Oil is one of those subjects that’s surprisingly slippery—both physically and economically. Most people know prices go up and down, but few realize that even storing oil comes with limits. Take the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). It’s often treated like a giant underground gas tank that can be drained and refilled at will. Not […]
Category Archives: Business
Oil: A Slippery Slope (Literally and Figuratively)
The Carbon We Own: Why Consumption Matters More
by Daniel Brouse For decades, climate responsibility has often been measured by where fossil fuels are extracted or where products are manufactured. While useful for tracking national emissions, this production-based approach can misrepresent who ultimately drives demand. A consumption-based accounting approach shifts the focus to the end user. Instead of assigning emissions to the country […]
What Are the Odds? An Estate Plan for the Next Seven Generations
by Daniel Brouse and Sidd Mukherjee When I began this journey more than three decades ago, I wasn’t a climate researcher. I was a financial planner specializing in business, economics, estate planning, and risk management. My academic background included economics, philosophy, and extensive study in physics, calculus, statistics, and systems analysis. My career focused on […]
The Evolution of the American Economy: Capitalism, State Capitalism, and Socialism
Introduction For much of its history, the United States has been portrayed as the world’s leading example of free-market capitalism, while socialism and communism have often been presented as fundamentally incompatible with American economic principles. In reality, no modern economy operates as a pure ideological model. Instead, governments continually adapt their economic policies in response […]
Living Shades: Nature’s Window Insulation
DIY Climate Control: Save Money, Reduce Waste, and Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Daniel Brouse One of the simplest and most affordable ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency is to create living shades. Instead of installing traditional curtains or blinds, mount a sturdy black iron pipe above each window and suspend a collection of […]
Climate Change as a Macroeconomic Threat Multiplier: Rising Healthcare Costs, Cost-of-Living Pressures, and Declining Human Longevity
by Daniel Brouse Introduction: Climate Change as an Economic and Human Security Crisis Climate change is no longer only an environmental challenge; it has become a powerful macroeconomic threat multiplier that amplifies existing social, economic, and public health vulnerabilities. Rising temperatures, increasingly extreme weather events, deteriorating air quality, and destabilized ecosystems are creating cascading financial […]
Climate Change and Personal Finances: Managing Household Costs in an Era of Rising Climate Risk
by Daniel Brouse 🌎 Climate Change and Personal Finances: The Rising Cost of a Changing Climate Climate change is no longer only an environmental challenge—it is becoming a growing financial challenge for households everywhere. While headline inflation may appear moderate, the costs most affected by climate change are rising faster than many household incomes. 🔥 […]
Ice in a Warming World: Climate Change, Giant Hail, and the Nonlinear Escalation of Severe Convective Storms
by Daniel Brouse Climate Change and Hailstorms One of the most common misconceptions about climate change is that a warmer planet should produce less ice. In reality, the opposite is increasingly true for severe thunderstorms. While winters are warming and snow cover is declining in many regions, the atmosphere is becoming more energetic, more moisture-laden, […]
Climate Control Feedback Loops
Climate Control Feedback Loops: When Cooling Becomes Part of the Climate System How the growing need for air conditioning is creating new reinforcing climate feedbacks Introduction For most of the twentieth century, air conditioning was considered a luxury in many parts of the world. Today, in an increasing number of regions, it is becoming essential […]
Worldwide Water Wars
Climate Change, Water Scarcity, and the Geopolitics of a Thirsty Planet by Daniel Brouse Water has become one of the defining geopolitical resources of the 21st century. Population growth, aging infrastructure, groundwater depletion, pollution, and climate change have pushed many of the world’s major river basins toward what researchers increasingly describe as global water bankruptcy—a […]