The Emergence of Quantum Computing   

Three groundbreaking technologies are poised to catapult Louisiana’s business economy. In recent issues of this journal, I’ve touched upon two of these game-changers. The first is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will continue to increase business and personal productivity. The second is Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) for industries that have long had heavy carbon dioxide emissions.  

The third set of emerging technologies, and likely as impactful, is Quantum Computing (QC). QC developed from the science of quantum physics which analyzes the intricacies of subatomic particle and wave interactions. Among many innovations derived from the study of quantum physics are fluorescent lights, semiconductors (in computers, TVs, cell phones, and smart devices), lasers, MRI scanners, solar cells, electron microscopes, and atomic clocks.  

Even if you've completed a high school or college physics course, understanding the basics of quantum physics and computing can be very challenging. The world we observe and experience daily is vastly different from the intricate workings of the subatomic realm ruled by quantum phenomena. Our usual learning techniques, heavily reliant on familiar examples and models from our everyday lives, often fall short when it comes to helping us grasp the complexities of quantum realities. 

In the realm of quantum physics, there are two key concepts to understand. First, there's "superposition," where a subatomic particle can exist in two different places or states at the same time. Then there's "entanglement," where particles are so interconnected that the state of one instantly affects the other, no matter the distance between them. While traditional computing is based on processing bits sequentially, represented as either 0 or 1, quantum computing operates with quantum bits (qubits) that leverage superposition and entanglement to perform simultaneous information processing. The properties of the subatomic world might seem bizarre or even surreal, but harnessing these attributes propels us far beyond the capabilities of today's most powerful supercomputers, leading us toward quantum computing systems with unprecedented processing speeds and analytical prowess. 

Artificial intelligence using conventional computing capabilities is already fueling many technological advances and business efficiencies. Just one example is medical drug discovery and development. AI using quantum computing resources should deliver many millions of times faster and more powerful results. For vexing global threats such as climate change, AI and QC together should offer those in the environmental sciences improved means to simulate and then better understand the many complex macro-level and micro-level interactions within our ecosystems.   

Karen Matsler, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, has emphasized the importance of more opportunities for high school and college students to learn about the theory and practices of QC. She claims that many American educational institutions have offered few or no courses that begin to prepare students for quantum physics and computing, and these schools have a large deficit of teachers capable of instructing interested students.  

At the graduate and doctoral levels of QC education, MIT, Harvard, Cal. Berkeley, Cal. Tech, and the University of Chicago are top tiered. There are also impressive QC academic programs in the Deep South. As might be expected, LSU – Baton Rouge seems to offer the top state prospect for QC higher education. Faculty and students in the Quantum Science and Technologies Group in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at LSU conduct research on quantum physics, quantum mechanics, quantum information theory, quantum complexity theory, quantum error correction, as well as quantum optics, sensing, and imaging.  

QC prototypes have been and will continue to be tested. D-Wave Systems, a Canadian company, apparently was the first to sell a commercial quantum computer, the 128-qubit D-Wave One, to Lockheed Martin in 2011. Its fifth-generation model was introduced in 2020. IBM announced a 433-qubit Osprey processor in November 2022 that is said to have several competitive advantages. 

                     2022 IBM Osprey Control System Showing Qubit, ReadOut, and Wiring Levels

There are remaining challenges for improved QC applications. Chief among these problems are “decoherence” (loss of delicate quantum states due to interfering outside factors) and the need for better qubit error monitoring and correction. Temperature control is also essential for quantum processing, since very cold temperatures are required, as these processes are continually releasing waste heat. Different QC systems that are being manufactured and commercially offered often have very different approaches to deal with these challenges. 

Due to the expense and the demanding operating conditions required to own recent QC systems, many businesses are purchasing access to well-established QC systems. D-Wave Systems, Google, IBM, and others, also offer access to hybrid quantum-classical computing systems. The development of a fully functioning QC “internet” with many networked users has progressed well beyond the theoretical stage.  

Business managers need to have a strategic vision concerning the QC revolution that will be confronting their own industries. Current planning should encompass 1) active monitoring of how QC is being applied elsewhere, 2) preparation for hiring and developing in-house QC experts to help determine when and how to make technology investments, and 3) analysis of how one’s company infrastructure will need to be updated to support a shift to QC.  

The timber and forest products industry can easily anticipate where QC advances will have obvious benefit:  1) more accurate climate and weather modeling (fire, flooding and drought probabilities), 2) optimization of supply chains for forestry operations, 3) better analysis of forestry options, expected growth patterns, and potential biological threats, and 4) more innovations in the material sciences leading to new wood-based products that might be offered. 

                       Louisiana’s Embrace of Carbon Capture Potentials    

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is a set of technologies and practices that can reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from industrial processes and power generation. Unlike direct air capture (DAC) which removes CO₂ from ambient air, CCUS captures CO₂ from combustion point sources.   

Captured CO₂ can be utilized for many purposes, including its injection into previously depleted oil or natural gas wells for further fuel extraction. The CO₂ can also be stored underground in drained oil and gas reservoirs or in deep saline formations.  

