the Record Books | Planet3.0:

'via Blog this'

This to us from MacDonald from GreenDistrict...

It is one of several places to start rounding up the status of sustainability (gain &) loss for 2011 and start to plan for 2012.

As we start to organize the (un)balanced scorecard for an unsustainable year of horrific sustainability numbers...

?What would be a good summary for the year, even if the summary has a lot of bad news in it?

Non-Decisions might sum it up. Economically, you have the dysfunction of the US and EU. Efforts are on to eliminate the EPA from federal and state governments. Imagine a budget bill to keep the federal government running for the first two months of 2012 that contains efforts to stop energy efficient light bulbs.

(Light bulbs will have to be 25% more efficient is basically the law. The obvious replacement could be -- but doesn't have to be -- compact florescent lights that save about $20 to $35 over the life of each bulb, PLUS a huge savings in electric energy which is currently being produced 50% from ain't-no-such-thing-as-clean coal. Europe did it a couple years ago. The arguments against the new law use obsolete and unfounded facts.)

Globally, climate response talks have been pretty pathetic since Copenhagen (Dec 2010) and there's been a lot of talks on several continents since then. Without the biggest polluters in the world on board -- China, USA & India -- the whole thing disintegrates. Now with Canada jumping off the bandwagon that means about 50% of the world's pollution and emissions will go on with little or no impediments. Apparently, the idea now is to proceed with the old Kyoto protocol while a permanent agreement is being reached.

But, what's almost as scary as the global-warming/climate-change metrics that came in this year, is the development of yet another massive UN organization. But this one would, by its very nature, have to have a long reach into the countries who are members. Big bucks to help countries that will be most impacted by droughts, floods, etc. This would include island countries that are about to become much smaller as the sea levels rise. I wonder if Key West will qualify. (By century end, the Keys should be 25% to 50%+ under water.)

At this point, Nuclear (ouch!) and NatGas looking a whole lot better than they probably should. NatGas is sooo much cleaner than (dirty or relatively dirty) coal, and it's not destabilizing to the world economies (wars, trade balances and shifts of wealth to less-than stable countries).

For some reason, you would think that the "sustainability" measure would provide self-evident solutions. If fuel is not renewable... then it can't be used forever... then you should make plans now to replace it... and continue to do so... until that fuel is no longer needed and totally replaced by renewable sources.

Bloomberg puts it well for the whole of a business (or any organization): “If you don’t have a sustainability plan, you don’t have a business plan." See http://www.bloomberg.com/sustainability/ 

Now, if only there were good private sector solutions to some of these problems of sustainability!... Hmmm...

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Tracking water on the move « The Cost of Energy

Tracking water on the move « The Cost of Energy:

'via Blog this'

Check out this blog about water.

Video about GRACE and tracking water from space. They analyze land-water depletion with increased rise in ocean levels.

Note the discussion by Famiglietti about the areas of drought: above and below ground water levels... Since the change in water is the primary difference that impacts (land)mass, the GRACE satellites can measure the changes. And it seems with a whole lot of precision.

There's more to come from the lecture series on water that's upcoming.

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. One argument is, that the the next wars will be over water? ...

Well... Let's toss our coins over the edge... and make a big wish! ...

for a more sustainable productive New Year in 2012.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

How Telecommuting Lets Workers Mobilize for Sustainability

How Telecommuting Lets Workers Mobilize for Sustainability: "According to Gartner, this drive to mobility will become a $1 trillion market in the next four years. T"

This is a great article from March '11, but it mentions many of the key benefits and issues with telecommuting.

Included in the article is: "According to Gartner, this drive to mobility will become a $1 trillion market in the next four years."

The savings from telecommuting are too great, and too immediate, to ignore.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Bloomberg News Adds Its Two Cents to Sustainability Debate

Bloomberg News Adds Its Two Cents to Sustainability Debate: "“If you don’t have a sustainability plan, you don’t have a business plan” is the note on which the media company"

If that's the case, and I believe it is, there are very few companies out there who really have a Business Plan.

The very first order of business is doing an energy/water/carbon audit. I should think that ever few smaller companies/organization have done that.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween 2011: Global Population Growth and impact on the planet.


Halloween 2011. Wanna talk about something really, really scary!:-)
No, it's not Freddie. Or Fannie for that matter.
Today, it seems, we have hit 7 billion population on the plant. Of the 150+ people born per minute, some 98% are borne in developing countries. This creates challenges for the already poor countries. At least 50 of them are born in India per minute.

Bill Gates talks about energy and moving to zero carbon footprint. Not a wishful target, a necessary target. He’s aiming for 2050 to have the world at a net zero carbon footprint. He describes the “describing the need for ‘miracles’ to avoid planetary catastrophe”.
CO2 = P x S x E x C
  1. P eople (increasing rapidly!)
  2. S ervices per person (increasing rapidly!)
  3. E nergy emitted per service (stable?)
  4. C arbon intensity per unit of energy (wildcard)

Aiming for zero requires huge innovation for the next 20 years and then 20 years to deploy. Waiting for another couple decades to decide to take the issue seriously is catastrophic.
Gate’s one primary wish, if he had only one, would be this miracle breakthrough for energy.
He wants to make the solution(s) have basic economic viability so that the longer-term and less certain impacts of CO2 build up are not relevant or at least much less so.

