Martinez Tobin & Redman LLC

Genetically modified switchgrass removes toxic pollutants from soil. Good work from team led by scientists at Univ. of York.

Working with developers and home builders, one topic that's been on everyone's mind has been the huge increase in lumber prices. It's a big deal because it's causing a substantial increase in the price of construction. If you want a deep dive into lumber markets Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast dedicated an episode to the subject. It's worth the time to listen to, and I learned more than I thought I would. https://buff.ly/3vrHmUV

Major luxury brands start adopting blockchain tech to validate authenticity of goods. This makes sense for high value items such as watches or jewelry.

Bio-leaching provides an interesting potential alternative for mineral extraction that could mitigate environmental harms posed by mining industry.

In post-covid economy, demand for commercial office space will shrink. Converting office buildings to apartments or condos is one solution in light of ongoing need for housing.

WeWork goes public via SPAC ... how much money did they burn? Oddly, I think they can make it work in a post-covid economy where companies want flexibility for office space.

Had a great time this morning on KKFI 90.1 FM Community Radio where David Bell, Craig Lubow, and I were on the Jaws of Justice Radio program discussing the past year's action in the US Supreme Court. This is a show that's become an annual tradition. We covered everything from the impact of the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the Court's unwillingness to intervene in the election, to specific decisions in the area of criminal law, civil rights, and relig...ious freedom. Lots to ponder, and never enough time to cover everything in one hour. A podcast archive of the show should be up on KKFI's web site later today. https://kkfi.org//december-28th-2020-legal-year-in-review/

Robinhood, the stock trading app company, just paid a $65 million fine to the SEC. People flocked to Robinhood because it let them trade fractional shares of stock with no commissions. Open an account, put in a few dollars, and you can trade to your heart's content. The app has a game element, which makes trading fun and addictive by delivering that dopamine hit. If the company provides accounts for free, how do they make money? Their major revenue source is reportedly from s...elling customer order data to high-speed trading/hedge funds. That's worth a lot of money. If I get access to information about your trades, my extremely fast algorithms jump into the market ahead of you and make money on the uptick when your buy order finally hits. You pay a few more pennies per share, pennies flowing into my pockets. High-frequency trading turns those pennies into millions. It's called front-running. If I run a brokerage firm, I'm not allowed to profit from my own customers by using their order data this way. Robinhood provided a slick workaround. Silicon Valley meets Wall Street. Robinhood also's been accused of steering customer trades through brokerages who sell you shares at a higher price than you would otherwise pay. Wall Street wins again! So does Robinhood, which gets "fees" for steering trades. Personally, I think Robinhood got off cheap with a $65 million fine. These guys are in need of some serious regulation. https://www.nytimes.com//busine/robinhood-sec-charges.html

With more electric vehicles being produced, what to do with all the batteries reaching the end of their life cycle? Lots of R&D is going into recycling. These efforts need to be stepped up. http://ow.ly/MIAH50CBIKB #environment #EVs #batteries

The dirty secret of international aid, development, and security work. Prime contractors get a cut -- for doing what? Far too much money goes down the drain. http://ow.ly/G26p50CBHLQ #corruption #transparency

Global supply chain realignment creates opportunities in Puerto Rico. http://ow.ly/tLlD50BTZP4

Governments shouldn't be using covid-19 funding to boost the fossil fuel industry. Use that money to speed up our transition to a clean energy economy. http://ow.ly/Gkpu50CAE7i #fossilfuels #climate #energy #GreenNewDeal

UN Commission for Narcotic Drugs votes to reclassify cannabis. It's no longer in same category as truly dangerous substances. A long overdue recognition of reality. When will the US government finally end its reefer madness? http://ow.ly/cWMX50CADrV #cannabis #UnitedNations

You know climate and environmental issues are grim when a major global insurance company issues a report that 20% of the countries on Earth are at risk of having their ecosystems collapse. https://www.theguardian.com//fifth-of-nations-at-risk-of-e

When supply chains and geopolitics collide. Here's an in-depth discussion about the impact of US/China trade conflict on the technology industry. Well worth the time to read. https://asia.nikkei.com//Inside-the-US-campaign-to-cut-Chi

The former AK Steel site in Kansas City has been a problem for years. Some time ago I recall taking a look at it for redevelopment prospects, and the environmental challenges on the site were fairly daunting. Good to see Port KC landed a significant grant to redevelop this property. https://www.kansascity.com/n/business/article246344185.html

SpaceX is giving Boeing and Lockheed a real competitive challenge. Its reusable rockets are cutting launch costs in half. http://ow.ly/5JlB50BJTmp #SpaceX #aerospace

When is bread not bread? What we call our food can be interesting. This decision from a court in Ireland reminds me of the current scrap here in the USA over labeling plant-based meat substitutes. https://apnews.com//ireland-archive-courts-63bc4788c0912d9

NYT reports on growing the strategic relationship between India and the USA, fueled by military clashes between India and China in the Himalayas. What this article doesn't mention is water. Access to water from the Himalayan plateau is a big driver of the conflict. https://www.nytimes.com//03/wo/asia/india-china-trump.html

MIT updates its climate portal. A good tool/resource. http://ow.ly/gUpy50BICSt #earth #climatechange

Scrutiny over support for the fossil fuel industry finally lands on law firms. A group called Law Students for Climate Accountability released a scorecard ranking law firms based on their work for oil, gas, and coal companies. https://www.ls4ca.org/climate-change-scorecard

Excellent article on the intersection between climate change, rising sea levels, real estate development, and economic inequality in the Miami area. https://e360.yale.edu//as-miami-keeps-building-rising-seas

Developing world problems here in the USA. Neglect and mismanagement of water infrastructure leaves communities paying for water they cannot even drink. https://www.theguardian.com//martin-county-kentucky-tap-wa

It's rather mind-boggling that 17% of FHA-insured mortgages in the USA are delinquent. This op-ed published in MarketWatch predicts serious turbulence in the housing and mortgage market. http://ow.ly/2Yxa50BwT94

"Megafires" and "tipping point" are a couple concepts that I do not particularly care for in the same sentence. http://ow.ly/mXJF50Bug2d

Money talks. Blackrock, which has nearly $7.5 trillion in assets under management, is voting its shares against directors in companies that are not taking climate action seriously. Overdue, but seriously welcome. http://ow.ly/jNor50BufVe