What Does a Barrel of Oil Cost—and What Does It Mean to You? When you hear the price of oil reported on the news, you are usually hearing the futures price. But what does that number actually mean? The futures price is essentially a “paper” price. Very little physical oil actually changes hands through the […]
Category Archives: Government
How Is Climate Energy Hitting You? Pennsylvania: When the Levee Breaks
by Daniel Brouse Pennsylvania: When the Levee Breaks — Crying Won’t Help You, Praying Won’t Do You No Good Pennsylvania’s aging levees reveal a dangerous mismatch between a rapidly changing climate-energy system and infrastructure designed for a climate that no longer exists. The problem is much larger than flooding. It is a collision between increasing […]
Inflation Is Moving From Diesel to the Consumer
esterday brought the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) measure of inflation. Today, the focus shifts to consumer inflation. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the August 2026 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, showing headline consumer inflation rising 0.4% in August on a seasonally adjusted basis and increasing 3.4% over the past 12 months. Core […]
Inflation’s Fiscal Engine: How Government Spending Keeps Price Pressures Alive
How Fiscal Policy Is Becoming a Driving Force of Inflation The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its August 2026 Producer Price Index (PPI) report on September 10, revealing a renewed acceleration in wholesale prices. According to the report, headline PPI rose 0.4 percent month over month and climbed 5.4 percent over the year, […]
The Economics of an Ultimatum: Trade Deficits, the Fed, and the Price of Political Pressure
On September 4, 2026, President Donald Trump escalated his ongoing pressure campaign against the Federal Reserve following a stronger-than-expected August jobs report. The unexpectedly strong labor-market data increased market expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as was already expected. Trump responded with a sweeping threat on Truth Social: if the Federal Reserve […]
How Is Climate Energy Hitting You? Socio-Economic-Ecological Feedbacks
by Daniel Brouse From Biodiversity to Monoculture: The Socio-Economic-Ecological Feedback Loop Climate change is often described as a problem of rising temperatures, but temperature is only one expression of the additional energy entering the Earth system. That energy moves through the atmosphere, hydrologic cycle, soils, vegetation, ecosystems, agriculture, forests, and human economies. As each system […]
Also posted in Agriculture, Business, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Politics, Science, Society, Trees
Tagged climate change, economy
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Sea-Level Rise: Rubbing Salt in the Wound
by Daniel Brouse and Sidd Mukherjee How Is Climate Energy Hitting You? The Jersey Shore Is Sure Sea-Level Rise: Rubbing Salt in the Wound Sea-level rise is not simply a matter of the ocean getting higher. Climate change is altering the physical forces that move water toward and onto the shoreline. Rising seas, changing atmospheric […]
Also posted in Agriculture, Business, Education, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Security, Society, Trees, weather
Tagged climate change
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Where’s the Beef? Tariffs, Inflation, and the Climate Cost of Meat
On August 21, 2026, President Donald Trump announced a temporary 90-day waiver of out-of-quota tariffs on imported ground beef, allowing up to 300,000 metric tons to enter the U.S. market tariff-free in an effort to reduce grocery prices. The president said he had secured a commitment that the imported meat would be sold at 25% […]
Also posted in Agriculture, Business, Environment, Finance, freedom, Global Warming, Politics, Science
Tagged climate change, economy
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Treasury Doubles Bond Buybacks as U.S. Bond Market Volatility Deepens
The U.S. Department of the Treasury intervened on August 19, 2026, announcing that it will at least double the size of its liquidity-support bond buyback operations in an effort to calm a highly volatile Treasury market. Under the direction of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the maximum repurchase limits for longer-dated nominal coupon securities will increase […]
The Bleeding Edge of Climate Change
by Daniel and Sidd While Sidd was in town, I took some notes. Somehow, they turned into this: Climate Change: The Big Picture There are many ways to look at climate change. From a micro perspective, there are millions of individual feedbacks operating throughout the Earth system. From a macro perspective, there is the climate […]
Also posted in Agriculture, Business, Education, Energy, Environment, Global Warming, Science, Security, Society, Trees, weather
Tagged climate change, economy
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