CoolCove Plug-In Air Conditioner Delivers Cheap and Effective AC as Advertised, According to One Independent Tester and Online Product Reviews: It Is Also a Ceramic Heater: However, There are Also Complaints That It Does Not Cool Effectively and Offers No More Cooling Than a High-End Fan Does

     While I am happy with my whole-house mini-split heat pump AC system, this new product seems to be an authentic breakthrough in affordable, effective, and simple-to-install air conditioning, although single units are only good for smaller spaces. Additional units can be combined for larger spaces. The product has no compressor, no refrigerant, is light, and can be installed simply by mounting it on a wall with the included mounting brackets and plugging it in. The claims are given below.

     The testers were concerned that the product is only available from the manufacturer, rather than from Amazon or eBay, but apparently, this is due to the proliferation of cheaper “knock-offs” with similar-sounding names like Cool Cave, which are likely inferior reverse-engineered copies.

     The product was tested in an attic apartment and in an attic home office, and it cooled down the space quickly. They also noted that the noise level is low, below 40 dB. Power consumption was recorded in the attic home office test.

“Power consumption over the 8 hours of operation, measured with a standard outlet energy meter: 0.38 kWh. At current electricity rates, that comes out to about 17¢ for a full workday. A comparable split-system AC running the same load would have used roughly ten times as much.”

     They also tested the product in a senior apartment, a kid’s bedroom, and in an RV, with similarly effective results.

     The unit is cheap, around a hundred bucks or less, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

     How does it work?

“The answer comes down to the airflow geometry inside the unit. Unlike a traditional AC, which runs a compressor with chemical refrigerant looping between an indoor and outdoor unit, the CoolCove uses three sequential cooling chambers in which warm room air is progressively cooled.”

     I saw a video ad that noted that the inventor’s mother had suffered and maybe died from heat due to loss of AC that was the result of a massive electricity bill that she couldn’t pay. As a result, and since he was a cooling engineer, he was motivated to invent an effective AC system. That could, however, be an exaggerated marketing ploy.

     Perhaps it’s all a scam, and even the testing and the average 4.8 out of 5, 1400-plus positive reviews are part of the scam. I would not doubt that such elaborate scams occur. However, when I asked if it was a scam in a search engine, it came up with a Consumer’s Choice article that listed it as the number one portable air conditioner of the year with a 9.9 out of 10 rating. They did note, however, that it often runs out of stock. Of course, that is probably a good thing for something that likely works.

     However, I did come across a couple of articles that described it as basically an elaborate fan that could not replace a standard AC unit, even in a small space. One Snoops reviewer said that higher-priced fans could cool a room better. She also notes that the marketing ploys used suggest that the company is a bit shady.

     Thus, I would say the jury is still out on the product. I saw it as low as $89, with knock-offs as low as $25. A box fan costs about $20-25, and a better fan can cost about $69. Thus, the risk of simply getting an expensive but effective fan instead of an effective AC unit won’t break the bank. Since it is similar in cost to a high-end fan, the risk of feeling ripped off isn’t that great either, especially since it functions as a ceramic space heater as well. In any case, I don’t need one, but I would like to see for myself whether it works as advertised.  

     I did find a recent detailed review that considered all the pros and cons of the unit. The reviewer here said that as long as one understands that it is basically a unit for a single small room, one will be happy with the result. There are six modes. Wall mounting saves space. It also has a remote control.

“A few things point to legitimacy. It’s a coherent, real category of product, a compact plug-in AC and heater, not some impossible gadget that defies physics.”

     This reviewer also suggested that it beats out a fan. They also did not like some of the marketing. Below, they note some of the product's features. 400-800 watts is low for a heating or cooling device. I am guessing the cooling stays in the low range. A typical 20-inch box fan pulls about 50 watts on a low setting and about 75 watts on the high setting. Higher-end tower fans may pull 100 watts. Thus, at 400 watts (my assumption), the device should cool better than a tower fan.

