U.S. Labor Market Continues to Disappoint

Ian McAllister — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:02:00 -0400

The number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 last week to 381,000, a smaller decrease than analysts had predicted. The four-week average of new claims, a less volatile measure, rose to 375,250 from 372,000, indicating that the U.S. labor market remains weak and far away from a recovery. Coming after last month's half percent spike in unemployment to 5.5%, these figures add further gloom to the current picture of the U.S economy and will put pressure on the Fed hold its target funds rate at 2% when it meets next week.

Snapshot asks, to what degree will falling consumer spending be exacerbated by labor market weakness?

Wall Street Journal - Jobless Claims Fall in Latest Week
Bloomberg - U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fell to 381,000 Last Week
Reuters - Treasuries extend losses after jobless claims
Associated Press - Stocks trade mixed after dip in jobless claims

Do Good Lives Have to Cost the Earth?

Kristina Haddad — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:18:00 -0400

The question in the headline was the theme of a conference I attended last month that suggested strongly that no they should not. The conference hosted by the New Economics Foundation, a UK-based "think and do tank" provided statistics, charts and graphs to show us explicitly that indeed happiness is not necessarily linked with material wealth and increased consumption. We all nodded and agreed -- yes we certainly understood that of course a good life does not have to cost the earth. I mean, who wouldn't prefer a meal cooked from a home garden to a meal cooked at a five-star steak house? And then the challenge was put to us -- so how do you convince everyone else of this so as to lower our collective footprint and begin to heal the earth?

Many discussions were had with some of the best thinkers on the topics of economics, sustainability, and climate change among other areas of expertise to contemplate this basic yet in some ways complex question. And all the while I kept struggling with this question. One that I often struggle with: Why should people care? Why should people care about the earth? And more pointedly, because of the work I do, why should people care about climate change? After all, climate change is this somewhat amorphous concept -- I'm not experiencing anything profoundly life-threatening because of climate change. (Or at least that's what it feels like. . .)

It's easy for us to rally around issues that have affected us personally -- an aunt with cancer, a city left in ruins by natural disaster. And then farther away from home there is the image of an impoverished child sleeping on a shred of cloth, jammed up against other impoverished children. Though we don't know the child, we feel a deep sense that we must do something to help. We feel a human connection. One of our own is in dire need and we must help.

But climate change? Why should I care?

What if we realized that that the plight of the impoverished child will be exacerbated many -fold as temperatures rise from climate change. What if we realized that the health of our niece or nephew, our daughter or son could be affected by climate change?

According to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development:

Currently over 1 billion people -- two thirds of them women -- live in extreme poverty on less than US$1 a day. This figure rises to 2.8 billion if a standard of US$2 a day is used (OECD 2001).Climate change will compound existing poverty. Its adverse impacts will be most striking in the developing nations because of their geographical and climatic conditions, their high dependence on natural resources, and their limited capacity to adapt to a changing climate. Within these countries, the poorest, who have the least resources and the least capacity to adapt, are the most vulnerable (IPCC 2001a). Projected changes in the incidence, frequency, intensity, and duration of climate extremes (for example, heat waves, heavy precipitation, and drought), as well as more gradual changes in the average climate, will notably threaten their livelihoods - further increasing inequities between the developing and developed worlds. Climate change is therefore a serious threat to poverty eradication.

And more close to home according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America climate change is increasingly impacting people who have allergic asthma:

Increasing temperatures (global warming) have stimulated the growth of for mold, pollen, and other allergens
Global warming has extended the growing season for such airborne allergens
Research suggests that these changes might be contributing to an increased incidence and severity of asthma and asthma symptoms.
For the first time, new asthma treatment guidelines released during the summer encourage health professionals to seek out environmental influences on asthma control.

So what if we realized that war, poverty, economic strife and inequity are all linked together by the causes of climate change? Greenhouse gas emissions created by the burning of fossil fuels and the struggle over fossil fuels is a driver for all of these things. And now let us return to the questions of why should we care about the earth, why should we care about climate change and do good lives have to cost the earth?

Perhaps in looking for the answers to these questions we can think of those we love and those we love from afar and we can reconsider our choices. Perhaps we can think of it this way -- more home grown-meals and more switched-out light bulbs might just save someone's life.