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With the world’s largest prison population and recidivism rates nearing 70 percent in some states, the question of what to do with formerly incarcerated people after they have completed their prison terms continues to vex the United States.

The Memphis-based nonprofit Persevere sees opportunity in those depressing statistics by providing engineering and coding training to incarcerated people so they have a better chance at gainful employment after they are released.

“I think we have answered the question as to whether someone can be rehabilitated and that you can change someone’s trajectory, decision-making attitudes, and criminal activity,” Sean Hosman, founder of Persevere, told TriplePundit. “And what is enough to do that? What’s enough to get somebody to go with a different life? Can you give them something, enough hope, enough skill, enough opportunity?”

Hosman believes Persevere’s programs offer that path to hope, skill and opportunity for incarcerated people. “Those who graduate from Persevere and are released have a 93 percent job placement rate and 85 percent job retention rate,” he told us. “For anybody that graduates from our program, the recidivism rate is 1.8 percent, and that’s compared to a national average of anywhere from 45 percent to 70 percent recidivism rates around the country, depending on how they define recidivism.”

Hosman founded Persevere after spending time behind bars and being arrested 12 times over a two-year period as he battled drug and alcohol addiction. He realized that while he could continue to earn a living thanks to his technological skills, other formerly incarcerated people and those with criminal records struggled to find jobs and stabilize their lives.

Since its founding in 2012, Persevere has grown to offer programs to incarcerated people in six states and is in negotiations to expand into several more. Nationally, Persevere has partnered with the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) to establish the Unlock Potential employment program (UP). Funded through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, the UP aims to break the cycle of incarceration by providing meaningful employment opportunities to a statistically at-risk group of young people. 

“I’m really proud of the people that are now delivering these programs. I’m proud of the transformation of lives,” Hosman said. “One of the programs here in Tennessee is the 2 Gen program. We don’t just teach the incarcerated mom and dad, we teach their 10- to 18-year-old children at the same time how to be technologists, so we’re watching the social capital of an entire family unit rise.” 

Hosman said he is “proudest of the fact” that Persevere is focused on the inequities in the criminal justice system with black and brown communities. He cited a September 2020 Deutsche Bank study, “America’s Racial Gap and Big Tech’s Closing Window,” which concluded that if current trends continue, the exponential growth of the digital economy will leave large chunks of minority communities with little or no access to jobs. By 2045, an estimated 76 percent of African Americans and 52 percent of Latinos will be either completely ill prepared or shut out of 86 percent of available jobs, according to the study.

“That is a staggering prediction that should be on the front page of every paper in my book,” Hosman said. “I’m very proud that we have been able to focus on some of those populations, understand their contextual plight and then provide hope and skills and opportunity to them.”

Persevere’s programs go far beyond the classroom, including courses on life skills and financial literacy, and providing transitional living, mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Jabarre Jarrett, a case manager and facilitator for Persevere, became aware of the nonprofit when he moved into a halfway house in Bristol, Tenn., after serving five years in prison. “They were giving out $1,000 for people to sign up, and they were given out free laptops,” Jarrett said. “Being fresh out of prison, I wanted a laptop.”

Jarrett got the laptop but also learned he would be paid the $1,000 in two installments as he completed his training in HTML, CSS and JavaScript. He also learned just how much Persevere had his back when his 14-year-old daughter attempted to take her own life.

“That was something that . . . pushed me back, and I really couldn’t focus on the program like I should,” Jarrett said. “But Persevere is so family oriented, they stepped in like a family would in a time of crisis. They extended their arms, and they helped us work through that bad time with just love and encouragement.”

Offered the opportunity to work for the nonprofit, Jarrett didn’t hesitate to accept. It’s a job he loves.

“I think it’s something that’s much needed out here, because when you want to change, sometimes you don’t know what you need to know to change, and you don’t know where to find help and resources,” he said. “But if you know somebody that has been through something and they’re willing to share that experience to help make someone better, well, it just makes me feel great to be able to be that person.”

