Two to three percent! From time to time, US producers are reducing the size of their food products by more than that. (Not the containers, just the product.) Nowadays, I have to buy a party bag of chips.
Automotive fights over a 1-2% cost save. It also like to reduce weight and a 5 to 10 pound reduction is a big deal. Materials is still the largest percentage in the cost of manufacturing. The US is not known for its mining and production of rare earths; Chinese Heavy Metal Scientific American, August 2018. Even if the material is not from China such as Tantalum or Cobalt, China has strategically made contracts with countries like the DRC. The Chinese could care less about child labor and human rights.
Trump may win the battle; but, we will lose the war.
This @exxonmobile chart from 1982 predicted that in 2019 our atmospheric CO2 level would reach about 415 parts per million, raising the global temperature roughly 0.9 degrees C.
Update: The world crossed the 415 ppm threshold this week and broke 0.9 degrees C in 2017 1/ pic.twitter.com/sLpOVkwzTF
Socialist,
Thermonuclear fusion anybody? It may take 100 years to get here (it looks like) — but may be 50 or even (possibly) 25 if we go all out and invest every possible dollar in it. Certainly wont cost five trillion.
We have to pay for it all eventually anyway — why not move it all up to maximum investment? The fast the better — may be the planets only realistic hope.
This book makes a pretty good case too that nothing else will ever get big enough to fill the carbon gap.
A book with a nondescript title but fairly meaty on the power issue in general (not just thermonuclear):
The Future of Fusion Energy (Popular Science) by Jason Parisi
If kiosk operated parking garages charge by the hour, why do they give you only 15 or 20 minutes to leave, after you’ve paid your exit ticket — even if you have are supposed to have more time than that left?
On our doctor’s visit to Northwestern last Thursday, I never saw the parking lot so crowded — ever — had to drive through every level going up and come half way back down (to the fifth floor) to find a spot.
Having concluded our business quickly, we were back paying our parking fee at the kiosk under an hour an a half — we then had 20 minutes to get out — or else what: we lose our validated discount, we have to pay for 12 hours; it doesn’t say?
The crowd at the elevator lobby was as busy as at the parking spaces; looked like the subway in the rush hour — on top of which, one elevator out of three was out of service on the east side. While driving down we are blocked by folks loading from a wheelchair. I was getting worried about that 20 minutes, realistically for once, but then I thought …
… we paid for two hours; why do we have to rush to get out if we supposedly have more than a half hour left? If we paid for two hours we should be entitled to the whole two hours. Somebody should look into this.
I assume that you mean that US consumers may be forced to pay one to two percent more for their trade goods.
Of course that is not necessarily so. Production could be moved from China to Vietnam where labor is even cheaper. Or wonder of wonders, some production might even be moved closer to US consumers.
Either way, I will not lose any sleep over it.
Americans have been mining for a very long time. When the foreign product is cheaper, they close US mines and purchase from overseas. Nothing new there.
“It’s a little known fact that the United States was once the largest producer of rare earths in the world, at the Mountain Pass Mine in California.”
See: http://www.mining.com/web/us-lost-plot-rare-earths/
Since 1994 the free trade religion has been creating winners and losers. (Labor being the losers.) I expect that to continue. But with the possibility that some of the winners and losers will change places.
Rare earths themselves aren’t particularly rare. The feasibility of mining is generally about how much pollution you’re willing to tolerate in the process.
Here is a part of the sustainability statement for MP Materials:
“One of the key innovations at Mountain Pass is the elimination of wet tailings ponds found in most mining operations. MP Materials has a tailings processing plant that generates a dry cake, which is stored at a lined impound to protect groundwater. The water reclaimed from the tailings is recycled back into the production process, greatly reducing the need to draw fresh water supplies from the surrounding aquifers.
In the near future, MP Materials plans to operate an onsite combined heat and power (CHP) facility that utilizes clean natural gas to satisfy most of Mountain Pass’ energy needs. We will benefit from CHP’s higher energy efficiency and greater reliability when compared to other power sources.”
See: https://mpmaterials.com/sustainability/
It is no secret Biden plays on both sides of the road.
In the Michigan 6th Congressional District 2018 race, he campaigned for Republican Fred Upton who was in a close race with the challenger Matt Longjohn. This was the tightest race Upton had since being elected to the House. Upton was instrumental in blocking the ACA Risk Corridor program by blocking funding for it and also blocking the transfer of funds from other healthcare programs . . . something we have recently seen put into play by Mr. Trump along similar lines. Upton along with Kingston and Sessions caused Coops to go bankrupt, insurance companies to leave the exchanges, premiums to increase, and policies to be canceled. In 2017, Upton helped write a bill repealing the ACA which “torpedoed protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.”
