Category Archives: Technology Assessment

Cook with Olive Oil, Kill Birds

Anthropocene, Biodiversity, Cats & Birds, Ecological Economics, Economics, Environmental Ethics, Information Asymmetry, Market Failure, Markets, Nature, Olive Oil, Opinion, Regulation, Sustainability, Technology Assessment, Values, Wildlife
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The theory of efficient markets, when applied beyond financial markets, is proposed by those who bridle against government regulation of business.  Their idea is that markets will punish bad behavior of individual firms or even whole industries and thus create incentives for firms to produce goods and services without harming employees, consumers, or the environment.  […]

Call Me a Luddite

benefit cost analysis, Economics, Happiness, Information Technology, Joseph Stiglitz, Luddite, Market decisionmakring, Markets, Opinion, Regulation, Technology, Technology Assessment, Values
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Back in January I wondered out loud, Was the Internet a Good Idea?  To my way of thinking the information technology (IT) revolution of the past 25 years has been a mixed blessing.  It both created amazing tools for doing everyday tasks and introduced whole new means of mindless addiction and criminal opportunities. This IT […]

Was the Internet a Good Idea?

Economics, Environment, Inequality, Internet, Nature, Opinion, Public Policy, Rent Seeking, Technology, Technology Assessment, Values
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I remember clearly my first inkling of something new called the world wide web.  I had recently started using email and two colleagues brought me a U.S. Department of Agriculture publication describing a new information system.   One would be able to use a computer and software that would “crawl” about looking for information stored on […]

I wanted to throw the phones into the ocean.

Acadia National Park, Ecological Economics, Maine, Nature, Opinion, Technology, Technology Assessment, Values
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Thanksgiving morning we took our traditional hike in Acadia.  This year it was more of a walk – the Ocean Path from Sand Beach to Otter Cliffs to Otter Cove and back again.  It was a beautiful morning, bright sun shining and an ocean full of Common Eider Ducks and Grebes.  Thanksgivings were offered for […]