DON'T go out tonight on fright night. Stay home and watch the world population clock: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html 

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Energy 'wedges' - MIT News Office

Energy 'wedges' - MIT News Office

Here's a great visual. Wedges. Click on the symbol to see what happens if we get serious about solar, wind... and EE.
Of course doing nothing is not a very good option.

MIT's 5-part series on the energy & energy efficiency


MIT 5-part series on Energy scaling up (or scaling down in terms of energy efficiency).

What can make a dent? - MIT News Office

What can make a dent? - MIT News Office

This is the first of a series on how to power the planet.
14Twatts at any given time is a lot of power.

Most of that power is lost, so efforts to save energy (reduce) is the easiest first step.


Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real - Yahoo! News

Skeptic finds he now agrees global warming is real - Yahoo! News: "Still, Muller said it makes sense to reduce the carbon dioxide created by fossil fuels."

So the long-term denier Muller has finally decided that there really is global worming. Duh.

At least as important is that the funding is by Koch Foundation. It looks like they will stand behind the findings and push on for more research as to the cause of global warming.

Apparently Muller has a presentation on Monday and is preparing for peer-review publication of 4 articles on the research.

That is why I really like approaching the whole issue from the perspective of "Sustainability". If it can't be done in the long term (like population growth, deficits, fossil fuels) then it is not sustainable. We/you/me have to start planning to change our evil ways, now at a time of our choosing... or later at a time that is much less convenient and likely far more expensive. Ouch! or Double Ouch!:-(

Thanks to Jim H for bringing this up...

'via Blog this'

Saturday, October 29, 2011

The iPod's Inventor: a far better Thermostat?!

The iPod's Inventor Strikes Out On His Own, And Invents...A Thermostat?! | Co. Design:

Oh, you are gonna like this. Programmable thermostats should, theoretically, save you a ton on your utilities.

But you will love this. Only about 6% of programmable thermostates are actually -- you guessed it -- are actually programmed.:-(

So maybe, just possibly, the answer is better training for the users. Nope. That will never do. How about something more intuitive and easier to use.

That's the ticket.

It is iPod intuitive. Sounds really cool. Check out the promo video.

A programmable thermostat that works intuitively with and for you.

Hummmm....

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The cost of car ownership in the US « The Cost of Energy

The cost of car ownership in the US « The Cost of Energy:

The cost of car ownership is approximately $10,000 per year. Note that the differences among the states is primarily attributable to the insurance costs.:-(

Hmmm... Wonder how much of these costs might be saved from telecommuting? ...

From sustainable Lou

Note how little of the total cost of ownership is attributable to the cost of fuel.!:-)

Lou makes this additional comment that bears further investigation:
"I also notice that there’s no accounting for, you know, the stuff that comes out of the car’s tailpipe. David Archer says in the final paragraphs of his excellent book The Long Thaw that the total energy accumulated by the emissions from burning a gallon of gasoline is 40 million (yes, million) times the useful energy we get from the gasoline. One would be hard pressed to find a more extreme example of borrowing from the future at a high interest rate than that."

I know that we are lucky to get 15% efficiency in a gasoline car engine. Most of the heat and energy is lost. But the extreme mentioned here seems hard to explain.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Making Mad Money on Sustainability Mega trends

Check out the episode of Mad Money on September 29 (Thursday) when Cramer talks about three mega trends where you can make money. Even in the current insane marketplace.

One it energy efficiency: Look for HON, JCI and more. All favorites of this blog. looking at big EE savings (vs EE&E planning... :-)

World food shorage: stocks to buy include Deer (DE) and Potash.

Healthy food trends include: Chipoltle, Haines & Panera.

He's looking for decade-long trends, or longer.

Even if you can't do anything else about sustainability issues, you can make a little GREEN off of the mega trends.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000048374

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Most Chief Sustainability Officers Close to the Top, Report Finds · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Most Chief Sustainability Officers Close to the Top, Report Finds · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

With 35% reporting directly to the CEO and another 55% are no more than 2 degrees removed (C-Level) from the CEO.

This is a small sample, but interesting how high in the organizations sustainability lands.

Note that only DuPont (in 2004) had a CSO prior to 2007.



Sunday, September 25, 2011

TODAY Show. Mega Mansion. Monster is energy efficient? Huh?

TODAY Video Player:

Take a tour of a 72,000-square-foot mega mansion in Missouri that is actually bigger than the White House! http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41521818/#44607208

This monster is made of concrete. 14 bed rooms.

