Ethical brands – How Green & Black’s struck chocolate gold Creativity, pragmatism and zeal define social entrepreneur Craig Sams, founder of iconic chocolate maker Green & Black’s by Ben Cooper Asking whether “social entrepreneurs” created ethical consumerism or vice versa is a bit like asking which came first, the organic chicken or the free-range egg. …
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Author:astraea
A Modest Proposal for Wealth Managers
I like the Fiduciaries “Hippocratic” Oath in this article. Maybe all fiduciaries should sign it when taking on a client. Soapbox: A Modest Proposal for Wealth Managers In “A Modest Proposal,” written in 1729, the noted Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift suggested that the impoverished Irish could ease their economic troubles by selling their children as …
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Females more valuable, but still undervalued.
The Irish Central Statistics Office has just released a study on gender demographics for Ireland with some comparisons to the EU. The data shows that females are better educated, healthier and more peace-abiding than men, but they still earn far less and don’t get as much say on how the country is run. This may …
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BT Notes – singing for a better world, athletic gardening, commmunity spirit …
Nature seems to be on schedule this year. It has seemed for the past couple of years that seasons were a bit confused by weather, but this year, so far, blossoms have bloomed when they are expected. Spring arrived on time and temperatures have been generally as expected. Though Ireland, being in such an usual …
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Can we go “cold turkey” on fossil fuels?
Scientists now warn that we must effectively halt fossil fuel use if we are to avoid global climate warming of 2 degrees C by 2050. That’s probably a realistic estimate. But we are unlikely to do it. In fact we probably won’t even try. (See previous post.) But we could take a big step in …
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A sober perspective of the ecological crisis
In Bound to Burn, an article copied here, Peter Huber lays out a realistic perspective of the challenge of redirecting our energy consumption patterns. It is very sobering. He outlines the seemingly intractable and growing demand for carbon based fuels, comparing them with an insignificant impact of alternative fuels, concluding that carbon sequestration is the …
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Entrepreneurship Education
A new report in a valuable area has been released by the World Economic Forum. It is a bit institutionally long winded but has valuable recommendations and worthy objectives. Entrepreneurship Education Executive Summary pdf Full Report pdf
Don’t stress about swine flu.
The scare of a potential pandemic of swine flu is newsworthy, but you shouldn’t get too concerned. While the rise in deaths (now ~150) makes headlines, these numbers are modest compared to historical pandemics and compared to other causes of death. The resources available to maintain health and cure illness are far better than they …
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The problem with optimism.
Some readers might be turned-off by my insistence on identifying risks. But if we assume everything is alright and do not focus on the problems, we are acting out the same folly that fed the economic crisis. We engender moral hazard and have no incentive to fix the system. I reiterate these concerns now because …
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Crisis and Recovery
The IMF’s WEO Crisis and Recovery is available online. It is sober reading. And valuable reading being considered, researched and impartial. Their summary: Global Economy Contracts, With Slow Recovery Next Year A little ironic that it has been released on Earth Day (today). Or maybe a sign of that economic solutions lie in ecology and …
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