Nobody Yet Knows Who I Am: A Personal History: 1943 - 1953 is the second volume in Robert Ayres Carters memoir. The first volume, Sundays Child, was published in 2005 by Xlibris. This volume opens with the authors military service as an enlisted man in the United States Army in World War II, highlighted by a tour of duty in the China- Burma Theater. Returning to the States in 1946, Mr. Carters story then resumes with his career as a book salesman, a student in New York City, a Fulbright Scholar at the Sorbonne in Paris, and as an Instructor of French at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. The book closes in 1953, with Mr. Carter once again back in New York City, this time determined on a career as a professional writer.
Praise for Somewhere I Have Never Traveled Th is fourth volume of Robert Ayres Carters autobiography takes the reader back to the 1970s. From the outside, Carters life seems conventional: he was an executive in the world of publishing and advertising, commuting between Long Island and Manhattan. Setting this work apart from the ordinariness of that sort of life is the clarity of his unfl inching revelation of his private aff airs, emotions, and thoughts. His struggles to become a writer of novels, his self-doubts, and his emotional and physical involvement with many women, and the collapse of two marriages are all described vividly with the skill of the accomplished novelist. Perhaps most poignant of all are his descriptions of his sense of loss from his separation from his two sons. -James Scanlon, Professor Emeritus of History, Randolph-Macon College
Praise for Sundays Child Carter has written a memoir that captures the quintessential America that now seems to be slipping away from us. A real treat. --John Tebbel, author and Journalist Deeply moving...the book is a delight and of course you write like a dream...Congratulations on what I believe we used to call a great read, and more than that, a deeply affecting record. --Ellen Feldman, author of Lucy and The Scottsboro Boys Praise for Nobody Yet Knows Who I Am In volume two of Robert Carters memoirs, the reader is again treated to the authors ruthlessly stark self-appraisal. Through the extraordinarily clarity of prose, the reader seems to share his experiences immediately rather than through the medium of words. His descriptions of his lovers, friends, and passing acquaintances drive the reader along. --James Scanlon, Professor Emeritus of History, Randolph-Macon College
September Song is a collection of stories and a full-length play, written over a span of fifteen years in the authors long writing career. The settings of the stories range from China to California and Vermont; the play, Guests of Summer, is set in Nebraska. Orville Prescott in the New York Times called one of the stories, OHaras Creation, a provocative study of an artist lost in alcoholism, given an extra push downward by the monotony of his soldier life in China, and the fantastic mural he painted on the walls of a recreation hall.
Carter has written a memoir that captures the quintessential America that now seems to be slipping away from us. A real treat." --John Tebbel, author, A History of Book Publishing in the United States "Deeply moving.The book is a delight, and, of course, you write like a dream.Your introductory comments on the subject of memoirs are interesting.Congratulations on what I believe we used to call a great read, and more than that, a deeply affecting record." --Ellen Feldman, author, Lucy "Robert Carter has that rare quality in a writer whose prose is transparent: nothing apparently stands between the reader and the world of the 1930s and early 1940s. That world is portrayed as essentially an unflinchingly revealed emotional one; there is a heartbreaking account of his mother's death--an event that drives his subsequent relations." James Scanlon, Professor Emeritus of History, Randolph-Macon College
This book is about the mechanisms of wealth creation, or what we like to think of as evolutionary "progress." The massive circular flow of goods and services between producers and consumers is not a perpetual motion machine; it has been dependent for the past 150 years on energy inputs from a finite storage of fossil fuels. In this book, you will learn about the three key requirements for wealth creation, and how this process acts according to physical laws, and usually after some part of the natural wealth of the planet has been exploited in an episode of "creative destruction." Knowledge and natural capital, particularly energy, will interact to power the human wealth engine in the future as it has in the past. Will it sputter or continue along the path of evolutionary progress that we have come to expect? Can the new immaterial wealth of information and ideas, which makes up the so-called knowledge economy, replace depleted natural wealth? These questions have no simple answers, but this masterful book will help you to understand the grand challenge of our time. Praise for Energy, Complexity and Wealth Maximization: “... people who run the modern world (politicians, economists and lawyers) have a very poor grasp of how it really works because they do not understand the fundamentals of energy, exergy and entropy ... those decision-makers would greatly benefit from reading this book ...” - Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba “... A grandiose design; impressive, worth reading and reflecting!” - Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizäcker, Founder of Wuppertal Institute; Co-President of the Club of Rome, Former Member of the German Bundestag, co-chair of the UN’s Resource Panel “... The book is a must read for concerned citizens and decision makers across the globe.” - RK Pachauri, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and ex-chair, International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
On the Authorship Controversy is about how a historical deception has survived as a tradition for nearly 400 years, despite numerous challenges. I am referring to the “tradition” that the works attributed to William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon were actually written by him, despite no evidence of schooling or access to libraries, lack of recognition by other playwrights when he died, and much more. The editors of the definitive decennial edition of his works, together with virtually all other scholars of English Literature, have declared that this rural fellow is the true author. This book offers irrefutable mathematical evidence that Christopher Marlowe -- graduate of Cambridge University, the inventor of iambic pentameter, and the author of seven important plays before “Shakespeare” had ever been heard of -- did not die in late May 1593, as officially reported by the Queen’s Coroner. How do we know that Marlowe was alive and the author of the sonnets? He announced his authorship in ciphers that are clear and unmistakable once you find the key. The key was found by an independent scholar named Peter Bull in 2005. He self-published his findings because the mainstream publishers were not interested, and very few people bothered to read his work. I did, and I have now undertaken to make his discovery a little more accessible to the general reader.