CCUS is just one approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially for industries that have traditionally had heavy CO₂ emissions. It has been strongly promoted as an option for both addressing climate change challenges while supporting economic growth and energy security. Given estimates that CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes contribute much of the total greenhouse gas emissions, CCUS has received enthusiastic responses from many in the private and public sector. 

While CCUS technology has potentially huge benefits, it also comes with large capital and other costs, has significant energy demands, and requires safe and appropriate CO₂ storage sites. Climate scientists stress that CCUS should be viewed as a complementary approach alongside many other climate actions. To maximize the potential of CCUS, they claim that more investment will be needed in research, development, and deployment of these technologies.  

The USA and many other countries have been actively investing in CCUS technology. The Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and its Inflation Reduction Act provided opportunities for many billions of dollars in grants, tax credits, and loans to companies for greenhouse gas reduction projects. States like California, Texas and Louisiana seem to be leading the pack in encouraging CCUS projects. Among many CCUS proponents are Senator Bill Cassidy (R) and Governor John Bel Edwards (D). Governor Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force unanimously approved the state’s Climate Action Plan, with industrial decarbonization as an important part of this plan. Many announcements of planned CCSU projects in Texas and Louisiana have occurred in the last two years, especially within industries that have long been criticized for alarming levels of CO₂ emissions.    

Political support for CCUS in Louisiana appears strong based on state legislative action in 2023. All eight bills seeking forms of deterrence or delays for proposed state CCSU projects were defeated, while the one bill supporting CCUS in the state was passed and signed by the governor on June 14. Provisions within the new law sought to address at least a few of the concerns of CCUS critics though. A good slice of revenues from these projects is designated to go to local governments where CCUS sites are to be located, to state government general funds, and to a special fund for additional state mineral and energy regulatory expenses. Those planning injection wells for CO₂ storage must submit an initial environmental analysis, notify impacted local parishes, file quarterly reports, and make immediate disclosures of leakages or problems.   

Most of the carbon capture projects recently planned for Louisiana are to be CCUS ones, but the Tyler (TX) Morning Telegraph and The Advocate (LA) recently profiled Project Cypress, a large Direct Air Capture (DAC) undertaking. Project Cypress will be in Calcasieu Parish, receive over $600 million dollars in funding from the Department of Energy, and is forecasted to create 2300 jobs. It is one of two initial commercial projects that the Biden administration expects will eventually be a national network of DAC sites.            

A recent investigative report claimed that there are about 20 carbon capture storage sites planned for Louisiana. Companies such as Air Products, Strategic Biofuels, Cleco, and Gulf Coast Sequestration have already announced plans that include CO₂ sequestration sites. Many of the proposed or announced CCUS sites are in the parishes along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans (Cancer Alley), but sites are also being planned for other parishes. 

Opponents of CCUS in Louisiana include some of those living near proposed sequestration sites. Beyond NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) and environmental justice objections, opponents have made other arguments against rapid expansion of CCUS sites in the state. Details concerning these arguments can be found in recent publications and on websites of environmental groups, but a summary of major concerns might include:  

* There has been underperformance and sometimes failure of recent CCUS operations due to high costs, low efficiencies achieved, and the still early development of many CCUS technologies. Expected profits and gas emission reduction levels for future CCUS projects could be much less than anticipated.  

* Transportation of CO₂ from industrial sites to storage wells in Louisiana will require thousands of miles of new or retrofitted pipelines. Only a small set of current companies construct and operate CO₂ pipelines, which are larger and built to withstand the higher pressures of condensed CO₂ versus natural gas pipelines. Pipeline leakages would cause serious environmental damage and reduce CO₂ utilization potentials.  

* There remains skepticism that the LA Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can ensure carbon capture projects will operate safely. The regulatory role for CCUS projects is expected to pass soon from federal EPA approval processes to DNR responsibilities. There have been concerns expressed that regulation of CCUS projects could overburden DNR monitoring and enforcement capabilities.  

Despite these and other CCUS reservations, it appears that the state’s business and political leaders will continue to encourage CCUS projects – unless or until their track record is convincingly proven to be too damaging or costly.

                    Protecting Louisiana’s Groundwater and Aquifers 

Many of Louisiana's natural resources are threatened, including the state’s major aquifers that store groundwater. Unlike Western states where surface and groundwater scarcity has been a traditional problem, Louisiana has abundant waterways and deltas, with occasional flooding having been the primary water-related concern. A series of investigative reports in 2021, though, detailed how groundwater in and around Louisiana is depleting faster than in most parts of the USA.  

Investigative journalists Austin Ramsey and Tegan Wendland who are affiliated with the Investigative Reporting Workshop and stations WWNO/WRKF described a different water crisis in Louisiana. They reported that unregulated pumping by industries and agriculture, coupled with limited oversight and conflicts of interest within legislative committees, are depleting the state's aquifers. 

Groundwater is vital for our drinking water and for agriculture and industry. Although surface water is accessible for certain water needs, it often comes with higher risks and/or treatment costs to remove contaminants. Over-pumping the Sparta Aquifer in northern Louisiana has led to groundwater level declines and long-term sustainability concerns. 

