nclouse's Profile

Great read! While Mars’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions are commendable, I wonder if the impact of its efforts will be strong enough in its own right to halt climate change. It could be that even in the absence of all human effects, climate change will proceed, albeit at a slower pace. As such, I would advise a strategy of buying land that may become warm enough to support cacao trees as climate change proceeds. This could be a nice hedge against climate change effects, particularly if these effects are inevitable.

Interesting view! One point of caution with respect to tapping the water supply in the ground relates to the long term effects of such actions. While a short term solution, this supply of water can also be sated in the future and cause hardship for farmers in the same respect. In particular, consistent overuse of the groundwater supply can cause a lowering of the land. [1] This result in effect limits how much water can be stored in the ground, and this dynamic can have cyclical effects. In order to pursue such a means for obtaining water in Egypt, policies should be set in place to avoid the possible negative effects.

1. http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-groundwater-20150318-story.html

Great article! I think the question of whether you should invest in production lines in a particular country depends on that country’s historical respect for outside investment. I would be wary from the perspective of Airbus or Boeing in building further capabilities and production lines in China. China’s history of flouting international IP law, nationalizing parts of businesses, and even reverse engineering other countries’ aircraft calls into question the wisdom of investing within that country. [1]

1. http://nationalinterest.org/feature/china-stole-fighter-russia%E2%80%94-its-coming-the-south-china-sea-17087

Very interesting article! The interesting dynamic of tariffs intended to “protect” a market in fact destroying that market may underlie the true intentions of such a policy under the Republican administration. Disturbingly, the resulting damage from these protectionist moves may even contribute to a continuing narrative of the decline of the solar industry, providing the mandate for yet more destructive protectionism. The main strategy for Sunrun should be to consolidate the weaker players during this protectionist wave. Also, efforts in the direction of vertically integrating the supply line would allow Sunrun to compete despite political headwinds. In the long run, Sunrun should bide its time for a more friendly political atmosphere.

Great article! The dynamic of companies from such diverse industries competing for their share of future market for autonomous driving speaks to the great potential of such a market. It is interesting to note the political and regulatory challenges that lie ahead on questions of the safety of autonomous driving. As safety concerns are paramount in consumers’ reluctance to embrace autonomous transportation, the alliance of companies that can implement the safest form of autonomous driving stand the best chance of winning this great market. The automotive industry will be dominated by the company with the best IT implementation, and features such as automotive design and gas-mileage will become of lesser importance. As such, I believe companies like Google, rather than GM, are poised for future success in this market.

Fascinating article! It’s interesting to see the benefits of AR being applied to search functions in storage. As a past user of AR in military contexts, I can attest to the usefulness of this technology for target identification and navigation. The increase in situational awareness yields significant advantages, particularly in dynamic situations where speed and ease of use are of the essence. As for the future of logistics, I see a trend toward moving humans exclusively to central nodes for decision making. I also see interesting opportunities for drones to complete much if not all last-mile delivery tasks.