US Health, Comparatively

Americans Under 50 Fare Poorly on Health Measures, New Report Says – NYTimes.com.

Younger Americans die earlier and live in poorer health than their counterparts in other developed countries, with far higher rates of death from guns, car accidents and drug addiction, according to a new analysis of health and longevity in the United States.

These statistics, and measures, rank the US at the bottom of developed countries, even though we spend the most on healthcare.

The findings were stark. Deaths before age 50 accounted for about two-thirds of the difference in life expectancy between males in the United States and their counterparts in 16 other developed countries, and about one-third of the difference for females. The countries in the analysis included Canada, Japan, Australia, France, Germany and Spain.

The rate of firearm homicides was 20 times higher in the United States than in the other countries, according to the report, which cited a 2011 study of 23 countries.

Not only are people much more likely to die young here, infants are also at risk.

The United States has the highest infant mortality rate among these countries, and its young people have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and deaths from car crashes. Americans lose more years of life before age 50 to alcohol and drug abuse than people in any of the other countries.

What does all this mean?  And what can we do about it?  Do we have the political will to change it?  Or will it just be more statistics that, in the end, leave us at the bottom of the developed world?

Baby Boom And Baby Bust Cities

 

America’s Baby Boom And Baby Bust Cities | Newgeography.com.

Alarm bells are beginning to ring in policy circles over the decline of the U.S. birth rate to a record low.

But the decline is not across the board – some areas are experiencing growth.  In fact, the Austin metro area is 2nd in the nation – up 38% in under 15 year olds in the past 10 years.

So where is the Baby Bust?

Buffalo’s youth population declined 16%, Detroit’s, 15%; and Cleveland’s 14%.

But its not just declining Rust Belt cities.  Los Angeles and San Francisco have empty classrooms, too.

New York has lost about as many children as Dallas-Ft. Worth has gained — a difference of a half million. The gap between increasingly childless Los Angeles and Houston is even wider, and approaches 600,000.

What does this matter?

knowing where new families and households are forming should be of critical interest not only to demographers, but to investors, businesses and, over time, even politicians.

Welcome to the future.

Our Most Precious Resource, Explained

Which Nations Consume the Most Water?: Scientific American.

…meat consumption accounts for 30 percent of the U.S. water footprint.

With rising demand for meat in China and India, how will their water consumption change?

Certain countries, such as India and the U.S., also export significant quantities of water in the form of food and products, despite their own robust consumption. Populous nations that have little land or little water are huge net importers.

Will countries with water shortages, such as the western US, raise prices, or reduce consumption?  How will that change the food supply for the remainder of the US?  What industries consume huge amounts of water?  Will water shortages force the development of ‘green’ energy sources not so dependent on water as coal and oil?

Deadliest tornado season in 50 years – but why?

via Deadliest tornado season in 50 years – but why? – CBS Evening News – CBS News.

There were 506 tornadoes reported in the U.S. through this date last year. It’s already more than double that – 1151 – this year.

This video from CBS news explains some of the science behind the deadly storms.

Cafeteria Democracy

via The West’s ‘double standards’ in Middle East – Opinion – Al Jazeera English.

“We are not only facing a regime and neighbouring powers, but American influence as well. They either do not want to see change or only slight changes that do not give people real democracy because the monarchy might lose power. Everyone sees the US double standards very clearly now. They see Gaddafi hitting people and the US strike back. But here they even bring in foreign armies who don’t believe in democracy and killing people on streets and the US does nothing. It is a big mistake the Americans are making, losing people, losing the faith of the streets.”

The US wants to pick and choose, cafeteria-style, which protests to support and which to ignore.  According to many Middle-Easterners, it does so at the risk of losing the respect of the very people we need to help us fight radical terrorists.

The article points out that by encouraging violent resistance, as opposed to the peaceful protests in Egypt and Yemen, the US may be setting an unfortunate precedent:  more protesters may begin to use violence in Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain.

As it happens, in Bahrain, where the movement refuses to move towards violence so far, things have only gotten worse since the crackdown. Rajab declared with a hint of exasperation:

“More people died and injured. The gap between the ruling elite and the people is getting wider and wider. The government is trying hard to incite sectarianism, frightening both Bahraini Sunnis and neighbouring countries, which is why they sent troops to Bahrain. Indeed, by refusing to take a strong stand, did the US not open the way for the Saudis to take control of the situation for their interests. Look, the Bahrainis could have used their own police, not even the army, just the police, to stop this, because we were peaceful.”

But they brought in the Saudis and GCC specifically to regionalise the conflict and raise the stakes.

Some peaceful protesters also feel they have not gotten the publicity that Egyptians and Tunisians had:

Rajab also feels, as many do many Bahraini pro-democracy and their supporters, that Al Jazeera has not done enough to cover the protests, a dynamic which proved so important in increasing support for protesters in Tunisia and Egypt.

What will happen in the region?  How will the US protect its interest and the fledgling democracy movements as well?

As Syria, Jordan and even Morocco see protests that are turning increasingly deadly, the era of the authoritarian bargain in the Middle East is clearly over.

What replaces it across the region has become the most compelling question in global politics today.