economy
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South Korea will create 1.5 million green energy jobs
Going green costs jobs? Tell that to South Korea. The country plans to create 1.5 million jobs — and, not for nothing, 328 trillion won ($304 billion) in new exports — by increasing investment in green energy. Oh, also, South Korea predicts that this new commitment to renewables — which will include solar, wind, fuel […]
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Will gas prices turn America into Europe?
If you thought driving sporty little fuel-efficient vehicles and living a reasonable distance from work was strictly an affectation of Continentals who kiss their ladies down there, we've got news for you: Turns out these behaviors can be induced in any population, whatever the likelihood that its colors will run, simply by increasing the cost […]
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Two hours of your work day goes to paying for your car
Americans work 500 hours a year — two hours every work day — just to pay for their cars, says James Schwartz of the blog The Urban Country. That's 12 and a half working weeks. Basically, you only work to pay your rent, feed your family, clothe yourself, buy iPad apps, etc. through about the […]
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All about the food: The NYT on the ‘future of manufacturing’
Coffee roasting at San Francisco’s Ritual: the future of manufacturing? Photo: Scott Beale of Liquid SquidI wanted to love Allison Arieff’s New York Times opinionator piece on how “The Future of Manufacturing Is Local.” It presents a vision of a world I want to live in: cities revitalized by small, artisanal manufacturing; a revival and […]
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Charts explain our current situation and how to improve it
The hundreds of data sets that accompany Lester Brown’s latest book, World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse, illustrate the world’s current predicament and give a sense of where we might go from here. Here are some highlights from the collection. Veering toward the edge: As the world economy has expanded […]
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The Recovery Act: the most important energy bill in American history
If the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) had been an energy bill, it would arguably have been the single-most important piece of clean energy legislation in our nation’s history. It drove unprecedented new investments — both public and private — into modernizing America’s clean energy infrastructure. And its clean energy provisions alone have already […]
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Walmart, KFC, and others fight over Africa’s new middle class
Despite widespread poverty, Africa's middle class is now bigger than India's ... which hasn't escaped the likes of Walmart, KFC, and Nestle.
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Does it matter if the developed world has hit 'peak travel'?
A recent study found that travel has stagnated in eight developed countries, including the U.S. But what about the rest of the world?
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'Collaborative consumption' can put your underused stuff to work [VIDEO]
Rachel Botsman, coauthor of a book on collaborative consumption, details a 21st century economy rising up to take advantage of all our unused stuff.