Economist, Mar 31, 2012

choi

(1) Californian water technology | Salty and getting fresh; The world cradle of desalination know-how wants to start using it
http://www.economist.com/node/21551514
(“San Diego today uses less water with a larger population than it did in 1989, the year water consumption peaked”)

Note:
(a) Poseidon Resources
http://www.poseidonresources.com
does not talk about where the energy will come from or pricing.
(b) Carlsbad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlsbad
(Carlsbad or Karlsbad is a German placename meaning "Charles's spa", named after Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1316–1378))
(c) The article mentions “a power station by the beach in Carlbad.

There are two power plants in the area. I am clueless whether either or both are “by the beach.”
(i) San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Southern California Edison, undated.
http://www.sce.com/PowerandEnvir ... antTour/default.htm
(ii) Encina Power Station
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encina_Power_Station
a large natural gas and oil-fueled electricity generating plant located in Carlsbad, California, in San Diego County; Constructed in 1954; The plant is owned by NRG Energy)

(2)Vietnam | Hero to Zero; The Communist Party sticks to its principles and the economy stalls.
http://www.economist.com/node/21551538

Quote:

“Not long ago, Vietnam was one of the developing world’s pin-ups. Now it is lagging badly. The most immediate concern is inflation, which last year rose to above 20% for the second time in three years (see chart). Vietnam now has Asia’s highest inflation rate, a fact that government censors have asked local journalists to stop reporting.

“The poorly run, corrupt and wasteful SOEs, which account for about 40% of output, weigh the economy down. The formula of low-wage, low-cost manufacturing no longer works as it once did. Countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh now undercut Vietnam in cheap manufactures. Yet the country has failed to move up the value-chain into more productive activities and higher-tech goods.

My comment: There is no need to read this article--or the mext.

(3) Tibetan activism |  No Impact; Tibetan protests seem increasingly ineffective.

(4) Hon Hai and Sharp |  Crystal Vision; A thriving Taiwanese electronics firm buys a slice of an ailing Japanese one.
http://www.economist.com/node/21551499
("Hon Hai has grown at an astonishing rate. * * * This owes much to Hon Hai’s contracts with Apple, which have yielded vast profits (as well as criticism about working conditions) for both. * * * Alberto Moel of Sanford C. Bernstein, a brokerage house, says that Mr [Foxconn's founder Terry] Gou’s purchase values it at around a third of what it cost to build [the Sakai plant]")