Think Inside The Bun

Right now it’s 2:00 a.m. as I am typing this blog and I’m starting to get hungry. If you have done this many times before like I have then you know the only place to go to quench your hunger for a “fourth meal” is Taco Bell.

 The Taco Bell restaurant chain has made its mark as the place to be for low prices and thinking “outside the bun” but should we be more worried about what’s inside the bun?  Taco Bell has been under a lot of heat lately after being accused of only using 36% beef in their beef products. According to the USDA “ground beef can have seasonings, but no water, phosphates, extenders, or binders added.” From the ingredients list shown on the Taco Bell web page you can see that the meat from Taco Bell does not meet the minimum requirements set by the USDA. The purpose of the lawsuit, “We are asking that they stop saying that they are selling beef” as stated by the lawyers presenting the charge. This concerns me a lot to know that Taco Bell isn’t even meeting the minimum requirements for their meat, and who knows what other corners they may be cutting that we have not discovered yet. As a regular fast food customer I hope many lawsuits like this one follow if restaurants continue to cut corners just to make more profit. As this lawsuit progresses I will continue to inform you of the updated decisions made regarding Taco Bell.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/01/25/wheres-beef-taco-bell-sued-ingredients/

Groupon > Facebook, Google, or Twitter

When you think of the fastest growing web company most people would give similar answers, Facebook? Google? Twitter? Nope. The answer was surprising to me as I too was wrong. Groupon. As numbers show Groupon is indeed the fastest growing web company ever, in only two years subscribers have exceeded 60 million while earning 1 billion in venture capital and 760 million in annual revenue. And the future holds the same brightness as Groupon was reported for declining a 6 billion dollar buyout from Google.

But what is all the hype all about? Groupon is a deal of the day site that presents deals in over 500 markets. The site makes coupons available for consumers if a certain number of customs signs up for the deal to ensure the merchant will still receive their proportion of the sell. Great for the consumer and the businesses involved Groupon has started a movement millions are following. As businesses offer groupons they increase the number of customers in their stores which creates return buyers and has the consumer paying a reduced price creating a win-win situation. The idea of the company was “an antidote to a common ailment for us city-dwellers: there's so much cool stuff to do, but the choice can be overwhelming… By focusing on one good or service each day, Groupon makes it simple.”(7) Along with their consumer based marketing and great personal aspect of the site there is now apparent reason why this business will not continue its unbelievable start.  

With entrepreneurs such as Andrew Mason (Groupon) and Mark Zuckerburg (Facebook) I’d say our future economy is in great hands and we are sure to have many others with billion dollar ideas to come.

http://www.groupon.com/about

Should BP Continue Drilling?

At about this time last year do you remember what was on every news station on the planet? On April 20 of last year a BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. The spilling continued into mid July before the leak was completely fixed, 11 were killed in the explosion, along with countless numbers of animals endangered and habitats destroyed. With easily the worst oil spill in U.S. history, spilling 4.9 million barrels directly into the ocean, BP has not made a good name for them recently.

In the upcoming weeks Obama and his administration will be reviewing a petition drafted by BP to become eligible to resume drilling in the Gulf. After less than a year following their disastrous spill this will be a very difficult decision. As president Obama has recently been under fire about increasing energy costs having the Gulf oil production at full strength would definitely help domestic oil production, but is it worth it.

Following the spill all oil drilling was briefly halted in all facilities in the Gulf until stronger safety guidelines were enacted and monitored. BP ensures they will be following these guidelines just like any other company that has been granted permission to continue their operations. But with BP still paying to clean up its damages and ongoing civil and criminal investigations I don’t see why we would let them continue to damage our oceans. BP executives have numerously said they will be fully committed to ensuring safety as their number one priority and are meeting all new standards but how “following the rules” is the only thing they are using as a bargaining chip and that’s just not enough for me.

As a citizen of the United States and an owner of an automobile energy prices are important to me but not on the same level as the environment. If prices have to be higher to ensure that we are keeping our planet running I am completely okay with that but I don’t believe we should risk our environment just to lower a price.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/business/energy-environment/04bp.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=business&adxnnlx=1301891229-pOiILY8ZhUAm4bHtKJwQ5g

Rising Tuition Costs

Let me start off with the fact that I would not be where I am without a Pell grant and the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship.  The Pell grants are aimed at giving aid to low-income families that would not be able to afford the gradually increasing college tuition costs. While reports show that in 2010, 6.3 million college students received Pell grants many are starting to believe colleges are just raising tuition costs to make up for the difference. As stated by Sandy Baum, the senior policy analyst at The College Board “The average size of a Pell Grant has increased over time, but it is this increase in use of the program that explains most of the increase in expenditures. Because college prices have risen more rapidly than grant levels, Pell covers a lower proportion of total college expenses than it did a decade ago.”