Images courtesy of Persevere

As the U.S. deals with record-breaking devastation from climate change to the tune of $20 billion annually, we need to make climate resiliency a top priority for infrastructure, which, according to McKinsey, is now expected to “bear the brunt” of anticipated total climate change adaptation costs moving forward — estimated between $150 billion and $450 billion per year on infrastructure by 2050.

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) defines climate resiliency as “the ability of an infrastructure system to adapt to and withstand various climate-related stressors.” These stressors may include extreme temperatures, violent storms, floods, drought and wildfires. These more frequent and intense weather events are sapping our own resilience as a society, while aging infrastructure fails to keep pace with the new, unpredictable “normal” that is climate change. 

The recent deadly flash flooding in Kentucky is just another heartbreaking example of the urgent need to shore up our infrastructure that supports our communities, businesses and livelihoods. The effects of climate change are devastating, and many people and organizations across the country are struggling with the sense of lost control over the impact on lives and property.

However, what we can control is how our infrastructure and society plan for and react to climate change. The answer? We can invest in and utilize digital technology that will help engineers model solutions to harden our infrastructure against future hits from Mother Nature. 

Digital technology can provide the climate resiliency roadmap that lets us analyze and model how our highways, ports, water systems, electrical grids, buildings, and more should best respond to these events based on data from past, present and even future scenarios. The Texas power grid failure of 2021 demonstrates just how quickly things can go wrong when systems can’t keep up with climate change — plunging temperatures caused residents to turn up the heat, which maxed out power grid capacity and set a dangerous chain of events in motion. With digital technology, we can understand, forecast and mitigate climate risk threatening infrastructure by leveraging a digital twin. 

A digital twin is a 3D digital representation of something in the physical environment that is continuously updated with real-time data from that physical environment. Digital twins track and visualize real-world conditions through IoT (Internet of Things) connected devices like drones and sensors that capture detailed data from water, weather and materials. As the data comes in, engineers use the digital twin to create a more resilient version of the infrastructure. They can create and evaluate “what if” scenarios before an event happens. These resilient designs can help reduce carbon footprint by using low-carbon materials and consuming fewer resources.      

As state and private organizations submit resilient infrastructure plans and seek design approvals, these digital models provide transparency to the public and other stakeholders who can readily understand the project in 3D digital models versus 2D paper plans. Organizations that may not have access to technology resources can now apply for digital technology funding available from recent legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $2.3 billion in funding alone for expanding flood control. Flood modeling and simulation technology helps cities that experience heavy rainfall, flooding, and sea water rise to mitigate risk and achieve their climate resiliency goals for vulnerable infrastructure like electricity substations, telecommunications services and roadways. 

The effects of climate change can especially take its toll on bridges. Storm surges from hurricanes are lifting bridge decks off their supports, while increasing precipitation, humidity and higher carbon concentration are speeding up the deterioration of materials used to build these vital structures, which typically can have a service life of as long as 100 years. 

A 2021 report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found that more than 220,000 bridges in the U.S. need major repair work or should be replaced. At the current pace of work, it will take roughly 40 years to repair these 45,000 structurally deficient bridges, the report estimates. However, time is of the essence as keeping bridges open is critical for our local economies and supply chains. 

To speed up the process, states like Texas and New York are using digital technology and digital twins for bridge inspections, real-time structural health monitoring, design and construction. The Texas department of transportation (TxDOT) has gone completely digital with its recently launched Bridge Digital Delivery Initiative that helps bridge engineers accelerate the workflow of a project, from concept to 3D model to construction. And earlier this year in New York, the state department of transportation (NYSDOT) completed a project using digital twins to assess and replace the 138th Street bridge in the Bronx — a project that involved complicated structural design and coordination in a very congested area.  By using digital twins for their designs, both the TxDOT and NYSDOT now have the necessary tools to future-proof their projects, which can lead to better climate resiliency.

More states will be able to invest in bridge repair using the IIJA’s new Bridge Investment Program (BIP), which earmarks $12.5 billion over the next five years for repair, rehabilitation and replacement projects. This is in addition to the $27 billion in bridge funding announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation earlier this year via the Bridge Formula Program.

