As I mentioned in our last issue, I’ve been employed in some way, shape or form by the oil and gas industry since my first summer job working as a welder’s helper on a pipeline crew in South Texas in 1976. The minimum wage at the time was something...
This fall finds me teaching Honors College freshmen in an introductory course under the rubric of Energy. Other sections address themes such as Sustainability, Media and even Happiness.
The Honors Tutorial I is a required course for all Honors College matriculates. Instructors work with aspiring scholars on how to read,...
Entropy, life-cycle accounting and the circular economy are terms and concepts indicative of how society now looks at the world differently than previous generations. As the global population pushes toward ten billion people by the end of this century, thoughtful approaches to sustainability will become ever more essential to...
When used correctly, social and community investing can be valuable for growing your business. Social investing is the practice of investing in companies that fit with your personal beliefs, such as health-related companies or pet supply businesses. Similarly, if you are against smoking, you would probably not invest in...
Several years ago in the midst of a family crisis, dear friends of ours counseled us to try to stay focused on praying for “best possible outcome” and reminded us that something good always comes from every terrible situation. When one is in the depths of despair, with so...
The final tax reform law includes important changes set to impact mining and oil & gas companies. Some of these new and altered provisions — outlined at the end of this article — will increase taxes paid by these companies. As the sector evaluates the impact of the most...
The goal of becoming a millionaire while starting out with “zero” is something we all can strive for — one bite at a time! I call it the 10 percent theory of asset accumulation and it works like this:
A $1,000,000 goal when you are at the beginning of your...
Believe it or not, recessions in the developed world are rarely caused by shortages. By definition then, it follows that relative overproduction is the key culprit. Perhaps ironically, this problem is not limited to capitalist economies.
Industrial economies of many forms have tended to overproduce — whether they be capitalist,...
Moving product can be a difficult feat. Large, long or awkward loads can present further challenges for companies. For many reasons, the safety and efficiency of transporting products should be of major concern for companies in a variety of industries. I had the pleasure of learning about a company...
The San Antonio region can breathe a little easier, for now. In a December 2017 letter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined it needed more current air quality data before reaching its final ground-level ozone designation for the area. But what would such a designation mean? How would...