 With the present college student taking an average of 5 years to complete college it brings me to believe that college is going to end up being impossible to afford for low-income Americans. Over the past three decades the tuition rates have increased by double the inflation rates bring up the question, when will we be able to get the prices under control? Right now the Obama administration is attempting to raise the top amount that Pell grants can be issued for, which as of now is $5,710. But if this mandate is approved will it still be counterproductive like the current attempt to lower tuition costs? Probably, which is why something should be done to put a “price control” on college tuition costs, keeping increases sustainable for all incoming students.

The Rush To China

This month BMW recorded its sales in China have grown by 70% from the same period last year (12). VW, the largest European car maker, announced Friday that their profit has more than tripled from the previous year, and being as China is now their leading market its safe to bet they had a lot to do with it. Marius Baader, head of forecasting at the German Automotive Industry Association researched that his organization expects total new car sales in China to grow 11 percent this year to 12.5 million vehicles, even after a growth of 34 percent in 2010.

But Mr. Baader also states “it is very difficult to continually top these very high growth rates.” Mr. Baader along with many others in his field are noticing many factors that could lead to an automotive bubble comparative to what is noticeable in the United States. With almost any auto company you can possibly think of converging on the Chinese auto market a KPGM analyst wrote “The industry may have to brace itself for some casualties.”  This is idea is based on a variety of reasons: one in particular is Chinese officials discouraging car ownership by removing buyer incentives and limiting new registrations because of high traffic and pollution issues.

As more and more auto companies invest in the Chinese market to avoid the risk of being left behind in the emerging market the warning signs become more apparent. As environmental standards become stronger though Chinese companies will have the upper hand in the race for electric cars which are already in production there, greatly limiting the effect of foreign car makers.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/business/global/28iht-cars28.html?pagewanted=2&bl

A World Without Fresh Water May Not Be That Far Away. . .

                Drilling for natural gases has been under a lot of fire lately about many different issues such as creating earthquakes, but a new debate has arisen concerning the millions of gallons of water being used to extract the gases. The process for drilling for natural gases involves pumping high volumes of water and other chemicals into rock at high pressures to release the gas. That all sounds good to me but what happens to the water that is now contaminated with chemicals and gases once the drilling is done?

Following pressure to fix this problem, drilling companies have started trying to recycle the water being used yet in the past 18 months less than half of the water used has actually been recycled. This may seem like a big problem but is not the biggest problem, which is the water left behind. As the water is being removed it leaves behind a salt or sludge highly concentrated with radioactive material and other contaminants dangerous to people and all other life if it reaches the waterways. Reports have shown that in Williamsport, PA. Between 10-40% of water injected into the ground will resurface in the next 2 weeks. “The wastewater that comes up from the well will likely increase to some degree in many contaminants such as salts and possibly radium and other radionuclide’s with each new fracking, but the data is very limited on this issue so not much is known,” said Radisav Vidic, an environmental engineering professor and drilling expert at the University of Pittsburgh(33).

Over the past year over 50 millions of gallons of contaminated water is unaccounted for because of weak government regulation of fracking and with the information Radisav has researched this can cause the environment massive problems. I believe that without changes in legislation to get regulations on this recycling problem our water supply will not last long and many have the same view and are getting the research to prove it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/us/02gas.html?pagewanted=2&bl

LG

If you look around your house I guarantee you will notice at least one product of the LG Corporation. As LG is in the top 3 largest electronics corporation how they do business can hugely impact the world around them. As LG "strives to enhance its customer’s life and lifestyle with intelligent product features, intuitive functionality, and exceptional performance"(the moto of the company) they are still expected to keep their impact on the environment steady or decreasing and as many of us know that can be a very difficult task. The good thing is LG is fully aware of this and is taking huge measures to keep the ecological footprint as small as possible. Enacted in August of 2010 LG is investing nearly 18 million dollars to research and put in place new methods of reducing their emissions. Through these new plans LG has pledged to reduce its green house gas emissions by 30% in the next ten years and cut their emissions by as little as 50 million metric tons. These policies don’t just involve their manufacturing, they are also increasing their urgency to create more cost effective and energy efficient devices for your home. This is called their Efficient Product Life Cycle, which implies that they are aiming to reduce their emissions in harvesting raw materials, production, logistics, usage, and waste. Even before this new plan LG has been decreasing their emissions just by researching new ways of developing new products and is become more energy efficient by nearly 12 times in the past 5 years.