blog – Kelp4less

Posted on April 18, 2018

China – Electrified Car Sales Growing

Positive Future #127 (Feature photo – Electric Car Charging Stations Will Be More Common – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) Annual car sales (light vehicles) globally are around 93 million cars of which 24 million are in China. Recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Energy reveals that approximately 550,000 plug-in cars were sold in China in 2017 – 2.3 percent of the market. Amazing is that plug-in sales grew from 1.3 percent in 2016 to 2.3 percent in 2017. Increasing market share by 1 percent a year is no small feat. This means that plug-in car sales are set to grow by almost 250,000 a year. By 2019, China could…

Posted on April 11, 2018

Food Economics or What?

Touch the Soil News #985 (Feature photo – Soybeans in the Middle of Trade War – photo courtesy of USDA) The Presidential Administration is moving the nation towards a trade war with China. China is moving to retaliate. Some of the numbers floating around are that the U.S. may impose tariffs up to $150 billion on Chinese imports to America and the Chinese may retaliate by imposing tariffs up to $50 billion of American exports to China. Since money does not grow on trees, it will be the poorer factions of both countries that pay the price for the trade war. Agriculture and food are caught in the middle. If…

Posted on March 28, 2018

Meet Cora

Positive Future #108 (Feature photo – Cora Aerial Taxi– Courtesy of Kitty Hawk) The autonomous aerial taxi called Cora, is built in the U.S. by a company called Kitty Hawk. Kitty Hawk has teamed up with a New Zealand company called Zephyr Airworks. Together these two companies are working with the New Zealand Government to lead the world into aerial taxis. It’s great that small companies are still able to lead the way forward. Want More? – Sign up below Special Deals Ahead…Sign up!

Posted on March 20, 2018 March 20, 2018

Bollinger Electric Off-Road Truck – Jeep/Tesla Competitor?

Positive Future #102 (Feature photo – The Bollinger B1 – photo courtesy of Bollinger) Bollinger Motors is engineering the world’s first all-wheel off-road SUT (Sport Utility Truck). Called the Bollinger B1, it is the most innovative and exciting all-electric vehicle under development today. Maybe Tesla should take note. The vehicle has 15 inches of ground clearance and can carry 72 sheets of ½ inch drywall. The new truck boasts a range of 200 miles (all electric) and can be used as a source of remote power. Looks like off-roading is taking a new turn towards fun. The truck has a 120 KWh battery pack – which is 20 percent larger…

Posted on March 4, 2018

FOLO – Feed Our Loved Ones

Touch the Soil News #953 (Feature photo – FOLO Farm – photo courtesy of FOLO Farm) There is this community urban farm in Malaysia. Six families got together to raise organic food. They get food waste from the city to make compost and enrich their soils. Now they are feeding 100 families and have 500 families on the waiting list. In addition, landowners are calling up FOLO and asking them to share this model in their neighborhoods. Does the model of families working together to produce food cause for re-thinking parts of the farmer-consumer model? Want More? – Sign up below Special Deals Ahead…Sign up!

Posted on February 21, 2018

Plastics – Another Problem with Fossil Fuels

Positive Future #80 (Feature photo – Popular products made with plastic – CCA SA 3.0 Unported) The data is accumulating and nations around the world are considering bans on plastic. Sadly, 90 percent of sea birds have some sort of plastic in them. The ocean is estimated to be polluted with over 5 trillion pieces of plastic. Recently, British Petroleum’s Chief Economist – Spencer Dale – told Bloomberg News that British Petroleum predicts oil demand will drop by 2 million barrels a day as a result of emerging plastic regulations. The oil industry is now facing a literal “pack” of wolves that are attacking the product and its products. Divestiture…

Posted on February 19, 2018 February 20, 2018

Should This Have Made Headline News?

Positive Future #78 (Feature photo – Brightline Train – CCA SA 2.0 Generic) When you read the history of railroads, the economics are rather dark. Virtually every train company ever established in the nation has gone out of business. So, when the first private company in 35 years to establish a passenger rail line celebrates the opening of the first segment, it is certainly out of the ordinary. Brightline began construction of a passenger train that will run from Miami to Orlando (240 miles) back in 2014. The project will cost $3 billion, employ 10,000 people during construction and have 5,000 permanent jobs after the entire line is open. Railway…

Posted on February 19, 2018 February 19, 2018

Will More of This Be the Future?

Positive Future #77 (Feature photo – Tesla Model 3 – CCA SA 4.0 International) Now that early models of the Tesla Model 3 are entering the streets, the car is increasingly coming under scrutiny. We’ve all heard the stories that there are over 400,000 pre-orders on this car. Recently, Edmonds took delivery of a Tesla Model 3 and has been putting it through its paces. The outcome of this particular review is interesting. Is this a pre-cursor of what we will be in for in the future? Want More? – Sign up below Special Deals Ahead…Sign up!

Posted on February 12, 2018

Large Automaker – To Exit Gas Cars

Positive Future #72 (Feature photo – A Changan Automobile from China – CCA SA 4.0 International) China is the world’s largest auto market selling 28 million cars a year compared to the U.S. 17 million cars. One of the top four car manufacturers in China – Changan – just announced that it was planning to be totally phased out of fossil fuel cars by 2025 – that’s only seven (7) years away. Changan manufactures 3 million vehicles a year and now plans to spend $15 billion over the next 7 years developing the electrified vehicles that will totally replace fossil fuel car manufacturing in the company. In some ways, it…

Posted on February 6, 2018

What is the Monchee Banana from Japan?

Touch the Soil News #929 (Feature photo – Japanese Imperial Seal – public domain) What happens when you start a banana tree at a minus -80 degrees Farenheit and then gradually move it to a temperature of 80 degrees and the plant and the bananas mature. D&T Farms of Japan found that it puts the banana tree in a kind of hyperspeed so the banana peel doesn’t fully mature. Ultimately the banana peel is like lettuce (but tastes kind of like pineapple) that can be eaten with the inside banana that is extra sweet. Want More? – Sign up below Special Deals Ahead…Sign up!