I'm reminded of America's major economic faults every time I check for new followers on Twitter. That may sound a little bizarre, but bear with me for a minute. Here's the deal: Whenever I check in to see if someone of interest is following my Tweets, I inevitably find a long list of people trying to sell me some sort of concocted crap.

Need help from a social media expert? Look no further than that douche bag's blog.

In case you forgot how to Google porn for yourself, here are some pics from a chick who looks exactly like Brittany Spears.

Can't figure out how to run your own business? What's-his-face's Twitter stream is where the big money ideas are at. (Not.)

Seeking spiritual guidance? Just click here and magic, invisible dust will spray out of your screen and transform your life.

Looking for weight loss secrets, well some schmuck on Twitter's got all the answers for you. Or, I should say, several schmucks.

Get yourself some ROI, bitches! Show. Me. thaMoney.

For only $xxx.xx some stranger on the Internet can mend all your woes. For really, though y'all.

First of all, all of the asshats trying to sell stuff on Twitter have completely missed the point. To me, social media is about the conversation. It's intuitive. It's a necessary evil. It can be fun and informative, but it can also be a giant waste of time. And, you know who I don't want wasting any more of my time? Someone trying to sell me something on Twitter. That, my followers, will get your ass blocked.

And, geeze people, really: It's no wonder our economy is in the toilet, you're hawking crap — stuff no one can even touch. Instead of spending your time creating something useful,  you're trying to sell bad ideas to people who don't need nor want them or people too stupid to tell the difference. And! The kicker: You want a lot of money for your money-making, life-saving, business-boosting ideas, even though they probably didn't originate with you. Gah! Get over yourselves.

Fortunately, I'm not the only person who realizes "social media experts," and other people of their ilk, are full of shit:

I like Michael Pollan, the investigative journalist and author who writes about America's food industry. He doesn't try to sooth us with what we want to hear, he reports what he discovers as he digs into what the food industry is really all about.

With that in mind, he went off on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 this week over the egg issue. You can watch that video here.

Bottom line: You get what you pay for, which is no surprise. And, cheap food really isn't cheap when you have to spend a bundle cleaning up the messes bad food can create ... and you can never pay enough to replace a human life should one of the industry's mishaps lead to someone's untimely death.

Here's Michael talking about other aspects of the food industry earlier this year:

The Tea Party is no grassroots organization, neither are a long list of other innocent-sounding organizations funded either directly or indirectly by David and Charles Koch (pronounced "coke" not "cock") and their company, Koch Industries, which is one of the largest privately owned companies in the world. As you can imagine, it's a business that made their family one of the richest in human history.

Lifelong Libertarians whose father admired Mussolini, set up oil refineries for Stalin's U.S.S.R. and publicly denounced the Civil Rights Movement, they've declared war against progressive policies of all kinds. And, they've funded their ideological "war" through over $100 million in donations to right-wing organizations, think tanks, academics and politicians — though, it's difficult to know, for sure, how much they've given thanks to laws that protect donations to non-profit organizations. In fact, their tentacles are so intertwined with Washington's top conservative policymakers that the brothers, and all of the interests they fund, are collectively known as the "Kochtopus."

But even though they're willing to be puppet masters and bankroll organizations pushing to boost corporate interests and stomp on yours, they're not too keen on you knowing who they are because they don't want you to stop buying their products. Go figure. Those products include Brawny paper towels, Dixie Cups, Georgia-Pacific lumber, Stainmaster carpet and Lycra — to name a few.

The brothers' political wrangling is less about what's right for our country and more about what's right for their wallets, and their interests have very little to do with yours. And, if you're wondering what happens to organizations that "make a wrong turn," according to the directions given by the brothers ... guess ... their funding is yanked.

Jane Mayer, an investigative journalist for The New Yorker, recently wrote an article about the brothers entitled, "Covert Operations: The billionaire brothers who are waging a war against Obama." Regardless of which side of the political fence you're on, you should make a point to read it.

Read a few snippets and watch an interview with the author after the jump.

If the Charlotte-area really is going to be a green energy hub, lots of businesses are going to have to jump aboard the alternative energy bandwagon. However, there are a few barriers to success — including the economy, so not every company can jump right up and become energy-producing corporate leaders. But, have no fear, there's an incubator for that:

A third start-up company has joined Davidson’s “green” business incubator, the Project for Innovation, Energy and Sustainability, on South Main Street. Sustainable Energy Community Development Corp. (SECDC) has two employees and provides financing for solar and other sustainable energy installations in rural and low-income communities around the state.

SECDC is the third company to be accepted as a full resident member of the incubator, known as PiES. Earlier this summer, solar energy equipment maker Focal Point Energy and electric vehicle technology firm ElectraDrive became the incubator’s first tenants.

