ETERNAL LIFE (Part 28)

The following continues the serialization of Chapter 2 from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

CLONING

Clone comes from the Greek word for twin, and for this section, cloning will refer to the manipulation of a DNA sequence within the cell to obtain multiple copies. While the technique is complicated, this allows for replication into an exact copy. Grafting of a grape plant also can be considered to be form of cloning.

There is a kind of natural cloning beyond single cell division called asexual reproduction or parthenogenesis. This is relatively common in a few species of reptiles, fish and birds. Apparently, it is possible for the female hammerhead shark or Komodo dragon to conceive without the help of any male, the offspring turning out to have a genotype exactly of their mother, but not identical.

Hans Spemann, a German embryologist, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1935, wrote of his 1928 salamander nuclear transplant experiment in his 1938 book entitled, Embryonic Development and Induction. However, he never himself ever attained a successful clone. The first reported actual human induced cloning, was that of northern leopard frogs in 1952 by two American scientists, Robert Briggs and Thomas King. Tong Dizhou, a Chinese embryologist, in 1963 produced a clone of a carp. The Briggs-King technique was used to create, 6LL3, or Dolly—after Dolly Parton, because the cloning was of a mammary cell from a Finn Dorset lamb—the sheep, in 1996. Dolly apparently died from accelerated aging, caused by shortening of telomeres (located at the tips of a chromosome, which could well be the vital clue to eternal life).

There is, however, considerable controversy as to who should get credit. English embryologist Ian Wilmut was the supervisor, but English biologist Keith Campbell did most of the lab work. In 1997 came Cumulina by Ryuzo Yanagimachi at the University of Hawaii, and Campbell, in 1998, cloned Polly, another sheep, from genetically altered skin cells containing a human gene. Since then, clones of a rhesus monkey, cattle, cat (Little Nicky, 2004), mule, horse and dog have been created.

There was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, but that was just a fabrication from assorted human parts, and Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton and film by Stephen Spielberg, which featured clones of dinosaurs. Can this actually be accomplished? Apparently yes, as a team from Japan and Russia is trying to extract the DNA from a frozen woolly mammoth to bring this beast, at least the clone, back to life. The San Diego Zoo stores frozen tissues from the most endangered of species, awaiting the day.

Human cloning is the generation of a genetically identical version of a person. Identical twins are clones. The controversy has to do with cloning yourself. Animal stem cells are one thing, while embryonic stem cells are another. This distinction is amplified when it comes to animal cloning and human cloning. Cloning will develop into one option for eternal life.

How can a human be cloned? Basically, copying the Briggs-King technique: take an egg cell from a donor with the nucleus removed, then fuse on your cell with the proper genetic material.

Has there been any success? In 2002, Clonaid claimed victory with Baby Eva, and in 2004 returned with announcement of 13 additional clones. However, this organization is the medical arm of a religion called Raelism, which believes that aliens introduced human life (see Chapter 4). Absent any genetic confirmation, dubiosity runs rampant. In a nutshell, the field has been riddled with hoaxes and scientific frauds, including the incident out of South Korea, later described.

Notwithstanding, human cloning is now just about a given. In 2008, Stemagon, a company in La Jolla, California, announced it had cloned Samuel Wood, their chief executive. Wood, himself, indicated their firm had no interest in cloning humans as such (although, this is a wise thing to say today, not necessarily indicating ultimate intention). Their primary purpose was to grow the clone of a patient from which stem cells can be harvested to grow replacement tissues and organs.

The following polls show public feelings (all of these are virtual as of August 2007, except as indicated):

o From Explore More poll on genetic engineering:

Do you think cloning should be legal?

Yes 55%

No 45%

What are your feelings about human cloning?

Doubtful 15%

Fearful 41%

Hopeful 44%

○ From About.com on Agnosticism/Atheism:

Should research into human cloning be permitted or banned?

Permitted 49%

Banned 44%

Should actual cloning of human beings be permitted or banned?

Permitted 34%

Banned 59%

○ From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (May 2006):

Should scientists be allowed to use human cloning to try to create children for infertile couples:

Yes 9.7%

No 83.4%

Should scientists be allowed to use human cloning to create a supply of human embryos to be destroyed in medical research?

Yes 11.4%

No 81.2%

It’s pretty clear that Americans have a negative opinion of human cloning, especially if a religious organization runs the survey. Most of the earlier traditional polls, actually, showed a negativity factor in the 80-90% range for actual human cloning.

In a poll of undergraduate students in Indonesia, Kenya, Sweden and the U.S., 10% were positive to human reproductive cloning, while 74% were negative. Muslims were the most negative and Hindus least. Non-religious respondents showed about the same overall average. It’s all in how you ask the question, but, even in Europe, disapproval of cloning prevails. Strangely enough, this same poll hinted that the views from both Mexico and Turkey had only a 50% disapproval figure.

The UN General Assembly in August of 2005 did adopt a declaration prohibiting all forms of human cloning. The vote was 87 in support, 34 in opposition and 70 abstaining or absent. But the edict was non-binding. The European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine prohibits human cloning, but has not been ratified by most countries. There is, further, a Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which bans reproductive human cloning, but it has no legal standing. Cloning is largely unregulated in the U.K., but a therapeutic cloning license was issued in 2004 to the University of Newcastle. Human cloning, actually, is legal in the U.S., but there are Federal prohibitions against research.