“Against a plain fan, CoolCove is the clear upgrade once a room is already hot, because a fan just shoves warm air around, while this actually pushes out cooler air and can heat up too.”

     Thus, I would say that for $89, the value is likely pretty good or at least comparable to buying a high-end fan and a space heater. In this case, one can get both in one unit.

 

References:

 

Independent Hands-On Test: We Tested the CoolCove at 88 °F in a Cincinnati Attic Apartment: Attic apartment in Cincinnati-West End, around 690 sq ft, outside temperatures up to 93 °F — how the CoolCove performed in the bedroom and the converted attic home office. James Whitfield | Home & Climate | May 25, 2026. Independent Hands-On Test: We Tested the CoolCove at 88 °F in a Cincinnati Attic Apartment

Top 5 Portable Air Conditioners of 2026. Consumer’s Choice. Top 5 Portable Air Conditioners of 2026

Cool Cove AC Review: Scam or Legit? What Buyers Should Know Before Ordering. Juliet. Ibisik. June 28, 2026. Cool Cove AC Review: Scam or Legit? What Buyers Should Know Before Ordering - Ibisik

Is Cool Cove AC a Scam? here’s my BRUTALLY honest reviews. Lilian Davidson, Snoop Reviews. June 28, 2026. Is Cool Cove AC a Scam? here's my BRUTALLY honest reviews - Snoopviews

Cool Cove Reviews: My Honest Take On The No-Install CoolCove AC And Heater. Portable Air Conditioners. July 1, 2026. Cool Cove Reviews: My Honest Take On The No-Install CoolCove AC And Heater | Cooler Find

Europe Needs Air Conditioning Amid Intense Heat Wave: AC is a Form of Climate Adaptation, It Saves Lives, and Avoiding It is Irrational

 

     Europe just experienced an intense heat wave. Here in the U.S. Midwest, we are undergoing a heat dome as well, with temps as high as 100 deg F predicted. There will be a difference in impacts. More people will be miserable, suffer, and die in Europe than in the U.S. simply because U.S. residents have much better access to air conditioning than those in the E.U.

     In European countries, AC use is only around 20% of the population, compared to countries such as the U.S. and Japan, where it is about 76% and 90%, respectively. The difference is simply that lives are saved during heat waves, where there is more AC.

     It was hot enough in the U.K. that people lined up at markets to purchase AC units and fans.

     There is no doubt that Europe is warming, as Roger Pielke Jr. confirms. Heat mortality is also rising in Europe, with over 1000 deaths attributed to the recent heat wave. He writes:

“Heat mortality has also been increasing in Europe: Summer 2022 saw an estimated ~68,000 heat-related deaths, 2023, ~50,800; 2024, ~62,800. The WHO European Region reports that heat mortality is up by about 30 percent over two decades.”

     In contrast, heat mortality has fallen in every region in the U.S. over the past 50 years due mainly to the widespread adoption of air conditioning. The graph below shows very clearly that air conditioning saves lives. It really is that simple.

     Pielke Jr. shows some evidence that if Europe had increased in AC adoption from 19% to nearly 90% during the 2022 heat wave, then about 35,000 lives would have been saved.

     The graph below shows clearly that heat mortality increases with age. Most deaths from heat occur indoors. The elderly and infants are most protected by air conditioning. He notes that in Europe, 93% of deaths from heat occur in people over 65, and 90.5% of deaths in the 2022 heat wave occurred in people over 80.

     Kevin Kohler’s July 2025 article, ‘Make Europe Cool Again’, has more data showing that Europe by far leads the world in deaths from heat per capita. He argued that AC is not a luxury, but a necessity.

     Kohler puts some blame on EU policies that de-emphasize economic growth.

“These regulations have not happened by accident, but they come from an ideology that emphasizes energy degrowth as the only viable solution to climate change. What that means in practice is that Europe has heavily prioritized insulation and passive cooling. In contrast, active cooling through an AC, even if running on clean energy, has been disincentivized because it requires energy.”

