The helium is coming back out of the market folks.
Goldman Sachs (GS), which had been up over $2 earlier in the day, is now down over $2 or 1.5%.
Airlines are getting whacked, as fears are renewed about volcano ash chaos in Europe, and reports of downed planes.
The Dow is off just under 40.
Interestingly, gold is up $7.
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A month ago, the world saw Apple as equal parts North Pole and KGB—unpredictably innovative and notoriously secretive, they were a force wielded by nothing less than magic. Then, an elf got loose. More »
Professor Guhan Subramanian was featured in Forbes India in April 2010. Professor Subramanian discusses his latest book Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive Marketplace, which was published in February 2010.
Click here to read the full article.
Professor Subramanian will be teaching Advanced Negotiation: Deal Design and Implementation at the Harvard Negotiation Institute June 14-18. For more information, or to register, click here.
Saab today announced pricing on the all-new 2010 Saab 9-5 sedan.
“The new 9-5 Sedan stays true to its unique Swedish heritage and Saab DNA. The 9-5 showcases progressive Scandinavian design, an exhilarating driving experience and responsible performance with its all-turbo powertrain line-up,” said Mike Colleran, Saab Cars North America President and COO. “Saab’s distinctive new flagship brings a fresh, alternative choice to the premium sedan segment.”
The 9-5 model will hit U.S. dealerships in July starting with the top-of-the-line 9-5 Aero Sedan model, which is priced at $49,990. The 2010 Saab 9-5 Aero Sedan is powered by a 2.8L V6 turbocharged engine making 300-hp and 295 lb-ft of torque.
The lineup will be extended in the Saab 9-5 2011 model year, which will consist of a 220-hp 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo with prices starting under $40,000.
Make the jump for the press release for more details.
Press Release:
Saab Cars North America Announces Pricing on All-New Premium Flagship Vehicle: The 9-5 Aero Sedan Launch Package
* All-new 9-5 vehicle pricing on model year 2010 and 2011 variants
* Premium 9-5 Sedan available in July
DETROIT – Saab Cars North America announced pricing for its all-new 2010 model year 9-5 Aero Sedan launch package. The flagship vehicle will arrive in U.S. dealer showrooms in July.
Saab will lead the new 9-5 launch with its top-of-the line Aero Sedan model, priced at $49,990 MSRP. The Aero, featuring a 300 hp 2.8-litre V6 turbo engine, delivers uncompromised driving performance and is packed with advanced chassis, comfort and safety technologies.
Shortly following the 9-5 Aero introduction, a 2.0-litre turbo variant will be added to the 9-5 line-up. Pricing for these 2011 model year vehicles will start at under $40,000 MSRP.
The clean, ‘organic sculpture’ of the 9-5 bodywork, with elements inspired by Saab’s award-winning Aero X concept, heralds the introduction of a bold, more expressive design language for the brand. The spacious, driver-focused cabin features a new iteration of Saab’s signature cockpit layout.
Staying true to its roots, the 9-5 family features an all-turbo powertain line-up. The Aero model, features a 2.8-litre V6 Turbo Engine with 300 horsepower @ 5,300 rpm; a 24-valve, dual overhead camshaft valvetrain and a twin-scroll intercooled turbocharger and the Sentronic six-speed automatic with transmission with paddle shifting.
Performance is second to none with sophisticated electronic chassis systems such as electronic stability program, DriveSense adaptive chassis and Saab’s advanced all-wheel-drive system, XWD. Additionally, the Aero features a new front and rear suspension design that provides a sporty driving experience without sacrificing on comfort.
Saab continues its commitment to safety with eight standard airbags in the new 9-5, including rear seat thorax protection side airbags. A lane departure warning system and head-up display are also available.
The refined interior of the 9-5 features leather-appointed seats and steering wheel, power front seats with memory settings for the driver’s seat and mirrors, automatic dual-zone air conditioning, a cooled glove box, front and rear interior reading lamps, and 12V outlets in the front console and trunk.
The standard audio system includes an AM/FM radio with CD player, XM® Satellite radio, USB and auxiliary connections for portable devices and steering wheel mounted controls. A Harman-Kardon surround sound system is also available.
Saab’s unique Night Panel feature continues in this new 9-5 and is enhanced by a new instrument cluster with a supplemental rolling speedometer display that hints at its aircraft heritage.