Praising Fred Upton who took in $millions from the pharma and healthcare supply and the healthcare provider industry over the years to sponsor the Century 21 Cures Act as the Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A bill which is largely considered a giveaway to the overall healthcare industry and places people in jeopardy through a much faster pace of bringing drugs to market without adequate clinical trial testing (Public Citizen).
Biden was paid to speak at this Republican rally for Fred Upton. “The speaking series was underwritten in part by organizations connected to Mr. Upton’s family: Among the biggest sponsors listed on the Economic Club’s website are the Whirlpool Corporation, which was co-founded by Mr. Upton’s grandfather, and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation, a family charity named for the same man.
The contract for Mr. Biden’s visit shows he was paid $200,000 for his appearance, including a $150,000 speaking fee and a $50,000 travel allowance. It also specifies that the audience would be “primarily older, conservative Republicans and local community members (NYT).”
It’s deja vu all over again. From the iraq war to:
“It involves a Republican president in a re-election fight and a trumped-up investigation of his political opponent. Sound familiar?
A Republican president faces a very tough re-election fight. To that end, his Republican attorney general seeks to find damaging information on his political rival. The AG pressures a local U.S. Attorney to join in the effort. Being possessed of more integrity in his left thumb than the AG has in his own body, the U.S. Attorney tells the AG to pound sand. The effort fails. The president loses. And the U.S. Attorney ultimately finds his career at an end.
Interesting scenario, no? Well, longtime shebeen regular and friend o’ the blog Gene Lyons reminded us of this episode back in July of 2016, when James Comey first banjaxed that year’s presidential election as regards Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign. Here is part of what Lyons wrote:
‘Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, specifically to September 1992, when Attorney General [Name Redacted For Dramatic Purposes], top-ranking FBI officials and — believe it or not — a Treasury Department functionary who actually sold “Presidential Bitch” T-shirts with Hillary Clinton’s likeness from her government office, pressured the U.S. attorney in Little Rock to open an investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Whitewater investment. The Arkansas prosecutor was Charles “Chuck” Banks, a Republican appointed by President Reagan, and recently nominated to a federal judgeship by President George H.W. Bush. It was definitely in Banks’ interest to see Bush re-elected.
The problem was that Banks knew all about Madison Guaranty S&L and its screwball proprietor Jim McDougal. His office had unsuccessfully prosecuted the Clintons’ Whitewater partner for bank fraud. He knew perfectly well that McDougal had deceived them about their investment, just as he’d fooled everybody in a frantic fiscal juggling act trying to save his doomed thrift.
The “Presidential Bitch” woman’s analysis showed a shaky grasp of banking law and obvious bias — listing virtually every prominent Democrat in Arkansas as a suspect. So when FBI headquarters in Washington ordered its Little Rock office to proceed on L. Jean Lewis’ criminal referral, Banks decided he had to act. He wrote a stinging letter to superiors in the Department of Justice, refusing to be party to a trumped-up probe clearly intended to affect the presidential election. “Even media questions about such an investigation … he wrote, “all too often publicly purport to ‘legitimize what can’t be proven.’ “ That was the end of the Bush administration’s attempt to win the 1992 election with a fake scandal. Also the end of Chuck Banks’ political career.’
That attorney general was—dramatic sting music—William Barr. So, when people tell you that Barr is somehow tossing away his reputation by serving as a White House lawn ornament, remember that he never had much of one in the first place. Remember also that he cut his teeth running the very political end of some very political investigations. He was a weapon in the first real weaponization of the DOJ since John Mitchell was running it. Going around. Coming around. All of that.”
The TRADE WAR is on! The sky is falling!
“Trump’s Unforgivable Recklessness on Trade
Even if he “wins,” America and the world have lost.”
See: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-05-14/china-trade-trump-tariffs-are-unforgivably-reckless?srnd=premium
But, maybe the sky is only slipping a little, a tiny bit, a tad.
“Apple Inc. could see the production costs for its flagship iPhone rise 2-3% given the impact that trade tensions between the U.S. and China are having on input materials like lithium batteries, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.”
