We are all aware of the current inflation situation. The financial press has spent months wondering if the inflation we are experiencing is short-term or a more insidious longer-term trend. I have been, and still am, of the opinion that it is short-term and will ease in 2022, significantly. We are in a perfect […]
In the past I have written that as a futurist, it sometimes feels like I live in a state of déjà vu. I spend a lot of time researching and looking into the future to develop the forecasts and trends that I write and speak about. I experience them, see them, and have varying degrees […]
Hydrogen has long been looked at as the ‘fuel of the future’. The general impression is that it will be a marketplace fuel in the future but not for a decade or more. Well, surprise, hydrogen is coming into the fuel marketplace today, albeit slowly. Last week I attended the National Hydrogen Association annual convention […]
Recently, people have been asking me a lot of questions about the fluctuating price of oil “What is the price of oil going to be?” “Was the recent price spike of $147 a barrel an all-time high that we won’t see again?” And “Will the global economic slowdown drive the price of oil back down […]
There have been many cultural changes so far in 2008. Some of these changes are in response to the rapid increase in the price of oil and other commodities. Some of these changes have been due to technological innovations. In both cases new behavior patterns are being established that will, to some degree become permanent […]
Regular readers know that I have long predicted the current price of oil and that we are now moving through Peak Oil These subjects were included in my “Forecast for 2008″ To quote from that January 9, 2008 column: “In 2008, gas will, for a period of time reach $4 on the national level. A […]
Two weeks ago I said that I would be writing several columns about transportation in the U.S. This is the final one of that series, at least for now. In the life of this blog I have written about the future of transportation and what it will and should look like. I am sure I […]
GM, Ford and Chrysler represent to a large degree the Industrial Age legacy of manufacturing in the U.S. “What was good for General Motors was good for the United States” was, for decades in the 20th century a very true statement. The manufacturing might of America post WWII was an economic miracle and the apotheosis […]
The fact that you know what I mean when I write the two words “Big Three” points to the power of Detroit and U.S. automotive marketing in the last half of the 20th century. The fact that they are no longer the big three in terms of sales in the U.S. points to the reality […]
The two trend lines are the decline in gasoline consumption and the decline in miles driven. These two are obviously connected and are obviously caused by the price of oil. For the first time in close to 30 years, we have something to be proud of when it comes to our driving behavior. Two different […]
