marketing 101

You never contradict customers. Always listen to your customers. Give the people what the they want. The customer is always right. I am sure you heard all these before. You probably have had someone tell you about these at one point or another. 

These guidelines are meant to drive sales. To get people to buy more of what it is you are selling. These are the mantras of consumerism. You don't want to say no to your customers. You don't want to point out that they ask for something that is impossible to get. You don't say wrong when they are wrong. You don't want them to think twice.

If people want an energy drink but they don't want to get fat, then you give them an energy drink without calories. Never mind that this makes no sense whatsoever. Never mind that it would be better if they got off the lazy couch and exercised a bit. Or stopped eating junk food and drinking sodas all day long. You do not want to educate your customers. You want to sell them stuff. Even if it is bad for them. Especially when it is bad for them!

Politicians understand that too. If people want to protect the environment and get cheap gas, well then you promise them cheap gas and environmental stewardship. Never mind that these two things are incompatible. Never mind that the only way to get people to pollute less is to drive gas prices sky-high. Don't even try to point out to people that their desires are contradictory. Just give them what they ask for.

We are a generation of spoiled brats. We all grew up at a time when prosperity was rampant. We got whatever we wanted and then some. We soon came to expect to have all our wishes fulfilled. And now we are raising another generation of people who are even more spoiled. Even more disconnected from reality. With even more unrealistic expectations. It should surprise nobody then, that one day this will all come crashing down. And there will be a lot of unprepared people out there crying wolf. Only this time, nobody will heed their calls.

solar logic?

Eco-writer Allison Arieff wanted solar panels. According to her latest report in Sunset magazine she became so desperate she finally went to a solar party to find out all about it. Then imagine her disappointment when the solar expert told her she did not consume enough electricity to make it worthwhile. She writes: "We were stunned." And more, she says: "I think we even asked how we might use more electricity to validate our moving forward as planned."

I think we are missing the big picture here. People are so brainwashed into consuming that they think nothing of writing stupid stuff like that. Why would an eco-conscious person want to use more electricity? Why would they want solar panels if they don't need them? To save the planet?

What about the cost of producing the panels? The materials and labor and carbon that goes into them? Do people ever think? What about the older but perfectly fine devices that they will throw out to replace with new "solar"-compatible gadgets?

Allison is not to be deterred. She is thinking she will throw out her good gas water heater and replace it so she can use solar water heating. She also says she is confident they will use solar for electricity, hot water, or both. Gotta have that latest gadget folks! 

Here my dear friends is one reason why I am so pessimistic about our ability to solve the big problems. People just don't get it. They don't understand that the issue is one of consumption, of using too much, of throwing away good items and replacing them needlessly with other items.

Dear Allison, forget about your solar dreams. They are just another form of the consumerism that is destroying our environment. Do not throw out your good water heater. Do not buy new things unless you need them. Do not use more electricity so you can be "green."

No extra consumption is green. By definition. To be green you need to consume LESS. You need to keep using what you have and NOT buy new stuff.

vanilla candidates

The first convention is on. Soon we will be inundated with pre-packaged images of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Candidates that look more alike everyday. Making bold non-sensical and meaningless statements, such as we have to defeat evil, all the while showing a total lack of backbone.

Cheaper gas, you got it, environmental protection, here it is, offshore drilling, sure. Whatever you want America, even if it makes no sense whatsoever. Even if it is meaningless and contradictory. You want an energy drink without calories: voila, here it is. You want a diet where you can eat what you want and still lose weight, go right ahead. Nobody is going to say no to you anymore. Least of all the politicians. Give the public what the public wants. Except when it really matters. Panem et circenses.

What do we have elections for? What is there to elect? Who has anything different to offer? We give the public what the public demands, while filling our pockets and fighting "evil." By the time anyone gets to office they are so beholden to special interests that financed their campaigns, that they are no longer free to make any significant decision.

Bill Maher was on Larry King last night. He said something to the effect, people are too dumb to be governed. And he was right. They don't care. They don't think. They don't want politicians who think. They want politicians who spit out tough sounding sound bites. Politicians who appear confident and in charge.

The public are like whiny children holding out their hands. Give me this, give me that, the world be damned. Don't ask me to sacrifice anything. Don't ask me to pay for anything. I want it all for free. Let's protect the environment but only if we have cheap gas, plenty of water for our lawn, and all other things that we can't possible live without.

Welcome to Denver.

on the war path

We are finally seeing where all our NATO expansion is leading us. Not to mention our Star Wars plans. What, you may ask is the purpose of NATO and Star Wars now that Soviet Union is gone? It appears the answer is, to promote its comeback. Because that is just what we are doing. We are pushing Russia into a corner, and they don't like it.