Good news, though, it's very energy efficient. It should not require power from the grid?

Even if it is zero carbon foot print to operate, you gotta admit, it's gonna have a Big FOOT in building process.

'via Blog this'

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Samsung defends against iPad: "Open the Pod Door"

Samsung defends against Apple iPad lawsuit by claiming 2001: A Space Odyssey as prior art | TiPb: "Samsung defends against Apple iPad lawsuit by claiming 2001: A Space Odyssey as prior art

Tuesday, Aug 23, 2011 by Rene Ritchie
'via Blog this'

So, as the Patent Wars start to heat up, like nothing that has ever gone before... The weird and wacky step out into space to duke it out.

It's gonna definitely get ugly as you have Google buying Motorola mobile for its production capacity and it's war chest of some 1,600 telcom-type patents. GoogaZilla, or Moto-oogle will be able to take on the likes of Apple and MicroSkype, now.

Rumor has it that Apple will buy up ARM Holdings for its patents, even though it already licenses them. ARM owns more than a hand-full of key smart phone patents.

In the end, we could have only a few companies that own, or have exclusive rights to, most of the patent technology in the know universe.

In the end, an you may have to go to another world or another universe to be able to operate freely in the patent-protected tech world that's evolving. When you get there, you may well find Samsung knocking loudly at the PoD Door. Whatever you do, don't let 'em in!


Sunday, August 21, 2011

EIA - Press Room - 3.9% increase in CO2 in US for 2010

EIA - Press Room - Press Releases

Ouch. This is an ugly increase of about 4% in energy-related CO2 from the USA in 2010.

We had a 12% reduction during the heat of the recession in 2009, but we're coming back with a vengeance.

And, of course, China is out doing us now and growing by leaps and bounds.
Double ouch!

Count India into that,
Triple ouch!:-(

Work Shifting - Office in the Cloud... or not?

Work Shifting - Welcome to Your New Office in the Cloud

Ok, let me get this straight: only 29% of small business owners had ever heard of Cloud Computing!:-(

And of those, only 26% could describe what Cloud is?

If my math is good (29% x 26%) that means that only 7.5% of small business owners know what Cloud is!

One of the greatest equalizers of our time, and small business owners don't know what it is. (IT, Edu & IP make 3)

One can assume that a lot of them aren't using cloud either? Cloud, SaaS, ASP, etc.... These are a prerequisite for productivity and for successful telecommuting.

Wow? Gotta go think about this.

Transportation: Humor:-) is funnier than the facts:-(

There's just a little transportation humor that you need to go with your cup of joe in the morning. (Or you McCoffee or SBUX latte on the way.)

Both of these come from Sunday, August 14, 2011. The comics, where all news worth knowing comes from:

So far, though, nothing compares to the hot reality of the 6-day traffic jam in China, one year ago to the days. This specific article anticipated the jam would go on for a few more days. Article by Coonan in The Independent on Aug 25, 2011.

This type of gridlock is the types of things that we all can look forward to in the next 15 to 30 years if we don't start to work out more alternatives to the 1-person-per-car commute that 77% of the workforce enjoys(?). That's about 9.7m single -- and I'm not talking unmarried here -- commuters each workday out practicing patience-in-defensive-driving. Twice per day.

Seems to me like telecommuting might be a potential solutions for some of these folks? Huge savings to the employee (time and money), the employer (increased productivity, retention, etc.) and massive savings to the community (reduced pollution, less oil dependence, reduced carbon footprint, fewer roads built, etc.)

And you get all that, essentially for free!
Is that idea too revolutionary and crazy,
or is it just me?

Hmmm.....

Friday, August 19, 2011

Sustainable MBA program(s) and a passion for making a difference

Bainbridge Graduate Institute offers Sustainability MBA programs. They claim to be the first. They have several certificate programs and several concentrations. Pretty cool.
BGI is Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) accredited. 

Watch this great news show “Behind the Scenes” with Jane Pauley ...August 5th, 2011
Always, (almost always) a good source of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bainbridge_Graduate_Institute

Friday, August 12, 2011

Ft. Lauderdale Tops List Of Most Dangerous Cities To Drive

Ft. Lauderdale Tops List Of Most Dangerous Cities To Drive

We in Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando win the dubious honor of being the worst for traffic (traffic fatality statistics).

Ouch.

Seems like telecommuting might be a more sustainable way to live...
(Sorry about the pun!:)

New program at USF examines water bottle usage

New program at USF examines water bottle usage (2.44 min video)

This is a cool/excellent program at USF related to eliminating the water bottles use on campus.

Note the refill stations being used throughout campus.

We all need to get way from the bottled water.

13B plastic bottles per year now. That's a 10 fold increase from 10 years ago.!:-(

Environmental literate.

Survive or Thrive in times of Economic Uncertainty

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Dr. Edward F. Knab

It doesn’t matter if they call it a recession, depression or something else, the world economies are on the brink of a double dip recession. Consumer confidence is is now at its lowest level in 50 years and companies must develop effective strategies in order to survive these challenging times.