     As Pielke Jr. shows in the table below, countries in the E.U. clearly have policies that discourage air conditioning, and one could say that these policies increase the risk of death as well. Thus, one could also say that efforts to protect the climate are literally killing people. Can one call them climate policy deaths? He also points out that AC demand increases when solar energy is at peak generation, so that a significant amount of the power for AC can come from solar energy that might otherwise be curtailed, where applicable. The aversion to AC in Europe may well be based on seeing energy usage as a vice to be avoided to protect the climate. There are other reasons as well. Northern Europe did not have a real need for AC until a few decades ago, when summer heat began increasing. Historical temperatures did not demand AC, and so some cultural aversion to it developed.

     Maarten Boudry writes in a recent article for Quillette:

“In practice, Europeans of all ages are told to suck it up and sweat it out. France would sooner close its schools in a heat wave than fit them with devices that demonstrably improve concentration and learning. In the Swiss canton of Geneva, installing an air conditioner requires a doctor's certificate. During the recent energy crisis, Spain and Italy barred public buildings from cooling below 27°C— hot enough to dull your cognitive powers by 5 percent.”

     He, too, cites the insane AC disincentives:

“The resistance is baked into European regulation. In many countries a conventional air conditioner lowers your building's energy rating. The result is entirely predictable: owners and landlords decline to install units, or rip out the ones they have. Those left without built-in cooling fall back on drafty, inefficient portables that can scarcely make a dent in the temperature. I own one myself—a wheezing box with a fat hose shoved through a rickety fabric covering the window. It is the thermodynamic equivalent of mopping the floor with the tap running, but that’s simply the direction in which Europe’s regulations have nudged me.”

     Boudry, a philosopher, gives more commonsense insights into the matter and argues successfully that it is prosperity that enables adaptation.

“The practical fixes for deadly heat are straightforward: do what the Americans are doing. Reform the energy ratings so they stop penalising air conditioners. Streamline the permits for built-in cooling. Retrofit every care home and hospital ward. Open publicly accessible cooling centres. And accelerate the build-out of clean, reliable electricity—because a Frenchman relaxing in a spacious air-conditioned villa, drawing on nuclear power, still emits less carbon than a frugal German drawing from a coal-fired grid. Grid management beats self-flagellation.”

“But these are just symptoms. The harder task is the mental switch: to stop treating energy as something to atone for. Energy is the master resource, the thing that buys us nearly every other good. The whole of human history is the story of harnessing ever more energy to improve our lives and to hold the lethal forces of nature at bay. To despise energy is to bite the hand that feeds you.”

“Which brings me to one last trivia question: which continent suffers the most cold-related deaths? It’s neither Europe nor North America, but Africa. Prosperity is what allows us to adapt—to heat and cold alike—and adaptation is what stands between us and an inhospitable nature.”

     I remember when I was young in the 1970s, when we got our first air conditioning unit. It was huge and very heavy. It took two or even three people to lift it up to the window and required a wooden substructure under it to hold it in place. Now, AC units are small and not nearly as energy-intensive.

     While Britain is not known for being hot, as noted, summer heat waves have been increasing. Yet, only 5% of British households have AC, according to a 2025 article by the Centre for British Progress. The 2022 heat wave caused about 3000 deaths there. Since then, installation of air-source heat pumps has been rising, but the costs for these units is pretty high, and electricity costs are also high in the U.K., so the costs also disincentivize AC adoption. They do mention one caveat of higher AC adoption in cities. It does increase the urban heat island effect. They site a study in Phoenix that estimates an increase of 1-1.5 deg C nighttime temperature increases during heat waves due to the heat island effect. That is important, but remember, most heat deaths occur indoors.

     The French aversion to AC does have a lot to do with views on climate change.

“A recent survey in France found that one in six people said they would rather suffer for the sake of the environment. Vandecasteele told CBS News she doesn't find that surprising.”

"We're not doing this for us," she said. "We're doing this for the future generations."

     What about the thousands of elderly people who just died and the others who will die in future heat waves? Over a decade or so, the number of easily preventable deaths easily exceeds 100,000.

