Entrepreneur, author, radio host, and futurist, Rinaldo S. Brutoco has published numerous articles and books that address the role of business in relation to environmental and social concerns. In the first half, he discussed how events unfolding in the Middle East impact oil, as well as various alternative energy solutions on the horizon. While the attack on Saudi Arabia's oil production caused only a temporary rise in prices, "to the extent that oil becomes less and less important to society," he said, "you may see prices starting to spike, and that will cause further reduction in consumption," which he considers a healthy direction. Before fracking was developed, Brutoco revealed that he spent over three years working with the Pentagon on developing hydrogen as an alternative fuel, as the situation in the Middle East was considered so erratic and volatile that there was concern over civilian gasoline supplies.
He offered analysis of various geopolitical hot spots, such as the current situation in Hong Kong. The fuse has been lit there over the issue of "self-determination," as Hong Kong residents realized they didn't want to be under the thumb of mainland China, while China has concluded they no longer need Hong Kong as a financial gateway for Western money. One of the goals of his think tank, the World Business Academy, is to focus on the role business can play on solving or combating some of humanity's biggest challenges. Toward that end, Brutoco presents a weekly radio program Solutions News, as well as publishes a free newsletter, The Optimist Daily, which focuses on upbeat news.
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Founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, Clive D.L. Wynne, Ph.D., previously, was founding director of the Canine Cognition and Behavior Laboratory at the University of Florida, the first lab of its kind in the US. He is the author of several books and more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles on dog psychology. In the latter half, he shared details as to what is at the heart of the human-canine relationship. He has concluded that it's dogs' learned love for people that largely contributes to their success in human society, and that rather than intelligence, what they bring is a remarkable capacity to form strong emotional bonds with members of other species.
He reported on one study that showed that when a dog is faced with a decision of going to a bowl of food or being reunited with its owner, it will first run to the owner. Further, research from Atlanta, GA has demonstrated that the reward centers of a dog's brain are activated when he is reminded of his significant person. Interestingly, Wynne has found that dogs can bond closely with species other than humans. For instance, dogs who guard goats in northern Arizona have formed affectionate friendships with them, and in Australia, there are even dogs that protect little penguins from foxes, though generally for these bonds to develop, it needs to be started early in the dog's life. Tom Danheiser chatted with Clive about his rescue dog Freddy, who reacts with enormous excitement when Tommy returns home.
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Dr. Peter Breggin