While there is little wrong with prudent cutting costs, the companies who emerge from economic downturns quickest and gain the most market share are those who applied innovation during the downturn to add value to their business and their customers. It is during these challenging times that companies often separate themselves from mediocrity by integrating high degrees of innovation.

Generally, in time of economic uncertainty, the concept of innovation is not even up for discussion, whereas it should be the basis for all ‘going forward’ decisions. Traditional supply chain issues such using innovative means to get products people want to buy to them faster and cheaper is the foundation for improving the value equation we bring to the table. Our focus should be on adding value to the customer rather than cutting costs. All of our focus as innovators should be directed at “added value”; even the act of cutting cost is in reality adding value.

Supply Chain innovators provide value to their customers by improving systems which result in improving profits. The great majority of all improvements are of an incremental nature rather than a single “big bang”, they are a result of constant and never ending improvements (CANI). Companies that can integrate some simple philosophic approaches into the customer relationships can create greater value for their customers and themselves, and will gain competitive advantage in the marketplace, especially as the economy improves.

Listen to your Customers.
Get to really know them, live with them, understand their opportunities and support them. Most companies will tell you they know their customers but it reality they know the statistics of what and when they buy but do not know what their customers’ problems and challenges are. Often, the answer is Supply Chain related, businesses need to be asking their customers; what worked? what didn’t? and what next? and often the result is technology-assisted collaboration which creates a foundation for a new and improved relationship. It starts with demand signals – knowing what quantities and mix of products are selling in each store or region for you, your customer, or your customer’s customer. Supply chain integration and visibility applications can be the conduit making channel collaboration possible.

Reduce Transportation Time and Cost
Fluctuating energy cost are an underlying cause of our current economic turbulence, with supply chains lengthening and fuel costs on a roller coaster ride, transportation costs and risks are areas that must be stabilized first. Some of the strategies that can help in the long term are network design, near-shoring, and local production and distribution. In the short term Transportation Management Systems can help reduce cost and optimize efficiency. The concept of shippers co-operatives are gaining new traction as volumes decrease and in stock inventory is a mandate. Eliminating empty miles through arranging back-hauls and continuous moves, automating yard movements and appointment scheduling, and providing portals for carrier and customer communication can significantly improve efficiency.

Optimize Working Capital and Reduce Cost
The economic challenges should result in a good long look in how we are leveraging out capital and help us identify area where we may improve our utilization. Cost reduction programs that mandate cost cutting percentages across all departments only reward those who ran too fat in the first place. More importantly, they are not geared to adding value to the customer. In fact, the opposite is usually true. The right way to reduce cost is to start with customer demand signals. Follow the demand signal up through the demand chain to manufacturing and suppliers, then down through distribution to the customer or the store shelf. Examine each point along this journey to see what adds value and what doesn’t. Cut everything that does not add value. That is the principle of lean supply chains.

Streamline Processes
Innovation requires improving processes by leveraging best practices and technology to create better flows of product, people and information. Look at order management, manufacturing and procurement, distribution and transportation. There are significant new developments in technology supporting these areas. For example, using a single system to track raw materials and purchased components, sequence them into and through production, and then tracking the combined output through distribution improves manufacturing and distribution efficiency, and has huge traceability benefits in case of recall.

Make Good Decisions based on Good Data:
Often ERP systems have failed to live up to their promise of integrated and assessable supply chain data and management has been hard pressed to make good decisions. Management needs real-time access to accurate, meaningful information which was supposed to be the promise of ERP. However, the batch nature of ERP and its lack of supply chain detail have shown the reality to be less than optimal. What are needed are business intelligence tools that link, sort and analyze data from all the supply chain systems and trading partners to present meaningful, personalized information to executives in real-time. This information is displayed on graphic dashboards that are easy to comprehend and act upon, yet can be used to drill down to get to the root cause of problems. The good news is these business intelligence systems are available today. They give supply chain management the tools they need to respond with agility to the ever-increasing variability of demand and take advantage of new market opportunities before the competition.

After years of down-sizing, right-sizing and lean, most companies are already running full out. Cutting heads may cut costs, but it also cuts customer service while raising overtime expense and blood pressures. Go from survival mode to competitive advantage by empowering your employees through a performance-focused culture. Look to innovate, everywhere! It won’t all work but your organization will learn from it, they will learn that controlled failure is acceptable providing there is a plan with predefined outcomes and a method of coordination. Promote learning to insure your organization is in tune with the latest supply chain innovation in the market. Challenge the organization to get closer to the customer at every touch point; senior management, buyer/seller, AP/AR, SCM/Customer Service and others.

If your company is attempting to cope with turbulence in your supply chain the Supply Chain Experts can help you design a program that satisfies the requirements of your customers while insuring the optimal data flows to accurately control your global supply chain.