     The current heat wave in the U.S. Midwest has maximum temperatures near 100 deg F, just a few degrees cooler than the maximum temps in the European heat wave. I am experiencing little discomfort and going outside to do yardwork in the evening when it cools down to the upper 80s, with lots of sweating, but no ill effects. I plan to take a bicycle ride in a cool, shady area this evening.

     Europe has favored alternative approaches to AC, such as awnings, better insulation, and passive cooling. While these are all good, they can’t replace AC. In Europe, the right-wing favors AC.  The issue may propel far-right candidate Marine La Pen in France. It is good that some environmentalists in the country are beginning to realize that AC is indeed a necessity. Places like hospitals and nursing homes are especially in need of adequate AC systems since the elderly are most vulnerable. But more is needed at the governmental level in Europe to embrace AC.

"We do not have a defined position on air conditioning, neither for nor against," said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, European Commission spokesperson for climate.

     I remember a day I was home a few years ago when the power was out for an extended period after a storm, and it hit about 97 degrees F. It was miserable. I went outside to the shade and hung out there for a while. I was not wearing much clothing either.

     While it is likely that anthropogenic climate change has contributed significantly to the rise in European heat waves, the answer to that is clearly not to restrict and make more difficult the use of life-saving AC.  

     In terms of risk, one could say that Europe is risk-averse when it comes to climate change risks, but is willing to endure more direct and immediate risk by avoiding the widespread adoption of AC. Climate change may kill, but one can hardly deny in this case that climate policy also kills. 

    

      

References:

 

Huge queues outside Lidl as Brits strip shelves of air con units on hottest June day ever at 36.7C. Mark Duell, Eleanor Mann, and Jon Brady. Daily Mail. June 25, 2026. Huge queues outside Lidl as Brits strip shelves of air con units on hottest June day ever at 36.7C

Europe's Deadly Aversion to Air Conditioning: Tens of thousands die in European summers for want of a technology the rest of the rich world takes for granted. Roger Pielke Jr. Substack. June 25, 2026. Europe's Deadly Aversion to Air Conditioning

Make Europe Cool Again. Kevin Kohler. Machinocene. July 4, 2025. Make Europe Cool Again - by Kevin Kohler - Machinocene

How Europe Became the World Champion of Heat Deaths: The continent with the lowest number of hot days leads the world in heat mortality. Europe’s self-inflicted aversion to air conditioning betrays a deeper hostility to energy and to progress itself. Maarten Boudry. Quillette. 24 June 2026. Europe Leads World in Heat Deaths Despite Fewer Hot Days

Air conditioning: saving lives and accelerating net-zero: Air conditioning can save lives, boost productivity and help the UK achieve net zero. Currently, government regulation all but bans it. Ed Hezlet and Lauren Gilbert. Centre for British Progress. July 25, 2025. Air conditioning: saving lives and accelerating net-zero

Why some Europeans resist air conditioning amid deadly heat waves. Leigh Kiniry. CBS News. June 30, 2026. Why some Europeans resist air conditioning amid deadly heat waves

The most severe and extensive heatwave in Europe: hundreds dead, dozens drowned, road closures, school and nuclear plant shutdowns. Carlos Fresneda. El Mundo. June 30, 2026. The most severe and extensive heatwave in Europe: hundreds dead, dozens drowned, road closures, school and nuclear plant shutdowns

Europe suffers under rare heat wave. Statista. June 30, 2026. Europe suffers under rare heat wave

Air conditioning is fascist. The Daily Digest. July 1, 2026. Air conditioning is fascist

 

DOE Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Awards $75 Million for Five Projects to Extract Minerals from Coal and Coal-Based Feedstocks: It Follows Earlier Announcement to Spend $134 Million to Shore Up REE Supply Chains

     The U.S. Dept of Energy’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation announced awards of $75 million to five energy projects for the extraction of critical minerals from coal and coal-based feedstocks. These include the extraction of rare earth elements (REEs). These awards are part of the funding for the DOE’s Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities. The funding will be used to develop pilot projects. The recipients are listed below.

