a preview of pleasures to come

Did you see the pictures of algae at Qingdao? Five thousand square miles of green gunk clogging up the sailing venue for the coming Olympics. It is the type of green that most of us can do without. If nothing else, the Beijing Olympics will show the West what is about to happen to our planet if we keep wasting energy the way we do now. China is the proverbial canary in the coal mine.

Take a look at this picture from the guardian of London.

That's a man standing in the waves, in case you didn't recognize it.

While graphic it is by no means the only evidence of pollution in China. I could add pictures of Beijing's famous smog, but there is nothing to see there but gray haze. China is a country that is so polluted, it gives the word pollution a whole new meaning.

And the Chinese response ? Mobilizing the population to go out and fish up the green stuff. It is reminiscent of the days of Mao Zhedong. Fortunately, the Chinese have lots of people they can put to work. Unfortunately, this is only a temporary measure and once the Olympics are over and eyes focus elsewhere, the Chinese will continue to do what they have been doing all along: pollute more and more quickly. And to make matters worse, they have virtually unlimited coal resources and an equally inexhaustible desire to put these to work.

Hello, brave new world.

a lasting green legacy

This just came across my desk. It is in a month old Costco magazine, but I think it needs some highlighting. PepsiCo's CEO wants to leave a lasting legacy. A legacy of what? Obese diabetic Americans? The maker of high fructose-spiked waters and cereals, not to mention over-salted and spiced chips thinks she lived "wisely, agreeably and well." The CEO of the world's fourth largest food and beverage company is quoted as saying, hopefully without blushing or blinking:" We try to leave as minimal an impact on the environment as we can." You got to be kidding right ?

Did I mention that PepsiCo won the 2007 US Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Partner of the Year award? That's a mouthful isn't it? Almost as wasteful with words as with energy I might add. The award was for outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Wow !

Look people, it is quite simple really. Selling water in bottles is not environmentally sound. It isn't healthy either, especially when that water is spiked with high fructose corn syrup or any other sugar. This type of water is an addictive substance much like cigarettes. And probably just as bad for your health and well-being.

Shipping water in any shape or form, whether in glass bottles, eco-containers or plain plastic is not good for you and it is not good for the environment either. Water is heavy and it takes a lot of energy to ship. That is an absurd thing to do when everyone has access to clean water in their homes. No matter how many experts praise the company or how many awards get bestowed on this enterprise, it is not an environmentally clean business. It is based on a fundamentally flawed concept and should be abandoned right away. Shipping water in little containers is immensely wasteful and irresponsible.

The only green in PepsiCo and its competitors is in the money they make polluting you and the environment around you. Their lasting legacy are the "green"house gases that will affect our climate for centuries to come; the plastic bottles and bags that will clutter our landfills for an equally long time, and the overweight and obese children and adults driving around wasting more energy in the process. All that maybe agreeable, or well, but it is certainly not wise.

the human condition

Nothing is more surprising to people than reading about the deteriorating conditions of today's society or today's rebellious youth and then finding out that the text was written over 100 years ago. Or in some cases, as long as several thousand years ago. There are many Greek and Roman texts discussing the human condition that sound as real today as they did back then. Once you remove the time dependent clues, it is virtually impossible to tell when the text was written.

Obviously the human condition has not changed all that much. If we were to magically revive an average Roman citizen, chances are they would have no trouble adapting to today's conditions. After a bit of initial amazement at the cars and cell phones, they would quickly fall in line and act like everyone else.

Here is another hint. Many people when discussing human behavior like to point out that our "hunter-gatherer" brain prefers this or that look or situation or environment. We are said to like women with a certain waist to hip ratio, with a certain breast size, etc. because it indicates how fertile they are. We are told we enjoy certain situations because they appeal to the "primitive parts of our brain." Many pseudo-scientists and, unfortunately enough, scientists talk of human evolution as it it stopped 100,000 years ago, when our species appeared. When you read their comments, it may sound as if humans evolved from primate ancestors, and voila, that is that, here we are, forever static and unchanging. We are trapped in a modern world with a primitive brain.

It is baloney of course and evolution is an everyday phenomenon. We change continuously and from one generation to the next. Human evolution is quite rapid and surely more rapid than any scientific treatise lets on. The Europeans for example had evolved quite a bit of resistance against many diseases that came from Africa and Asia by the time they discovered America. The American natives, who had no such exposure had not evolved in the same way -although they were by definition equally evolved-, and hence they were quite quickly decimated once the Europeans arrived bringing with them ferocious and unknown germs.

Why is it then that we evolve so quickly, yet things remain so familiar? Are our brains evolving slower than the rest of our bodies? Fat chance, really. What it really tells us is that the human niche has remained essentially the same for the past 5,000 years. And very likely it will remain the same for the next 1,000 years. Probably a lot longer if we are lucky enough to stay around. The latter may be a bit doubtful now that we are outgrowing our resources.

