Hello, I'm Bill Noffsinger, an Adjunct Professor with Webster University in Ocala. I have the fortune of teaching in both the Counseling program as well as the Business program. Specifically, I teach the Research methods course in Counseling and the Statistics course in Business - so I guess I fill the "Quant" slot at Webster Ocala. As for my day job, I'm a software engineer at University of Florida (go Gators!) where, among other assignments, I have been a Lecturer in the Computer Science department for many years.
As for today's topic: I'm thinking about the issue of global warming and its potential impact, both positive as well as negative on the business environment. Let's assume for the sake of this blog that global warming, defined as a systematic increase in the average temperature of the earth apart from underlying random (chance) variation and more or less attributable to human actions, is a fact. Seeing the potential impact of global warming, which is not all negative by the way, many governments are taking action to limit the production of "greenhouse" gases and other carbon emissions. Given the tremendous degree to which the American economy is currently linked to fossil fuels, any major alteration in either the supply or consumption of fossil fuels could be very disruptive for the American economy and if extensive enough, could damage our capital markets - one of our greatest economic strengths. In light of this, conventional business interests are cautious about taking too many steps that could be disruptive, while the issue is becoming increasingly politicized; witness TV ads showing young children admonishing their elders to stop driving cars and news pieces about couples having "green" weddings devoid of electricity.
However, given the proper scenario, a push away from fossil fuels could immensely reward the innovators and entrepreneurs who position themselves and their capital to take advantage of the growing market in alternatives, such as ethanol, hydrogen-based engines, and perhaps even nuclear fusion as a power source.
What do you think?