“American industrial facilities have the potential to produce valuable critical materials from coal and coal byproducts,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE) Audrey Robertson. “By investing in these facilities, we can increase domestic critical materials production and help mitigate the financial risk of commercial deployment.”    

     This funding is a part of the nearly $1 billion in funding announced last year to advance and scale mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies across key stages of the critical minerals and materials supply chains. It follows the announcement on June 2 to spend $134 million to bolster rare earth element supply chains. The two projects listed below plan to extract REEs from industrial waste, the first from bauxite ore waste, and the second from “domestic industrial waste-derived feedstocks.”

References:

 

DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Awards $75 Million to Accelerate Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery from Coal and Coal-Based Feedstocks. U.S. Dept. of Energy. July 1, 2026. DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Awards $75 Million to Accelerate Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery from Coal and Coal-Based Feedstocks | Department of Energy

DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Announces $134 Million To Bolster Rare Earth Element Supply Chains. U.S. Dept. of Energy. June 2, 2026. DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Announces $134 Million To Bolster Rare Earth Element Supply Chains | Department of Energy

Highlights from Energy Institute’s 2026 Statistical Review of World Energy: U.S. Leads 2025 CO2 Emissions Increase, Accounting for Nearly 30% of Global Increase: 10% Increase in Coal Consumption is a Key Source: 3% Rise in Electricity Demand Contributed

      Some key highlights of the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy from Reuters are given below. Global CO2 emissions rose by 1.1%, global oil consumption rose by 1.3%, and global electricity demand rose by 3%. This simply shows that the world still needs more energy.

     The key highlights given in the actual report are below:

     The following graphs are all from the report.

     Renewables led energy supply growth by a significant margin. However, growth in total fossil fuels nearly doubled that of renewables.

     North America, especially the U.S., led the increase in CO2 emissions by a wide margin. In fact, it was the only global region to show an increase in emissions.

     Global energy demand growth was dominated by the Asia-Pacific region.

     China continues to lead in electrification, having surpassed the U.S. and the E.U. between 2010 and 2015.

     Total energy supply in the world continues to be dominated by fossil fuels: oil, natural gas, and coal. Europe leads in non-fossil fuel share of total energy, followed closely by Central and South America, and distantly by North America.

     U.S. oil and gas exports continue to grow, both via LNG and pipelines.

     The U.S. dominates in total clean hydrogen production and blue hydrogen production. Asia dominates in green hydrogen production, followed distantly by Europe. Blue hydrogen leads in clean hydrogen production at 70.7% compared to 29.3% for green hydrogen.

     The U.S. dominated increases in coal consumption, followed distantly by China and non-China Asia Pacific.

     Global lithium production is skyrocketing. Rare Earths production is also climbing. Other energy transition minerals, such as cobalt, are climbing at a slower rate.

 

    

References:

 

US leads global CO2 emissions increase in 2025, report finds. Reuters. June 29, 2026. US leads global CO2 emissions increase in 2025, report finds

2026 | 75th edition. Statistical Review of World Energy. Energy Institute. June 2026. Statistical-Review-of-World-Energy-PDF-Report.pdf

 

The Importance of Ethics in Business: There is Too Much Unethical Conduct and Not Enough Fairness

   

     Unethical business behavior can take many forms, from insider trading to the myriad ways facts can be misrepresented. Business corruption is rampant throughout the world, with bribery, kickbacks, unethical deals, and deception of the public.

     There is a Wikipedia entry for ‘Business ethics’ that describes them as:

“…a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. These ethics originate from individuals, organizational statements or the legal system. These norms, values, ethical, and unethical practices are the principles that guide a business.”

“Business ethics refers to contemporary organizational standards, principles, sets of values, and norms that govern the actions and behavior of individuals in a business organization. Business ethics has two dimensions: normative business ethics and descriptive business ethics. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflect the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns.”