All start-ups accepted into PiES get technical and business advice, as well as office space in the Business Center @ South Main Square, 442 S. Main St. PiES was formed in January to nurture green businesses here in Davidson. It’s a public-private partnership that includes the Business Center, the Town of Davidson, and other academic and industry partners.

SECDC was formed earlier this year by a group of Charlotte lawyers who wondered why existing tax-incentive programs were not leading to alternative-energy projects.

Read the rest of this DavidsonNews.net story, catch up on related news stories and learn more about PiES and SECDC here.

Here's a video from Stanford University about the future of sustainable energy:

Simply put, deflation is an economic term that means prices are falling. It's also a time when credit gets tighter. We're all familiar with inflation, where prices rise, right? Well, deflation is inflation in reverse. And, on the surface, it probably sounds like a good thing to most consumers. But just the mere mention of deflation makes some folks — like economists — freak out, even though everything's on sale.

Here's why: It means we're not spending money. And, just so you know, a huge hunk of the global economy relies on Americans overspending. Problem is, we're busted — aren't we? We've been overspending for so long, we're simply out of money ... and, in some cases, we're out of credit, too. When we stop spending, demand goes down. When demand goes down, some suppliers end up getting stuck with merchandise, some service providers no longer have anyone to serve and, spiral downward a little further, people all over the world lose their jobs and then they aren't able to spend money either.

This is why you have brain trusts like President "W" Bush telling people to spend money — advice he took to heart as his administration added an estimated $4 Trillion to our country's debt. That's right, trillion with a "t." Which is ironic since, in 2001, he said this during one of his national radio addresses, "My plan reduces the national debt, and fast. So fast, in fact, that economists worry that we're going to run out of debt to retire." His comment is all the more interesting since Junior walked into the White House with a budget surplus of $124 Billion — with a "b" — that he and his administration quickly burned through.

But, he didn't just want the government to spend big, he wanted us to spend big. Remember, way back in 2001, when most of us got a government check in the mail and "W" told us all to go shopping? And, he did it again in 2008 when we were all sent stimulus checks just before he left office. He even told us to go out and spend some money after 9/11, because that's the best way to show them thar terrorists who's boss. Right?

Here's what he said after the terrorists attacks:

When they struck, they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear. And one of the great goals of this nation's war is to restore public confidence in the airline industry. It's to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life, the way we want it to be enjoyed.

We really showed those terrorists what's up, huh?

Here's another "W" quote from 2004, "I'm asking Congress to pass my Zero Down Payment Initiative. We should remove the 3 percent down payment rule for first time home buyers with FHA-insured mortgages."

Was Junior's advice good advice? Well, take a look at your financial situation and decide for yourself. Should you have bought all that crap on credit, crap that's probably collecting dust? Happy with your mortgage? How's your savings account doing? Which college do you plan to send your kids to?

I mean, looking back, reading through these quotes, it sounds like Bush, Jr. was a frikkin' comedian, not someone to take budgetary advice from. But, what he was really saying — what he wanted you to understand in his colloquial way — was that the global economy grew to depend too much on us, like a grown child that won't leave home. Well, that's the global economy's fault for expecting us to leverage our futures for the next shiny gadget. Now we're all in this shit together, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

But, is deflation really upon us? You read the tea leaves:

• How to protect your money during deflation: Experts say it likely won't be an issue, but just in case ... -- MSNBC
• Charlotte-area gasoline prices decline -- Charlotte Business Journal
• Dollar slides to new 15-year low vs yen -- MSNBC
• Global economy again depending on the American consumer -- Chicago Tribune
• Will deflation hit the art market? -- ArtNet.com
• Existing home sales plunge -- CNN
• Home sales at lowest level in more than a decade -- The New York Times
• Utilities cutting electric rates -- (Raleigh) News & Observer

I'll stop there, because this is depressing ... which leads me to the other "D" word that freaks everybody out:

You should know that cities no one would ever imagine on a list of poor cities also made this Daily Beast list, cities like Los Angeles and New York City. North Carolina actually tied California, New York and Arizona for the state with the highest number of cities on the list. Those N.C. cities are Asheville, Burlington, Greenville and Hickory. In South Carolina, Myrtle Beach, Sumter and Anderson made the list.

But, what does it mean to be included?

The Daily Beast inspected just-released economic data to get a glimpse of America’s metropolitan areas where the average worker’s income is decimated by low earnings or high cost of living. Basic necessities may be met, but at the cost of savings, furthering education, and expendable income. These statistics do not indicate that these metropolitan areas are necessarily impoverished—one of the best ways to tell that is through direct observation—but they do show that upward economic mobility can be handicapped not just by low wages and uncompetitive education, but by a high cost of living.

Read more about how the cities were chosen, and find out which ones made the list, here.