Beyond improving the climate resiliency of roads and bridges, digital technology can also play a large role in making energy production safer and more reliable — especially with process controls and emissions monitoring. In light of the Inflation Reduction Act, there is a renewed sense that our country will work together to transition to clean energy. That said, it is access to digital technology that serves as the common denominator to help large-scale infrastructure projects like power plants plan cleaner and safer facilities. 3D models (digital twins) of pipes, valves, and other equipment used to transfer steam or liquids analyze stress and demand flow while sensors continuously monitor toxic emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and mercury.  

In a recent report by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), experts state that “climate change impacts are increasingly being felt and are concentrated in urban areas, which are expected to grow by two and a half times by 2050.” As this demand for resilient infrastructure grows, we will see more adoption of digital twin technology to support an increasing number of smart cities, as well as the power grids, highways, bridges and seaports that connect them all to keep our world moving forward. The transparency and predictability offered by digital technology is critical to visualizing and understanding what we are doing right to get ahead of climate change and where we need to improve in our attempts to make our infrastructure more resilient for current and future generations.

Whether Benjamin Franklin said this or not is up for debate: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." What should not be up for debate is taking advantage of technology available now that can make our infrastructure safer and more resilient.  

Image credit: Wade Austin Ellis/Unsplash

2022 was a momentous story for climate and energy. Water may not have made the splashiest headlines, but it maintained a steady current, even offering a few surprises. Here are some of the top water stories from TriplePundit from 2022, plus what we might see on the water front in 2023.

Top water stories of 2022

Three themes emerged around water in TriplePundit’s reporting: water quality and quantity, water tech solutions, and what companies are doing to tackle water stress. Unsurprisingly, all three themes overlap with each other. With water stress posing significant risks to companies, more corporations are thinking about water as a stewardship issue rather than just an operations issue, especially as droughts continue to persist in the American West and other water hotspots around the globe. Tech companies are taking notice, developing solutions to address previously seemingly intractable water problems. And unfortunately, Jackson, Mississippi’s water crisis made headlines again.

While international water events like World Water Day and World Water Week continued to raise awareness of persistent issues, water also became more of a focal point in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released in 2022. Further, the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP27) climate negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, gave water a more central role. 

What to look for in 2023

An early 2022 TriplePundit article called for watching Waters of the United States (WOTUS), the main federal law that defines a waterway under federal jurisdiction. At the very end of 2022, the Joe Biden administration finalized a rule restoring protections under the WOTUS law. While an incredibly wonky and concurrently hotly contested issue, the new rule restores protections that were in place before 2015 for traditional navigable waters, including territorial seas, interstate waters and the upstream water resources that affect them. Already causing heartburn among stakeholders, expect this rule to be hotly contested throughout 2023. 

Mega-drought will continue to be a pressure point in many place. In the Western U.S., the Colorado River expected to reach critical levels as some reservoirs reach “dead pool” status, I.e., water can no longer flow downstream to the dams. The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced significant cuts to certain water supplies in 2023 and called for basin-wide conservation in both Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two largest water reservoirs in a system that supplies water for over 40 million people.

The themes of 2023’s World Water Day (WWD) and World Water Week (WWW) both center on change. World Water Day in March 2023 will focus on Accelerating Change, while WWW’s theme for August is Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water-Wise World. 2022 brought devastating floods in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Australia coupled with crippling record-breaking droughts in the Horn of Africa and Europe. The need for critical and accelerated water solutions is clearer than ever. 

This year’s COP, which will take place in Dubai in late November, will focus on the first Global Stocktake, the process for evaluating progress countries have made or are making toward meeting their long-term goals, often referred to as the goals under the Paris Agreement (so named because they were negotiated at COP21 in Paris). Water flows through every impacted sector in addition to being heavily and directly impacted by climate change. Water is often the buried lede in climate negotiations, but given the headlines it continues to make, expect it be pervasive in the solutions and challenges within the Global Stocktake. 

As the most visceral and visual symbol of our daily lives, water stories will continue to rise to the top. But 2023 could be the year to see innovative water solutions really start to flow.

Image credit: Claudia Chiavazza/Unsplash

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year, people around the world galvanized donations to help address displaced Ukrainians’ immediate needs for safety, housing and food. The ability to remain digitally connected became a basic necessity as Ukranians fled their homes and became refugees. As known to many who are caught in humanitarian crises, sometimes the ability to access a connected device to attend school, look for work, find assistance resources, or connect to family, friends and culture can make all the difference in the world, too.