– By: Omar Rana
Texas Tech, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (HSC), and Dallas-based HemoBioTech are developing blood substitutes that meets more rigorous safety protocols instituted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Tech has patented a method to ensure that bood substitutes do not contain pathogens that are associated with blood. Intrinsic toxicity of hemoglobin was a major cause of complications in first-generation substitutes. The technology developed at Tech enables the formulation of blood substitutes with different pharmacological characteristics so the product is safe when injected into the bloodstream, says Jan Simoni, DVM, principal investigator of Tech’s blood substitute program. Tech is trying to make a substitute for perfusion fluids, which are used in heart surgeries. Blood substitutes also could be used in times of war or catastrophe, when mass casualties occur. In addition, blood substitutes could be stored for six months before use, in contrast to human blood, which must be used within one month. Blood substitutes also could also be transfused without typing a patient’s blood.
The next step is to perform preclinical and clinical animal trials, which will require $2 million to $3 million in funding for testing by an independent lab. If the capital is raised quickly enough, testing could begin within the year. HemoBioTech has licensed the technology for the blood substitutes, which address a market estimated at more than $25 billion. “We are very focused on holding [HemoBioTech] accountable to raise the capital and get this to market,” says David L. Miller, Tech’s vice chancellor of technology commercialization and economic development. Success in FDA animal trials would bring additional capital from investors, he adds, by helping to move the technology to the next level.
Source: The Daily Toreador
When used appropriately, provisional patent applications (PPAs) are an inexpensive way for technology transfer offices to protect IP while they begin to market it to outsiders. In addition, PPAs buy inventors and TTOs an extra year of time to further develop the science before a non-provisional patent application must be filed with the USPTO. However, legal experts emphasize that shoddily prepared PPAs can come back to haunt TTOs later on in the game. And some busy TTOs tend to lose sight of the fact that PPAs are, quite frankly, a waste of time and money when they are prepared so routinely that little thought goes into whether or not the underlying IP merits further development.
It’s an easy trap to fall into because PPAs are much easier to draft than non-provisionals, and at a cost of less than $1,000 they are far cheaper to file. However, the low cost without the accountability can be a double-edged sword, stresses Libby Hart-Wells, PhD, executive director of commercial ventures and intellectual property at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. “The provisional is not examined. It just goes into a file at the patent office. It is a placeholder. You could literally submit a napkin to the patent office and they would put it on file with a provisional application number,” she explains. However, Hart-Wells urges TTOs to remember that if the IP turns out to be highly valuable, then the quality of the provisional patent application becomes very important. “If you have filed a document that is crummy, and it will be the foundation for your entire patent portfolio later, then you are building a house of cards,” she says. A detailed article on best practices for filing PPAs appears in the April issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. To start a subscription and access the full article, plus three years of archived articles filled with tech transfer success strategies, CLICK HERE.
Gregory T. Huang wrote:
Zensi, an energy monitoring startup co-founded by University of Washington assistant professor Shwetak Patel, has been acquired by Belkin, the computer hardware and wireless company based in the Los Angeles area. Financial terms of the cash deal weren’t given. The news was reported earlier today by CNET.
Patel co-founded Zensi in 2008 while he was in graduate school at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, but he has continued to develop the technology at UW as a faculty member in computer science & engineering and electrical engineering. The company’s technology includes sensors that you plug into a wall outlet to measure the amount of electricity used by each appliance or device in a home. Zensi’s similar systems for water, gas, and ventilation—and software to run it all—could help people keep better track of their home energy and resource use, and ultimately reduce it.
Zensi was based in Atlanta and Boston, but the technology was licensed from UW and Georgia Tech. To hear Patel talk, this is just the beginning for using software help consumers better conserve energy. “This puts UW on the map as a premier place for energy work in the residential space,” says Patel. He adds that Zensi is one of the first examples of a residential energy monitoring company getting acquired for cash. The acquisition should speed up the process of making Zensi’s technology widely available to consumers. Zensi was looking to close a round of venture capital earlier this year, but decided to go the acquisition route when multiple bidders appeared, Patel says.
Indeed, the residential energy monitoring sector seems to be heating up all around, with big companies like Intel, Microsoft, Google, and even Apple unveiling new products in the past year. (Intel’s most recent offering looks a lot like Zensi’s, in fact.)