Just a reminder, the Great Recession is brought to you by the letter "G," for greed ... or maybe it's for "George"?

Now the hot phrase is "double dip recession," followed closely behind by the word of the day, "deflation." Here's some information on what those terms mean:

From Australia, March 2010, with Robert Shiller, an economist from Yale University:

Also from March 2010, from a company offering a free "deflation guide":

By now, you're probably aware that Charlotte is one of a few cities the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chose to host a series of hearings on their proposed coal ash regulations. There are two regulatory options up for discussion: One will categorize coal ash as a hazardous (or "special") waste and the other will categorize it as, well, not special waste. Currently, coal ash isn't federally regulated at all.

The EPA's proposed regulations are bringing a three-decade-long debate to a head. First of all, where is all of the coal ash? Answer: No one really knows. Second, if coal ash is listed as a hazardous — or special — waste, energy companies claim the price of electricity will rise because, in addition to cleaning up and lining old coal ash landfills, they'll have to institute greater environmental protections going forward. And, the companies that re-use some forms of coal ash, like fly ash, say they're concerned the the substance will be stigmatized by a hazardous waste label and that their profits will suffer because of it.

But, the EPA points out, it's better to re-use waste when possible than to create new products — like cement. The agency claims reusing the waste will actually prevent additional greenhouse gases from being created. That's why, in its proposed regulation, the agency is actually encouraging the use of coal ash waste in products where the substance is encapsulated — like concrete and asphalt. In their view, encapsulating coal ash is safe and a great way to keep the waste out of landfills where it can leak into groundwater and nearby bodies of water.

What they want is to stop is the use of coal ash as landfill — for example: beneath new construction — where rain can wash it to our fresh water supply.

Further reading: New cement cuts greenhouse gases by 90 percent -- Mother Nature Network

This is a huge issue for North Carolina because the state is home to more high-hazard, unlined coal ash ponds (for waste that isn't being re-purposed or used as landfill) than any other state. It's also a major issue for Charlotte, since there are four unlined, high-hazard ponds near the city, two of which are on the edge of Mountain Island Lake — Charlotte-Mecklenburg's main drinking water reservoir.

If you listen to both sides of the debate, you'll hear environmentalists argue that we must protect our water from contamination while energy companies and the companies that wholesale and use coal ash argue that a hazardous waste classification will hamper their business and make products — like electricity and concrete — more expensive.

One thing people on both sides are talking about are lawsuits. Here's why: This one, $60 million dollar example of what it takes to clean up a neighborhood that was built on coal ash:

An entire neighborhood, poisoned for decades by industrial waste buried beneath homes, yards, schools and playgrounds, is poised for the largest residential cleanup in state history.

Starting Monday, the top four feet of earth in 18 square blocks will be scooped up and hauled away. Clean soil will replace it and trees, lawns, bushes and shrubs will be replanted. The whole process will take up to five years and 230 houses will be affected.

Besides lead, elevated levels of arsenic and polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons were found. Semi-volatile organic compounds also were found. Though long-term exposure to high levels of certain polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons could cause skin and lung cancer, the state Department of Public Health in a 2004 study said that residential soil in the Newhall neighborhood presented “no apparent public health hazard.” Yet, the report said that people should take precautions, such as avoiding digging or any activity that would tend to disturb the soil.

The health risk comes from dermal contact with the waste fill or inadvertent ingestion. “If there’s no contact, there’s no exposure,” DEP project manager Raymond Frigon said.

While people in the neighborhood have blamed cancers on the contamination, Frigon said the concern has been disproven. “There has been no increased health risk due to shallow waste fill.”

“The theoretical risk is if you have excessive lead concentrations in surface soil there could be a daily routine exposure, especially where children are residing, (playing) in a yard and creating dust,” he said.

Read the entire New Haven Register article, by Ann DeMatteo, here.

The EPA's coal ash hearings will be held on Sept. 14. If you're interested in speaking at the hearings, you have until Sept. 9 to sign up. Learn more about the hearings, the issue and how to sign up to speak here.

Learn more about the coal ash waste sites near Charlotte, all of which are owned by Duke Energy, here. Scroll down the page to "D" and you'll find links to the EPAs latest inspection reports for the coal ash ponds nearest you. You'll also find much of the information is redacted as "confidential business information" or CBI.

One of the documents I find most interesting is a simple memo. And, I should tell you, my persistence is behind it. After the draft report from Riverbend was released, I discovered the nearest downstream town from the plant was incorrect. The EPA listed "Mountain Island Lake," which as we know isn't a town at all — it's the name of our lake and, thus, what the community surrounding the lake is referred to.

Since the report was in draft form, and since I was paying close attention, I thought the EPA would want to know that they included the name of a nonexistent town in their report. I also thought they'd want to correct the record. Instead, however, after several weeks of phone calls — mostly to people who directed me to someone else, the agency issued this very short memo. The agency has also noted the final draft of the inspection report with a call-out box. (See pages 78 and 86.)