Digital equity has become an important component of relief efforts in communities displaced by war, famine, natural disasters and climate change. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), refugees and displaced populations are 50 percent less likely than the general population to have an Internet-enabled phone, and they face equal hurdles in gaining access to hardware devices. This impedes their full participation in  society, democracy and the economy.

How can refugees and asylum-seekers access the technology they need to continue to participate in civic life and pursue education or employment, especially when thrust into a new country, environment or language? Partnerships built on trust make it happen.

A message to refugees: “You are not forgotten” 

Through partnerships with companies and organizations such as Microsoft, the Global Business Coalition for Education and NABU, tech giant HP has worked to advance digital equity for displaced people all over the world, including in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Haiti and Uganda. As part of the company’s effort to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people by 2030, HP has established a network of partnerships with civil society organizations that work to ensure equitable access to the digital world and help unlock education, healthcare and economic opportunity for millions.


While this digital equity work provides refugees with access to essential services, for many it also helps restore a sense of normalcy and connection  after such a traumatic experience.

“It sends a really strong message that they are not forgotten,” said Justin van Fleet, president of the global children's charity Theirworld and executive director of the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education). “ “While they are experiencing something that no one ever wants to experience, they do not have to stop learning and their future does not have to be put on hold.”

Making a real impact: How corporate partnerships can drive digital equity for refugees

HP’s partnership with GBC-Education brings together the expertise and resources of the business community to advance global education in support of U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 4. The collaboration has helped HP exponentially scale its efforts to improve learning continuity and enable better learning outcomes for refugees, which are among the various underserved communities aided around the world. 

In Ukraine in particular, HP is working with GBC-Education to deploy over 74,000 devices to individuals responsible for driving education and learning for displaced Ukrainians still in the country, as well as Ukrainian refugees and the host communities serving them. 


NABU, a New York-based nonprofit publisher of free multilingual children’s books and another of HP’s partners, also supports learning continuity by addressing the need for mother-tongue educational materials for displaced children across the globe, from Rwanda to Romania to the Philippines. 

For displaced Afghan children, NABU has translated 40 original and leveled titles into Afghanistan’s official languages, Pashto and Dari, and published the books on its free reading app. HP then stepped in to fund the printing of the books to provide physical copies to refugee children through the Welcome.US program, an effort to welcome Afghans, Ukrainians and other displaced people to the United States.  

“Witnessing the sheer numbers of displaced Afghans, and the desire for education, really impacted our global team,” said Tanyella Allison, the co-creator and executive director of NABU. “Some Afghan students, including girls who had been banned from learning in their own country, were offered temporary asylum in African countries where NABU staff members saw firsthand the need for relevant educational materials, and books to help them feel welcome and support their integration into the local school system.”

Additionally, at the outset of the war in Ukraine earlier this year, NABU responded by translating an additional 40 titles and their free reading app into Ukrainian, providing access to mother-tongue children’s books for the more than 1.5 million children globally who had been displaced. The organization also works with aspiring authors and illustrators from around the world to come together and publish children’s books in their mother tongue, and is further releasing a series of bilingual books in Ukrainian and Romanian, allowing the children to further adapt to their adopted communities.

“Our work with Welcome.US and our CEO’s engagement in the CEO Advisory Council allowed us to support Afghan newcomers in the U.S., alongside NABU and mEducation Alliance, and deliver both hardware as well as quality, mother-tongue learning materials,” said Michele Malejki, HP’s global head of social impact. “Our partnership with the Global Business Coalition for Education will help us reach millions of Ukrainian refugees and displaced individuals over the coming years, in partnership with the Ukrainian administration and organizations such as Junior Achievement, YMCA, UNDP, UNICEF and the Tent Partnership for Refugees.“

Partnerships like these provide a critical lifeline to enable displaced individuals to continue accessing vital education, economic opportunities, public services and personal connections, which will be crucial as the number of refugees and asylum seekers increases around the world. 