Dr. Edward F. Knab
Productivity Constructs, Inc.
800 660 8718 office
949 413 7333 mobile
ed@edwardknab.com
www.productivityconstructs.com
More Supply Chain Experts Blogs
edwardknab.com

Dr. Knab is an academic practitioner and seasoned supply chain expert whose company, Productivity Constructs, Inc., is focused improving global leadership and thereby creating more effective organizations and higher levels of job satisfaction. Dr. Knab can be contacted for speaking engagements, coaching, or consultation at ed@productivityconstructs.com, ed@ewardknab.com or www.edwardknab.com.

Survive or Thrive in times of Economic Uncertainty


Posted on August 12, 2011 by Dr. Edward F. Knab

It doesn’t matter if they call it a recession, depression or something else, the world economies are on the brink of a double dip recession. Consumer confidence is is now at its lowest level in 50 years and companies must develop effective strategies in order to survive these challenging times.

While there is little wrong with prudent cutting costs, the companies who emerge from economic downturns quickest and gain the most market share are those who applied innovation during the downturn to add value to their business and their customers. It is during these challenging times that companies often separate themselves from mediocrity by integrating high degrees of innovation.

Generally, in time of economic uncertainty, the concept of innovation is not even up for discussion, whereas it should be the basis for all ‘going forward’ decisions. Traditional supply chain issues such using innovative means to get products people want to buy to them faster and cheaper is the foundation for improving the value equation we bring to the table. Our focus should be on adding value to the customer rather than cutting costs. All of our focus as innovators should be directed at “added value”; even the act of cutting cost is in reality adding value.

Supply Chain innovators provide value to their customers by improving systems which result in improving profits. The great majority of all improvements are of an incremental nature rather than a single “big bang”, they are a result of constant and never ending improvements (CANI). Companies that can integrate some simple philosophic approaches into the customer relationships can create greater value for their customers and themselves, and will gain competitive advantage in the marketplace, especially as the economy improves.

Listen to your Customers.
Get to really know them, live with them, understand their opportunities and support them. Most companies will tell you they know their customers but it reality they know the statistics of what and when they buy but do not know what their customers’ problems and challenges are. Often, the answer is Supply Chain related, businesses need to be asking their customers; what worked? what didn’t? and what next? and often the result is technology-assisted collaboration which creates a foundation for a new and improved relationship. It starts with demand signals – knowing what quantities and mix of products are selling in each store or region for you, your customer, or your customer’s customer. Supply chain integration and visibility applications can be the conduit making channel collaboration possible.

Reduce Transportation Time and Cost
Fluctuating energy cost are an underlying cause of our current economic turbulence, with supply chains lengthening and fuel costs on a roller coaster ride, transportation costs and risks are areas that must be stabilized first. Some of the strategies that can help in the long term are network design, near-shoring, and local production and distribution. In the short term Transportation Management Systems can help reduce cost and optimize efficiency. The concept of shippers co-operatives are gaining new traction as volumes decrease and in stock inventory is a mandate. Eliminating empty miles through arranging back-hauls and continuous moves, automating yard movements and appointment scheduling, and providing portals for carrier and customer communication can significantly improve efficiency.

Optimize Working Capital and Reduce Cost
The economic challenges should result in a good long look in how we are leveraging out capital and help us identify area where we may improve our utilization. Cost reduction programs that mandate cost cutting percentages across all departments only reward those who ran too fat in the first place. More importantly, they are not geared to adding value to the customer. In fact, the opposite is usually true. The right way to reduce cost is to start with customer demand signals. Follow the demand signal up through the demand chain to manufacturing and suppliers, then down through distribution to the customer or the store shelf. Examine each point along this journey to see what adds value and what doesn’t. Cut everything that does not add value. That is the principle of lean supply chains.

Streamline Processes
Innovation requires improving processes by leveraging best practices and technology to create better flows of product, people and information. Look at order management, manufacturing and procurement, distribution and transportation. There are significant new developments in technology supporting these areas. For example, using a single system to track raw materials and purchased components, sequence them into and through production, and then tracking the combined output through distribution improves manufacturing and distribution efficiency, and has huge traceability benefits in case of recall.

Make Good Decisions based on Good Data:
Often ERP systems have failed to live up to their promise of integrated and assessable supply chain data and management has been hard pressed to make good decisions. Management needs real-time access to accurate, meaningful information which was supposed to be the promise of ERP. However, the batch nature of ERP and its lack of supply chain detail have shown the reality to be less than optimal. What are needed are business intelligence tools that link, sort and analyze data from all the supply chain systems and trading partners to present meaningful, personalized information to executives in real-time. This information is displayed on graphic dashboards that are easy to comprehend and act upon, yet can be used to drill down to get to the root cause of problems. The good news is these business intelligence systems are available today. They give supply chain management the tools they need to respond with agility to the ever-increasing variability of demand and take advantage of new market opportunities before the competition.

