more on longevity risk

In the popular (?) press, see this article in the Boston Globe - Living to 95....

One assumes this will only get better (worse) as biology, health, and medical research leads to additional discoveries during the next years and decades. Besides putting pressure on individual financial planning, there will be complicated consequences for national policy.

For sure I imagine retirement age will be deferred, social security will start later and additional elder care programs will be necessary.

I guess the best point to make is that one expects this will generally be due to healthy life extension, which will let us earn more of our keep at ever later ages. Part time work anyone?

nature - from a recent morning walk

 

MIT report on future of transportation

with comprehensive focus on automotive technology choices.   very helpful in understanding the different characteristics of different types of engine technologies.

report here:  Fueling our Transportation Future

money quote from the summary:

"We have concluded that a 30–50% reduction in fuel consumption is feasible over the next
30 years. In the short-term, this will come as a result of improved gasoline and diesel engines
and transmissions, gasoline hybrids, and reductions in vehicle weight and drag. If these
improvements are achieved, we estimate a $1,500–$4,500 increase in vehicle costs. Over the
longer term, plug-in hybrids and later still, hydrogen fuel cells may enter the fleet in numbers
sufficient to have significant an impact on fuel use and emissions."

We can solve the climate crisis.

We can solve the climate crisis.

"The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection --  a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate former Vice President Al Gore. Our ultimate aim is to halt global warming"

Worth checking into.  Organized citizens may be able to add a strong voice to the debate - otherwise the risk is policies will be driven by vested interests  for their benefit.

VW concept

Did I mention how cool this looks?

 

For more details, see this Autoblog entry, which mentions, by the way, the 55mpg rating.   Green and fun...