See: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-14/apple-faces-higher-iphone-production-costs-with-tariffs-wedbush
Two to three percent! From time to time, US producers are reducing the size of their food products by more than that. (Not the containers, just the product.) Nowadays, I have to buy a party bag of chips.
Jim:
Automotive fights over a 1-2% cost save. It also like to reduce weight and a 5 to 10 pound reduction is a big deal. Materials is still the largest percentage in the cost of manufacturing. The US is not known for its mining and production of rare earths; Chinese Heavy Metal Scientific American, August 2018. Even if the material is not from China such as Tantalum or Cobalt, China has strategically made contracts with countries like the DRC. The Chinese could care less about child labor and human rights.
Trump may win the battle; but, we will lose the war.
They knew. All along.
Socialist,
Thermonuclear fusion anybody? It may take 100 years to get here (it looks like) — but may be 50 or even (possibly) 25 if we go all out and invest every possible dollar in it. Certainly wont cost five trillion.
We have to pay for it all eventually anyway — why not move it all up to maximum investment? The fast the better — may be the planets only realistic hope.
This book makes a pretty good case too that nothing else will ever get big enough to fill the carbon gap.
A book with a nondescript title but fairly meaty on the power issue in general (not just thermonuclear):
The Future of Fusion Energy (Popular Science) by Jason Parisi
If kiosk operated parking garages charge by the hour, why do they give you only 15 or 20 minutes to leave, after you’ve paid your exit ticket — even if you have are supposed to have more time than that left?
On our doctor’s visit to Northwestern last Thursday, I never saw the parking lot so crowded — ever — had to drive through every level going up and come half way back down (to the fifth floor) to find a spot.
Having concluded our business quickly, we were back paying our parking fee at the kiosk under an hour an a half — we then had 20 minutes to get out — or else what: we lose our validated discount, we have to pay for 12 hours; it doesn’t say?
The crowd at the elevator lobby was as busy as at the parking spaces; looked like the subway in the rush hour — on top of which, one elevator out of three was out of service on the east side. While driving down we are blocked by folks loading from a wheelchair. I was getting worried about that 20 minutes, realistically for once, but then I thought …
… we paid for two hours; why do we have to rush to get out if we supposedly have more than a half hour left? If we paid for two hours we should be entitled to the whole two hours. Somebody should look into this.
I assume that you mean that US consumers may be forced to pay one to two percent more for their trade goods.
Of course that is not necessarily so. Production could be moved from China to Vietnam where labor is even cheaper. Or wonder of wonders, some production might even be moved closer to US consumers.
Either way, I will not lose any sleep over it.
Americans have been mining for a very long time. When the foreign product is cheaper, they close US mines and purchase from overseas. Nothing new there.
“It’s a little known fact that the United States was once the largest producer of rare earths in the world, at the Mountain Pass Mine in California.”
See: http://www.mining.com/web/us-lost-plot-rare-earths/
Since 1994 the free trade religion has been creating winners and losers. (Labor being the losers.) I expect that to continue. But with the possibility that some of the winners and losers will change places.
Even Democrat Senator Schumer finds merit in President Trump’s struggles with China. Perhaps Representative Pelosi will join him.
See: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/trump-schumer-agree-on-something-china
Jim:
No to your first sentence.
Rare earths themselves aren’t particularly rare. The feasibility of mining is generally about how much pollution you’re willing to tolerate in the process.
China is willing to tolerate a lot.
J:
That much I know about China.
Mountain Pass is a rare earth mine.
Here is a part of the sustainability statement for MP Materials:
“One of the key innovations at Mountain Pass is the elimination of wet tailings ponds found in most mining operations. MP Materials has a tailings processing plant that generates a dry cake, which is stored at a lined impound to protect groundwater. The water reclaimed from the tailings is recycled back into the production process, greatly reducing the need to draw fresh water supplies from the surrounding aquifers.
In the near future, MP Materials plans to operate an onsite combined heat and power (CHP) facility that utilizes clean natural gas to satisfy most of Mountain Pass’ energy needs. We will benefit from CHP’s higher energy efficiency and greater reliability when compared to other power sources.”
See: https://mpmaterials.com/sustainability/
“The owners want Mountain Pass to build processing capacity in the U.S. in about 18 months, Litinsky said. “
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/the-californian-rare-earths-mine-caught-between-trump-and-china
They talk a good game but only time will tell if MP Materials is serious.
Now that uncle Joe has National Review shilling for him… http://bit.ly/2JhzIbA
It’s Bipunditry! Reaching across the magazine aisle! etc.