Wiki notes that Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. Springer publishes the Journal of Business Ethics, which began publishing in 1982.

     Harvard Business School’s Michael Boyles wrote an apt article about the importance of business ethics. He notes that there are ethical issues and dilemmas with various technologies, including AI. He gives an example of the issue of social media’s impact on children as another ethical issue. Below is an explanation of business ethics and a quote from Harvard Business School Professor Vikram Gandhi.

     I think I disagree with Gandhi that ethics should be associated with positive and negative business externalities. Those externalities are usually considered to be mostly social and environmental impacts. Certainly, ethics should be considered when considering impacts. However, giving negative externalities such as pollution or carbon emissions, or even something like increasing costs to consumers, an unethical slant is dangerous, I believe. Pollution and carbon emissions limits vary, and opinions, even among experts, also vary regarding how much is acceptable or should be mitigated. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)is an important way such externalities are considered. There is no clear-cut ethical dimension to CBA, and assigning one is not usually helpful.

     Boyles’ article goes on to emphasize sustainability as an ethical choice, utilizing the idea of the triple bottom line: people, profit, and planet, a popular mantra with sustainability and social responsibility advocates. Again, I would not say these ideas, while desirable to pursue, should necessarily be associated directly with ethics.

     The following section on ethical responsibility to customers is more important, I believe. Limiting deception in promises and advertising is closer to ethical behavior than focusing on negative externalities.

     The article also notes a company’s ethical responsibility to employees. He refers several times to a Harvard Business School Course called ‘Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability.’

“Fairness is not only an ethical response to power asymmetries in the work environment,” Hsieh says in the course. “Fairness—and having a successful organizational culture–can benefit the organization economically and legally.”

     He goes on to say that business ethics are important because not practicing them can result in moral disengagement.

 “Moral disengagement refers to ways in which we convince ourselves that what we’re doing is not wrong,” Hsieh says in Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability. “It can upset the balance of judgment—causing us to prioritize our personal commitments over shared beliefs, rules, and principles—or it can skew our logic to make unethical behaviors appear less harmful or not wrong.”

     Moral disengagement can also lead to insider trading, which is widely acknowledged as being unethical. Making ethical decisions requires reflective leadership

“Reflecting on complex, gray-area decisions is a key part of what it means to be human, as well as an effective leader,” Hsieh says. “You have agency. You must choose how to act. And with that agency comes responsibility.”

     I think that companies should have codes of ethics that employees understand and engage with, and should endeavor to keep integrity in all aspects of business. Routinely skirting ethics rules should not be treated lightly, in my opinion.

     The UK-based Institute for Business Ethics describes business ethics as follows:

     They also distinguish business ethics, which applies mainly to companies and the people that make them up, from professional ethics, which refers to ethical codes to be followed by members of a profession as described by professional societies.

 

Employment Scams Are Ubiquitous and Sometimes Involve Businesses Considered to Be Legitimate

     I am quite familiar with employment scams, and unfortunately, they are quite common. Sometimes they are easy to pick out, and other times it takes a while. Many of these involve deception, where there really is no company and no job. In addition, some otherwise reputable companies advertise jobs that they end up not filling, including for things like state employment. These aren’t necessarily unethical, but from the perspective of the prospective employee, they may as well be, since they are indeed being duped into believing they are applying for a job that will actually be filled.

     My personal experiences with employment scams began when I was unemployed for a few months, well over ten years ago, when I answered a job ad in a newspaper. Since then, everything has gone online, where it is even easier to deceive. When applying for a job a few years ago, I actually had a fake interview on Microsoft Teams, though not the video version, on which I had a legitimate interview. The person interviewing me was not who they said they were. I found out later when I looked up the person on LinkedIn and saw that she had complained about people saying they were her, warning not to believe them. I stopped when the unsavory character began asking personal details about my bank account. I was not expecting deception and thus went further than I normally would, probably missing some red flags.