Some countries have observed the American reluctance to support human cloning research and have taken definite steps. South Korea made a quick entry, but fell by the wayside in the scandal involving Professor Hwang Woo-Suk of Seoul National University (SNU), who announced in 2004 that his team had cloned human embryos and would someday be able to grow genetically matched tissues to repair anything in your body that broke down. His monumental breakthrough was published in Science, the most prestigious of scientific journals. It turned out to be a hoax. He did not produce even one stem cell line, while endangering the lives of junior female researchers who were unethically coaxed to donate their eggs for this research.

But Korea plugs along, as in 2006, a collaborator of Professor Wang, Lee Byeong-chun, also of SNU, succeeded in cloning the first female dog, Snuppy, an Afghan hound, using 2000 eggs to make 1000 embryos to produce one dog. Snuppy’s surrogate mother was a yellow Labrador. Professor Lee, though, remains in jeopardy because of the earlier scandal.

Singapore, a former British colony of 4.5 million people, has also entered the competition. For all intents and purposes, while a democracy, it is about as close to a benevolent dictatorship as there exists today. The government decides what is best and gets the job done. Education is one area, which is reported in the next chapter. Biotechnology is also a priority area. They have created Biopolis, a $300 million, 2 million square foot research center focused on biomedical development. They have recruited world class scientists who are fed up with national politics in their own country. Singapore is trying to establish a world sanctuary for stem cell research. While first inaugurated in 2003, Biopolis is already home to scientists from 50 nations.

A prime attraction is that Singapore allows stem cells to be drawn from embryos up to 14 days old. I keep reading that human cloning will be banned with a fine of $60,000 and five years of jail time, but I haven’t yet seen the actual law. Perhaps the benevolent dictatorship group is mulling over the humanitarian prospects of someday becoming the site of choice for therapeutic cloning, as depicted in a former CBS television drama, Century City.

What about China? University of Connecticut animal cloning director Jerry Yang Xiangzhong told The Standard, China’s business newspaper, that China can jump ahead of the U.S. in three years if their scientists were given the green light to proceed. His contention is that in much of the developed world scientific progress in this field is hindered by political and religious debates. There is also the moral problem with something called human dignity. Apparently, these difficulties would not be experienced in China.

So where is the USA on human cloning? Harvard initiated efforts to clone human embryos in 2006. They are funding this work with private donors without any government assistance. Mind you, they are not cloning humans, they would like to harvest stem cells to fight leukemia and diabetes. On the West Coast, the University of California at San Francisco announced a similar pursuit. There are also companies, such as Advanced Cell Technology of Massachusetts, pursuing human embryonic stem cell cloning. The ethical issues, however, will determine how quickly this effort develops. Well, now on to the next logical step beyond human cloning: eternal life.

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The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 71 to 9350, with world markets also up, save for the Pacific. Crude remains comfortably in the 70's and gold dropped $5/toz to $940.

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We are now down to two: Typhoon Vamco at 120MPH heading north to nowhere and Hurricane Bill at 125 MPH, which should safely avoid the Eastern Seaboard. The crucial day is Saturday, when Bill is expected to turn north.

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ETERNAL LIFE (Part 27)

Pearl's fireball at sunset this evening.

The following continues the serialization of Chapter 2 from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

Stem Cells

Stem cell research is all about human engineering. Is it morally right to do this? James Watson of double-helix fame has been quoted to say: “If you are really stupid, I would call that a disease…so I’d like to get rid of that…People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty. I think it would be great.” Needless to say, there are contrary opinions from moral purists.

Well, what is a stem cell? It is a cell found in all multi-cellular organisms and has the ability to differentiate into a diverse range of specialized body parts. In other words, certain human cells can initiate a process to create muscles, a heart or whatever, regardless of where it came from. Bone marrow, a particular stem cell, for example, has been transplanted to treat a wide variety of diseases. Or, someday, a doctor might be able to inject a few stem cells into your failing heart, leading to a complete cure. It is reported that 100 million Americans living with incurable diseases from diabetes to heart conditions to Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to ALS to MS…can be helped. You can add broken bones, brain damage, severe burns, some cancers, hepatitis, and stroke.

Would the ethical concern be tolerable if an empty cow egg is utilized to fuse human DNA? U.K. universities (King’s College London and the University of Newcastle) were given the green light to proceed in 2007. What about from human skin?

How did all this get started? Glass was invented around the year 100 AD, and lenses were formed not long thereafter, but the earliest mention of eye glasses for improving sight was not until the 13th century. The father and son Dutch team of Hans and Zaccharias Janssen in 1590 carefully placed several lenses in a tube, inventing the microscope, leading to Italian Galileo Galilei, looking from the other end, building a telescope just after the turn of the century. In 1665, Englishman Robert Hooke published Micrographia, reporting on some of his biological observations through a microscope, and coined the term, cell. Dutch Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, who lived to the ripe old age of 90, was inspired by Hooke’s book and shifted using the microscope from improving textiles into the natural world. He later became known as the “Father of Microbiology.”