This article series is sponsored by HP and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image courtesy of HP

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering a ban on gas stoves, which can damage respiratory health, especially in children. Natural gas stoves are used in 35 percent to 40 percent of American households, and a recent peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that over 12 percent of pediatric asthma cases in the U.S. can be linked to the use of gas stoves.

Childhood asthma risks related to gas stove use is almost identical to the risks associated with secondhand smoke, according to the study. Particularly in small kitchens, nitrous dioxide levels can rise above outdoor air pollution standards within a few minutes of cooking, and even when they are shut off, gas ranges leak nitrous dioxide and methane, pollutants that harm human lungs and warm the planet.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will open a public comment period this winter. Agency commissioner Richard Trumka, Jr. was quick to note that a ban would only apply to new products and would not affect gas stoves currently installed in U.S. homes.

Trumka wrote on Twitter: “To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products. For Americans who choose to switch from gas to electric, there is support available. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes a $840 rebate.” The Inflation Reduction Act passed last year includes a $4.5 billion fund earmarked to assist low- and middle-income Americans transition from gas to electric appliances. 

This latest move from the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been in the works for decades. The Clean Air Act gives the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate only outdoor, and not indoor, air pollution. Advocates have lobbied the Consumer Product Safety Commission for years to regulate gas stoves, and in December, Trumka announced that he would be seeking public comment on regulations surrounding gas stoves no later than March. 

Trumka’s December announcement came on the heels of a letter from a group of Democratic lawmakers urging the agency to require gas stoves to be sold with high-efficiency range hoods, shut-off valves and risk labels, as well as to create performance standards for gas stoves that address pollutant leakages when the appliances are off.

The letter from the lawmakers noted that over 40 million American homes are equipped with gas stoves and noted: “A range of studies have shown that, when used without adequate ventilation, cooking with a gas stove can raise indoor concentrations of these pollutants to levels that the Environmental Protection Agency considers to be unsafe even outdoors. Further, methane leaks from gas stoves inside U.S. homes were recently found to contribute the equivalent climate impacts as about 500,000 gasoline-powered cars and, importantly, more than three-quarters of the leaks occurred while the appliance was not in use.” The lawmakers also asked the agency to create and implement a public education campaign about the health risks associated with gas stoves. 

Industry groups representing the natural gas and kitchen appliance sectors have been quick to push back against the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and the American Gas Association have both released statements opposing a potential ban on gas stoves. The statement from the American Gas Association claims the agency has not presented any evidence of health risks from gas stoves.

The American Gas Association also released a statement claiming that the recent study on asthma and gas stoves published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health was not based on “sound science.” However, decades of research point to natural gas appliances being a contributing factor in respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. 

Trumka said the Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering options other than a ban on gas stoves, such as setting standards on appliance emissions. The Commission could issue a final proposal as early as the end of 2023. 

Image credits: KWON JUNHO and Andrea Davis via Unsplash

With former President Trump out of office, quite a few U.S. business leaders seem to think that the violence of January 6, 2021 will not be repeated. However, events in Brazil over the weekend should be a reminder that the danger of another insurrection is still clear and present. Now is not the time for business leaders to cozy up to members of Congress who are already assembling the pieces for Insurrection 2.0.

How quickly they forget

In the aftermath of the failed insurrection of January 6, 2021, scores of leaders in the U.S. business community pledged that their companies would reconsider or stop giving donations to the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

It took a while, though. Even after President Joe Biden took office on January 21, many top executives still failed to issue a strong condemnation of Trump and his violent mob.

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In hindsight, the delayed reaction was predictable. Trump was braying nonstop over alleged voter fraud in the months and weeks leading up to Election Day 2020. He undercut Levi-Strauss and other companies that were leading on get-out-the-vote efforts. However, there was no forceful, coordinated pushback against the voter fraud lie from the U.S. business community.

A few business leaders did speak out on behalf of their companies within days after January 6, and pledged to change their policies on political donations. Eventually they would be joined by hundreds of others. However, within a few months, many quietly resumed a business-as-usual approach.

