|
Bubble
Man: Alan Greenspan & The Missing $7 Trillion
Ø Policy & Economics. Over the last several decades the United States has seen a series of economic bubbles in several different markets according to author Peter Hartcher. Hartcher explores the role of the Federal Reserve and its’ Chairman in these events in his latest book entitled “Bubble Man: Alan Greenspan & The Missing $7 Trillion” (W.W. Norton (May 2006), 208 pages). While the book focuses on recently retired Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, the first half of the book discusses the evolution of the financial markets and recent trends and events leading to the current state of the markets. We found the descriptions of the economy, stock market, central banking, Federal Reserve, global interactions, and political pressures quite interesting. The author tells a well organized story. The stock market bubble of the 1990’s, and the policy decisions that created it, is one of the issues the book discusses at length. The regulatory and political response to investor’s ‘irrational exuberance’ is analyzed in detail by Hartcher. Political pressures, and lack of central bank incentive to deal with the overvaluation issues, ultimately resulted in the stock market crash and the loss of $7 trillion in market wealth – only to be replaced with policies that have encouraged speculation in other markets (real estate in particular). Other problems, like the massive global trade balances, are also examined along with the policies which led to these economic results.
Well written, interesting, a mixture of economics, politics, banking and well known personalities. Cool
Comfort: America's Romance with Air Conditioning
Marsha Ackermann is a historian, and traces developments in air conditioning in America starting in the 1920’s from a social, marketing, and public health standpoint in her book “Cool Comfort: America’s Romance with Air Conditioning” (Smithsonian Press (2002), 248 pages). While light on discussing the technological developments of the cooling devices, she documents how hundreds of air conditioning firms eventually consolidated as the industry matured - much like the auto industry. These early pioneers claimed that temperate work environments increased productivity and morale, hence justifying the cost of installing the early technology. Due to the cost of the units most early air conditioning systems were installed in commercial structures such as movie theaters and popular department stores. Marketing focused on how it was “Kool” inside for shoppers or patrons. Only
in the 1950’s did early air conditioning units begin to make inroads
into the luxury home market, and it would take a decade or longer for
costs to decline to levels where air conditioning became commonplace in
the average residential household. Likewise, air conditioning was a luxury until the 1960’s in most automobiles. Only around 1970 did half of U.S. manufactured automobiles have the air condition option installed. Today over 95% of U.S. autos have air conditioning installed, most as standard equipment. The book does not detail the impact air conditioning has had on electrical demand, loads, and power grid design – impacts that have been major, and continue to spread around the world as more energy is used for climate control, both for heating and cooling. Overall not the most dynamic book, but none-the-less an interesting insight into a technology most take for granted.
Web Note: Also hear Jim Puplava's interview with the author, James O. O'Shaughnessy. CONTACT
INFORMATION |
Last
month we read the following books that might be of interest:
History
& Technological Development:
According to experts one of the top ten inventions of the last century
– and an invention that was considered a technological marvel when it
was developed - was air conditioning. Not only did it change society,
work and residential development patterns, but it also created a massive
need for electrical energy in the summer months where
none existed before.