In the early 1900’s, European scientists reported that blood cells came from one particular stem cell. In 1963 Canadian cellular biologist Ernest McCulloch and biophysicist James Till at the University of Toronto discovered stem cells in blood forming systems and in 1998 a group led by developmental biologist James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin isolated and grew stem cells from human embryos, which led to the ethical concerns of today.

There are three categories of stem cells: embryonic, adult and cord blood. Embryonic stem cells are the most valuable, for they can differentiate into 220 cell body types (which accounts for the whole body) and have an unlimited capacity for self-renewal. They are obtained from the inner cell mass of a 4-5 day old embryo. That is the controversy. It is a moral, and, usually, religious issue. You are killing a human being. A simple solution might be to agree that life begins at one week instead of at conception.

For all intents and purposes, federally funded research in this field is limited. The religious factor sways Republicans, especially President George W. Bush, to be against embryonic stem cell research. [President Barack Obama favors stem cell research.] In 2008 the Democratic U.S. Congress might pass a pro-research bill, but this will be vetoed by the President, and will not be overridden. But science is moving forward faster than politics, so there will be other options to neutralize politics.

Adult stem cells are not much of an issue, and reports keep surfacing that they can now be extracted from human skin, ordinary cells, human amniotic (liquid in which the fetus subsists) fluid, and more. Geneticist Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University has mixed a chemical cocktail of four ingredients to treat adult cells for this purpose. In November of 2007, Cell reported Yamanaka’s team is now able to make patient-specific stem cells for therapies without fear of immune rejection and Science featured an article from the University of Wisconsin similar to the Kyoto development, in effect reprogramming implanted skin cells to convert them to stem cells. Furthermore, it was reported in Nature that an American group had found a way to extract embryonic stem cells without killing the embryo. [Nature later, on December 2006, amended this article, for all these embryos were, in fact, destroyed.] Yes, this was a mouse embryo, but something new pops up weekly.

In any case, the private sector and states can themselves fund stem cell development. California has earmarked $3 billion ($300 million/year for 10 years) and New Jersey $270 million. However, court challenges from mostly religious groups have stalled progress. Yet, it is reported that Stanford’s human embryonic stem cell lab, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, has already received the largest grant, $26 million.

Private donors have contributed more than $150 million in California alone, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $100 million to The Johns Hopkins University, where he went to school and obtained a science degree, largely for R&D in this field. When you add the rest of the world to any undercover research, this field is booming.

The entire human embryonic stem cell research budget for the National Institutes of Health this past year was $40 million. A particular irony, is that more human embryos now are available for research than if President Bush had not imposed any restriction. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated that 2002 data showed $270 million supporting 1000 scientists in 30 firms in industry. That was in 2002!

In polls:

o CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll from May 4-6, 2007

Do you think the federal government should or should not fund research that would use newly created stem cells obtained from human embryos?

Should = 53%

Should not = 41%


o USA Today/Gallup Poll from April 13-15, 2007

As you may know, the federal government currently provides very limited funding for medical research that uses stem cells obtained from human embryos. Which would you prefer:

No Restrictions = 22%
Ease Restrictions = 38%
Current Restrictions = 20%
No Funding At All = 16%

o ABC News/ Washington Post Poll from January 16-19, 2007

Do you support or oppose embryonic stem cell research?

Support = 61%

Oppose = 31%

o Newsweek Poll from October 26-27, 2006

Do you favor or oppose using federal tax dollars to fund medical research using stem cells obtained from human embryos?

Favor ............................Oppose

Republicans = 34% ...Republicans = 54%

Democrats = 62% .....Democrats = 27%

In mid-2006, President Bush used the first veto of his Republican presidency to block a Democratic congress’s act lifting the 2001 Republican ban on federal funding for most stem cell
research.

o Newsweek Poll from August 24-25, 2006

Do you approve or disapprove the way Bush is handling federal funding for stem cell research?

Approve = 31%

Disapprove = 52%

These results are, actually, surprising, as Chapter 5 will show that Americans are a highly religious group, and most of the opposition to stem cell research is from religious groups. The Republican opposition and Democratic support would be expected. In any case, there is something about President Bush that should change the national priorities with the next president in 2009.

From the religious perspective, a poll commissioned by the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in May of 2006 showed the following results:

o Stem cells are the basic cells from which all of a person’s tissues and organs develop. Congress is considering the question of federal funding for experiments using stem cells from human embryos. The live embryos would be destroyed in their first week of development to obtain these cells. Do you support or oppose using your federal tax dollars for such experiments:

Support = 38.6%
Oppose = 47.8%
Don’t know = 11.9%
Refused = 1.7%

The results were just the opposite. Just goes to show it is in how and who you ask. Also, therapeutic cloning appears to be gaining in support, as two-thirds of Americans are in favor to produce stem cells for this purpose. In any case, stem cell research will thrive into the future as scientists sufficiently adjust to overcome religious discomfort. {Plus, the Obama factor will no doubt regain American leadership in this field.]

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The Dow Jones Industrials continued to climb, up 61 to 9279, while world markets were mixed. Crude oil surged today into the $72/barrel range. However, there are some saying that triple digits will not be reached for a long time to come. Yet, there are hurricanes, the matter of Peak Oil and China. Gold edged up a buck to $943/toz.