AS:
It is no secret Biden plays on both sides of the road.
In the Michigan 6th Congressional District 2018 race, he campaigned for Republican Fred Upton who was in a close race with the challenger Matt Longjohn. This was the tightest race Upton had since being elected to the House. Upton was instrumental in blocking the ACA Risk Corridor program by blocking funding for it and also blocking the transfer of funds from other healthcare programs . . . something we have recently seen put into play by Mr. Trump along similar lines. Upton along with Kingston and Sessions caused Coops to go bankrupt, insurance companies to leave the exchanges, premiums to increase, and policies to be canceled. In 2017, Upton helped write a bill repealing the ACA which “torpedoed protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.”
Praising Fred Upton who took in $millions from the pharma and healthcare supply and the healthcare provider industry over the years to sponsor the Century 21 Cures Act as the Chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A bill which is largely considered a giveaway to the overall healthcare industry and places people in jeopardy through a much faster pace of bringing drugs to market without adequate clinical trial testing (Public Citizen).
Biden was paid to speak at this Republican rally for Fred Upton. “The speaking series was underwritten in part by organizations connected to Mr. Upton’s family: Among the biggest sponsors listed on the Economic Club’s website are the Whirlpool Corporation, which was co-founded by Mr. Upton’s grandfather, and the Frederick S. Upton Foundation, a family charity named for the same man.
The contract for Mr. Biden’s visit shows he was paid $200,000 for his appearance, including a $150,000 speaking fee and a $50,000 travel allowance. It also specifies that the audience would be “primarily older, conservative Republicans and local community members (NYT).”
Biden is a chameleon.
It’s deja vu all over again. From the iraq war to:
“It involves a Republican president in a re-election fight and a trumped-up investigation of his political opponent. Sound familiar?
A Republican president faces a very tough re-election fight. To that end, his Republican attorney general seeks to find damaging information on his political rival. The AG pressures a local U.S. Attorney to join in the effort. Being possessed of more integrity in his left thumb than the AG has in his own body, the U.S. Attorney tells the AG to pound sand. The effort fails. The president loses. And the U.S. Attorney ultimately finds his career at an end.
Interesting scenario, no? Well, longtime shebeen regular and friend o’ the blog Gene Lyons reminded us of this episode back in July of 2016, when James Comey first banjaxed that year’s presidential election as regards Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign. Here is part of what Lyons wrote:
‘Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, specifically to September 1992, when Attorney General [Name Redacted For Dramatic Purposes], top-ranking FBI officials and — believe it or not — a Treasury Department functionary who actually sold “Presidential Bitch” T-shirts with Hillary Clinton’s likeness from her government office, pressured the U.S. attorney in Little Rock to open an investigation of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s Whitewater investment. The Arkansas prosecutor was Charles “Chuck” Banks, a Republican appointed by President Reagan, and recently nominated to a federal judgeship by President George H.W. Bush. It was definitely in Banks’ interest to see Bush re-elected.
The problem was that Banks knew all about Madison Guaranty S&L and its screwball proprietor Jim McDougal. His office had unsuccessfully prosecuted the Clintons’ Whitewater partner for bank fraud. He knew perfectly well that McDougal had deceived them about their investment, just as he’d fooled everybody in a frantic fiscal juggling act trying to save his doomed thrift.
The “Presidential Bitch” woman’s analysis showed a shaky grasp of banking law and obvious bias — listing virtually every prominent Democrat in Arkansas as a suspect. So when FBI headquarters in Washington ordered its Little Rock office to proceed on L. Jean Lewis’ criminal referral, Banks decided he had to act. He wrote a stinging letter to superiors in the Department of Justice, refusing to be party to a trumped-up probe clearly intended to affect the presidential election. “Even media questions about such an investigation … he wrote, “all too often publicly purport to ‘legitimize what can’t be proven.’ “ That was the end of the Bush administration’s attempt to win the 1992 election with a fake scandal. Also the end of Chuck Banks’ political career.’
That attorney general was—dramatic sting music—William Barr. So, when people tell you that Barr is somehow tossing away his reputation by serving as a White House lawn ornament, remember that he never had much of one in the first place. Remember also that he cut his teeth running the very political end of some very political investigations. He was a weapon in the first real weaponization of the DOJ since John Mitchell was running it. Going around. Coming around. All of that.”
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a27482016/william-barr-whitewater-bill-clinton-george-hw-bush-donald-trump/