Evolution is much like the red queen in Alice in Wonderland. You have to change continuously to remain in the same place. It is called the red queen hypothesis. It is also a lesson futurists never learn. They are always so impressed with new technology that they think these new technologies will fundamentally change us or our environment. Unfortunately, all technology really does is allow us to exploit our environment faster and more efficiently.

We now use more energy per capita now than the Romans did. We drive cars instead of chariots. We fly planes. We have indy and nascar instead of ben-hur's horse racing. If one movie is to be believed, we will soon have pod racing. The experience won't be that much different, it will be more of the same. We will just burn more energy more quickly. Until we run out that is.

voting and democracy

Remember when Iraqi's went to the polls and everyone in the White House touted it as a victory? One of the many victories we scored in Iraq. One of the many missions accomplished. But as today's vote in Zimbabwe clearly demonstrates, voting does not equal democracy. You can vote all you want and dip your finger in whatever color dye you prefer but it won't do you no good.

I mention Zimbabwe because it is easier for Americans to relate to than Iraq. On Iraq, opinions are divided, and some people are effectively blocked from seeing the truth. Maybe they are Republican and so they need to toe the party line. Or maybe their friends or relatives are in Iraq putting their lives on the lines. When things like that happen you have little choice but to see progress. Not seeing progress must feel like betraying your loved ones. And we all know how easy it is to influence the human mind. People see what they want to see, or in some cases, what they are told to see.

But the purple-tipped Iraqi finger so proudly displayed, and so widely advertised in the US media, is no more free than the red-tipped Zimbabwan finger illustrated on the BBC's front page today. Voting is one thing, but if nobody cares about your vote, or acts on it, what good does it do you?

Much the same problem happens with free speech. Sure, you are welcome to express your opinion. You can say what you want without fear of prosecution or imprisonment. But if nobody listens, what good does it do you? If a few people control all the media and effectively shut you out from access. Like the red finger of Zimbabwe or the purple finger of Iraq, your voice is meaningless.

It is something big corporations, greedy bosses, and their government minions have figured out long ago. Whoever controls the media, controls the news. And with the news comes public opinion. Better let you waste your breath without anybody hearing you, than make a martyr out of you by arresting you and throwing you in prison. Because, unlike your cries, your arrest would most certainly attract attention.

So it is one thing for Bill Maher to say he is happy that he lives in a country where he can open his mouth without getting arrested, but the reality is quite different. Bill no longer has mass media access. His ideas were not appreciated and he was summarily shut down. Now he has to make do with the much smaller audience on cable TV. So Bill, better watch out what you say next. It is still a long way down.

burning man

Take a look at the NASA pictures and you can see that the Northern part of the Central Valley is covered in smoke. Over 1,000 fires are burning all over Northern California. The air is so thick you can barely breathe. You can look straight at the sun. An orange ball high in the sky. Sort of like a perpetual sunset. A preview of things to come?

Wildfire is an integral part of California's ecosystem. It has been here for as long as we know. But human intervention has clearly changed the equation. And not for the better I might add. Whereas periodic smaller fires cleared out the underbrush on a regular basis, intense fire-fighting efforts have stopped the natural process in its tracks. Always eager to protect their homes and the surrounding scenery that is responsible for home-values, humans have put an end to a natural form of growth control. Instead of many little fires, we now get fewer enormous ones.

We also interrupted the natural cycle of fire that many native species need for reproduction. As a result native species with good fire-resistance have disappeared and were quickly replaced by non-native species that in many cases burn hotter and are more destructive. But we did not just shortchange reproduction. In many cases, we destroyed the natives outright. California redwoods were turned in mansions and replaced by fast growing, resin and oil-filled Eucalyptus. Ever seen dry Eucalyptus burn? They explode.

Meanwhile fire fighters are doing whatever they can to save the rich McMansions. Battling night and day until exhaustion sets in. Hoping to make it out alive. With the constant whir of helicopters overhead, dumping water that we don't have or can ill afford onto the towering flames. "We have the best fire fighters in the world," says Arnold the governator. What else is there to say? We are engaged in epic battles against nature. An ill-suited form of nature that we have created and sustained.

Fires in California, flooding in the mid-West, what's next? Hurricanes in the Gulf? All are aggravated by our present neglect of the environment. And all are made worse by our insistence to build in areas that are not well suited for human habitation. At least not the type of human habitation that we like to see. Unfortunately that is not how proud home owners feel. They feel it is their right to build wherever and however they want. They also feel we should defend their homes against any and all disasters even if they had a hand in making them worse. And they also feel entitled to ask for money so they can rebuild their dwellings. And every time they rebuild, they rebuild bigger and better.

That is what happened in Oakland, in Tahoe, and wherever else fire has struck. Rebuild but rebuild bigger. What else is there to do with the insurance money, the FEMA money, the emergency funding and all the goodwill and sympathy lavished on the victims?

in sickness and in health

The CDC released its 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet recently. Among the notable findings, 24 million Americans suffer from diabetes, with another 57 million in a pre-diabetic state. 90-95% of these are type 2 diabetes, also known as non-insulin dependent or adult-onset diabetes. It is by and large a preventable form of the disease.