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Typhoon Vamco, at 125 MPH has, oops, turned slightly EAST towards Hawaii. However, all signs point to this storm soon going north. Maybe it will collide with Guillermo, which is bringing some extra precipitation to Hawaii. But Hurricane Bill in the Atlantic, at 135 MPH, could well strengthen to 145 MPH over the next day or two, and remain a Category 4 storm through the early part of the weekend. While most services predict Bill to move sufficiently north, there are various models not so optimistic:

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ETERNAL LIFE (Part 26)

The following continues the serialization of Chapter 2 from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

Nanobiotechnology

One of my final tasks as a University of Hawaii faculty member was to chair a search committee for three MarBEC (the National Science Foundation Marine BioProducts Engineering Center) positions. We had the freedom to select any field we wanted, so the committee chose protein engineering, bioinformatics and bionanotechnology. I actually wrote the requirements for bionanotechnology. We found good candidates for the other two, but never did recruit anyone for the third. We hired Guangyi Wang, a post-doc of Jay Keasling in the Cal Berkeley Chemical Engineering Department, who went on to lead a team gaining a majestic grant of $42.5 million from the Gates Foundation to design molecules capable of doing what is usually in the province of microorganisms. I asked Jay how close he was to patenting the cure for malaria and how I could buy stock in his company. He just laughed. The chemical engineering of synthetic biology should someday prevail over the natural process because these drugs could then be produced ten times more cheaply. During this process I was also on the PhD committee of a political science candidate doing his dissertation in nanotechnology. Alas, he never graduated.

Nanotechnology deals with the study of very small things from 1 to 100 nanometers. A nanometer (nm) is one billionth, or 10^-9, of a meter, which is like comparing a marble to Planet Earth. A DNA double-helix has a diameter of about 2 nm and a bacterium is in the range of 200 nm. Hair grows faster than one nm/second. Japanese scientist Norio Taniguchi coined the term in 1974 and American engineer Kim Eric Drexler wrote a book describing molecular nanotechnology in 1986. The notion of nanorobots to scavenge, say, cancer cells, has received some science fiction press, but no obvious way has been advanced on how to manufacture these nano-critters.

The solution might rest in the synthesis of nanotechnology and molecular biology into a branch called nanobiotechnology. I thought I was inventing the term, only to learn that a National Science Foundation Nanobiotechnology Center was being established in 2000 at Cornell University, as a partnership with Princeton, other universities and industry. Microfabrication is just about becoming real. Nanomanufacturing will be 1000 times more difficult.

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The Dow Jones Industrials went up 83 to 9218, while major world markets almost all increased, save for Japan and Norway. At one time, we set the trend, but it is appearing more and more that we are now following what happens around the globe. Gold crept up $4/toz to $942 and crude oil entered $70/barrel territory.

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The Pacific now has four storms: Tropical Storm Guillermo, which has weakened to 40 MPH, is moving west, north of Hawaii, Tropical Depression Maka, at 40 MPH, is moving west away from Hawaii and, out of nowhere, Typhoon Vamco, now at already 75 MPH, is moving northwest, and should strengthen to a Category 3, but is still far away from any populated area. There is also a disturbance south and east of Maka.

In the Atlantic, Bill is now at 125 MPH, and should strengthen into a Category 4 monster. However, there is every expectation that there should be a more northerly movement to keep it away from the U.S.

ETERNAL LIFE (Part 25)

The following is from Chapter 2 of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

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Stem Cells and Human Engineering: My Experience with Biotechnology

I feel particularly blessed because I was there in the very early stages of genetic engineering, or recombinant DNA technology, for the Bay Area of San Francisco is where the industry really started. My PhD interest in the DNA/RNA of E. coli no doubt was seeded here.

Yes, in Genesis 30:25 – 43, selective breeding of sheep was practiced, wheat was carefully developed from wild grasses 10,000 years ago, and we know of Gregor Mendel, Austrian Augustinian priest, and his pea plants about 150 years ago. But I remember sitting in on some lectures by biochemist Arthur Kornberg while at Stanford in the early 1960’s, where there was excitement of molecular re-design. It was not until 1972, though, that Paul Berg, from the same department, succeeded in combining the DNA of two viruses. Both Kornberg, who passed away in 2007, and Berg, are Nobel Laureates, and Roger Kornberg, son of, and another biochemist at Stanford, was awarded that Prize in 2006. In 1973, two more biochemists, Herbert Boyer of the University California at San Francisco and Stanley Cohen of Stanford University, produced the first recombinant DNA organism, establishing the foundation for the industry. Cohen went on to win the Nobel Prize and Boyer in 1976 co-founded Genentech, the first true biotechnology company, although Cetus, differentiated as a biological engineering firm, out of Berkeley, was started in 1971.

In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life forms could be patented, and Wall Street came calling. Soon thereafter, Genentech had an initial public offering (IPO) and gained $35 million. Cetus followed with a $107 million IPO. Just in the Bay Area alone, there are now 800 biotech companies employing 85,000 people, generating annual revenues approaching $5 billion. And this is just the beginning.