Independent reporter Judd Legum of Popular Information has been tracking corporate support for insurrection-friendly members of Congress from the beginning. In August of 2021 he listed only 44 companies that lived up to their pledges. Dozens of others had resumed donating either directly or indirectly to the 147 insurrection-supporting members of Congress or their PACs.

The issue gained renewed attention earlier this week, when the investigative organization Accountable.US added up the numbers and found that 50 of the Fortune 100 went back on their pledges and shifted almost $5.5 million in donations to insurrection-allied members of Congress. The total climbed to almost $10 million when Accountable included all corporations that pledged to stop or reconsider their contribution policies.

A light at the end of the tunnel

Putting the corporate seal of approval on members of Congress who align with insurrectionists is clearly at odds with the values expressed by the corporate social responsibility movement. Still, one positive outcome has been an increase in oversight on corporate political spending, as outlined in the 10th annual CPA-Zicklin Index issued by the Center for Political Accountability, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research.

William S. Laufer, the Julian Aresty Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote the forward to the report. He called attention to warning signs, including the record-breaking pace of corporate fundraising during last year’s 2022 midterm congressional elections, and the broken pledges by many corporations.

He also emphasized that there are clear signs of progress.

“In this second decade of the CPA-Zicklin Index, there is evidence of greater integration of disclosure and accountability policies throughout the corporate hierarchy, including board involvement, oversight, and review,” he wrote.

He also listed “positive shifts in the total number of top Index tier companies; and dramatic increases in the number of companies disclosing all political spending” among the signs of progress.

The red flag is flashing red

Laufer credited the self-policing of the corporate social responsibility movement with much of the progress. However, he also raised a giant red flag.

“One can only hope that this inspires other transformative reforms to the political process that prize integrity, good governance, and compliance,” Laufer concluded (emphasis added).

In the context of Republican control of the House of Representatives, Laufer’s hope for “transformative reforms to the political process” is a dark one.

Of particular note is the new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy of California. He was finally elected to the leadership position after a week-long, 15-vote debacle, despite being one of the 147 members of Congress who allied with the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021 — or perhaps, because of it.

To ice the insurrectionist cake, when McCarthy finally won the final vote he made a point of thanking former President Trump for his support, even as Trump hosted the former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, at his residence in Florida.

The rest practically writes itself. While Bolsonaro watched from Florida, a mob of thousands stormed Brazil’s center of government on January 8, reportedly with the strong encouragement of persons close to Trump’s inner circle, including the alleged insurrectionist and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. 

“Mr. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, was just one of several key allies of Donald Trump who followed the same strategy used to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election,” BBC reported on January 9. 

“And like what happened in Washington on 6 January 2021, those false reports and unproven rumors helped fuel a mob that smashed windows and stormed government buildings in an attempt to further their cause,” BBC added.

Violence in Brazil gives business a sobering reminder

Perhaps the violence in Brazil will teach the U.S. insurrectionists a lesson. The mob of January 6, 2021, was supported by the force of former President Trump’s authority while in office. There were no arrests that day. Trump pardoned Bannon and others who allegedly steered the insurrection, and the criminal consequences are still spinning out years later for the foot soldiers.

In contrast, hundreds of insurrectionists in Brazil were rounded up, arrested and detained on the spot under the authority of the newly elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The lesson of Brazil for insurrectionists in the U.S. and their allies in Congress is clear. Don’t try to overthrow the government when the executive branch is still in the hands of a political party committed to the principles of democracy. Wait and watch for signs of vulnerability, and take the next opportunity to install a permanent dictator in the White House.

If the supposedly powerful leaders of the U.S. business community choose to keep sitting on their hands while the next insurrection spins out through the U.S. House of Representatives, that’s on them. If they want to take action, all they need to remember is that money talks.

Image credit: Brazilian Senate Agency via Flickr

The chances are high that you have signed one, but you might not remember: About 30 million Americans, or more than 20 percent of the country’s full-time workforce, have signed a non-compete clause as a condition of working for their employers. The logic behind agreeing to a non-compete clause is simple: It prevents a worker from quitting to work for a competitor, or starting his or her own business using knowledge gained from their previous employers. For a C-level executive, or someone working within a specialized field like law or engineering, entering such an agreement appears to be fair enough, as most of these clauses are only enforceable for periods ranging from six months to two years.

