Michael Tobis

Michael Tobis

Michael Tobis, editor-in-chief of Planet3.0 and site cofounder, has always been interested in the interface between science and public policy. He holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences where he developed a 3-D ocean model on a custom computing platform. He has been involved in sustainability conversations on the internet since 1992, has been a web software developer since 2000, and has been posting sustainability articles on the web since 2007.

Recent Articles

Marx’s Fifth Success

|

In his fascinating article called “Marx Was Right: Five Surprising Ways Karl Marx Predicted 2014″, Sean McElwee says:

No less an authority than the Wall Street Journal warns, “Lately, the U.S. recovery has been displaying some Marxian traits. Corporate profits are on a tear, and rising productivity has allowed companies to grow without doing much to reduce the vast ranks of the unemployed.” That’s because workers are terrified to leave their jobs and therefore lack bargaining power. [more]

|

we do not share the view of many of our economics colleagues that growth will solve the economic problem, that narrow self-interest is the only dependable human motive, that technology will always find a substitute for any depleted resource, that the market can efficiently allocate all types of goods, that free markets always lead to an equilibrium balancing supply and demand, or that the laws of thermodynamics are irrelevant to economics. [more]

Atlanta Snow and Traffic Disaster

|

Several inches of snow fell in the Atlanta metro area, a bit earlier than expected. Schools let out early and unexpectedly. School buses failed to arrive. Car-dependent parents set out on the road. Ice developed suddenly. Gridlock ensued. Some students are stuck in schools overnight. Cars and drivers are stuck on limited-access roads overnight and very cold conditions prevail.
[more]