In contrast to the Bay Area success story, my attempts at marine biotechnology in Hawaii, as we shall see, largely failed…yet, perhaps I have planted a few seeds that might yet germinate over time. When I first joined the University of Hawaii in 1971, I teamed with Sidney Gaines of the Medical School to refine my PhD dissertation on “Tunable Organic Dye Laser Irradiation of Escherichia coli.” The student researcher was William Bow, who now runs his engineering consultant firm, and, of all the coincidences, more than a third of century later, was sitting amongst the Pearl Harbor Rotary listening to my first public presentation of Simple Solutions, Book 1. But in the early 70’s, the environmental and energy crisis arrived, and I moved on to other priorities.

Much later came the adventures of MarBEC, where Hawaii was supposed to become the Silicon Valley equivalent for marine biotechnology. In parallel I helped start a firm to conduct R&D on a high value bio-product at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. This pearl venture was reported on in Book 1.

But a real opportunity came when, at the turn of the Millennium, I was asked to join the board of Hawaii Biotechnology Group, Inc., a company founded by colleagues at the University. I helped them accomplish three things. First, the name was too unwieldy, so I suggested Pacific Biotech. The change was made to Hawaii Biotech, Inc. Early in my directorship of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), I recommended a change to the Pacific Institute for Oceanic, Natural Energy and Environmental Resources (or PIONEER). I was accused of trying to take over the university, so I relented. I’ve always thought Hawaii in a title was too limiting, and, if you’re going to have a name, if at all possible, make the acronym meaningful.

But a company can’t waste its time on small grants from the National Institutes of Health, so, second, I helped point the way to larger Department of Defense funding. Homeland security was becoming an important then, so what better than to have U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye assist them get bigger bucks to counteract bio-terrorism. This worked. But the larger problem was the company itself.

HBI was twenty years old and still competing for research through federal grants to stay alive. This is necessary for a university unit, but not what real companies should be doing. There was a sense of slow death. So I assisted in the transition to make HBI entrepreneurial. It is a very trying process transforming a company led by research professors, but, ultimately, even they took this chance.

In 2001 David Watumull was hired. It was unfortunate that he knew scant little about biology, had not even graduated from college and was involved in a lawsuit from his previous company, Aquasearch (which is another interesting story in itself, having been founded by Mark Huntley, for a short spell a researcher at HNEI), but David had the smarts, financing experience and local contacts. Six years later, Cardax was spun off to produce an anti-inflammatory compound, and he became its first CEO, and HBI continued in its quest for recombinant vaccine development, led by a team of high-powered alien (not from Hawaii) investors. Here I was waiting for the IPO to cash in my stock options, but got a reality check when Stanford Ovshinsky, who invented amorphous silicon products, told me that, by the time the financiers got through with it, a few bones were tossed his way. So much now for me ever getting rich.

I remain optimistic, however, about Hawaii ultimately gaining a foothold in this business, as the Medical School shows promise, marine natural products are ideal for development and our presence between East and West surely must be a plus. We did have that mouse, Cumilina, cloned by Ryuzo Yanagimachi, and, Hawaii Biotech is still alive. Marine biotechnology will someday, I predict, become the tool for next generation clean energy and natural pharmaceuticals…and maybe Hawaii will yet play a crucial role.

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The Dow Jones Industrial crashed 186 today to 9135. One more day like today, and buying opportunities will appear. Consumer fears were cited. World markets also all fell. Remember, though, the stock market has jumped 50% in five months, so some corrections will occur. Gold fell $15/toz tp $936, while crude oil seems inclined to remain between $65 and $70/barrel.

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The two storms in the Western Pacific are only threatening ships at this time. Guillermo has weakened into a tropical storm and continues to move along a predicted path north of Hawaii. In the Atlantic, Bill is now a hurricane, and could strengthen to Category 4 by this weekend. Most models, though, show a movement that will take it north, and could well miss the USA. Claudette is now rain over Alabama. Ana has been downgraded to a tropical wave, will bring rain to Puerto Rico and nearby islands, and is not shown on the map. However, there is a finite chance that she would recover in the Gulf. Ana cannot at this point be discounted.

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IN TRIBUTE TO PEARL: #7

I noticed today that, probably, the final three fireballs (or sunbursts) blossomed. These are the largest I've ever seen...about the size of volleyballs. I had a private ceremony, scattering Pearl's ashes in each of the flower pots. This was Tribute #7. All in all, there have been ten blooms since July 17.

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Wow, there are now four storms in the Atlantic, three with names, Ana, Bill and Claudette. Bill, in particular, looks ominous, for he is already, suddenly, at 70 MPH, and is expect to reach Category 3 hurricane status by Wednesday. The pathway appears to head towards Florida and north. Claudette is already at 50 MPH, and just formed in the Gulf of Mexico. She is expected to soon make landfall in the Florida Panhandle and head into Alabama.

In the Pacific, Guillermo remains a hurricane at 75 MPH, but should weaken into a tropical storm tomorrow, and continue a track north of Hawaii.

