January 2016 / Writing in “The Irony of American History”, the political philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr speculated that religious illusions might spark terrible fanaticism, and the Paris attacks have proved him right. Niebuhr’s dark vision has come to pass. The religious fundamentalism that fueled the Paris attacks was based on religious nationalism. The end of the first Cold War...
November-December 2015 / In this essay we begin with a critique of Mr. Jack Ma, China’s answer to our Steve Jobs. Mr. Ma founded e-commerce behemoth, Alibaba, which was taken public in the largest IPO ever on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Ma has continually asserted that he created Alibaba for the public good, which translates to about 600 million Chinese Internet users. Economists point...
October 2015 / As we enter the 2015-2016 heating season, we first need to look back at some recent metrics to help formulate a buying strategy for going forward. North Sea Brent crude oil prices averaged around $46 per barrel in August, 2015, which was a $9 per barrel decrease from July, 2015. This was actually the third consecutive monthly decrease in prices and the trend mirrors concerns about...
JANUARY 2015 / We’re talking about the lowly potato, the ubiquitous soybean, sunflower, mustard, flax, even waste vegetable oils. All can be used to produce biodiesel fuel, a fuel source credited with reducing engine wear and producing less harmful emissions. We care because the twin crises we are facing—depletion of fossil fuels and the degradation of the environment—are not going away any time...
september 2014 / There are about two million rental units in New York City, with the vacancy rate currently hovering around 2.6% (in 2010 it was 3.7%). One of the most significant challenges facing owners of those rental units is managing their energy costs. According to my research, probably any multi-family construction built within the past ten years or so is heated by natural gas, but...
Best-selling financial author, Wall Street investment banker, social commentator, award-winning poet, energy consultant, off-Broadway producer, and community organizer in Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign, Ron Spurga is the ultimate Renaissance Man.
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