During the three decades Coote examines, Ayres designed nearly two hundred homes in the fashionable San Antonio suburbs of Monte Vista, Olmos Park, and Terrell Hills, homes that even now rank among the most charming in the area.".
This Element is an excerpt from Crossing the Energy Divide (ISBN: 9780137015443) by Robert U. Ayres and Edward H. Ayres. Available in print and digital formats. How to reuse the enormous amounts of energy we throw away--and save a fortune along the way! The Cokenergy plant captures waste heat and uses it to generate electricity as a byproduct. This “recycled” energy is produced without any incremental CO2 emissions or other pollution. The byproduct electricity it produces is as clean as if it were made by solar collectors....
This Element is an excerpt from Crossing the Energy Divide (ISBN: 9780137015443) by Robert U. Ayres and Edward H. Ayres. Available in print and digital formats. How electric bikes may help reshape urban transportation--slashing fuel use and carbon emissions, and improving convenience, too. Battery-equipped electric-bikes have the potential to change the commuter game radically. Even if limited to 15-20 mph, they’ll be able to use the bike paths or reserved lanes many cities are building into their plans. If just 20-30% of short urban trips shift to “e-bikes,” fuel use will drop enough to help bridge us to a cleaner, more secure energy future....
This Element is an excerpt from Crossing the Energy Divide (ISBN: 9780137015443) by Robert U. Ayres and Edward H. Ayres. Available in print and digital formats. Why biofuels won’t work--except for gigantic agribusinesses and their lobbyists. If the entire U.S. corn crop were converted to ethanol, the aggregate reduction in total fossil fuel (gasoline) energy consumption would be just 2.4%. Considering that we still want our corn flakes, pork chops (corn feeds hogs), and cooking oil, any realistic level of crop consumption for fuels would do virtually nothing to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
The book also includes a longitudinal study of heavy metals use and dissipation, during the period 1880-1980 with reference to the Huson-Raritan basin. It concludes with an overview, including some recommendations for future research and for policy changes with respect to government statistical data collection and organization.
This text discusses the current basis of economic growth, concluding that it is is failing to deliver, and is actually harming our prospects for future security. Further arguments propose a possible long-term strategy for economic revival - eco-restructuring. This strategy involves a shifting away from production of goods to production of services, closing material cycles and eliminating reliance on non-renewable resources.
The purpose of this book is three-fold. The first purpose is to posit that the fundamental substance of the universe is energy, and that energy is required (consumed) for any material transformation, or information transmission. The labor theory of value, articulated by the physiocrats and elaborated by Adam Smith, David Ricardo, J.B. Say and Karl Marx was a rough first approximation of the value creation process, in the 17th and 18th centuries, but is now obsolete. Labor is now (mostly) performed by machines, not by humans (or animals). The second aim of the book is to argue that the economy is a living (open) system -- an “island of order” –that exists far from both thermodynamic and economic equilibrium. Order is achieved by dissipating a flux of exergy. Economists frequently emphasize the equilibrium assumption, introduced originally by Leon Walras in 1854. But in reality, biological systems and human social systems are dissipative cycles, far from both thermodynamic equilibrium, and economic equilibrium, yet stable and capable of evolution, driven by the solar exergy flux. The third aim of the book is to re-emphasize, that – being open – the economic system cannot be regarded as a collection of individual competitive utility-maximizing transactions. There are, increasingly, important possibilities for cooperation instead of competition. Moreover third party effects, both “bads” (externalities) and the “public good” (happiness) – need to be incorporated into the socio-economic decision making process.
