Kelvin Mace
Kelvin Mace's JournalIn Sweden, an Experiment Turns Shorter Workdays Into Bigger Gains
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/business/international/in-sweden-an-experiment-turns-shorter-workdays-into-bigger-gains.html?_r=0But life changed when Svartedalens was selected for a Swedish experiment about the future of work. In a bid to improve well-being, employees were switched to a six-hour workday last year with no pay cut. Within a week, Mr. Perez was brimming with energy, and residents said the standard of care was higher.
“What’s good is that we’re happy,” said Mr. Perez, a single father. “And a happy worker is a better worker.”
The experiment at Svartedalens goes further by mandating a 30-hour week. An audit published in mid-April concluded that the program in its first year had sharply reduced absenteeism, and improved productivity and worker health.
“We’ve had 40 years of a 40-hour workweek, and now we’re looking at a society with higher sick leaves and early retirement,” said Daniel Bernmar, leader of the Left party on Gothenburg’s City Council, which is running the trial and hopes to make it the standard. “We want a new discussion in Sweden about how work life should be to maintain a good welfare state for the next 40 years.”
Yet another great program we will never see in this country. Socialism, doncha know. Can't have that. Got to work 2-3 part time jobs with no benefits and 60-80 hours a week until you are 80+ years old. Preferably up to the day you die, and could you arrange for someone to cover your shifts that day?
This will be our first Star Wars Day, without Han.
Give a good thought to poor Chewie. Didn't even get a hug from Leia.
2050: Massive Droughts
World Bank: The way climate change is really going to hurt us is through waterWashington Post
https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
&w=1484
The report finds that in the next 30 years, “the global food system will require between 40 to 50 percent more water; municipal and industrial water demand will increase by 50 to 70 percent; the energy sector will see water demand increase by 85 percent; and the environment, already the residual claimant, may receive even less.”
The report finds that water, or the lack thereof, can damage economies in multiple ways — ranging from cutting down business efficiencies, to harming the health of citizens, to spurring natural disasters.
And the problem won’t be steady or chronic — there are likely to be sudden crises spurred by droughts or extreme weather events, such as floods. These, again, will hit unstable regions the hardest — and take a major economic toll. “When we have poverty, when we have division, when we have polarization, you add to that a water shock, something like a drought, this becomes a threat multiplier,” Damania said.
An interesting DIY solar power project at Kickstarter
x-posted from GD.
Disclaimer: I am not endorsing this project, nor do I have any interest in it, financial or otherwise. I do not know anyone associated with the company, but I have bought a flashlight from the company. I currently have a roof mounted 7kW array, so I do know a bit about what these things require:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plxdevices/legion-solar-a-better-way-to-energy-independence/description
Summary: This is a small scale, "plug and play" solar array, designed to avoid contractor expense, which is about 2/3s of the cost of a traditional array. They use a "side mount" roof bracket to eliminate the need to run holes into your roof (which MUST be done correctly or your roof will leak). The side mount bolts into the eaves of your roof. You can also place it on your lawn with a simple "a-frame" set up.
Instead of hard-wiring the system into your breaker box, you plug it into an existing outlet, and it syncs up with your house's AC power and feeds into the system. This leads to my first caveat, the system can ONLY produce power while grid power is active. If you lose power from the grid, you lose array power.
My second caveat is that their savings calculations are based on electrical rates in San Jose, which are about 3 times the national average of 12 cents/kWh.
The third caveat is that these are pretty low wattage panels (100 watts, versus 250-300 for most panels today) in order to be light enough to avoid code requirements about installation (getting a permit, specifically, in order to install heavier panels on a roof and inspecting the roof to verify they can handle the load).
The fourth caveat is: It's a Kickstarter project.
Fifth caveat is that they mention the 30% federal tax credit, but will probably not be shipping until 2017. The credit expires 12/31 of this year, and with the current congress, very unlikely to be renewed. Your state, however, may be a different story.
With all that in mind, it seems an interesting enough project for folks with spare cash and a desire to play with a project of this type. Will it save you money? That depends on a LOT of factors. It seems to me, a neat way to get your feet wet, maybe do it as a family project with the kids. It also seems like a neat way to offset the power used for a BEV, or plug in hybrid.
An interesting DIY solar power project at Kickstarter
Disclaimer: I am not endorsing this project, nor do I have any interest in it, financial or otherwise. I do not know anyone associated with the company, but I have bought a flashlight from the company. I currently have a roof mounted 7kW array, so I do know a bit about what these things require:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plxdevices/legion-solar-a-better-way-to-energy-independence/description
Summary: This is a small scale, "plug and play" solar array, designed to avoid contractor expense, which is about 2/3s of the cost of a traditional array. They use a "side mount" roof bracket to eliminate the need to run holes into your roof (which MUST be done correctly or your roof will leak). The side mount bolts into the eaves of your roof. You can also place it on your lawn with a simple "a-frame" set up.
Instead of hard-wiring the system into your breaker box, you plug it into an existing outlet, and it syncs up with your house's AC power and feeds into the system. This leads to my first caveat, the system can ONLY produce power while grid power is active. If you lose power from the grid, you lose array power.
My second caveat is that their savings calculations are based on electrical rates in San Jose, which are about 3 times the national average of 12 cents/kWh.
The third caveat is that these are pretty low wattage panels (100 watts, versus 250-300 for most panels today) in order to be light enough to avoid code requirements about installation (getting a permit, specifically, in order to install heavier panels on a roof and inspecting the roof to verify they can handle the load).
The fourth caveat is: It's a Kickstarter project.
Fifth caveat is that they mention the 30% federal tax credit, but will probably not be shipping until 2017. The credit expires 12/31 of this year, and with the current congress, very unlikely to be renewed. Your state, however, may be a different story.
With all that in mind, it seems an interesting enough project for folks with spare cash and a desire to play with a project of this type. Will it save you money? That depends on a LOT of factors. It seems to me, a neat way to get your feet wet, maybe do it as a family project with the kids. It also seems like a neat way to offset the power used for a BEV, or plug in hybrid.
Concerning "Goodbye DU" posts
I suggest that such things are a waste of time.
The HRC crowd does not care in the slightest, and will use such posts as an opportunity to insult, taunt and/or belittle the writer. They are not going to ask/beg us to come back, so each time such a post appears, they will cheer and count it as one more scalp acquired.
They have made it quite plain that they have this in the bag and that they do not need, nor want our vote. Let them have their gleeful grave dancing, but it should be met with silence.
Don't leave, just lurk and avoid talking to HRC folk, who will be easy to spot. Deprive them of the pleasure they get from a reaction of anger or sadness.
In fact, my suggestion is that if you agree with this view, you simply post a silent assent. If you want to discuss the issue, PM me.
Of course, it is still months away from the election and a lot can happen in that time. So, their victory dance may still be quite premature.
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Gender: MaleHome country: USA
Member since: 2003 before July 6th
Number of posts: 17,469