Repair (Heal) Your World

When I did my MBA at Cranfield University (then called Cranfield Institute of Technology) in the UK in 1991/1992 I said that electricity and other infrastructure like railways should NEVER be privatised. And that competition should be allowed. No one listened to me. I was only 28 years old and privatisation was in fashion! The reason that they should not be privatised is because private enterprise seeks to make a quick return and "knows" that if it leaves infrastructure alone, eventually the government will have no option but to renationalise those assets to pump in the required investment. Another reason is because of something called "externalities." This is where one person pays for someone else's travel. eg I go from London to Birmingham on the express. A small part of my ticket pays for a train to run on a line in the North West of England. I'm happy to pay that because one day I might need to use that line. This happened to me twice a year whe...

Written on Lag Ba-omer, the 33rd day of the Omer (the days between Pesach and Shavuot), ie Friday 23rd May 2008 On Pesach the Israelites had their deliverance from Egypt. In our modern time, our Egypt (Mitzrayim) is the dark places we sometimes find ourself, and we are mentally released from our bondage if we work at it and wish it to be so. On Shavuot the Israelites accepted the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses) into their lives and heard the world of God as a community, a revelation. If we wish it to be so, then today we can hear the voice and know that there is more at stake then instant gratification and what we can have today. Every time I hear of a Jewish person doing something irresponsible, I cringe. Every time I hear of a Christian person doing something irresponsible, I cringe. And for Muslims, Hindus, etc. By this I am talking of people who are happy to call themselves Jews, Christians, Moslems, Hindus, etc. The ones who go to Synagogue, Church, Mosque, Temple, regularly. The...

Dear all I wrote this on 26th April 2008, but only had time today (18th May 2008) to upload it. I wish all my Jewish friends a Chag Sameach this Pesach. I wish all my Christian Orthodox friends a Happy Easter this weekend. Further to my previous email, my Renewables research continues at a pace. I attach a slide that I am using as a basis for my research. Click on the image for a bigger version. I would welcome anyone who wishes to get involved with a number of projects that I will be hosting over the next few months including: solar water heating: buy or make? photovoltaics: buy or make? wind turbine: buy or make? There is a lot of research that still needs to be done. Besides this I will be buying some of the "toy" kits that are listed in the slide. If anyone would like to build them with me, please let me know. I am looking for a school (or schools) that might be interested in learning about solar energy and I need some land for experiments, eg building a geodesic dome...