The Rapid Response Institute

Tag: Martin Luther King Jr.

  • At the Precipice?

    At the Precipice?

    On October 8, 2021, we posted the blog, Welcome to the 70s–Again!  The point that the awful economy of that decade could return.  It seems that one year later, those comments have come true.  Many are now freely comparing out contemporary time to that period before most adults were born.  This Baby Boomer graduated from college in 1970s and ‘enjoyed’ the full economic Stagflation experience and it was not pretty and definitely not fun.

    However, increasing global events, especially from Europe and Asia beg the question, Are we entering the 1930s again?  Seeming sinister forces both internal to the United States and global are conspiring to wreck havoc if we are not careful.  Even the word, World War  III is being ‘loosely’ tossed about by various journalists and pundits.

    On top of all these daily headlines, we are told the planet is in peril.  However, the trillions and trillions of dollars necessary do to seem to be available.  “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

    What to Do?

    Geopolitical Risk is not a new concept.  Organizations have been dealing with it for many millenniums.  As always, the race goes to the best economic players.  Agile, Smart, and Decisive continue to play a big role in the success of organization live and even thrive in hard times.

    R B C

    We have long been advocates of the Relationship(s), Behavior(s), Condition(s) model first put forth to research International Negotiations by Stephen Weiss in 1993.  It is a good construct to assess behavioral changes based on situational (conditions) changes, even transformation.  Which results in changes in relationships including adding new and dropping existing.

    Interested readers can search this website, there are 14 blogs on this subject in our Critical Mass series.

    Pressure Cooker

    No one can predict the future but it is abundantly clear there a  lot of pressures on business and people in general.  This writer is not as sure that new behavioral tools are as necessary as good old fashion Leadership!  For executives, the adage, “Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way” is applicable today as it ever was. 

    Finally, with so many mounting and rapidly changing Conditions, a constant review and assessment is in order.  For example, in the last period of great inflation, successful companies conducted ongoing review of their pricing and cost structures.

    How are You Leading Your Team/Organization/Family in these Trying Times?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For more insight regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give us a shout. 

  • Reports of Fossil Fuels Demise Premature? – Renewables Remain Marginalized?

    Reports of Fossil Fuels Demise Premature? – Renewables Remain Marginalized?

    Who would have thought that in the summer with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit the wind would stop blowing.

    According to NOAA, “The main cause of wind is a little surprising.  It’s actually temperature.  More specifically, it’s differences in temperature between different areas.”  With a major Atmospheric High Pressure parked over a large geographic area, no wonder the wind does not blow.

    Texas Heat

    July 11, 2022 was a true scorcher across the state of Texas.  According to the Dallas Morning News, “Wind speeds have fallen to extremely low levels, and that means the state’s fleet of turbines is at just 8% of their potential output.”  This resulted in this and other Texans receiving an email from the local electricity provider asking for help cut back on power use.

    Texas is major producer of wind energy with over 150 wind farms–total capability of 30,000 MW (2020).  This amounts to approximately, 33% of the state’s power–more electricity produced than any other state.  So in the midst of a major heat wave, less than 25% of the state’s (potential) power generation was effectively available.

    This Level of Unreliability is Unacceptable.

    Previously, we addressed this issue after the Texas Freeze of 2021.  It does not seem like this problem is going away.  Guessing, that like the freeze, lack of energy availability will continue to be mitigated by fossil fuel power production!

    German Cold

    According to the University of Illinois Chicago, “Patients who died because of cold temperatures were responsible for 94% of temperature-related deaths.”

    It gets cold in Germany in the winter.   While the temperature range may vary slightly, Germans need heat every winter.  Despite climate (warming) change, this is not likely to change this coming season.

    The news has reported that Germany has depended on Russian gas for some time.  With the hostilities in Ukraine, that energy source is in jeopardy.  This has caused the country to look to other, reliable sources.  Coal.  Framed as “painful but necessary,” the country had to restart coal based power production.

    Perhaps not desirable for some politicians and prognosticators, Germany has no choice.  Many will be happy with this decision on Christmas Eve.  Near term survival vs. long-term possibilities.

    Clean Fossil

    One day in the 1980s this writer left his hotel in Los Angeles for a morning run.  A few minutes later, I stopped and returned to my room.  The air was so thick with pollution I felt my heath would be better served by doing nothing as opposed to running outside.

    Flash forward to November 1987 when this writer was in Beijing, China for almost a month.  The air was so extreme that frankly my nose contained coal particles simply by breathing.  Moreover, Houston, Texas at the time had similar issues whereby the air actually ‘smelled’ in the industrial area.

    Today, the United States does not have these issues at least at this level (not true with other nations).  The US has ‘cleaned’ its act up so to speak.  Its rivers no longer catch on fire, as they once did.  All of this is the result of better stewardship of carbon based fuels.

    According to the US National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), “Coal-fired electricity generation is cleaner than ever.  NETL’s research shows that a new coal plant with pollution controls reduces nitrogen oxides by 83 percent, sulfur dioxide by 98 percent, and particulate matter by 99.8 percent compared to plants without controls.”

    It is possible to responsibly use carbon effectively, efficiently and cleanly.  This is missed by both sides of the climate debate.

    Demise–NOT!

    The humorist Mark Twain is credited with saying, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”  One can make the same case about fossil fuels.

    According to one source, today there are 1.446 billion motor vehicles on the planet.  Reportedly, just under 284 million are registered in the United States.  Our ‘share’ represents less than 20 % of the global fossil fueled propelled transportation.  Note that this does not include aerospace and the multitude of critical uses of carbon based feedstocks.