After years of down-sizing, right-sizing and lean, most companies are already running full out. Cutting heads may cut costs, but it also cuts customer service while raising overtime expense and blood pressures. Go from survival mode to competitive advantage by empowering your employees through a performance-focused culture. Look to innovate, everywhere! It won’t all work but your organization will learn from it, they will learn that controlled failure is acceptable providing there is a plan with predefined outcomes and a method of coordination. Promote learning to insure your organization is in tune with the latest supply chain innovation in the market. Challenge the organization to get closer to the customer at every touch point; senior management, buyer/seller, AP/AR, SCM/Customer Service and others.

If your company is attempting to cope with turbulence in your supply chain the Supply Chain Experts can help you design a program that satisfies the requirements of your customers while insuring the optimal data flows to accurately control your global supply chain.

Dr. Edward F. Knab
Productivity Constructs, Inc.
800 660 8718 office
949 413 7333 mobile
ed@edwardknab.com
www.productivityconstructs.com
More Supply Chain Experts Blogs
edwardknab.com

Dr. Knab is an academic practitioner and seasoned supply chain expert whose company, Productivity Constructs, Inc., is focused improving global leadership and thereby creating more effective organizations and higher levels of job satisfaction. Dr. Knab can be contacted for speaking engagements, coaching, or consultation at ed@productivityconstructs.com, ed@ewardknab.com or www.edwardknab.com.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Earth's Net Energy Change/monitoring... Little analysis of earth's energy.

Trenberth on Tracking Earth’s energy: A key to climate variability and change


This is a serious analysis of the energy flows of the earth systems.  You simply look at energy as a budget (but hopefully not with the same budget processes as many of the countries use like the PIIGS and the USA).

You have so much energy coming in. That energy is reflected and absorbed into the earth systems (oceans mainly).

The problem is that we are missing 60 * 10^20 Jules/year (or 6 * 10^22 J/y). Apparently Trenberth is in publication of an analysis of his explanation of this "residual", aka missing energy. We may not like where we find this missing link to our (in)balanced energy budget.

?Deep ocean?

Humm...

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Over-innovation-makes-us-firms-suck-at-sustainability

Interesting article. Three BIG reasons why we in the USoA companies are not being sustainable with our Over-Innovation ways.

I think the short-term focus is a Big one. Focus on the immediate sell of the immediate product is probably the underlying problem more than any other.
Article: over-innovation-makes-us-firms-suck-at-sustainability

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

EPA is finally going to conduct a big Environmental Study on Gas Fracking

There has been a painfully slow move to NatGas in the US, even though we appear to have centuries worth of it using new fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques.
The one holdup, kinda, is being blamed on the possible environmental impact from gas drilling. (As if it could be worse than oil with its BP Gulf and Exxon Yellowstone spills in the last two years.)


With NatGas at a price of $1 (to $2) for the equivalent of a gallon of diesel in vehicle fuel ($4/gal), many people argue that it's a "no brainer" decision for the US to switch to NatGas. But inertia and the massive interests in the current oil & coal economy seem to have us doing the “no brain” part of a far better decision than imported oil or much dirtier/deadly coal.

Check out the Utica Shale and Marcellus Shale information… The Utica Shale formation that is below the Marcellus is just now becoming commercially available using new drilling techniques that have really been worked out since about 2005.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Get your Green Oil for free (G-Oil).

There's a really cool oil and cleaning product company that produces bio-oils and cleaning products from plant and animal byproducts. Animal fats seem to be a big part of the oil. It has a patent pending technology using nanotechnology that they describe as: "superior performing ULTIMATE BIODEGRADABLE* motor oil made with American grown base oils and the power of nanotechnology to reduce wear, lower friction and provide more horsepower while being safe for the environment."

Seems to be fully compliant with vehicle guidelines for oil, so you won't void vehicle warranty or have other issues.

You can get a refund coupon for the the oil required for an oil change at: http://www.getG.com/CAarAndDriver 
Sold at Wal-Mart so it should be possible to have them use G-Oil if you don't want to change your own oil.


Friday, June 24, 2011

Japan Nuclear meltdown is far worse... Maybe worst industrial accident ever!

The Japanese reactors are far worse than they are telling us. It might take 100 years to clean it up, if/when they get the reactors under control.
CNN news on this issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXwI0HM9BYM (~5min)

Decontamination processing is ongoing: http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20110624_7822.php

In the meanwhile nuclear waste going to Yucca Mountain is not an option. So we continue to have no energy policy related to US nuclear power (and the nuclear waste).

"For nearly thirty years, NRC waste-storage requirements have remained contingent on the opening of a permanent waste repository that has yet to materialize. Now that the Obama administration has canceled plans to build a permanent deep-disposal site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, spent fuel at the nation’s 104 reactors will continue to accumulate and is likely remain onsite for decades to come...
With a price tag of as much as $7 billion, the cost of fixing America’s nuclear vulnerabilities may sound high, especially given the heated budget debate occurring in Washington. But the price of doing too little is incalculable." by Robert Alvarez in The Nation, June 20, 2011.

