REALITYBASE

This ought to settle once and for all the question whether ambient CO2 has anthropogenic sources and help monitor changes in CO2 emissions and concentrations as regulatory programs take effect.

In January, the next frontier of atmospheric CO2 measuring instruments will begin when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launches the first carbon-scanning satellite, called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory.

Each day, the satellite will orbit Earth 15 times, taking nearly 500,000 measurements of the "fingerprint" that CO2 leaves in the air between the satellite and Earth's surface. The data will be used to create a map of CO2 concentrations that will help scientists determine precisely where the sources and sinks are—showing differences in trace gases down to a 1 part per million precision against a background of 380 parts per million CO2 equivalent.

It is frequently said nowadays that the risk management function in Wall Street firms failed because of lack of accurate and credible information and/or executive incompetence. However, the piece of information that generally overwhelms all other information about the riskiness of an investment is whether competitors are taking the risk. Consider this reflection of completely ordinary business behavior from Rubin's Teflon Finally Wears Off:

Mr. Rubin was deeply involved in a decision in late 2004 and early 2005 to take on more risk to boost flagging profit growth, according to people familiar with the discussions. They say he would comment that Citigroup's competitors were taking more risks, leading to higher profits.

The problem isn't limited to investments, of course. Businesses everywhere are having frequent and agonizing meetings of their credit committees to decide whether to accept, for example, the next order for parts from GM or Acme Widget when they have been refused COD, credit insurance, and factoring. Or whether to ship to a large retailer with disturbing credit scores and rumored to be on the edge of BK. If they don't take the order, the consequences for their business may be dire, permanent loss of the customer, for example. Usually, they will wring their hands and take the risk.

Credible technical information about risk is not enough. There must be prudential regulation to keep financial firms "too big to fail" from following the herd onto dangerous ground. I am much more upset about Rubin's failings a