Patel’s fellow co-founders include Gregory Abowd from Georgia Tech, Matt Reynolds of Duke University, and CEO Kevin Ashton, who was based in Boston and has joined Belkin as general manager of the company’s new Conserve business unit. Belkin says to expect some new energy management products later this year.
As for Patel (who’s in his late 20s), now that he’s made his “big splash” in energy, he says he’s working in other areas, such as health-monitoring technologies. An example might be a mobile phone that can do X-rays in the field, he says. Will he work on another startup? “I imagine I will again,” he says.
UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS
The IMF has released its World Economic Outlook report, and it highlights the heights the world economy has returned to since the financial crisis.
The improvements can be seen around the world, but are particularly obvious in the emerging markets of Asia.
But Europe and the United States aren’t completely left out of the story, with those regions showing great progress in returning to the growth story they yielded in 2007.
Source: IMF
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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U-Illinois) has inked a license agreement with Hoowaki, LLC, of Pendleton, SC, that allows the start-up to use nanotechnology developed in the laboratory of William P. King, PhD. The technology provides a method to manufacture microstructures that alter the surface properties of various materials. The microstructure manufacturing technology allows for the surface structure of manmade products to be molded in ways that replicate the micro- to nanometer-sized details found in nature. Surfaces of metals, ceramics, and polymers can be altered to affect appearance, color, friction, adhesion, lubrication, drag, and flow control.
One potential application is to create super-hydrophobic materials, which are self-cleaning, reduce ice and mud buildup, and can be used to increase performance. Hoowaki focuses on surface transformation technology for clients in industries ranging from aerospace engineering to biomedical applications to consumer goods. The broad potential for microstructure manufacturing technology will allow Hoowaki to diversify its products and services, which include systems to make industrial tooling surfaces as well as custom surface design, surface engineering, and licensing of patterns.
Source: BusinessWire
Pending legislation would require would-be motorcyclists to take a 15-hour training class, costing $200 or more, to legally ride in Connecticut. But don’t expect any opposition from 22-year-old Adam Hinckley, an officer of the Blue Devil Riders club at Central Connecticut State University.
About four years ago, Hinckley said, only days after buying his motorcycle, he lost control while making a turn. He hit a curb and damaged his bike but got away with scrapes to his knees and elbows.
At the time, Hinckley only had his motorcycle permit. He says now that, had he taken a motorcycle training course before the accident, he would have known how to maneuver the bike properly.
Hinckley did enroll in a training course after falling off his bike. He said he learned basic techniques that motorcyclists need to know. As a bonus, he said, there are insurance discounts for riders who take such classes offered privately or through the state.
Another incentive is that, by law, the Department of Motor Vehicles can waive the on-road portion of the “endorsement” application process for individuals who successfully complete an approved training course.
Any motor vehicle driver’s license holder who plans to ride a motorcycle must get a motorcycle “endorsement,” designated by the letter “M” on a license. Motorcycle drivers must have both a valid license and a valid motorcycle endorsement or permit.
Hinckley, of East Hartford, decided on his own to take the course, but future riders might not have that option.
The legislature’s appropriations committee voted Monday 42-2 in favor of a bill that would require anyone applying for a motorcycle endorsement, regardless of age, to complete a novice motorcycle training course. Currently, only those under 18 must take a training course.
The transportation committee passed the bill in March. It now goes to the House of Representatives and the Senate for action.
Rep. Timothy Larson, D-East Hartford, decided to push for expanding the training requirement after talking with Stephanie Pelletier of East Hartford. Pelletier’s 19-year-old son, Nicholas Cohen, died in 2008 when his motorcycle and a minivan collided in Glastonbury.
“I often wonder, if Nick was required to go through formal training, would he be here today?” Pelletier said at a public hearing in March.
The state Department of Transportation’s most recent data show that 37 motorcycle riders and four passengers died in Connecticut in 2009.
The DMV says there are currently 208,107 motorcycle endorsements in Connecticut.
The motorcycle training bill would go into effect Oct. 1 and would result in a $100,000 cost to the DOT, which administers the Connecticut Rider Education Program. The bill has a price tag because more equipment would be needed to meet additional course demand.
For next fiscal year, the Office of Fiscal Analysis says, the initial cost could be covered by a federal grant. However, lawmakers worry that federal funding will not be available later on. This could mean an increase in the novice safety course fees, the legislature’s budget office says.
