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Western climate envoys press Indonesia - world's top exporter of coal - to use renewables instead
Even proponents of renewable fuels admit that they are not competitive with fossil fuels on a cost-benefit basis. While the high cost of renewables is clear enough, benefits are based on wishful thinking and unexamined assumptions.
Ever since Indonesia, where Hong Kong gets its coal that lights it up at night, has fallen prey to climate bureaucrats offering funds in exchange for commitments to destroy its most successful industry, the country it has been under pressure to do what it does not want to do. That is, rid itself of the source of its coal-fired electricity and end its role as the world's biggest coal exporter.
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Perhaps it is time to re-think the problem of inflation and the role world shipping plays in it
Now that inflation has been recognised as a feature of economic life, rather than the transitory footnote it was thought to be at the US Federal Reserve, one can deal with it as the reigning reality of our time with a view towards mitigating its effects.
Its cause can be rooted in the Covid scare. Not to the disease itself, which killed the very old and the very sick - those expected to die anyway. It was not the disease, but our reaction to it that did the damage. There still appears to be no discernible difference in outcome between those jurisdictions that took extreme measures to fight Covid and those that did not.
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Bringing realistic assessment to the Russo-Ukrainian War while applying trade principles to help end it
No one is pleased with the Russo-Ukraine war, but one is relieved that the initial rah-rah! cheering that Ukrainians beat the Russians back from Kiev has given way to a more realistic assessment of what's happening, and what is likely to happen.
Highly partisan reports in the western media spoke of beating back the Russian advance, but the phrase "Russian advance" survived in succesive reports day after day despite much stress on the words "beating back".
From this one hopes to save the Black Sea Port of Odessa from Russian control so trade can resume. The world needs Ukrainian grain and Russian oil - needs that will become more acute as time goes on.
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Getting cargo to where it wants to go keeps the world spinning in virtuous circles of prosperity
While the faults of seaports of the world are many, they still deliver increasing prosperity to all, and while the rich get richer, so do the poor.
But because of an overreaction to a flu bug, an already shambolic system of feuding tribes has service providers profits rise in inverse proportion to service quality provided. This has aroused suspicion of foul play.
But there is no Svengali plot here. While other factors have contributed, today's worldwide supply chain disruption can be blamed on overreaction to a flu bug that mostly kills the very old and very sick, that is, people one expects to die about the time they do.
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Intra Asia Trade Specialists |
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