One problem, however, is that about 15 percent of U.S. workers who make less than $40,000 a year, including security guards and fast-food workers, have also signed these agreements. Among the macroeconomic results is the suppression of wages. Further, these agreements are more than unfair; fundamentally, it’s morally wrong to tell someone that they don’t have the right to do better for themselves by finding another job at which they could both be paid and treated better.

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Nevertheless, the vast majority of these non-compete agreements could be null and void soon if the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has its way. Following a July 2021 executive order that urged U.S. federal agencies to find ways to make the economy more “competitive,” the FTC announced last week that it wants to ban the practice.

To be clear, only rank-and-file workers would benefit from such a change.

At first glance, the FTC’s move is a big a win for employees, as the agency claims it would increase wages in total by almost $300 billion a year. In theory, as many as 30 million Americans could see their job prospects improve — and it would certainly prove to be a boost for employee engagement efforts.

Non-complete agreements are among the many reasons that, despite everything we hear about the “free market,” the U.S. economy is anything but. Many U.S. workers feel tied to their jobs, links that are invisible but strong. To start, many Americans are locked into massive mortgages, which discourages them from moving, thereby limiting economic opportunities, risk taking and innovation. Overall, U.S. industries have been subjected to a lot of consolidation in recent decades, resulting in less competition, a trend noted by pro-free market publications like the Financial Times. Related to all this is the fact that U.S. wages, long stagnant, took a further hit due to the recent spike in inflation. Supporters of the FTC’s proposed rule say that ending the enforcement of most non-compete clauses would be the first step in freeing up the labor market.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are fighting the rule, citing the need to protect consumer data and intellectual property — curiously enough, there’s no mention about the need to ensure free markets. In any event, red and blue states alike such as California and Oklahoma have banned the practice, and several other states already prohibit the non-compete clause for lower-paid jobs.

The FTC is allowing for a public comment period before making a final decision. There’s a good chance that certain highly paid employees at larger companies in some sectors like tech (understandably) or who may have access to highly confidential information could be exempt.

But the same cannot be said for most smaller companies — and in any event, a non-compete clause can get in the way of their efforts in seeking to attract new talent.

Writing for the Guardian last month, Gene Marks noted that making employees sign a non-compete clause could generate more trouble than it’s worth. In reality, the reason why most of these agreements work in the first place is that many employees feel intimidated by the mere reminder that they signed a piece of paper sitting in their HR file. Going after that employee who signed on with someone in the same city or town is a fool’s errand, Marks argued. “Plus, it’s bad PR and doesn’t reflect well on a company and its owners both with their outside community and current employees,” he added. “Why is that big, bad company going after that poor little worker anyway?”

The lesson, said Marks, is that onus should be on the company to ensure that their employees feel valued: “Regardless of how ‘important” or “critical’ an employee is, just how damaging will it be if that person works for your competitor? Are you that afraid? Have you not protected your intellectual property? Do you not have other employees that will fill the gap? If that employee is so important to your small business, have you not done what you could to make them happy working for your company?” 

Image credit: Gabrielle Henderson via Unsplash

Glass windows are notorious for leaking energy in and out of buildings, but the latest development in solar cell technology is about to flip the script. New see-through solar windows enable glass to fill its normal function of allowing daylight into buildings, while also harvesting energy from the sun and converting it to electricity. That may seem impossible, but the technology’s mature commercialization is just around the corner.

The thin film solar cell difference

See-through solar cells are a sharp contrast with conventional solar cells. Typical solar cells are made with silicon. They do an excellent job of harvesting solar energy. However, silicon solar panels are heavy, thick and rigid. They are obviously unsuitable for use as windows.

Because of their weight and rigidity, silicon solar panels are also less than ideal for cladding and other building applications.

See-through solar cells are different. They are formed in a liquid solution. They form a thin film when painted, printed, deposited or sprayed onto glass, plastic or other materials. They can also be applied to curved, flexible or irregular surfaces.

In terms of converting sunlight to electricity, thin film is not as efficient as conventional silicon solar cells. However, their relatively low cost, light weight and range of applications provides thin film solar cells with opportunities to step in where silicon is too expensive or impractical.