     I have had a very recent experience regarding a job posted on Indeed to which I applied. The job was advertised as writing for a media company in subjects with which I am thoroughly familiar. I looked at the company website and saw that they had many articles that looked to be well-written about various markets. Their content is on over 100 different platforms, and they have branches in several countries. That made them seem legitimate to me at first. Then when I talked to a person from the company on WhatsApp (perhaps that should have been a red flag right there) they told me the details of the so-called job: They would pay me a one time fee of $50 in Australian dollars (about $36 in U.S. dollars) to put my name on articles I did not write, utilizing my expertise and I would also be required to update my LinkedIn profile to reflect that I was a senior content editor for this company. Of course, I said no fricken way. I have yet to report the company to Indeed, but I am guessing it has been done since I have not seen another ad by them. I really should, thought. What they are doing is misrepresenting authorship, which is certainly unethical. I believe that the WhatsApp call with that person caused my cell phone bill to rise by about $6, due to ‘international long-distance charges,’ so I guess they ripped me off, too. There are too many corrupt slimeballs in this world.

     I also had a person contact me a couple of years ago who wanted a geologist to evaluate new Permian Basin acreage they had acquired. They strung me along for a while, seeming maybe legit, but then they seemed to want only to chat about other things, until I was pretty sure they were bogus. In that case, they didn’t ask me for money or anything, but I expected they were working towards that when I cut them off.

 

A Modern Example of a Business Ethics Issue: Trump Family Profiting from Kazakhstan Tungsten Mine Deal: New York Post Condemns Deal and Compares it to Hunter Biden-Burisma Deal

     I was surprised to see the conservative New York Post’s editorial board write an op-ed condemning the Trump family’s involvement in a lucrative multi-billion-dollar Kazakhstan tungsten mining deal. Tungsten is a mineral critical to the U.S. defense industry, and its price has risen dramatically over the past several months. This has triggered a tungsten revival in the U.S., where several new finds and plans to mine have been announced, including in Idaho and Montana.

     The New York Post op-ed enounces the deal as similar to Hunter Biden’s appointment as a paid board member for the Ukrainian Energy company Burisma.

“It was bad when the Bidens did it, and it’s just as bad when the Trumps do it.”

“Insider deals, finders’ fees and backdoor introductions to family members are business-as-usual in Third World banana republics, but these slimy practices have now been normalized in the White House, to the shame of the nation.”

“The Trump sons, meanwhile, are part-owners or investors in companies neck-deep in a key defense contract to mine tungsten reserves in Central Asia.”

“It stinks to high heaven.”

“If a president’s family making bank from obscure resource companies in the former Soviet Union sounds familiar, maybe that’s because Hunter Biden’s lucrative connection to Burisma — a Ukrainian gas company — was a major scandal in the 2020 election and beyond.”

     It has been estimated that Hunter Biden made up to $2.3 million from 2016 to 2019 when he was on Burisma’s board. The Trumps have made hundreds of millions in crypto deals and perhaps much more than that – easily a hundred or hundreds of times what Hunter Biden made. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is involved in the deal as well. The editorial goes on to say that if the Dems win the House and/or Senate in the 2026 midterms, there will likely be investigations. They also say that Trump and company should clean the problem up before then. Since not all approvals have been obtained, there may be some possibility of that, but I’ve got my doubts that it will happen.

     According to David Gilmour of Mediate, reporting on a New York Times article about the deal:

“…investors linked to Dominari Securities, a financial firm partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, acquired a 20% stake in a corporate entity connected to the Kazakhstan venture.”

“Around the same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by Howard Lutnick’s sons Brandon and Kyle, helped raise $210 million for a related company involved in the transaction.”

“The agreement was signed on November 6, six days after the investment involving the Trump-linked entity and its partners, according to The Times.”

“The Times reported that at least 14 companies with financial ties to either the Trump family, the Lutnick family or both are actively working with the federal government on critical minerals projects, including the Kazakhstan venture.”

“Collectively, those projects have received or are being considered for more than $8.9 billion in federal support.”

“In a statement to the Times, the White House rejected suggestions of impropriety.”