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GIVING UP CANNOT BE AN OPTION

Since my retirement nearly a decade ago, I have enjoyed the luxury of pontification without responsibility nor remorse. Clearly, if my goal was to help Planet Earth and Humanity, this hands off strategy is not working, for my advice is blithely ignored. That would be fine, were it not for the looming disaster almost surely to come. This current economic shortfall will pass and Hawaii will sufficiently recover. However, when oil shoots past $150/barrel, Hawaii's economy will enter into a long period of depression because tourism is our only real revenue source, and it would not surprise me if we then suffer from 25% unemployment. I hope I'm wrong to all this.

While it is almost surely too late to diversify our economy or find viable next generation substitutes for jet fuel or the current jetliners, there are steps that can and should be taken now to minimize the long-term pain. Giving up cannot be an option. It is with these thoughts that I responded yesterday to someone in the community seeking information (I will try to protect privacies with certain adjustments, but it becomes pretty clear at the end which organization asked):

Dear [ ]:

Why bother searching for old studies which were mostly ignored. Times have changed. Back then there was no knowledge of global climate warming, nor any universal sense about Peak Oil. Develop your own scenarios, but don't be boxed in by past decisions. Show up for legislative hearings, but no one convinced any legislator about anything innovative at those sessions. Plus, they will not have any money to do anything over the next decade, at least. Select one monumental mission and do it! Don't bother with consensus.

To make a very long story reasonably short, in the mid-to-late seventies, I led a couple of Hawaii Natural Energy Institute studies with respect to Hawaii, which reported that renewable electricity someday would happen when the price of oil sufficiently rises, our ground transportation will be powered by biomethanol and the hydrogen jetliner will bring tourists to Hawaii. The methanol solution would take a couple of decades and any next generation airliner could easily take twice as long. Certainly, too, we were then too dependent of tourism, so we should diversify our economy as fast as possible, and the ocean offered the greatest hope. Forget high tech in the traditional sense. But, whatever, start now, for all these things will take a generation or two or more.

Thus, in 1979 I went to work for U.S. Senator Spark Matsunaga and assisted on drafting the first hydrogen, wind power (I was chairman of the American Solar Energy Society wind energy division in the mid-seventies) and ocean energy legislation. Hydrogen had no budget then, but last year got more Department of Energy money than solar energy (see #1 below). I think hydrogen is too long term and should for now be set aside, but Congress has apparently overturned Secretary Chu. Wind power, of course, is the only (with geothermal--I also was the reservoir engineer for the Hawaii Geothermal Project during those days) renewable electricity form competitive with fossil/nuclear.

So what happened after a third of a century? Well, we are beginning to move on sustainable electricity, but electricity from wind/solar is only about 1% today. The Farm Lobby dominated, and we got stuck with ethanol and biodiesel. Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! Oh, that's one of our flaws. Congress. We need a benevolent dictatorship! The Department of Defense actually begun designing the National Aerospace Plane (hydrogen-powered), but this still remains a black program and is going nowhere.

The one key point I would like to underscore is that the price of oil will jump past $150/barrel in a decade, or sooner, and Hawaii will go into a lengthy depression because we won't be able to find a cost-effective replacement for jet fuel and the current jetliner when the crunch occurs (#2 below). We had to start in 1980. We didn't. IF [ ] HAS TO FOCUS ON ONE PROJECT, YOU SHOULD DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO MINIMIZE (THIS IS ABOUT ALL YOU CAN DO) THE LENGTH OF THIS DEPRESSION. Mind you, this will be mostly a local cataclysm, although the world will more and more suffer from a lowered lifestyle.

Forget electricity, as there is nothing much you can add to what others are already doing. Electric cars will lead our nation down a dead end, so read my HuffPo on this subject. Find a way to gain American patents for the direct methanol fuel cell (#3). If you want to get really futuristic, help Rinaldo Brutoco accelerate his Hawaiian Hydrogen Clipper. Then again, [ ] leading the Blue Revolution (#4). That has a nice ring! Maybe [ ] should expand his horizons and tackle something worthy to diversify Hawaii's economy.

Go to following four sites:

1. The politics of energy.

2. We need to work together, now.

3. Real solution for ground transport. (I communicated with [ ] about this, but, he does have his expensive toy, and I don't think he wanted to hear what I had to say.)

4. The Blue Revolution.

Aloha.

Pat

Daily Blog

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There are now three storms in the Atlantic. Hurricane Guillermo is now at 125 MPH, but all models show it passing north of Hawaii, but, more importantly, largely dissipating in around 5 days before impacting the local region.

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Ninety-eight countries have now visited this blog site: 4164-98-187.

FINAL BIG ISLAND ASH SCATTERING

I spent the night at the Volcano House, and my room had a view of Halemaumau:

If you peer closely, you might just see that rainbow originating from that crater. At night I had my final ash scattering, accompanied by a group of tourists who invited me to their dinner.

Earlier yesterday, driving from the Four Seasons Hualalai to the national park, I stopped in Kau, for this is where Pearl and I met just about 47 years ago. She was a nurse in Pahala and I was a process engineer at the Hutchinson Sugar Company in Naalehu. I found a vantage point on a hill just outside of Naalehu, below which sugar was processed. That pier is now in disrepair, but we now and then fished from it. It was rumored that a large sea bass of several hundred pounds lived under the pier. In the far background is Pahala.

