With the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, tens of billions of dollars in federal incentives were made available to spur the transition from paper to electronic records – a process that Epic Systems Corporation was [...]
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Climate change is one of the top risks facing the insurance industry. With its focus on the coastal regions of the United States, this is especially true for property and casualty insurance holding company, United Insurance Holdings Corp. With the [...]
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Thank you for this article, J! Interesting to think about how the technology underlying Bitcoin could have other applications.
I didn’t realize that there were several attempts to create a digital currency prior to Bitcoin. It sounds like the power of Bitcoin is linked to the blockchain technology that allows a degree of trust in the digital currency that is critical for adopters. How did the other digital currencies try to develop this trust without the blockchain technology? Does the trust that blockchain technology enables facilitate the adoption of this technology in other applications too?
Thank you for sharing, Alex! Agree with Ann above. Very interesting to hear how technology/digitization is changing the landscape for large, traditional players in the education space. I have been interested to see how adoption of technology within the classroom has been slower than in many other industries. Do you think that Pearson’s response to the changing landscape will facilitate the incorporation of technology within the classroom?
Thank you for the introduction to this topic, Joanna! I had no idea that the tofu production process created such a serious environmental pollutant as a byproduct. It is great to hear that scientists have made lemonade from tofu’s lemons: creating renewable fuel and reducing the pollutant byproduct that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as well as pollution.
I would be interested to understand whether the scientific process that the scientists who discovered the alternative fuel that could be derived from tofu wastewater can also be applied to other products/industries. Do you think that an additional benefit of popularizing the process and/or finding international stakeholders could also move scientists to seek out applicability in other products/industries?
Very interesting post, Todd! It seems like the main sticking points are (1) reluctance to change, (2) lack of regulatory incentives to spur this change, and (3) upfront capital costs of implementing this technology. You suggest that developing nations may be the place to prove the technology, hopefully eliminating the issues (1) and (2) present to other countries as the technology is proven throughout the process.
Although these developing countries may recognize outsized benefits from this technology, how would you propose getting over the hurdle of the upfront capital costs that may also be a disproportionately large issue for these developing countries?
Appreciate the novel look at the “power in poop”!
S,
I too would not be able to start the day without a cup of coffee, so like JP above, I thought this post was a great wake up call to start paying attention to climate change!
I appreciated reading the four options that you lay out in terms of adaptation measures. On a broader level – especially with such large-scale players in the coffee industry (i.e., Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, etc.) – it seems as though there is a significant amount of capital with a very large interest in making sure a world without coffee never becomes a reality.
How does this interest align these companies/the industry as a whole with even greater goals of curbing climate change through global emissions reduction and other initiatives? Do you think that these types of initiatives could make a dent on climate change and significantly impact each stage of the coffee grower supply chain all the way through Juan?
It is especially interesting to read about your perspective on how climate change is impacting the US farming industry given your background, Kaitlin. Thank you for sharing about such a personal topic! I thought that the parallels between your and @siyer’s post on McDonald’s were very interesting. (https://d3.harvard.edu/platform-rctom/submission/dollar-menu-in-danger/) Are large corporations (such as McDonald’s) so tied to the US farming industry that farmers may be able to utilize partnerships with these large organizations to help spur innovation?
The connection between the prices of raw and processed food and unusual weather conditions is clearly a significant concern for McDonalds. Because McDonalds’ supply chain is so tightly tied into America’s farmland, I saw interesting parallels between your post and Kaitlin’s post on US Family Farms (https://d3.harvard.edu/platform-rctom/submission/us-family-farms-helping-or-hurting/). Kaitlin suggests that a focus on innovations in irrigation may be an important step for US farms as the effects of climate change become exacerbated. It seems that the incentives of McDonalds and the incentives of US farms are aligned on this issue. Does McDonalds have a significant enough interest in keeping input prices low to help spur irrigation innovation?