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The Economist has created a Global Debt Clock, with data on public debt of different countries for different years (including projections up to 2011). Out of curiosity I decided to look at the numbers for Brazil, the US and the UK.

The ratio of public debt to total GDP in Brazil is expected to grow from 37.1% in 2008 to 44.5% in 2011, which doesn't look that bad.

The US is expected to go from 39% to 66%, which doesn't look that good, specially against its long term average.

The really scary number is for the UK, whose debt is expected to grow from 49% to 93% of GDP.

These clearly show the different efforts made by governments to rescue their economies. I expect that people in the UK are very likely to face either tax rises or big decreases in public services expenditures in the near future.

Will Electric Cars Become a Disruptive Technology?

The Economist this week has an interesting article discussing if electric cars will turnout to be a "disruptive technology" and forever change how our cars are powered.

There are obvious advantages to cell cars: like lower fuel costs, higher efficiency and a big potential to use renewable energy sources.

It would be really nice if we are able to develop a network of recharging stations (the trial being made in Israel is particularly interesting), benefiting from economies of scale.

Something I'm curious to know is what companies (from Apple to Bosch to Honda) do with batteries after they die. Can they recycle the chemical components into other batteries and/or useful things?