From Our Weekly Note and More
Jeff Bezos on Customer Value, Climate Change, and Employees
Comments from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from his last "Letter to Shareholders" as the firm’s CEO.
On Real Estate, Creditworthiness and the Environment
Comments from Redfin (a U.S. real estate broker) from their survey about “how Americans are thinking about climate change” and the Cambridge University study “Rising Temperatures, Falling Ratings: The Effect of Climate Change on Sovereign Creditworthiness
On the "Farm of the Future", Strawberries and a $50 Million Investment
Comments on Oishii Farm (a vertical farm based in Kearny, NJ) as it raised $50 million in a Series A funding.
On “The Future of Electric Power in the United States”
Recommendations to the U.S. Department of Energy, Congress and others - from a report compiled by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
On Smart Cities (Toyota, Singapore, Saudi Arabia)
On Toyota’s Woven City project, Saudi Arabia’s THE LINE, and Singapore’s Tengah project.
On 50 Billion Tons of Greenhouse Gas (annually)
Comments by the U.S government and others about the need to factor in the "social cost of carbon" in greenhouse gas planning.
On Electric Vehicle Charging, Royal Dutch Shell, BMW, Toyota & more
Comments from Royal Dutch Shell’s strategy day, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. Toyota Research Institute CEO Gill Pratt and others
On Food, Farming & Innovation
Comments from the Wall Street Journal article "The Environmental Upside of Modern Farming” and The Harvard Gazette article "Only eat organic? You’re paying too much, and it’s not worth it"
The U.S. Defense Dept., General Motors, Blackrock & Syngenta - on the Environment
Comments by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III , General Motors CEO Mary Barr, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink and Syngenta Group CEO Erik Fyrwald
On Virus Variants and Vaccine Effectiveness
Comments from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel
On COVID, Obesity & the U.S. Military
Comments from “Obesity in the United States and Effects on Military Recruiting” (Congressional Research Service), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and a study of 791 patients with Covid-19.
5 Books to Consider as a New Year Approaches
As a new year approaches, we present five books that helped shape our thinking during 2020. Enjoy the holiday season and get ready for 2021!
On Reigning-in Facebook, "Big Tech" and more
Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Facebook, alleging that it illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through anticompetitive conduct. Expect more actions against “big tech”.
On Protecting Our Health and Our Planet
Last week, 42 major corporations, global healthcare professionals and the World Meteorological Organization (representing 193 member states and territories) commented on the need to address climate change.