This Element is an excerpt from Crossing the Energy Divide (ISBN: 9780137015443) by Robert U. Ayres and Edward H. Ayres. Available in print and digital formats. Finally: a coherent, integrated energy strategy based on techniques and technologies that have already been proven in the real world! We envision a national energy strategy with eight main components. One (increased energy efficiency of consumer products, including automobiles) has received serious media attention. Two others (increased energy efficiency in buildings and industrial plants, and decentralized electric power) have received moderate attention in industry and academia, but little public discussion. Few know the other five. Yet all eight have proven productive....
If we continue our highly inefficient, dangerous energy usage, we’re headed for both economic and environmental catastrophe. However, the hard truth is that alternative fuels can’t fully replace fossil fuels for decades. What’s more, new research indicates that energy inefficiencies are retarding economic growth even more than most experts ever realized. Crossing the Energy Divide is about solving all these problems at once. The authors, two leading experts in energy and environmental economics, show how massive improvements in energy efficiency can bridge the global economy until clean renewables can fully replace fossil fuels. Robert and Edward Ayres demonstrate how we can radically reform the way we manage our existing energy systems to double the amount of “energy service” we get from every drop of fossil fuel we use. These techniques require no scientific breakthroughs: Many companies and institutions are applying them right now, but tens of thousands more could. This book offers a strategic guide for using them to solve the energy crisis once and for all—reducing carbon emissions, achieving true energy security, and reigniting economic growth for decades to come. More energy, without more emissions Recapturing lost energy from today’s fossil fuels There is such a thing as a free lunch Mitigating climate disaster and improving prosperity at the same time The future of electricity Reforming tomorrow’s electrical system: smarter, more productive, and more reliable The implications for cities, transportation, business, and government Making the decisions that prepare you for a high-cost energy future
Capitalism is under attack. Defenders say that capitalism has raised billions of people from poverty. But a central activity of capitalism today, Wall Street style, is speculation (gambling), using other people’s money, and privatizing the profits while socializing the debts. Skeptics argue that capitalism has redistributed the wealth of the planet in favor of a very few, meanwhile leaving the planet in bad shape and leaving billions of people out in the cold. Wealth is now extremely mal-distributed, opportunity is far from equal, and upward social mobility has declined significantly in recent decades. This book reviews the evidence and arguments pro and con in considerable detail. The evidence is mixed. The main virtue of capitalism is its emphasis on competition as a driver of innovation and, thus, of economic growth. It is true that economic growth has accelerated in recent centuries, and it is true that billions of people have been lifted from poverty. But it is not necessarily true that intense “winner take all” competition in the marketplace is the explanation for growth. Neoclassical economic theory posits that self-interest is the primary motive for all economic decisions, leaving little room for cooperation and even less for altruism. The theory applies to an unrealistic “model” of human behavior, known as Homo economicus or “economic man”, whose characteristic activity is buying or selling. The reason for using the adjective word “social” – as in socialism” or “social service” or “social democracy” -- is, essentially, to deny those postulates of standard economic theory. Real humans are not rational utility maximizers (whatever that is) and very often do things that are not in their own personal best interests. This can happen because other interests, such as family loyalty, professional, religious, or patriotic duty, may take precedence. Real people rarely behave like Homo economicus, who has rivals but no friends. He (or she) does not trust anyone, hence cannot cooperate with others, and can never create, or live in, a viable social system (or marriage). Yet social systems, ranging from families and tribes to firms, cities, and nations do (and must) exist or civilization cannot exist. A viable social system must not allow “winner takes all”. It must reallocate some of the societal wealth being created by competitive activities to support the young, the old and the weak, because all of those people have equal rights, if not the same luck or the same skills. Both competition and cooperation have important roles to play. A hybrid capitalism involving both is the only viable solution. The book ends with a specific suggestion, namely Universal Basic Income, or UBI.
Crime and violence have emerged in recent years as major obstacles to development objectives in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. The paper explicates an agenda for future work that may assist LAC countries by discussing 'policy domains' where action is required. Such domains include reducing urban poverty, targeting efforts on 'at-risk' groups, building or rebuilding social capital, strengthening municipal capacity for combating crime and violence, and reforming the criminal justice system.