“The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said. “Securing and reshoring America’s critical supply chains has been a top priority for President Trump, and Secretary Lutnick along with the rest of the administration continue to take historic action to safeguard America’s national and economic security.”

     Allegations of unethical behavior from th Trumps are quite ubiquitous. Just today I read that the president reported $1.4 billion in crypto earnings last year.

"U.S. President Donald Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in income from his family’s crypto ventures last year, showing how he now earns most of his income from digital assets that have benefited from his policies, according to a review of his latest financial disclosures on Tuesday."

"The filings, his annual disclosure for 2025 with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, showed he received more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture he and his sons co-founded. Trump reported another $635 million from the sale of his $TRUMP meme coins."

"The president also reported over $80 million in income from settlements with various media companies and millions in income from his company licensing his name to overseas property developers."

"The disclosures provide new insights into the scale of the president's profits from his family's foray into cryptocurrencies. Reuters has previously estimated that the Trump family has generated at least $2.3 billion in profit from investors since Trump retook the presidency."

     That $2.3 billion was "earned" in half the time and is 1000 times what Hunter Biden "earned."

     Trump's potential improprieties are everywhere. I just read that he has already issued 1700 pardons during his second term and plans to issue 250 more. This is compared to Biden issuing 80 pardons during his full term. Biden also commuted 4100 sentences. 

"The idea is being referred to as '250 pardons for 250 years,' and there has been a frantic push to clean the records of those accused of crimes, according to multiple current and former Trump officials, lobbyists, attorneys and more in the President's orbit who spoke with The Atlantic."

A defense attorney likened the situation to 'a three-ring circus'; a former Trump official said it was 'bats*** crazy.'

One lobbyist even admitted to turning off his phone after receiving 'aggressive' requests for pardons.

'I'm exhausted,' another attorney told the outlet. 'In 30 years of practicing law, I’ve never seen anything like this.'

Some lawyers familiar with the White House's pardon shop shared that it could cost clients millions to secure a pardon.

'It is general knowledge in our practice that for $2 million, you can have a pardon,' an attorney told The Atlantic.

Criminals sentenced by judges appointed by former Presidents Barack Obama or Joe Biden are expected to fare better in their quests for pardons than those sentenced by judges appointed by Trump, according to sources familiar with the process.

People in Trump's orbit who have no experience with law or pardons have even been approached to use their influence to clean the records of some petitioning for clemency.

These individuals claimed that $1 million to $2 million was the 'going rate,' the Atlantic reported.  

References:

 

What Are Business Ethics & Why Are They Important? Michael Boyles. Harvard Business School. July 27, 2023. What Are Business Ethics & Their Importance? | HBS Online

Business ethics. Wikipedia. Business ethics - Wikipedia

What is business ethics? Institute of Business Ethics. December 16, 2025. What is business ethics? | Institute of Business Ethics

'Shame of the nation!' Don Jr. and Eric Trump torched over ties to $1B mining deal in scathing NY Post op-ed. David Gilmour. Mediate. June 30, 2026. 'Shame of the nation!' Don Jr. and Eric Trump torched over ties to $1B mining deal in scathing NY Post op-ed

Hunter Biden-style sleaze is just as slimy when the Trump boys do it. Post Editorial Board. New York Post. June 29, 2026. Hunter Biden-style sleaze is just as slimy when the Trump boys do it

NY Times Bombshell Details How Trump’s Sons Stand to Gain From $1.6B Kazakhstan Mining Deal. David Gilmour. Mediate. June 29, 2026. NY Times Reveals Trump Sons' Links to $1.6B Kazakhstan Deal

Trump reports more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto ventures. Tom Bergin and Koh Gui Qing. Reuters. June 30, 2026. Trump reports more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto ventures

Trump nears decision on jaw-dropping 250 pardons plan as lobbyists get flooded with requests. Jon Michael Raasch. Dailymail.Com. June 30, 2026. Trump nears decision on jaw-dropping 250 pardons plan as lobbyists get flooded with requests