Brian Gongol
A long list of reasons a windfall profits tax is a bad idea
The Obama campaign is pushing hard for a "windfall profits" tax on the big oil companies, mainly because it sounds like punishment and that panders to people who don't like the high price of gas -- which is just about everyone. But that's not going to help anything: High oil prices are the result of huge demand from around the world and a lack of new production. By raising taxes -- particularly in an unexpected fashion -- the government would simply be discouraging the oil companies from investing in additional production, which in turn just ends up raising prices for consumers. We've known the price of oil has been artificially low for decades -- at least since the 1970s, when we had another "crisis." The answer is not going to be found in tax stunts, but rather in pushing hard for new innovation on all angles of both energy production and consumption. Coincidentally, the government created one of the most absurd "windfall profits" events in history when it extended copyright terms to practically forever -- which, coincidentally, discourages innovation in a major way.
Des Moines Register to hike single-copy sales price to 75 cents
That's a 50% increase, which seems ironic for a paper that just shrank considerably in physical size.
Study suggests proteins could make organs fail in old age
The body's ability to eject damaged proteins from different organs could be what makes the difference between those organs failing and staying in working order. And while the future of bioengineered organs looks extremely promising, it would probably be best if we could avoid needing replacements altogether. It's being claimed now that researchers at Yeshiva University in the Bronx have been able to initiate the required preventative care for the first time...at least in lab animals.
Tomorrow's solar panels could look like plastic sheets
Research by the Department of Energy is suggesting that we could see conventional solar panels replaced by polyethylene sheets loaded with gold nanoantennas that capture infrared radiation instead of visible light
