Globalization Directions: just add a Box and Oil

At this time of year it may be wise to dwell briefly on how consumer products are transported.  Globalization runs on container shipping and oil.  Beginning in the 1950s, standardized 20 and 40 foot intermodal containers revolutionized shipping and enabled vastly cheaper, quicker, longer, more complex supply chains.  For an interesting history of containerization see 'The Box'.

Great Books on Energy

A new book I highly recommend is 'Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air' by David MacKay, a physicist at Cambridge University. You can download it for free or buy a hardcopy. Reviews from The Economist and Boing Boing echo my feelings. MacKay's book is entertaining, insightful. witty, accessible, educational and no nonsense.

In his book, MacKay mentions a book by another physicist, Caltech professor David Goodstein's 'Out of Gas', which I also recommend.