Kevin Nursick, a spokesman for the state DOT, says that thousands of people participate in the department’s voluntary rider education program each year and that the DOT encourages all motorcyclists to enroll in the program, which teaches life-saving techniques and motorcycle safety.
Classes are held throughout the state for beginner, intermediate and experienced motorcyclists. Fees vary depending on the class, but they start at $200.
Ever want to play movies, show pictures and give presentations from your Android handset via a TV screen or projector? Well your wish has been granted in the form of the HTC Droid Incredible, as it has the capability with an optional composite video cable to do all of those things.
Anything you do on your handset screen will show up on your TV screen simultaneously. This is a pretty impressive feature that obviously has a lot of uses.
Researchers at the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and Environment at Israel’s Hebrew University and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in New York have achieved increased yields and improved taste in hybrid tomato plants. The researchers discovered the yield-boosting power of a single gene, which controls the timing determining when plants make flowers. The technology works in different varieties of tomato and across a range of environmental conditions. The discovery was patented by Yissum, the TTO for Hebrew-U, which is seeking potential partners for further development and commercialization. “This discovery has tremendous potential to transform both the billion-dollar tomato industry as well as agricultural practices designed to get the most yield from other flowering crops,” says Zach Lippman, PhD, assistant professor in CSHL’s Watson School of Biological Sciences and co-author of a paper describing the technology that appears in Nature Genetics.
Lippman and colleagues made the discovery while hunting for genes that boost hybrid vigor, a breeding principle that spurred the production of hybrid crops like corn and rice a century ago. Hybrid vigor, also known as heterosis, is the phenomenon by which intercrossing two varieties of plants produces more vigorous hybrid offspring with higher yields. A theory for heterosis, supported by the Hebrew-U-Cold Spring discovery, postulates that improved vigor stems from only a single gene — an effect called “superdominance” or “overdominance.” The research team developed a novel approach to find such genes by turning to a tomato “mutant library” — a collection of 5,000 plants, each of which has a single mutation in a single gene that causes defects in various aspects of tomato growth, such as fruit size, leaf shape, etc. Selecting 33 mutant plants, most of which produced low yield, the team crossed each mutant with its normal counterpart and searched for hybrids with improved yield. The most dramatic example increased yield by 60%. The scientists are seeking to team up with agricultural companies to develop the hybrids for commercial use.
Source: ScienceBlog
Filed under: Performance, Ferrari, Fiat
Fiat is in the midst of a grand restructuring, and reports are beginning to trickle in. First up is perhaps the most exciting, dealing with product development plans for Fiat’s most prized asset: Ferrari.
According to reports, Maranello currently has a total of six new models or model variants in the pipeline for debut over the next couple of years. The first new variant up for release is the 458 Spider, the convertible version of the 458 Italia that replaces the outgoing F430 Spider. But if that’s not enough to whet your appetite, plans are also underway on project F151, the replacement for the lackluster 612 Scaglietti, a four-seat grand tourer that is slated to feature the first road-going implementation of the company’s KERS hybrid drivetrain.
Following the 458 Spider and the 612 successor, Ferrari will reportedly launch a successor to the Enzo in 2012. Few details are available on that project, but in the same year we’re expecting to see a completely new model to replace the 599 GTB Fiorano, code-named F152.
Finally in 2013, Ferrari is anticipated to overhaul the California with a comprehensive update tentatively called the California M, suggesting the difference between the current version and the new one will be similar in scope to the change from the 456 GT to the 456 M and from the 550 Maranello to the 575 MM. Also set for introduction in 2013 will be a hardcore, track-focused version of the 458 to follow in the footsteps of the 360 Challenge Stradale and the outgoing 430 Scuderia.
Ferrari’s engineers had better cancel their dinner plans for the next couple of years, because it sure sounds like they’ve got their hands full.
[Source: Autocar]
Report: Ferrari reveals plans for six new models originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The FCC today began the long process of building a regulatory regime for a broadband-centric — as opposed to telephone-centric — communications world during an open meeting in which it sought comments on several sweeping policy changes, including reforming the federal telecommunications subsidy for providing rural telephone access. Even as the FCC issues these notices and requests for comments, however, Washington policy experts are still wondering when the FCC will take action to affirm its authority to implement some aspects of the broadband plan. Is the FCC blithely ignoring reality or is it just that confident?