From thin film to see-through solar

Thin film solar is not a new technology, but balancing the thin film solution to harvest solar energy while allowing light to pass through has been a challenge. While tinted, semi-transparent thin film solar cells are already on the market, fully transparent, see-through solar cells have proved elusive — until now, that is.

One company on the verge of a breakthrough to the mass market is Ubiquitous Energy. It was co-founded by Michigan State University Professor Richard Lunt, who holds the Johansen Crosby Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the school’s College of Engineering.

Ubiquitous Energy’s see-through solar looks no different from ordinary glass. It enables ordinary light to pass through, just like regular glass. The difference is that it collects energy from non-visible ultraviolet and infrared light at the far reaches of the spectrum.

The company is planning for mass production of its “UE Power” thin film solution in the form of 1.5 x 3.0 meter see-through solar windows, or about 9.8 feet. The windows would provide ample floor-to-ceiling coverage for a typical building with 9-foot ceilings. 

The 2024 timeline for mass production of these solar windows seems well within reach, thanks in part to an investment and R&D partnership with the window maker Anderson Corporation, announced last year.

Last fall, Ubiquitous Energy was also named 2022 Green Company of the Year by the crowd-sourced award organization Business Intelligence Group. In addition, co-founder Miles Barr earned a position in the top 100 Environmental Energy Leaders list compiled by the media organization Environmental & Energy Leaders, and Entrepreneur magazine featured CEO Susan Stone in its 100 Women of Influence in 2022 list.

Solving the building emissions problem

Another U.S. firm, Next Energy Technologies, is also gearing up for mass production. In 2017 the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $2.5 million in matching funds to the company, to help it commercialize organic thin film technology.

Over and above the ability to generate electricity, Next also aims to demonstrate that solar windows can prevent excess heat gain. The company has been conducting a multi-year comparative study through the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator. Last July the company announced results indicating that their solar windows can achieve a median energy savings of 10 percent across various regions of the U.S. compared to conventional windows, with a savings of up to 50 percent in sunny states including New Mexico, Texas and Arizona.

Next also emphasizes the need for a new, game-changing generation of energy-producing window technology in the context of global efforts to decarbonize.

“Buildings are near half the carbon problem driving climate change and representing nothing less than an existential threat to humanity,” Next points out. 

The company also cites an estimate that the global stock of buildings will double by 2060, which is equivalent to “adding an entire New York City to the planet every 34 days for the next 40 years.”

On a more optimistic note, Next notes that buildings have evolved from energy-sucking structures to showcases for energy conservation. Solar windows will help buildings take the next step, and become platforms for energy generation.

See-through solar windows, from cities to farms

In addition to stepping buildings up to the energy generation level, transparent solar technology also has the potential to transform the agricultural landscape. One US firm that sees the potential is SolarWindow. The company’s “LiquidElectricity” technology can be tinted to fit various applications. 

The company is aiming at automotive uses in addition to residential windows and skyscraper glass. They are also paying particular attention to the emerging field of agrivoltaics, which refers to the co-beneficial of agricultural activity within arrays of ground-mounted solar panels.

Studies have shown that solar panels perform more efficiently in the cooling microclimate created by vegetation. In turn, solar arrays can help conserve soil and water. They can also enhance crop yields in some cases.

Initial versions of agrivoltaic systems involved raising conventional silicon panels farther off the ground than usual, to allow for grazing livestock and planting pollinator habitats. More recently, the agrivoltaic field has expanded in new and different directions, partly due to its overlap with the regenerative agriculture movement. Solar manufacturers are beginning to tailor their products for agrivoltaic applications and SolarWindow is among them, with a particular focus on greenhouse crops.

The renewable energy whack-a-mole

The emergence of see-through solar is yet another indication that the fossil energy industry is experiencing the last of its ability to dominate the global energy profile, especially considering parallel activity in the field of advanced bio-based products.

Wood and whale oil once powered the economies of the world before fossil fuel pushed them aside. Now, Mother Nature is taking over again. Fossil energy is not going quietly, but go it will.

Image credit: Ubiquitous Energy via Business Wire