While pre-diabetics don't always progress to diabetes, a very significant percentage do. Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated -among other things- with being overweight and being physically inactive. Many people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose by losing weight, following a healthy meal plan, and exercising. In most cases, their doctors will add a blockbuster oral drug for good measure. If all that fails, insulin is the only option.

However, even when treated appropriately with all the life-saving medications the pharmaceutical industry can offer, diabetes is nasty killer. Its victims suffer increased infections, blindness, limb amputations, kidney disease that may lead to dialysis, heart attacks, strokes, and other ills. It is not a pretty picture.

Diabetes is more common in certain ethnic groups, many of whom also happen to suffer from very high incidences of obesity. There is little doubt that, in many instances, diabetes is a life-style disease. You could say, it is part of the price we all pay for cheap oil. A tax on gas so to speak.

You may have seen those anti-smoking ads that the State of California put out recently. In it they take down the glamorous Marlboro man image to that of a sick person, sitting in a wheelchair with oxygen supply lines in their nostrils. For now at least, smokers are free game. Not so for the overweight and the sedentary. At least not yet. However, it would not be hard to imagine a similar ad that takes down the image of the successful macho SUV driving male to a similarly more realistic representation.

take two of those and see me in a week

The best selling drug in America is Pfizer's Lipitor. It sold over $6B last year. Lipitor is a cholesterol lowering medication. It is, in essence a preventive drug. It is there to prevent heart attacks and possibly stroke. It is also a pharma company's darling. You take it for life, no matter how good or bad you feel. High cholesterol is almost always a no-symptom condition and Lipitor does not treat any symptom or subjective problem. It just lowers your cholesterol and may or may not produce some unwanted side-effects. Once you hit a magic number on the cholesterol scale, you are stuck for life. Apart from Lipitor there are a few other cholesterol lowering medications that had over $1 billion in sales last year. These include Vytorin, Zetia, and Crestor.

Despite these high sales, we had to confront a rather unpleasant reality. Tim Russert, a well-known journalist died suddenly of a heart attack at age 58. Mr. Russert, the moderator of Meet the Press on NBC, took high cholesterol pills, aspirin, and high blood pressure pills we are told. The latter, also blockbuster drugs treat another no-symptom condition that is diagnosed in the doctor's office. Another preventive medicine class with members in the top 100 best selling drug list for the year. We are told Mr. Russert was also in the good care of well-known cardiologists. He was given check-ups and stress tests and he always passed with flying colors. His cholesterol was normal and his blood pressure a stellar 120/80. Yet he died suddenly, with no warning and no symptoms. That was unsettling.

Mr. Russert is not alone of course. He is only the best known member of a class of 300,000 people who die suddenly of heart attacks. And about 150,000 of those have no symptoms whatsoever. They just drop dead one day, good cholesterol and all. With or without medication. So much for taking drugs all your life. But let's go back to the bestsellers for a moment.

Number two on the best seller list is Nexium, the purple pill. At $4.4B a year, another stellar performer. And one most people ask for no doubt. Because there are older and equally effective medications in the generic arsenal. Nexium is another darling of the industry. For a different reason though. Nearly everyone can take it. And many people do. Most take Nexium for the occasional indigestion or a bit of acid reflux. They take it so they can go to McDonalds and have a big mac with fries without getting an upset stomach. Or maybe, because they had too much to drink.

Number three on the list is Advair Diskus, a medicine for asthma. Asthma too can be a rather serious condition, but once again most people taking Advair are using it for the occasional nasty wheeze. Advair is a bronchodilator that has been around for a long time in generic form, combined with a steroid, all in a nice package to inhale easily. Advair Diskus is good for almost $3.4B a year.

Next on the list is Prevacid, a competitor to Nexium. $3.3B to cure more heartburn and indigestion. Maybe we need to look at what we eat instead of popping pills? Over $7 billion for heartburn. It is likely to give one heartburn just thinking about it.

Rounding out the top five is another drug Mr. Russert could have used. Plavix, a high prized competitor to lowly aspirin when it comes to heart attack prevention. Plavix is usually given after a heart attack or stroke to prevent recurrence. That is, of course, if the first heart attack or stroke doesn't kill you right away.

All in all the top five generate over $20 billion in sales in the US alone. None of them seem particularly impressive at what they do.

Rounding out the top ten, we find Singulair, another asthma drug, Seroquel, an anti-psychotic, Effexor XR and Lexapro, two anti-depressants, and Actos, a medication for type 2 diabetes. All of these drugs have over $2 billion of sales per year each.

Apart from more wheezing drugs, and a medication for overweight people who develop diabetes, there are the mental health medications, that feature so prominently on the rest of the best-seller list. Here we encounter Risperdal, Abilify, Cymbalta, Zyprexa just to name a few.

These are the life-saving drugs that make America tick. Their main impact it seems, is on the share price of pharmaceutical companies.