El Niño and a Mysterious Disappearance in the Pacific
“We need to jibe now!” I yell as an animal the size of our 39-foot sailboat crashes into the water a few feet off our starboard beam.
Tag: Mexico
The thermodynamics of mineral wealth, fossil fuels and drugs
A first lesson, taken strictly from ecological economics and its use of thermodynamic laws, is very telling about the history of resource exploitation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Energy quality and energy surpluses often determine the development of social and cultural patterns, and the unidirectional character of energy can dictate the economic and social arrangements through which wealth accumulation occurs in society.1,2 Consider the unidirectional flow of water (and…
Mexico, Wind and Culture
Despite the fact that Mexico is a country with great renewable energy resources, experts predict that it will face a severe energy crisis in the next decade [1]. Given the constant decrease in production of its major oil wells, and the inevitable growth of energy demand in the country, Mexico is expected to be a net importer of energy by 2020 [2]. In a recent analysis of the potential for…
Yucatan Field Trip
“It’s a big plastic stomach that’s outside in the yard, with a pipe that leads into the kitchen.”
Alternative Energy Scenarios and Friendship in Mayan Mexico: An ERGie adventure!
This winter, we traveled to the Yucatan state of Mexico to enjoy the warm water and sunshine of Central America and to work with Alex Eaton, social entrepreneur.
Let’s Take It Outside
Growing up in Mexico City, and everyday on our way to school, my sister and I would stare at the two highest mountains in the country: Pico de Orizaba (5,600 meters) and Iztaccihuatl (5,200 meters). At sunrise, and after a hard rain, the mountains would rise over a thick layer of smog, would fade throughout the day, but would always return at dawn. Omnipresent, yet taken for granted, these mountains…