During the first week of April a federal appellate court ruled that the FCC was wrong to chastise Comcast for throttling P2P packets because it did not ground its decision-making in the proper authority. The ruling has the effect of putting the FCC in limbo (GigaOM Pro, sub req’d) as to whether or not it has the authority to compel high-speed Internet service providers to follow some of its regulations.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski opened today’s meeting by saying he believes the agency has the full legal authority to move forward with these proceedings despite the Comcast ruling, but that’s what the FCC has been saying since the decision was handed down during the first week of April, and even today that authority was questioned by a fellow commissioner.
The FCC then voted on six proposals, yielding:
But during this decision-making process the issue of the FCC’s authority to implement its plans was challenged by Robert McDowell, a Republican commissioner, who questioned the FCC’s authority to require wireless network operators to automatically open their networks to roaming in the wake of the Comcast decision.
Which indicates to me that when the FCC has to implement anything difficult or controversial, the issue of its authority will come up again and again — both from lobbyists and later through the courts. So the real question is as the FCC tries to implement a new broadband-centric regulatory regime, when is going to take the time to clear up these lingering questions?
Heather Locklear — the sexy star of primetime soaps like Dallas and Melrose Place — is facing a real-life legal drama: She was arrested in her suburban Los Angeles home for hit & run on Saturday.
Law enforcement sources tell PEOPLE that a resident of the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California heard a crash near Heather’s home at approximately 4 AM on Saturday morning.
The incident was not reported until 7:48 PM on Saturday. When deputies arrived on the scene several hours later, they found a knocked-over parking sign. After further investigation they confirmed that Heather’s 2005 black BMW had jumped the curb and struck the sign, but the actress never called the accident in to police. She was promptly arrested for hit-and-run.
According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s department, Locklear’s vehicle matched debris from the knocked-over sign. No further details were disclosed.
Locklear was cited on a misdemeanor charge of “Leaving the Scene of an Accident.” The collar is the second driving offense for the beauty in the past two years. In 2008, Heather was arrested in Santa Barbara for allegedly driving under the influence of prescription meds. She pled not guilty and was placed on informal probation for three years.
Police do not suspect that Heather was under the influence at the time of her most recent accident.
No word on how this latest arrest will affect Locklear’s probation, but we can expect to see her in court next month.
Tampa, FL-based Innovaro (formerly UTEK Corporation) has formed Verdant Ventures Advisors, LLC, as an independently managed tech transfer venture fund. “Verdant Ventures will enable Innovaro clients to have access to capital that we believe will help facilitate the transfer of technologies that have not yet attained a certain milestone or level of development maturity,” says Doug Schaedler, Innovaro CEO. “The underlying goal of this relationship is to further increase our clients’ commercialization success rates as well as increase the frequency of technology licensing for the company.”
Verdant will take advantage of the breadth and depth of Innovaro’s contacts and networks with university TTOs, medical centers, federal research labs, and corporations. The new fund seeks to reduce the risk of investing in early-stage opportunities by capitalizing on its relationships with companies that specialize in tech transfer. Verdant then will add value to early-stage technologies by advising management teams and by continuing the development of the acquired science. Verdant also will seek to formulate and implement market strategies that may include outlicensing, selling, or incorporating a company to develop technologies in its portfolio.
Source: MarketWatch
While Earth Day’s founders couldn’t have predicted it, acting on climate change has become the country’s great unfinished business.
This post originally appeared on The Washington Post Planet Panel.
Earth Day’s founders launched the modern environmental movement by harnessing the public’s growing frustration with a polluted country and turning that sentiment into constructive action. The groundswell of public support shown on the first Earth Day translated into public pressure on Congress to act and protect our resources.
Congress responded swiftly. Perhaps most importantly, in 1970, President Nixon proposed and Congress later created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Clean Air Act was enacted in 1963, and revised in 1970 to make it more stringent. The Clean Water Act followed shortly after that. Taken together, these developments made the United States cleaner and healthier and ushered in a new level of national awareness of environmental issues.
While climate change will be a challenge to solve, it also presents opportunities for American innovation. With the right policies in place, the United States could lead the world on clean energy.
Forty years later, some of these environmental challenges remain. We also face a new challenge with an enormous scale: climate change. The period from 2000 through 2009 was the warmest decade on record, and we’re already beginning to see some of the effects of this warming.