While all of us are busy watching the Olympics, Russia decided to take care of a few outstanding issues. They were only too happy to respond to Georgia's assault on Tskhinvali in South Ossetia. Surely Mikheil Saakashvili should have known better. Did he really think his "friend" George W. was going to bail him out and endorse his nationalistic drive? Did he really think the Russians were going to roll over?

Putin's reign is a clear sign that Russia is tired of being treated like a second-class citizen. They do not like our Eastward expansion. The European oil and gas "wars" have already made that clear to anyone with a bit of international sense. Now the Poles are getting worried. And they should. History has shown time and again that Poland is easily overrun. Despite treaties of various sorts, Poland is extremely vulnerable. The treaties did not stop Hitler and they surely did not stop Stalin.

The Bush administration appears nonchalant. It is no stranger to riling up tensions. As a matter of fact, someone there seems to enjoy making trouble. But we do need to point out that whole NATO issue started with Clinton. You see, when it comes to short-sightedness, everyone wants their fair share.

The current energy crisis is only making matters worse. The smart response would be for all to cut back on energy usage and do the environment a favor. Instead, everyone from the reddest redneck down to the dyed-in-the-wool environmentalist is crying foul. They all want their cheap gas, everything else be damned. Everyone driving an SUV is already an implicit supporter of the Iraq war. Soon we may see some action in Iran as well. All areas where Russia has considerable influence. For those of you not so clued-in, remember that the so-called war on terror is really a war about oil and gas.

If you want trouble, rest assured it is coming. Energy is one area where Putin holds a lot of cards. And he is willing to play hardball to avenge Russia's loss of status. Those who taunt the bear better beware!

forty billion per year

No, this is not how much money Bill Gates makes. It is how many empty plastic water bottles we Americans dump into landfills every year. Forty billion bottles per year or better than 100 million per day. To say nothing of all the energy wasted shipping that water.

Bottled water is one of the biggest environmental disasters on the planet. The amount of energy spent bottling water, shipping it, cooling it, and ultimately trucking off the empties is just mind-boggling. And all that for what is often an inferior product. Time and time again, research has shown that municipal drinking water is of better quality, has less contaminants, and less bacteria than bottled water.

Water has many desired properties, but when it comes to bottled versions these properties work against us. Water is heavy. Shipping water consumes a lot of energy because water is so heavy. Water also has an enormous heat capacity. It takes a lot of energy to heat or cool water. Water is also a great medium for life and water in little bottles is easily contaminated. With no flow to wash it away, that contamination can quickly take over the whole bottle.

Perhaps you should think about all that before you grab that next water.

energy

There is a great op-ed piece in the New York Times by Thomas Friedman. It appears Mr. Friedman is on an environmental tour of the planet. Yesterday he visited Greenland and then Denmark. He reports that Denmark is now 100% energy independent thanks to its energy policy. He also has this great quote from the Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Mr Rasmussen said:" I have observed that in all countries, including America, people are complaining about how prices of gasoline are going up. The cure is not to reduce the price, but on the contrary, to raise it even higher to break our addiction to oil."  

Of course I am pleased to hear that there are other people in the world who think like me. But what pleases me even more is that such policies have been implemented and that they have led to great successes. Unemployment in Denmark is extremely low. The Danes are leaders in renewable energy. They are also one of the happiest, if not the happiest people on earth according to other surveys.

I am sure many will shrug this off. They will say, Oh yes, those Europeans! Look at how much better our standard of living is. How much bigger our cars and our homes! And how many more toys we have! Can you hear the addicts rant? 

America's addiction to oil is nothing short of pathetic. If only we used the oil to accomplish something good. Something innovative or beneficial. Unfortunately that is not the case. We mostly waste it. We waste it outright by leaving appliances on all the time, by heating and cooling enormous houses, by watering lawns, by idling cars and sitting in traffic, etc. We waste it by driving everywhere because we are too lazy to walk or bike. And we waste more of it because we need an eight cylinder SUV to drive ourselves to work every day, or drive the kids to school.

All that waste does not even accomplish the simplest of things, i.e. to make us happy or healthy. Americans are the world leaders in obesity. We are the top consumers of "ethical" drugs and medical devices. Half the country is on anti-depressants. Medicine has become the new frontier in consumption. We now consider medicine (call it "health care" just to make a point) to part an integral part of life. Plastic surgery and related, mostly skin-enhancing procedures, are now necessary to make us feel better. Nose jobs anyone? Just another form of consumption to fill our never-ending "needs" in the pursuit of ever-elusive happiness.

