globalbriefs: Gleeful Frugalistas
Help to Make Ends Meet
These days, online browsing turns up an abundance of websites and blogs showing people how to make the most of what they have, rather than bemoan what they had. Some examples are Dollar Stretcher at Stretcher.com, AllThingsFrugal.com and FrugalMom.net. Tips range from refinancing a mortgage to gas and grocery shopping to frugal fashion. Many are based on good old common sense—backyard gardening, line-drying laundry, clipping coupons and borrowing movies from the library. But, original new ideas can surprise even veteran budgeters—such as swapping clothes and furniture, as well as DVDs. Local frugal living groups, too, are growing in popularity.
“I recently heard a phrase: ‘Never waste a crisis,’” says Kellee Sikes, of Kirkwood, Missouri, who was interviewed for a New York Times story about the trend. She now uses organic cloth napkins until they get threadbare, become cleaning rags, and then end up in a composter. “I love it,” she adds. “This is a chance for us to reexamine what’s important.”
Dreaming Big
China vies to be the leader in electric cars
Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning their country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and becoming the world leader in electric car and bus production after that. To some extent, China is making a virtue of a liability; it’s behind other countries in production of gas-powered vehicles. By skipping the current conventional technology, China hopes to get a jump on the next.
The Chinese government is offering electric car purchase incentives to taxi fleets and local government agencies, with plans for consumer tax credits. Research subsidies for electric car designs are rising rapidly. The state electricity grid has been ordered to set up electric car charging stations in China’s three largest cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Anticipated hurdles include serious problems with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries currently manufactured in China and the hefty cost of China’s current battery pack and electric motor technology.
Source: The New York Times
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