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The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 77 to 9321, and world markets also were mostly down. Oil crashed 4% to $67.51/barrel and gold sunk $11/toz to $949. There are rumblings in the Senate that the cap and trade bill should wait until next year. Who cares, as this legislation is so seriously flawed anyway. But, certainly, President Obama wants something to bring to the Copenhagen gathering in December.

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Phew, I returned to my apartment, and all is well The fish and plants survived my one week absence and former Hurricane Felicia. The center of the storm actually passed over this building a little more than 36 hours ago.

Hurricane Guillermo is now up to 115 MPH, but, according to www.wunderground.com, should diminish over the next few days, as follows:

initial      15/0530z 18.4n 130.8w   100 kt  12hr VT     15/1200z 18.7n 132.3w   100 kt  24hr VT     16/0000z 19.3n 135.0w    90 kt  36hr VT     16/1200z 19.9n 137.6w    70 kt  48hr VT     17/0000z 20.5n 140.2w    60 kt  72hr VT     18/0000z 22.2n 145.3w    40 kt  96hr VT     19/0000z 24.0n 150.5w    30 kt 120hr VT     20/0000z 26.0n 156.0w    25 kt...remnant low

(Sorry, the columns looked good when created, but the details are not worthy of  your time.)

Maka, far west of Hawaii, is now only a tropical depression at 30 MPH, but, you can see it remains in warm waters, and will almost surely strengthen into a typhoon, but will continue to move west away from Hawaii.  However, there are two disturbances in the Atlantic.

FOUR SEASONS HUALALAI VS MAUNA KEA BEACH HOTEL VS PARK HYATT TOKYO

My following analysis is based on ten stays at the Park Hyatt Tokyo (PHT), four at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (MKB) and once at the Four Seasons Hualalai (FSH).

BACKGROUND: The PHT has long been my (and Pearl's) favorite hotel. It was the star of the movie, Lost in Translation, with Bill Murray, and was ranked by Institutional Investor last year as the best hotel in Japan and #2 in the world (the Paris Bristol was #1). The FSH just completed a $40 million upgrade, and will feature attractive rates this Fall, which indicates that Michael Dell's (of the computer company) purchase of this property showed intent to make it the best. Travel+Leisure rates the FSH as the top hotel in Hawaii. MKB was not even in the top 16, but that could be because it was closed for two years (courtesy of an earthquake) and recently re-opened after a $150 million modernization. Pearl and I spent our honeymoon here when it was first opened. An interesting review of both MKB and the Volcano House (where I will stay tonight) was printed in the Los Angeles Times in April. Both the MKB and FSH were blessed with Pearl's ashes, and I will do the same for the PHT when I next stay there. But where do you scatter the ashes in a hotel that starts on the 48th floor?

COST: You need to be a math major to calculate the actual nightly rates, but the PHT, when Pearl and I went to Japan this past April, was a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than the FSH, which, both based on kamaaina rates, was twice the cost of the MKB. However, the PHT picked us up at Narita with their limousine and provided a free breakfast. The FSH also included breakfast, which, if you read my blog of yesterday, had a limit of $52/room/day.

SIGNATURE RESTAURANT: The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of the PHT is considered to be the most sophisticated restaurant in Japan. Yes, I suffered from food poisoning when I first dined there during their first week, and the prices are ridiculously high...but the view is extraordinary and it is sophisticated. I hosted my Kenjiro roots search team there in April, and, sad to say, both Fumio Ito and Pearl have since then passed away. Monettes is more elegant, while Pahui'a is next to the pounding waves. The best meal I had on this trip was at Monettes. Both are pricey. Pahui'a has a dress code, and so does Monettes, but if you come with slippers and shorts, they just place you on the patio external to the airconditioned portion, but under the stars...and I personally selected an outside table to view the sunset on my second night. I would pick Monettes over Pahui'a because of the service. But Monettes needs to add a few more servers.

GOLF: The MKB golf course is okay, but lacking, with greens that are unfair. Lacking because it has no signs. You don't know which hole you're on, and sometimes finding the next tee off spot can be a challenge. The FSH course is better, with a GPS system on the cart. They use Titlist PV1 golf balls on their practice range. I borrowed a bunch with the intent to naturally return them to the course. That worked well. They both are in the range of $250, even if you stay there. Then, when you add on a rental set, you wonder why you decided to golf. The PHT has no golf course.

THE BEST? Each has its own charm. At least the MKB is "affordable." However, FSH has a vitality that is missing from MKB. PHT exudes elegance. All three feature exceptional service.

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The Dow Jones Industrials edged up 36 to 9398, and, except for Norway, major world markets were also up. Gold increased $4/toz to $954 and crude oil moved to $71/barrel.

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There are two disturbances in the Atlantic and Hurricane Guillermo (now a tropical storm, with a strengthening to hurricane status expected within 24 hours) heading for Hawaii. However, waters will be cooler as Guillermo moves west, so it will probably be downgraded to depression status within 5 days.

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HAVE YOU EVER HAD A $60 JAPANESE BREAKFAST?

Tomorrow I will compare both the Four Seasons Hualalai and Mauna Kea Beach Hotel with the Tokyo Park Hyatt. Today, let me focus on the breakfast I had today:

Yes, what you see cost $60 as room service at the Four Seasons Hualalai. But there is that million dollar view. I later in the evening scattered Pearl's ashes into the Pacific Ocean in the waters seen above, for she would have selected this hotel as one of her very favorites.

