Tag Archives: historically

Are We Really in a Housing Bubble?

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Are we in yet another housing bubble? The Case-Shiller chart I posted yesterday suggests we probably are: housing prices may not be at their previous 2006 peak, but they’re nonetheless far higher than their historical average.

But wait. What about interest rates? Low interest rates mean lower monthly payments, and that’s what really matters, not absolute prices. This is true enough, but how low are real mortgage rates? That is, mortgage rates adjusted for inflation. This low:

Historically, the average real 30-year fixed mortgage rate is a hair above 4 percent. Right now it’s at 3.5 percent. In other words, mortgage rates aren’t really all that low. This suggest that historically high home prices also mean historically high mortgage payments.

But there are other ways of looking at this. For example, total mortgage debt as a percent of GDP has retreated to 2002 levels and isn’t rising. Mortgage debt service as a percent of household income is low and declining. Both of these are good signs.

On the other hand, these are aggregate numbers that include everyone with a mortgage. It would be better if we could see them just for new buyers, but I don’t know where to find that. And if you look at the price-to-rent ratio, which is usually a good harbinger of housing bubbles, it’s been rising since 2012 and is now at 2004 levels. That’s not so good, and if we get to 2005 levels we should start being scared.

As usual, there are a lot of ways of looking at this, which is why different people will give you firm but very different opinions about home prices. Personally, I think the evidence suggests we’re in another bubble. But I might be wrong.

Jump to original: 

Are We Really in a Housing Bubble?

Posted in Everyone, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Are We Really in a Housing Bubble?

Seas are rising in weird, new ways

on the level

Seas are rising in weird, new ways

By on 1 Dec 2014commentsShare

Here’s a fun fact about “sea-level rise”: The seas aren’t actually level to begin with. Because of predictable, long-term patterns in climate, global winds push more water into some oceans than others. This leaves the seven seas (not really a thing) divided into six “basins” (actually a thing). Water in these interconnected systems can slosh around to different areas while the overall volume stays the same — much like water in a bathtub.

Or so we thought!

Last month in the super-sexy-sounding journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists published research suggesting that changes to the Earth’s climate are driving changes in the way sea level rises in some of these ocean basins. Historically, the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere operate as a closed system, with an inverse relationship between the Indian and South Pacific basin and the South Atlantic basin: When one goes up, the other must come down. Using satellite measurements of sea level to track the flux in level, the researchers were surprised to find that, starting in the late ’90s, both basins began to rise in unison.

This is a map of the ocean basins — those big blue and purple blotches at the bottom of the map have been behaving strangely, thanks to climate change. Click to embiggen. Philip R. Thompson and Mark A. Merrifield

The total increase in this basin is about 2 millimeters a year — for you Americans, that adds up to a little more than an inch since 2000. It’s not weird that the oceans are rising, obviously, but it is strange to see such a distinct shift in the way they rise. The scientists trace this weirdness back to changes in the east-west wind patterns — changes for which they have several hypotheses, all of them linked to climate change.

Meanwhile, the other oceans seem to be behaving normally. Though let’s be clear: By “behaving normally,” we mean “rising in predictably terrifying ways as opposed to new weirdly terrifying ways.”

Source:
Science Graphic of the Week: Rising Sea Levels Show Strange Patterns

, Wired.

Share

Please

enable JavaScript

to view the comments.

Find this article interesting?

Donate now to support our work.

Get stories like this in your inbox

AdvertisementAdvertisement

More here – 

Seas are rising in weird, new ways

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, LG, ONA, PUR, Uncategorized, Wiley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Seas are rising in weird, new ways

Cellulosic ethanol comes of age in 2014

back

Cellulosic ethanol comes of age in 2014

Posted 7 November 2013 in

National

From Iowa Farmer Today:

It’s looking like 2014 could be a big year for the fledgling cellulosic ethanol industry.

Three full-fledged cellulosic ethanol-production facilities are slated to open, and at a fourth site a corn ethanol plant is adding a bolt-on bit of cellulosic technology.

Construction crews are busy today at the site of the new DuPont cellulosic ethanol plant here. A few hours away in Emmetsburg, crews are also at work putting up another cellulosic ethanol production facility at the POET plant.

In the small community of Galva, the planners are taking a different approach to cellulosic ethanol as they make changes at the corn ethanol plant.

In Hugoton, Kan., construction is under way at an Abengoa bioenergy plant.

The Abengoa project is expected to use wheat straw as a primary feedstock while the Galva project, at Quad County Corn Processors, will use new technology developed at that location to use corn kernel fiber in the existing ethanol process.

But, the other two projects will use corn stover as the primary feedstock.

“Corn stover is a whole new commodity. Historically, we don’t use it,” says Jeff Taylor, a farmer from Gilbert and chairman of Lincolnway Energy in Nevada, which is next door to the new DuPont facility.

Read the full story here.

Fuels America News & Stories

Fuels
Link – 

Cellulosic ethanol comes of age in 2014

Posted in Anchor, FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Cellulosic ethanol comes of age in 2014

Choosing Green Manicure Options

Photo: Microsoft Office

Manicures are a popular way to treat yourself at the spa or salon, but do you know how to choose a manicure that will be safe for both your body and the environment? A study published in 2012 by the California EPA’s Department of Toxic Substances Control found that many nail polishes still contain potentially harmful chemicals, so it’s important to know what kind of treatment to request from your stylist or what brands to purchase on your own.

At the Salon

Traditional manicures and pedicures use many of the same types of products you might use at home, though brands may vary. Historically, many nail polishes contained chemicals like dibutyl phthalate and toluene, which are developmental toxins, and formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen. These chemicals are often referred to as the “Big 3,” and many brands have eliminated them from their products. Check with your salon to see what kinds of products they use, and if you aren’t satisfied with the ingredients in those products, ask if they would consider switching. You could also bring your own polish with you. Plenty of salons offer eco-friendly services, though, so do some research ahead of time.

Gel and shellac manicures have also become popular recently because they last for two to three weeks without chipping. This type of treatment may be convenient, but it does come with some drawbacks. After the polish is applied to your nails, it’s dried using a UV light, which can cause damage to your skin just like UV rays from the sun. If you do choose this option, be sure to apply sunscreen beforehand.

Next page: The DIY Route

earth911

Credit:  

Choosing Green Manicure Options

Posted in alo, ATTRA, eco-friendly, FF, GE, LG, ONA, organic, PUR, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Choosing Green Manicure Options