RE: Doug Casey -My Rant Correction!!Oops. For something as heavy as all this you'd think I would preview but it was a rant afterall! I screwed up what I was trying to say on 6 re: housing, and have corrected it below!! That was totally screwed up, lol!
Neilcash,
Thanks for the Casey item. You mentioned that one of your favs was 'the most experienced team'. I'm being a bit facetious here but that may not be good. Afterall depending on how you define most experienced, I would prefer a team with less experience if my team had scientests with an average age of 74 vs. your 84! LOL, that 70+ 'average age' is indicative of how stagnant the nuclear industry had become since 3 Mile Island.
At most I can say I've been 'concerned' about the environment all my life (but I confess to being totally inactive about these causes aside from the most minimal actions or non actions), I openly mocked those commercials that came from Canada's nuclear industry about a year ago. You know the ones about safe clean power?
I think that is spin, that especially in countries like China, India, Russia, Eastern Europe - heck even Canada and the US that nuclear waste/terrorism and accidents arising from the nuclear industry can and will occur over time. I am faaarrr from qualified to comment but I think that is the general public consensus and the industry can not refute that even though the new plants and processes will be significantly more safe. It is just that w/ global warming (as Sprott / Gore so convincingly explain) we have NO CHOICE but to go nuclear. One day we'll have another Chernobyl but this time the world will shake it off, like we did the Exxon Valdez oil spill x 5. But it won't kill the industry like 3 Mile.
To me global warming and related droughts, impact of fisheries, rising sea levels plus impact of ongoing deforestation in the Amazon and other tropics, etc is one of the main themes that one must be considerate of if you are to invest. It has impact on:
1. assumptions that water will be there up in the mountains in Anycountry; it may not be and you need it to develop a mine ; bodes well at some point down the road to own bullion that has already been extracted.
2. assumptions that pipelines and roads that go through Siberia and the north to access resources will be built on permafrost (hello 3 feet of muck).
3. insurance industry; if you can find the labor a GREAT time to be in the restoration industry
3a. If you can find a safe supply of wood fibre, if you believe in the idea that weather patterns will continue to be more unpredictable and violent, buy forestry companies and other companies that will benefit. What is a safe wood supply - up to you to figure that out.
4. farmed and processed fish -global warming affects the PH level of the oceans; when you have so much fresh water from melting ice caps and glaciers, enough to raise the ocieans guess what folks, in simple language the oceans aren't that salty no more! (As if we didn't have enough problems w/ over fishing, pollution and deep sea drilling for oil and now gold and base minerals??). Maybe we'll be eating more protein from soy than fish or eating more farmed fish than we'd like in the future. Unfortunately you can't farm tuna.
5. impact on fertilizer industry and agricultural commodities (a trader's dream, I'm sure)
6. housing - will it increase or decrease prices? Well I know we are in a mass liquidity bubble state, but as we see increased impact in repairs and replacement housing from climate change, PLUS THE CONTINUED DEMAND ON BASE METALS AND ENERGY FROM India and China, will this be deflationary or inflationary ON HOUSING? What do you think?!
7. A great time to buy gold and silver, both stocks and bullion. A great time to own uranium.
8. A great time to buy China stocks; but all the better if listed in Canada. As Asian currencies rise and the USD depreciates it will translate in fx gains for your portfolio. But be very careful of what you buy and who can figure out timing.
9. Depreciating USD and the drag on the C$ vs. foreign currencies will increase the buying power of such foreign currenices. Many of us are just getting by, but If you can afford it, help your kids out so that they don't have to spend the rest of their lives renting in the big city.
10. Impact on people and political stability; 'what, you gonna dam our river and life blood - I kill you!'
11. See 7.
Hey guys, have you noticed how apathetic and resigned most kids are these days? If you ask your teenager what they think of Gore's movie or global warming, they are more apt to say 'yeah, you guys screwed it all up for us' and go and send a text message to a bunch of friends about what time to meet to go shopping.
So our kids are too soft and materialistic to be activists. I believe that YOU and I have a responsibility to see Gore's movie, to do something with your own environmental footprint to drive less etc. and especially to spread the word, donate, and politicize. Its not enough to say 'yeah, I heard it was a good movie, I was gonna or 'should' see it. Its not enough to say 'what' the point' they're building a coal plant a month in China.
Well the States still get most of their electrricity from coal! Alberta's next premier wants to liquefy coal which releases more co2 than cleaner fossil fuels. US congress action on energy security always ties into benefit to local constituents and never impact on environment. I own some pbg and cnq and I can't wait for a serious policy on the oil sands where we don't subsidize the cr*p out of it. Dion is on the right track. Its not just those guys, its us guys. Hey, have a nice day, seriously!