Hey, it's better than the report being wrong. You should also know I was initially told by the EPA they wouldn't be able to edit the report at all.

Reminder: 80 percent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg's drinking water comes from Mountain Island Lake. Mount Holly and Gastonia also draw drinking water from the lake.

And here's a 60 Minutes special on coal ash:

Did you watch Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" show? I did. And, I couldn't help but wonder how we got into the habit of eating so much crap.

I know when I was in high school, way back in the early 1990s, we were offered piles of junk food every day — at lunch and during "snack time." (Yes, we had snack time all throughout my primary school years.) The "food" offered consisted mainly of candy, cookies, soda, highly processed pizza, meat-like substances, instant potatoes ... and the list goes on. Oh, and we were greeted in the commons area each morning by the baseball team selling sausage biscuits for a dollar.

Most of my friends blew their lunch money at snack time, and, I admit, I often did, too. That meant our bodies were fueled on little more than sugar, fat, salt and chemicals for the entire day. It's amazing any of us graduated, but it's not surprising so many of us are overweight today. Our system failed to teach us how to eat.

My parents, granola kids that they are, tried. But once I'd been exposed to processed junk food I couldn't get enough. So, the argument that it's the parent's responsibility, not the school's responsibility, doesn't hold up in my case.

With all of that in mind, I watched "Food Revolution" with great interest and wished Jamie Oliver, or someone with a similar message, had infiltrated my school. The administration and staff sure could've used the advice.

So, it should be no surprise to learn that I got excited when I saw this story from The Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly:

Meet Dr. Jonathan Ritz and Tori Grout: Matthews’ very own revolutionaries. Of food, that is.

Their inspiration? British chef and TV personality Jamie Oliver who became well-known throughout America last year, when he debuted “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.” Filmed in Huntington, West Virginia, Oliver took on the challenge of changing the eating habits of one of America’s unhealthiest cities. And now, there’s a group of local residents eager to do the same here. Dubbed the Matthews Food Revolution, the group’s mission is to ensure access to fresh, flavorful, nutritious food for Matthews residents. The four-month-old group already boasts about 30 members.

Watching Oliver’s show from her Matthews’ home, Grout, 31, was convicted to impact her community in a similar way.

“We want better food for our community,” she said.

An organic personal chef and yoga instructor, Grout first became health-conscious with her eating choices when doctors began putting her on several different medications for a variety of health issues. It was then that she decided to rely less on prescription medicine and eat more nutritious and less-processed foods.

“The food companies have taught us we are too stupid to make our own ingredients,” Grout said.

It wasn’t long after making the change, that she began seeing huge improvements in her health. By making meals from scratch, using more whole foods and relying less on pre-made meals, Grout was able to toss most of her prescription medications.

When Oliver’s “Food Revolution” swept America, Grout was ready to make a difference in more lives then just those of her family and clients.

Read the rest of this article, by Erica Oglesby, here.

Further reading: The meat industry feels the heat as the sustainable-food movement gains force — Grist.org

Do your kids know what vegetables are, because these kids don't:

I've never really understood why people are so down on prostitutes. Now, I'm not talking about the sex-slave nightmare that's boiling over in Mexico and in other countries — including ours. The people I'm referring to are adults who exchange some sort of sexual gratification for cash because that's how they choose to make a living. Why are we bugging them? Better question: Why are we obsessed with what other people are doing in their bedrooms? As far as I can tell, people have been selling sex for as long as humans have used some form of currency and they're not going to stop simply because others don't approve.

With that in mind, allow me to introduce you to $pread. It's tagline is, "Illuminating the sex industry." It's a magazine written by and for sex industry workers. And, you're in luck curious people, Mother Jones' Titania Kumeh just did an interview with the editor-in-chief.

Here's how it begins:

Asked if he’s ever felt exploited as a sex worker, Will Rockwell—the 24-year-old editor-in-chief of the sex worker-operated magazine $pread—replies, "Yes, by the media. Every interview we do is twisted for the purposes of sensationalistic propaganda, whether it's the conservative New York Postjerking itself off over the Spitzer scandal orMs. Magazine fantasizing about female victimhood and applying it in broad strokes to people they never really cared to know, and certainly never offered a helping hand free of judgment and surveillance." He says the sensationalist and often stereotype-ridden depictions of sex workers—prostitutes, exotic dancers, dominatrices, phone-sex operators, and people who engage in informal forms of transactional sex—by media outlets sparked the 2005 creation of $pread, the country’s only magazine developed by and for sex workers.

Read the interview here.

Here's a video from $pread, explaining why they created the magazine and how the mainstream media's got their story all wrong: