Central Perk: 8 iun. 2015

luni, 8 iunie 2015

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Driverless Trucks to Hit Alberta’s Oilsands Region Replacing $200,000/yr Operators; Big Layoffs Coming
G7 Communique Seeks 70% Reduction in Carbon Emissions by 2050, 100% by 2100; Browsing the 44 Item G7 "Wish List"
Robot Teacher Gives Lectures in China

Driverless Trucks to Hit Alberta’s Oilsands Region Replacing $200,000/yr Operators; Big Layoffs Coming

Posted: 08 Jun 2015 01:55 PM PDT

The Alberta oilsands region and the ore mining regions in Australia use some of the biggest trucks in the world.

Above: Komatsu heavy earthmoving truck at the Tom Price iron ore mine, operated by Rio Tinto Group, near Perth, Australia.

Drivers of these behemoths cost as much as $200,000 a year. With that incentive, the push to driverless is on.

Big Layoffs Coming

The Calgary Herald reports on the and the "threat of big layoffs" as Canada's Oilsands Pave the Way for Driverless Trucks.

The 400-tonne heavy haulers that rumble along the roads of northern Alberta's oilsands sites are referred to in Fort McMurray as "the biggest trucks in the world," employing thousands of operators to drive the massive rigs through the mine pits.

Increasingly, however, the giant trucks are capable of getting around without a driver. Indeed, self-driving trucks are already in use at many operations in the province, although they are still operated by drivers while the companies test whether the systems can work in northern Alberta's variable climate.

That is about to change.

Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest oil company, confirmed this week it has entered into a five-year agreement with Komatsu Ltd., the Japanese manufacturer of earthmoving and construction machines, to purchase new heavy haulers for its mining operations north of Fort McMurray. All the new trucks will be "autonomous-ready," meaning they are capable of operating without a driver, Suncor spokesperson Sneh Seetal said.

For Suncor's roughly 1,000 heavy-haul truck operators, however, the prospect of driverless trucks has raised more immediate fears of significant job losses.

"It's very concerning to us as to what the future may hold," said Ken Smith, president of Unifor Local 707A, which represents 3,300 Suncor employees. Smith said Suncor has signed agreements to purchase 175 driverless trucks.

"It's not fantasy," Suncor's chief financial officer Alister Cowan told investors at an RBC Capital Markets conference in New York last week. He said the company is working to replace its fleet of heavy haulers with automated trucks "by the end of the decade."

"That will take 800 people off our site," Cowan said of the trucks. "At an average (salary) of $200,000 per person, you can see the savings we're going to get from an operations perspective."

Not Just Suncor

Some companies though will not comment on the prospect.

Imperial Oil Ltd. spokesperson Pius Rolheiser would not say whether his company was testing the trucks at the company's Kearl oilsands mine.
Shell Canada Ltd. said it is "exploring" automated hauling.
Canada's largest drillers, Precision Drilling Corp. and Ensign Energy Services Ltd., use high-tech drilling rigs capable of moving autonomously between oil wells throughout North America.

As soon as one company makes the push the others have to follow or their ongoing operating expenses will be higher.

These truck driving jobs will be the first to go.

Then again, please keep in mind Today's G7 Communique that seeks a 70% Reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, and 100% by 2100.

Apparently we don't need these stinking jobs anyway. They will be replaced by free wind-power from all the windbags in D.C.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

G7 Communique Seeks 70% Reduction in Carbon Emissions by 2050, 100% by 2100; Browsing the 44 Item G7 "Wish List"

Posted: 08 Jun 2015 11:29 AM PDT

G7 Communiques come and go. It's all much ado about nothing because nothing is ever done.

Here are 44 items from the Leadersʼ Declaration Communique for the G7 Summit June 7-8 2015 wish list.

44 Point G7 Wish List

Take concrete action to address global warming
Eliminate 40 to 70% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
Decarbonisation of the global economy over the course of this century.
Spend $100 billion a year on low-carbon strategies
Start a carbon early warning system for noncompliance in small islands developing states, Africa, Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean
Accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa
Reaffirm ambition to make the Green Climate Fund fully operational in 2015
Phase down hydrofluorocarbons
Praise the Hamburg Initiative for Sustainable Energy Security
Build on the "Kobe 3R Action Plan" for resource efficiency
Protect the marine environment in conjunction with the International Seabed Authority
Complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals, end extreme poverty
Support women's entrepreneurship
Enact financial market regulation
Create a fair and modern international tax system
Reduce trade barriers
Emphasize the importance of freedom, peace and territorial integrity, as well as respect for international law and respect for human rights
Condemnation of the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation and reaffirm our policy of its non-recognition
Achieve High Levels of Nuclear Safety
Achieve Maritime Security
Strengthen Arms Trade Treaties
Combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
Call on Iran to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency on verification of Iran's nuclear activities
Condemn North Korea's nuclear program and human rights violations
Concern over Libya
Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Fight Trafficking of Migrants/Tackle Causes for Refugee Crises
Fight terrorism
Support African Partners
Support Afghanistan
Support Reconstruction in Nepal
Establish health care as a fundamental right
Prevent Ebola outbreaks
Combat Antimicrobial Resistances
Fight neglected tropical diseases
Leave no one behind, reduce inequality, accelerate the global transition to sustainable economies, promote sustainable management of natural resources
Strengthen peace, good governance and human rights
Combat hunger and malnutrition by 2030
Help 500 million people via the Broad Food Security and Nutrition Development Approach
Empower women, smallholders and family farmers
Foster access to quality jobs for women
Support the UN Women's Empowerment Principles and call on companies worldwide to integrate them
Reaffirm our commitment to the initiative on Strengthening Assistance for Complex Contract Negotiations (CONNEX), aimed at providing multi-disciplinary expertise in developing countries for negotiating complex investment agreements
Renew commitment to the Deauville Partnership with Arab countries in transition

The joke of the day comes at the tail end of the 17 page communique: "We remain committed to holding ourselves accountable for the promises we have made in an open and transparent way."

The only thing the communique left out was support for motherhood and apple pie. What a total waste of time and money.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Robot Teacher Gives Lectures in China

Posted: 07 Jun 2015 11:40 PM PDT

Meet Li-Li your new instructor.

Li-Li is a Charming Robot Teacher.

She gives lecture at Jiujiang University in east China's Jiangxi province.

Li-Li was developed by the intelligent robot studio of the University. She not only gives lectures on teaching material, she also communicate with students.

I made up the name Li-Li.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Damn Cool Pics

Murders Use Power Tools to Bust out of Jail
Hard-core Bodybuilders That You Wouldn’t Recognize Today
Meet Jeff Dabe The Man With Gigantic Hands

Murders Use Power Tools to Bust out of Jail

Posted: 08 Jun 2015 02:56 PM PDT

34 year old David Sweat and 48 year old Richard Matt are convicted murderers who used power tools to break out of Clinton Correctional Facility in New York on Saturday. There is now a nationwide manhunt for the two men.

Hard-core Bodybuilders That You Wouldn’t Recognize Today

Posted: 08 Jun 2015 01:24 PM PDT

Mustafa Mohammad

Flex Wheeler

Tom Prince

Paul Dillet

Günter Schlierkamp

Chris Cormier

Bob Paris

Kevin Levrone

Victor Martinez

Meet Jeff Dabe The Man With Gigantic Hands

Posted: 08 Jun 2015 10:51 AM PDT

Jeff Dabe is a man in his late forties and he has gigantic hands. Now he's using them to enter arm wrestling competitions and his opponents don't stand a chance.