While climate change will be a challenge to solve, it also presents opportunities for American innovation. With the right policies in place, the United States could lead the world on clean energy. Without new US policies in place, others like Germany and China will continue to lead the clean energy revolution and the risks of climate change will grow to an unacceptable level.
While Earth Day’s founders couldn’t have predicted it then, acting on climate change has become the country’s great unfinished business. Enacting legislation that will spur clean energy innovation and curb global warming pollution would honor the founders’ legacy in 2010. The U.S. House of Representatives got started this summer, and now it is the Senate’s turn.
In the last 40 years, the people calling for environmental reforms have changed. The best policies are those supported by the public and a range of stakeholders. I can’t think of many issues that unite veterans, religious groups, businesses and labor unions, yet climate and energy legislation is one of them.
As we observe Earth Day this week, I hope senators will remember that today, as 40 years ago, people counted on them to make the right choices for America.
WRI has many resources on U.S. Climate Legislation, including fact sheets and bill summaries. Learn more about WRI’s work on Federal Climate Policy.
A popular series of royalty rate benchmarking references has been expanded to five titles with the addition of two market-specific editions focused on medical devices and computer and communications technologies, respectively. Authored by respected royalty rate and valuation expert Russell Parr — who has spent more than two decades gathering deal terms — each of the five editions goes beyond raw rates and data and puts each transaction in context, including descriptions of the licensed technologies, full compensation terms, identity of the licensor and licensee, transaction background and history, and market analysis and benefits of the licensed technology. The two newest editions are designed to allow for less expensive access for those with specific interest in those technology spaces. The five titles are:
The 10th annual Rice business plan competition (RBPC) — one of the largest and most lucrative academic start-up contests — awarded more than $1 million in cash and prizes to fledgling firms. Forty-two university teams pitched their technology business plans to more than 200 judges representing successful VCs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. The teams competed in six categories: life sciences, information technology, energy, green tech, social ventures, and other technologies. Each team presented a 15-minute business plan, with the top six competitors vying for a grand prize valued at up to $385,000, including a $285,000 equity investment, $20,000 in cash, and more than $80,000 in business services, including office space, marketing support, and business mentoring. BiologicsMD, LLC, from the University of Arkansas won the grand prize and several other awards. The start-up has developed OsteoFlor, a medication that binds directly to bone to spur bone growth. The product requires less frequent dosing and is expected to have few, if any, side effects.
Other top winners included:
Source: Rice Alliance
Texas’s economy fared far better than most of the U.S. during the downturn, and it’s rebounding strong as well. The state has been already adding jobs since the fall for 2009 according to The Big Money (TBM).
What gives? Is it all oil? Nope.
1) It’s due to better housing regulation, which helped keep the state’s mortgage delinquency rate below the national average:
That’s partly because relaxed zoning codes and abundant land kept both price appreciation and speculation down. “House prices didn’t experience a bubble in the same way as the rest of the nation,” said Anil Kumar, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. But it’s also because of two attributes not commonly associated with the Longhorn State: financial restraint and comparatively strong regulation.
2) The state also has a larger amount of non-oil-related exports than many people realize:
Manufactured goods like electronics, chemicals, and machinery account for a bigger chunk of Texas’ exports than petroleum does. In the first two months of 2010, exports of stuff made in Texas rose 24.3 percent, to $29 billion, from 2009. That’s about 10 percent of the nation’s total exports.
3) And as far as energy industry growth is concerned, natural gas and wind are growing while oil is in decline.
In November 2009, Texas [oil] wells produced 1.08 million barrels per day, about half as much as they did in the late 1980s. In recent years, natural gas has been undergoing a renaissance. The state’s production rose about 35 percent between 2004 and 2008. And Texas has received a big boost from a different, renewable source of energy: wind.
In this area, Texas’ size and history of independence has enabled it to jump-start a new industry. The state has its own electricity grid, which is not connected to neighboring states. That has allowed it to move swiftly and decisively in deregulating power markets, building new transmission lines, and pursuing alternative sources. “We can build transmission lines without federal jurisdiction and without consulting other states,” said Paul Sadler, executive director of the Austin-based Wind Coalition.
So it’s not the state your father knew, which people closely familiar with it are probably well aware of. For the rest of us, it’s worth investigating what exactly is going so right.
Continue reading at The Big Money here >
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