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The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 120 to 9362, with world markets all up, except for the Orient. Gold increased a buck to $949/toz and oil returned to $70+/barrel.

Remember when, as a hedge against GM NOT going bankrupt, to protect my Ford investment, I bought some GM shares...but it went bankrupt anyway on June 2, so I thought I lost that money? Well, funny thing, but GM became GMGMQ and I still retained rights. Well, my June 10 blog indicated that I sold, made a 20% profit, then, what the heck, I purchased with these funds, Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and Sirius (SIRI), three other stocks on the verge of bankruptcy. Have you noticed what is happening lately? I'm now from 45% to 90% ahead after two months. Oh, I'm also 300%+ on my Ford March buy. I should convert this blog into a stock market prediction site. Nah...haven't the faintest idea what is happening or why I'm doing what I'm doing.


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Felicia, thankfully fizzled, and the so-called eye is just south of my apartment, bringing, I hope, just some needed rain and not much wind. There are, however, three more disturbances east of Hawaii and one to the west. Tropical Depression Guillermo, in particular, appears to be headed straight for the Big Island.

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FELICIA, ETC...and MONETTES

There are seven storms now listed: one in the West Pacific (Tropical Typhoon Etau is moving away from Japan), three in the Central Pacific (but only Felicia is a threat), two in the East Pacific (watch out for both) and Atlantic (which could be could become the FIRST named storm...Ana).

Felicia is now a tropical depression, but is heading straight for my apartment. The expectation is 25 MPH winds, with gusts up to 40 MPH, with a lot of rain (but nowhere the up to 100 inches Taiwan saw this weekend).

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Oh, about Monettes (Inventive American cuisine with island influences), this a restaurant at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. I had two dinners here. The first night featured Chef Matt Zubrod's Night in Italy. Overall, the food was good, but service trying, for more showed up to eat than the staff could handle, which, I guess, is a positive note for tourism.

The meal, Night One:

1. Grilled calamari, arugula, tomato and house-made mozzarella salad with Zardetto Prosecco. A bit too much dressing for me, but okay.

2. Porcini mushrooms, heirloom polenta and crisp egg with a Piedmonte 2007 Ceretto Blange Arneis. The egg was hot, but the rest of the items were too cool for my taste. This unusual white wine went well with the dish.

3. Veal osso bucco, asparagus and ricotta ravioli with a Lago di Corbora 2006 Tunuta diSalviano "Turlo" Blend. The veal, again, could have been hotter, there was too much ravioli and the red wine was a bit too light.

4. Artisan cheese with Marsala poached figs and a Veneto 2006 Masi "Campofiorin" Ripasso. This wine might have gone better with the dessert.

5. Espresso Tiramisu with a Chianti 2000 Barone Ricasoli Vin Santo. The tiramisu was excellent, but I was much too satiated to enjoy it. This was not a chianti in the conventional sense, for it was closer to a dry port, which should have been switched for the Ripasso.

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I particularly enjoyed my information exchange with lead server Bryan and sommelier Karen, who shows huge potential for her pioneering spirit. I however told them that the overall experience was less than adequate, so the tip will reflect this service. However, I made a reservation to return the second night, for Monday nights are not normally overcrowded. Mind you, only half the restaurant was occupied. This was an unexpected staffing problem. With the tourist industry in such despair, it is understandable that there had to be cost-cutting.

Night Two:

The sitting began with the above view, and entertainment featuring Rupert. I like to balance tastes, temperatures and other culinary parameters, so the following reflected my eclectic epicurean tastes. The meal also cost more than twice that of Night One.

1. Tomato and Pepino Gazpacho accompanied by veal sweetbreads en cocote, with a Carneros Ancient Pinot Gris. The gazpacho had all kinds of vegetables, and was an ideal match for a rather bland sweetbread. The white wine was perfect.

2. Kona Kampachi (just had to order something associated with Neil Sims' sea ranch) carpaccio and Rougie Farm Foie Gras, with a Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon. The combination was great. The turnip below the fish needs to be a different form, though, for it was nearly impossible to eat both at the same time. This was a very expensive red wine, and disappointing.

3. Japanese Wagyu Kobe New York...all of three ounces, with an Urakasumi "Zen" Junmai Ginjo. This was the highlight of all the dishes I had over the past two days. It also cost more than the entire food portion of Night One. But, then, Marukai takes orders for Omi beef at nearly $200/pound, so the price was not ridiculously out of line.

4. The staff then treated me to tiny pieces of all their signature desserts with an excellent Tawny Port.

The setting with a sunset view, then later under the stars, plus fantastic service with gastronomic delights, made Night Two among the best meals I've had in my life. Thanks, Bryan, Karen, Tina and Kiley.

I'm now off for the Four Seasons Hualalai for some golf and exploration, as I need to remain on island for a lunch with Pearl's relatives on Friday. Yet, I do worry about the Craigside.

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The Dow Jones Industrials had its biggest loss in a month, 97 to 9241, while world markets were mostly down. Gold stayed steady at $96/toz and crude oil slipped below $70/barrel.

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