Friday, June 10, 2011

YouTube - Solar Flare Erupts, Creating Spectacular Images - CBS WJZ Baltimore

YouTube - Solar Flare Erupts, Creating Spectacular Images - CBS WJZ Baltimore

WOW, and we complain about hurricanes and such on earth.

This solar flare is bigger than 5 earths. Wow...

And a good thing we're not in the way of it, it would appear.


Friday, June 3, 2011

The ugly truth about our trade deficit with China.:-(


The China Question premiers on CNBC on Friday night, June 3rd at 8pm.

This looks like it is going to be the story that I've been looking for years. The symbiotic relationship that we have with trade-deficit to China. 

They subsidize our spending habits (US & EU) with their artificially cheap currency. Then with the $ dollars and Euros from their trade surpluses,  they buy stuff. They buy our Treasuries to keep our Federal Debt a float. They have a high savings rate, where we have a fractional private savings rate (deficit for government, of course). They keep their currency artificially low so they can continue to export. Literally they are paying us to buy their products of toys and such. But that relationship cannot, and will not, last forever. The relationship is NOT sustainable.
Both a trade deficit and a federal deficit are automatically “fixed” over time by the devaluation of the currency.

Let’s see what the show has to offer.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

New level of LED efficiency from CREE

Check this out. Faster, better, stronger LED.
What with 22% of energy produced going to lighting, it seems to me that CREE is in the solutions category of Energy Efficiency (EE).

in reference to: CREE |New High-Output Cree LED Module Delivers Both High-Quality Light and Efficiency (view on Google Sidewiki)

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

WMS Support

The attached link will take you to an excellent interview with Don Benson regarding creating a World Class WMS

https://community.kinaxis.com/people/dustinmattison1974/blog/2011/03/01/getting-the-most-out-of-your-wms

Monday, April 18, 2011

US is finally gonna have to get its fiscal house in order

The US can't go on without considering its outta control spending.

in reference to:

"A warning from Standard & Poor's that the agency might lower its rating on U.S. government debt sent stocks on their steepest slide in a month"
- Stocks sink after S&P issues warning on US debt - Yahoo! Finance (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

World Water Day Past... Earth Day Coming...

Earth Day 2011 is Coming Next Week!!!
Earth Day is on Friday 22nd this year (that’s Good Friday).

BUT, this newsletter is actually devoted to water…

World Water Day
World Water Day flooded past us Tuesday March 22 without most of us hearing a drop about it.!:-(
The 41st World Water Day (March 22, 2011): UN World Water Day.
A Prayer for Japan

