Richard Richardson's Profile

Lucas – interesting article. First, I think there may be some hope as it relates to lithium-ion battery recycling. Currently, the vast majority of car batteries are lead-acid batteries (normal car batteries) and they are one of the most recycled consumer products in the United States. As I am sure you have done, when you get a new car battery, Autozone or the shop you go to takes your old car battery and is mandated by law to give it to a licensed recycling facility/handler. Good news is, the infrastructure is already in place for turning in batteries and having them recycled [1]. Also, there are some pretty cool companies out there doing work around making battery-recycling a more environmentally-friendly process itself [2][3].

One other major question I have is that while some Tesla owners charge their vehicles using power generated from renewable sources, the majority of electricity in the United States is still generated from Natural Gas, Coal etc. So, while the vehicle may not be emitting carbon, the process by which the power was created to run the car likely did. If we can ever move to a fully decentralized power grid (assuming the utility company lobbyists no longer hold all the cards) and/or renewable power grid then charging Teslas will be truly emission-free.

[1] https://www.batterysolutions.com/recycling-information/how-are-batteries-recycled/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2jaopiMZvE
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRljRX3exkg

Similar to Boaty, I am not necessarily loyal to Tabasco but find the subject matter of your article fascinating. I find it particularly interesting that the seeds are sent elsewhere to grow into plants before returning to Louisiana for aging. I would think that the cost of transporting the crop is pretty expensive and generates significant greenhouse gas emissions. One thought I had was whether building indoor growing facilities or vertical farms for the chilis would allow for the family to control the product throughout the lifecycle and limit greenhouse gases. Southern Louisiana is an area of the United States that will continue to face significant challenges as a result of climate change and I suggest the family find an alternative location if they intend to keep the tradition going for generations to come.

One issue that Jonathan brought up that I believe is important to recognize is energy costs for US manufacturers. With the increase in natural gas production, there has been downward pressure on power costs and manufacturing inputs for US-based manufacturing operations. While this may seem great for US manufacturing on the surface, we are not the only country in North America with shale or access to cheap natural gas. Over the next few years, increased pipeline capacity from West Texas to Mexico will be completed [1], putting Mexican manufacturing operations on even footing from a power cost perspective. This gets us back to the labor issue. While there are advantages to manufacturing products near customers in the United States, unless Goodyear can solve the unionized labor issues it faces along with other manufacturers, it will be unlikely they will be able to compete with other companies that have done so.

[1] https://www.pointlogicenergy.com/market-news/Get-the-Point/2017/2017-5-24-mexico-gas.html

Quite an interesting article and perspective about a company that faces significant political challenges as it relates to its supply chain. Given the political tensions between the United States and Iran, which the United States State Department names as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, I am surprised that Iran Air purchased aircraft from Boeing in the first place. While the creation of 100,000 jobs and significant revenue is behind Boeing’s interest in the contract, I would want to ensure full access to parts and maintenance over time if I was the CEO of Iran Air. As a result, I would have solely dealt with Airbus given that they are a French company. While it may have presented challenges given the duopoly nature of the aerospace industry, I believe Iran Air should have worked exclusively with Airbus to minimize chances of supply disruptions going forward.

Boaty,

Very interesting read. I believe that over the next 20 years, blockchain technology (along with AI) will eliminate many jobs in professional services industries. While I agree with others that there will need to be humans involved in the design and maintenance of any system employed by Deloitte or comparable service organizations, I do not think the majority of them will be CPAs. Similar to audit, I believe title insurance is another industry that is ripe for disruption as blockchain would allow for permanent, incorruptible record of asset ownership throughout time. Time will tell, but I believe Deloitte should continue to invest in this area intensely over the next few years to assure they are on the leading edge of the trend.

Very interesting article.

I believe your suggestion that the company continues to focus on the experiential aspect to shopping is spot on. In a world in which access to goods and services is becoming increasingly easy for consumers, retail stores need to be destinations as much as they are places to purchase goods. In addition to making the store experience more social, I believe your suggestion of focusing on services such as makeup artists and stylists is also a good one because those are products that cannot be ordered online and contribute to the social nature of the store.