Market: Those in economics, especially thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, cybernetics, information theory, resource use, and evolutionary economic behavior. This book presents an innovative and challenging look at evolution on several scales, from the earth and its geology and chemistry to living organisms to social and economic systems. Applying the principles of thermodynamics and the concepts of information gathering and self- organization, the author characterizes the direction of evolution in each case as an accumulation of "distinguishability" information--a type of universal knowledge.
Why the global economy has become increasingly unstable, and how financial “de-carbonization” could break the pattern of bubble-driven wealth destruction. The global economy has become increasingly, perhaps chronically, unstable. Since 2008, we have heard about the housing bubble, subprime mortgages, banks “too big to fail,” financial regulation (or the lack of it), and the European debt crisis. Wall Street has discovered that it is more profitable to make money from other people's money than by investing in the real economy, which has limited access to capital—resulting in slow growth and rising inequality. What we haven't heard much about is the role of natural resources—energy in particular—as drivers of economic growth, or the connection of “global warming” to the economic crisis. In The Bubble Economy, Robert Ayres—an economist and physicist—connects economic instability to the economics of energy. Ayres describes, among other things, the roots of our bubble economy (including the divergent influences of Senator Carter Glass—of the Glass-Steagall Law—and Ayn Rand); the role of energy in the economy, from the “oil shocks” of 1971 and 1981 through the Iraq wars; the early history of bubbles and busts; the end of Glass-Steagall; climate change; and the failures of austerity. Finally, Ayres offers a new approach to trigger economic growth. The rising price of fossil fuels (notwithstanding “fracking”) suggests that renewable energy will become increasingly profitable. Ayres argues that government should redirect private savings and global finance away from home ownership and toward “de-carbonization”—investment in renewables and efficiency. Large-scale investment in sustainability will achieve a trifecta: lowering greenhouse gas emissions, stimulating innovation-based economic growth and employment, and offering long-term investment opportunities that do not depend on risky gambling strategies with derivatives.
Achieving the goals and objectives of sustainable development requires better information about the consequences of proposed actions. Partial information accounts for many failed efforts in the past. The financial implications for the proponent of the projects have often been more thoroughly analyzed than the implications for other actors. The impacts on biological diversity, or on the social fabric of local communities, have often been ignored. Decisi- makers may also focus more on the short-term consequences instead of long- term impacts, creating negative unintended consequences. It is clear that better decision-making processes are needed. Making better decisions requires identifying, obtaining, synthesizing and acting on larger and more diverse data sets, including information that has previously been overlooked in development decisions. The good news is that better processes are being developed and are becoming available. If the goal is to reach decisions that are broadly understood and accepted, affected communities need to be consulted. Early public participation in defining problems is a prerequisite to effective decision-making. There is no universal formula or checklist of information applicable to every proposed project. The scope of information required should not be determined from the start by small cadres of experts. It is unlikely that any individual or small group processes all of the expertise to achieve the kind of profound int- disciplinary synthesis that is needed.
Carter has written a memoir that captures the quintessential America that now seems to be slipping away from us. A real treat." --John Tebbel, author, A History of Book Publishing in the United States "Deeply moving.The book is a delight, and, of course, you write like a dream.Your introductory comments on the subject of memoirs are interesting.Congratulations on what I believe we used to call a great read, and more than that, a deeply affecting record." --Ellen Feldman, author, Lucy "Robert Carter has that rare quality in a writer whose prose is transparent: nothing apparently stands between the reader and the world of the 1930s and early 1940s. That world is portrayed as essentially an unflinchingly revealed emotional one; there is a heartbreaking account of his mother's death--an event that drives his subsequent relations." James Scanlon, Professor Emeritus of History, Randolph-Macon College
The President's son will be returned if you send us Captain Ayres in exchange." From the enemy camp came this message. And as Dusty answered, he knew he was starting on the greatest mission of the war, was going to play a lone hand against the Black Invaders, who sought to crush America beneath their barbarous wings!
This monograph length report, first published in 1970, originated from a program of research at Resources for the Future that dealt with the management of residuals and of environmental quality. It presents some of the broad concepts that the program was based on and represents the effort to break out of the traditional approach in pollution and policy research, which had treated air, water, and solid waste problems as separate categories. This book will be of interest to students of economics and environmental studies.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.