As we give thanks for water and all it does to sustain our lives and wellbeing, let’s pause to give respect and prayer to the people of Japan who have been so devastated by the March 11 earthquake and the massive tsunami wall-of-water that fell upon them a month ago…
Our prayers go out to Japan and to the heroic people working to get cooling water on run-away nuclear reactors… (The role that water plays in the making of energy is another story.)
The Worst Case, Could be a Lot Worse
As bad as it is, and nuclear reactor issues aside, it could have been worse. Imagine if this earthquake had been on the other side of Japan? Actually between Japan and Asia?! The tsunami in 2004 killed almost 10 times as many people (230,000+) in several Asian countries.
Water, Water, Everywhere…
Water, so critical to life can be devastating in its absence. It can be devastating in abundance. Australia, plagued with decades of drought, finally got rain: it had an area flooded the size of Germany and France combined! This was followed in February with Cyclone Yasi in the northeast. (A cyclone is the Pacific version of a hurricane… and, yes, they went through the alphabet to get to Y.) We know a lot about hurricanes for two years starting in 2004 giving us in Florida 3 or 4 per year including Katrina that also hit New Orleans.
But the quiet pain associated with water is very easily preventable with very little money. More than 1 billion of our world’s 6.9B population have inadequate drinking water with an additional 1B having inadequate sanitation. The result is that more than 3.5 million people die each year because of easily preventable water-related diseases (World Health Organization). Approximately half of the world’s hospital beds are taken by water and hygiene-related diseases (http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/).
World Water Day
World Water Day was initiated to try to solve health and wellness problems around the world where people have poor water and sanitation. The UN has a 10 year program to attempt to overcome the pain and death associated with inadequate water by 2015. Progress has been made, but it is slow.
WATER STATS: Most of the earth’s surface (70%+) is water. Yet only about 2.5% is freshwater. (The salt in oceans and some lakes make it unusable for drinking, agriculture, etc. without expensive desalinization processing.) Of the world’s freshwater 68.7% is in ice caps and glaciers, 30.1% is underground, ~1% is other, and barely 0.3% is fresh surface water! That’s about 0.009% of our total is fresh surface water. Freshwater is lakes (87%), swamps (11%) and rivers (2%). So as we divert and consume the fresh water available to us – taking from rivers and aquifers – the impacts become ever greater as rivers dry and ancient aquifers are depleted.
This year the theme is Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge. Cities everywhere are running out of fresh water.
The Water Bubble and Water Wars
The water bubble may be coming faster than we originally thought... Water sources, especially the invisible underwater aquifers are being depleted. This will show in increased prices for water, water shortages and food shortages/prices (Marks, 2009). “We're fast draining the fresh water resources our farms rely on, warns Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute” (George, 2011). Our own Ogallala Aquifer in the high plans of the US (underground aquifer from Texas through Wyoming) will be depleted in about 25 years. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer.).
Water wars and water conflicts are expected to increase dramatically. Counties (and states) that are at the headwaters of rivers can take all the water and leave nothing for the cities, farmers and fishermen below. Worst case, and a horrible example, is the Aral Sea. What used to be the world’s 4th largest lake is now mostly dry, highly salty and toxically polluted. Russia has been consuming the water that would have run downstream (and through) the former USSR state of Kazakhstan. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea and the following news video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8b0svfuO_k at Russia Today.)
The truth of the matter is... that water matters! …
Even in Florida where we are surrounded by H2O.
What can we do?
Basically, we need to become more informed about the sustainability impact of all we say and do. We need to become more informed consumers of water. Maybe compute our water footprint.
1) Compute your water footprint (and take actions to reduce it):
  a. H2O Footprint: (Water footprint calculator.)
  b. Facts at National Geographic
  c. Water footprint of food, products, etc.: http://www.waterfootprint.org/
2) The average American uses 1,800 to 2,000 gallons per day, more than twice the global average.
3) For Florida-centric details & water-saving tips, please visit: www.WaterMatters.org and www.savewaterfl.com.
4) References and links below.
Thanks for listening, reading, and thinking about sustainability.
Let’s be good stewards of our God-given resources.
Some References
George, L. (2011, Feb. 2) Earth economist: The food bubble is about to burst . New Scientist. Retrieved from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927986.400-earth-economist-the-food-bubble-is-about-to-burst.html
Marks, S. J. (2009). Aqua shock: The water crisis in America. NY, NY: Bloomberg Press.
Some Links:
  http://www.unwater.org/

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

US's looming Federal Debt crisis as described by Dave Cote of Honeywell.

US's looming Federal Debt crisis has to be addressed, and soon. Maybe not before the end of this week when the Federal government might shut down without a 2011 budget allocation. But soon.

Check out this video for the Committee for Economic Development: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1DKIg2CcLk  (5min)

Or we can delay and let the debt market and the IMF help use with austerity decision.

My favorite, always is the national debt clock: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Any comments on its accuracy are welcome. Seem pretty accurate though. When the Federal government has already spent all the money it gathered for Social Security and Medicare and the Baby Boomers all start to retire and start to require that money... It's gonna get ugly. Very ugly:-(

The question is how soon and how quickly we can start to dig ourselves out the hole we're in. Cote suggests both tax increases and spending cuts. For sure we have to get the 10% growth rate per year in SS & Medical expenses under central. But ever since "W" Bush we have cut taxes and increased spending. That was before we got into a recession and decided to stimulus-spend our way out of it... Only at the Federal government can that make any sense.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Friday, April 1, 2011

BP puts a little spin on Green.... Just a little.

BP thinks that their spills were really down in 2010 compared to prior years!!!
An accurate read on the amount of this gargantuan spill cannot be made, so let's not include that in our Sustainability Report.
We really don't want to confuse people with inaccurate data, do we?
mE

in reference to: BP Tries to Hide Gulf Spill in Sustainability Report - Frederick E. Allen - Leadership View - Forbes (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Earth economist: The food bubble is about to burst

The water bubble may be coming faster that we originally thought... showing up in food shortages/prices and elsewhere:  http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927986.400-earth-economist-the-food-bubble-is-about-to-burst.html

Our own Ogallala Aquifer in the high plans of the US (Texas thru Wyoming) will be depleted in about 25 years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer

The truth of the mater is... that water maters!

Top 10 Green IT Strategies!: What are the top 10 Green IT Strategies?

Top 10 Green IT Strategies!: What are the top 10 Green IT Strategies?: "Top Ten Green IT Solutions: Virtualization Data Center Optimization Power Management Data De-Duplication Electronic Waste..."

Monday, March 21, 2011

Corporate Sustainability Footprinting

Good discussion. Lots of problems with Social Responsibility Reporting. From the tripple-bottom-line point of view, you would mainly report the externalities of environment and social with the idea that profits would get represented by financial reporting... How do you balance the economic impact with the other impacts?
This reminds me of taxes; the best way to pay no taxes is to make no money.

in reference to:

"Corporate Sustainability Footprinting"
- Stepping toward Corporate Sustainability Footprinting · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader (view on Google Sidewiki)