Gem of the day

Coke has an unyielding determination to be selective about which major trends the company will acknowledge publicly and link to business implications. This year's Davos showed just how lopsided that makes for the way the company prioritises, advocates and engages on all things sustainability - climate change and youth unemployment to the fore, whilst health remains the elephant in the room (via NY Times and Coke itself):

"Increased droughts, more unpredictable variability, 100-year floods every two years...When we look at our most essential ingredients, we see those events as threats," said Jeffrey Seabright, Coke’s VP for environment.

"[CEO Muhtar] Kent called youth unemployment both 'an incredibly pressing issue and an opportunity,' noting that reducing the youth unemployment rate by 1 percent adds $75 billion to the global economy...'If we do not do something, the social mosaic in the world as we know it will crack.'"

Something that's actually good

Two gems from Vaclav Smil, polymath, scientist, critic and basically all-around expert in how stuff should actually work (via Wired):

On the food system, in a nutshell:

"We pour all this energy into growing corn and soybeans, and then we put all that into rearing animals while feeding them antibiotics. And then we throw away 40 percent of the food we produce."

And even better, on the problem with Wired technomania:

"Today, as you know, everything is 'innovation.' We have problems, and people are looking for fairy-tale solutions...You people at WIRED—you’re the guilty ones. You support these people, you write about them, you elevate them onto the cover."

Something that's actually good

A voice of reason at Davos, the annual decision-makers talkathon? Yes - and from a most unlikely place, the Pope (via the Independent):

"The growth of equality demands something more than economic growth."

Gem of the day

In case you missed it, the new year has not been a slow one for a key part of the UK's shale gas hype machine, the big 4 accountancies - they're hard at work.

Witness the head of oil & gas tax (what a job!) at Deloitte UK (via them):

"Gaining the support of local communities for shale gas is crucial...The measures from both the Government and the United Kingdom Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) mean further economic benefits for local communities from shale activity in their neighbourhoods."

Of course, once local communities have been steamrolled using this promise of financial gain, there's no chance the hype could hit the fan - just as it has in the US (via Jeremy Leggett but also a concern for scientists and other smart people):

"The large deficits being run by the US shale oil and gas industry are starting to be reported in the financial press...The reason for this decline is that while some wells may be profitable, overall drilling and producing shale oil and gas is simply not."

If only the big 4 were as good with numbers as they are with press releases.

Gem of the day

Not content to merely tow the industry line like his peers - "As long as we as an industry follow good engineering practices and standards, these risks are entirely manageable" (Rex Tillerson), "Our resource base keeps expanding because our technology keeps improving" (John Watson) - Bob Dudley takes it one step further (via Atlantic Partnership):

"Some of you will have been familiar with the theory of so-called 'peak oil'. Well, we believe that theory has itself now peaked."

Another non-environmental wonder

A gem of a quote that sums up the sad truth of the value of TED events to company cultures (part of Businessweek's coverage of the 'TEDification' of Corporate America):

"It makes you realize that corporations are made up of people."