April 2008 Archives
April 30, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
Tomorrow is May Day (I won't be taking the day off), and as folks in our line of work know, May is "National Electrical Safety Month" - a four-week educational effort that our affiliate, Electrical Safety Federation, International (EFSI) promotes...
April 23, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
A flood of stories about energy efficient products appeared on Earth Day. In particular, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) made the news -- they seem to be a favorite news and feature topic these days. No wonder: they use about 75% less...
April 18, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
I don't often take the time to pour through advertising supplements, but this week's WaPo "Environmental Leadership" insert caught my attention. There amongst the articles and ads was a full-page spread by Dominion Power, depicting a group of visitors at an art museum standing around staring at...
April 17, 2008
Written by: Clark Silcox
Last night, the Public Broadcasting System aired an excellent National Geographic film titled Illicit! based on the book by Dr. Moises Naim, editor of Foreign Affairs magazine. Dr. Naim's book addresses illegal global trade in the broad sense, and the National Geographic film...
April 16, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
I had the opportunity the other day to think about the future of manufacturing ... and of manufacturing associations. Under auspices of the American Society of Association Executives, I joined a group of manufacturing association execs to discuss trends affecting our industries and organizations. The purpose: To better understand future...
April 16, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
This country is no stranger to witch hunts. Salem had the real deal back in the 17th century, and we've seen political witch hunts since then. Now we're witnessing the emergence of an economic witch hunt. The "witch," in this case, is trade. In his WaPo...
April 10, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
A "call out" to my kids' Fairfax County high school, McLean, and particularly to three innovative freshmen who won regional honors in the recent North American ExploraVision science contest. As reported in our local Connection newspaper, the honors biology students opted to address...
April 9, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
While traffic congestion doesn't typically make the list of top challenges facing this country, it's on most Americans' minds at least twice a day - when they're commuting to and from work. Take the traffic in New York - please....
April 7, 2008
Written by: Clark Silcox
This weekend I received an email from a consumer in the United Kingdom who had just learned that a hair iron she had purchased from a website for a favorable price (90 pounds sterling, approximately US$180..00) turned out to be...
April 4, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
Kudos to Harvard professor Greg Mankiw, once head of W's Council of Economic Advisors, for raising the issue of this country's skilled worker shortage on his recent blog. Mankiw quotes from Matthew Slaughter's recent WSJ column, which challenges the government to...
April 2, 2008
Written by: Stephen Gold
Americans care a lot about smartness. We have smart children, smart pets, even smart cars and traffic systems. And now a growing number of policymakers are calling for a "smart" electrical grid. Under the direction of Congress, the National Institute of Standards and...