    According to the US Energy Information Administration, only 12% of energy was provided by renewables in 2021.  Fossil fuels in aggregate provided 79% of the basket of energy sources.  According to another credible data provider, “The share of wind and solar is rising constantly (+1 point in 2021), reaching 10.7% of the global power mix.”

    This slow growth is over approximately 20 years.

    When the wind does not blow, sun does not shine or solar panels are covered with snow, power comes from dependable fossil fuels.  Moreover, according to experts, none of this linear climate change political response will most likely make a difference anyway.

    Energy Transformation is an uninvestable amount with uncertain returns.  In other words, high and undocumented risk.  So what are we doing?

    How is Your Organization Managing the Risk associated with the Energy Transformation?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials herein.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page.

    “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962).  For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game.  You can contact this author as well.

    For more information regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.

    For those start-up firms addressing energy challenges, the author is a member of Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts.  If interested, check it out and give us a shout.

  • The 1950s Were So Good Because the 1930s & 40s Were So Very Bad

    The 1950s Were So Good Because the 1930s & 40s Were So Very Bad

    An early Baby Boomer, born in 1948 this post war pundit watched (pun intended) the beginning of the broadcast television age, featuring I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Ozzie and Harriet show, Leave It To Beaver, Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, The Roy Rogers Show, Superman, Looney Tunes, Captain Kangaroo, The Howdy Doody Show and more.  A technological wonder, no less an important marvel than today’s Smart devices.

    The 1950s were a time of a non-existent (TV) American family that has never been reproduced.  My generation was raised watching June Cleaver cleaning her house all dressed up and wearing pearls.  I do not recall my mother (of that peer group) dressed as such doing daily chores.

    After the horrors of World War II and coming off the Great Depression era, America needed a pause.  Europe and Asia needed to rebuild themselves after their self imposed stupidity.  The so-called Happy Days established an Americana right up there with Norman Rockwell‘s vision.

    The 1950s set the stage for our 21st Century.  It established a ‘can do’ approach that persists to this day.  Many do not know that the transistor, the basis of all modern Cloud solutions was invented in the late 1940s and came into fruition during the 1950s.  Enabling the Apollo moonshot ten years later.

    On the down side, the Korean War draw and the Cold War with potential Nuclear Holocaust loomed large and set the stage for defeat in Vietnam.  This first American rout would not be our last.  Afghanistan!

    “Déjà Vu All Over Again”

    Apologies to Yogi Berra, it does feel sometimes like we are in a pre-1950s era.  Economic uncertainty, global political unrest, domestic turmoil, Covid-19, even pending European military hostilities, Asia etc. are all taking their toll on our collective psychic.  It all seems so similar to the late 1930s.

    The British Minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain, perceived as the appeaser did not live to the see the rout of 1940’s totalitarianism.  Had he, he might offer some thoughts about our current situation.  Winston Churchill most certainly would as would Ronald Reagan, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Abraham Lincoln and others.

    Economically, the world fell apart.  Since the safety nets of today that did not exist back then, the impact was massive.  However, our safety nets are under attack.  Inflation may destroy the middle and other classes.  Just like it did in the 1970s—Stagflation.  The worst of all possible economic worlds.

    Our parents and grandparents survived significant and in some cases life threatening problems.  Collectively, society emerged stronger and perhaps happier.  Paraphrasing from the TV series Mission Impossible, “Our mission, should we choose to accept it is to rise to the challenge and makes this world a better place for those who follow.”

    We also remember the 1950s as so good because the 60s and 70s were subsequently very bad.  This does not need to be the case with this social/economic cycle.  We are not doomed to repeat that history and can change our destiny.

    Seems that we are not really trying.  Have we become the nanny state?  Making our parents and grandparents so proud.

    And Yet

    The 1950s were by no means perfect.  Long simmering civil rights tensions began to manifest and certainly many did not enjoy the environment many of us fondly look back upon.  However, this period was a pause that would be rudely awakened, perhaps when JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963.  Or maybe earlier when Rosa Parks took her stand (or seat) on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 about the time Martin Luther King Jr. was coming into prominence.

    Throughout the 1960s a number of horrendous crimes would be committed against innocent children, activists and others–ultimately leading the assassination of Dr. King.  Moreover, the 1970s would start with Kent State and the Jackson State killings.

    Lessons Learned

    For many, the 1950s were happy days, for others not so much.  Guessing most readers were not alive during this period and perhaps even their parents were too young.

    History is the ultimate task master.  Dooming new generations to relive the past.  However, this need not be the case.  We can and should learn from the follies and successes of those who precede us.

    The 1950s were unique in many ways.  Many in my generation believe that to be true.  However, it seems we are reliving the 1930-1950s era and the outcome might be similar.

    Our challenge is to make sure that does not happen.  History need not repeat itself.  It is up to us.

    What Are Your Organization’s Future/Contingency Plans?

    For More Information

    Please note, RRI does not endorse or advocate the links to any third-party materials.  They are provided for education and entertainment only.

    For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game

    We presented, Should Cross Cultural Serious Games Be Included in Your Diversity Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned at the Online Conference, New Diversity Summit 2020 the week of September 14, 2020.  Check Out this timely event and contact the organizer for access to the presentations!!

    For more on DEI Standards, see the newly released ISO-30415.

    You can contact this author as well.