Wake up America. Turn off that TV. It is controlling you. It is constantly reminding you to consume more. It is making you feel inadequate, insecure, and in need of more items. It is promising you happiness, respect, wealth, status, and power if only you buy that new cross-over, or that huge lawn mower, or get that extra credit card, or eat that new sandwich. It is bombarding you with advertising 24/7. And that is not something a human brain can handle. Turn it off and go for a bike ride. You will be healthier and happier too.

what can you do?

I checked out a few sites dealing with peak oil, climate change, and the like and read their recommendations and instructions. I have to admit that most of it is quite unrealistic, silly, and downright irresponsible. Lots of people appear to have grabbed on to climate change as the latest fashion to further their apocalyptic visions or recommend their organic, zen-inspired life-style. I did not consult with the Rambo-style survivalists as I think they are so far off the right track that it is a pure waste of time.

However, even in the camp of "canned veggies" reason appears to be failing and emotions have taken over. Things are driven to an extreme with a fair amount of bogus beliefs thrown in. Many want to ditch modern society and turn back the clock. They are advocating and teaching a return to the land that rejects most if not all advances humanity made in the last 200 years. They see all these accomplishments as a sign of failure. 

I want to make clear that my view is entirely different. In my view we are not failing, we are too successful. We are too good at what we are doing. What got us into trouble is the fact that we are so good at exploiting our habitat that we are outgrowing it at a breakneck speed. 

That has happened many times before on a local scale. It is always followed by an inevitable correction which I described as a type of "middle ages," i.e. a period of prolonged (centuries) strongly reduced standard of living. This cyclical nature of human history is ignored in most texts. There we read a linear history of ever improving conditions, a triumph of man without any setbacks whatsoever.

If we distort history this way, we are bound to repeat it. The problem is that this time around excesses are on a planetary scale. That brings with it immense risks and for the first time I think the survival of the species is at stake. We may be at a point where we could destroy our habitat beyond repair. Those who fail to see it are deluding themselves just as badly as those who preach an abandonment of modern life.

Lest my recent posts may have given you the wrong impression, let me assure you that I do not think there is reason to believe we face an immediate threat. I strongly believe we can keep going like this for quite a while longer. What I fear however, is that soon (say in 40-50 years) we will be crossing an invisible threshold. A point of no return. If we do all bets are off.

As for now, we are probably in a deep and possibly long lasting (5-10 yr) depression but I suspect the worst case scenario is a "Japan-1990's" replay with at best, some sluggish growth here and there. My view on this matter is entirely mainstream although it lines up with the more pessimistic of forecasters. I do not think this depression will continue into major disaster. As I said yesterday I think a strong recovery is likely and there will likely be new periods of irrational exuberance. Although I do not like it personally, I do believe a deep recession would be beneficial in the long run by postponing major trouble and giving us some extra time. Time is of the essence now.

And that brings me to what you can do to help. It is quite simple really. No need to go to extremes. As a matter of fact, what you need to do is to remove the extremes you are engaged in now. That eight cylinder car, that 4,000 sq ft home, that two hour commute, you name it. The best thing anyone can do is to adopt a sensible life-style. Hardly anyone in America today lives a sensible life-style. An economy that depends for 70% or more on consumer spending is not sensible or sustainable.

A Suburban is not sensible. Not even when it sports a sticker that reads, Keep Tahoe Blue.

Don't eat too much, insert plenty of exercise, and stop buying things you don't need. Don't drive unless you have to and don't come up with excuses that justify all the driving you do. If you spend more than one hour a day in your car, you are driving too much. If you drive every day of the week you are driving too much.

If you feel the need to light up your neighborhood, or have three TV's running plus the radio, think again. If you need more than 50 gallons of water per person per day, think again. If you need power tools to do things around the house, think again. If you are too lazy to push your lawn mower, think again. While you are at it, think about that lawn. Better remove it.

Before you buy fruit in winter, think again. Don't buy bottled water or coffee to go. Don't throw out perfectly fine items and forget about fashion altogether. Don't work long hours just so you can buy more useless stuff that ends up in the garbage. Instead of quality time, spend some real time with your family and friends. Don't travel to see exotic places. Ride your bike instead.

Enjoy the simple things in life. Isn't it ironic that most people these days only start appreciating the simple things in life once they get hit by a deadly disease? Doesn't that tell you something? When push comes to shove, we all know what really matters. Why is it so hard then to be sensible while being healthy? Wake up America !