Groundwater depletion has far-reaching consequences, such as declining surface waters, loss of habitats and biodiversity, and land subsidence. It also impacts agricultural productivity, raises water extraction costs, and poses public health risks due to increased contaminant concentrations. Yet gathering comprehensive data on groundwater levels and quality is difficult due to the vast size of aquifers, their complex geology, and these monitoring costs. 

Louisiana's regulatory framework for groundwater usage has been described as relatively weak, with few controls to prevent excess or wasteful pumping. In 2021, state lawmakers passed only a non-binding resolution urging the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to limit an industrial or commercial facility’s groundwater extraction by the year 2026 to five million gallons per day. The state also has had just two regional oversight agencies that help safeguard two of our major aquifers, the Southern Hills Aquifer System near Baton Rouge and the Sparta Aquifer in northern Louisiana. 

Scientists and consultants tell us that effective groundwater management requires better monitoring, more efficient water usage technologies, more public education, improved stakeholder dialogues, increased coordination of water resources policies, and potential incentives and restrictions related to certain pumping activities. 

Public education and broader stakeholder participation are particularly crucial for water conservation and sustainability. Directly and seriously impacted stakeholders, such as companies with large economic interests and those parties personally disadvantaged by existing or proposed practices, have every reason to organize and push for their goals. Others who can seem less directly affected or are less knowledgeable about groundwater and aquifer challenges often have little voice in the policy making process. Lindsey Gouedy from Ruston, who serves as Education Coordinator for the Sparta Groundwater Conservation Commission, conducts many presentations for area students and adults on aquifer-related issues. 

To replenish aquifers, alternative water sources for non-potable water needs must be found and used. A few states, like California, have a history of residential water recycling. By 2000, as many as two million Californians were reportedly using then-illegal gray water recycling approaches. The state’s plumbing code was revised in 2009 to allow homeowners to install “laundry-to-landscape” gray water systems without a special permit. Installing plumbing systems that diverted laundry machine water for outdoor irrigation and flushing toilets increased after the state’s plumbing code was revised. Costs and other concerns associated with gray water recycling systems, though, have seriously limited their residential application elsewhere in the USA. 

According to 2023 reporting by Cristina LaRue of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Arkansas Natural Resources Division of Agriculture claims that the state is withdrawing groundwater from the Sparta Aquifer at a rate far above that which is estimated to be sustainable. Certain locations, however, such as Union County that borders Louisiana, have displayed much more optimistic monitoring results. These positive outcomes have been traced largely to the impact of large chemical and refining plants in or near El Dorado that have been switched from groundwater reliance to increased surface water usage.    

The West Monroe Sparta Reuse Facility has been another well-regarded development. This reuse facility uses naturally occurring green algae to help clean the city's wastewater, and it has supplied millions of gallons of recycled water daily to the major water user, Graphic Packaging International, to significantly reduce the company's previously heavy groundwater draw.  

The sustainability of groundwater from aquifers is a regional, national, and global challenge. UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, states that half of the global population by 2030 is expected to be living in water-stressed conditions that are estimated to cause the displacement of 700 million people. This will mean more forced population migration soon, as well as more public health emergencies and political conflicts in coping with these migrants. Louisiana and surrounding states need to protect their essential water resources. 

                                            Athletic Dreams and Realities  

Boys and girls today aren’t that much different in some ways from the Baby Boomer kids of the 50s and 60s. Many youngsters become aware of talented high school, college, and pro athletes, and they dream of emulating the successes of their sports heroes. I certainly did.   

There were few sports or physical activities that I didn’t try from about age seven to my early college days. My brother and I even organized a neighborhood mini-Olympics and made fake gold, silver, and bronze medals for the winners. We also badgered our father into constructing a rough pole-vaulting pit made from sand, and we used large bamboo poles or aluminum conduit to vault only as high as 11 feet. Poor landings in the jump pit resulted in several trips to a chiropractor for me. One Christmas, we got a smaller-than-regulation size pool table, and we competed against one another or friends in our family garage.   

Some sports offered me a little hope. I wasn’t terrible at baseball and softball and made grade-school and junior league teams.  I even played in a baseball league until almost college age, but by then I was batting ninth in the order. I loved the sport and was a decent defensive player, but I couldn’t handle curveballs and pitches with much movement.  

I could use the excuse of my parents not being able to afford lessons for golf, tennis, or other sports. My real problem, though, was not having high levels of hand-eye coordination or just the fluid, natural grace of many top athletes. I tried to make up for this by being a “grinder” or putting in extra time and effort, but slowly I accepted the fact that I would never be any kind of sports star. Like many other boys, I didn’t play varsity athletics in high school, so I had to take required physical education (PE) classes. 

Junior and senior high school PE teachers usually get a lot of grief and complaints from their students. Not that many students enjoy directed exercise or calisthenics sessions. At West Monroe High School where I attended, most of the PE instructors were bestowed insulting nicknames. One PE teacher stood out for me and many others. Coach Bobby Wilson was a tough disciplinarian and by far the most demanding P.E. teacher of those I encountered.  

As much as I was no fan then of Coach Wilson’s ex-Marine, taskmaster style, I confess that his advice about physical fitness has had a strong influence on my life. I still remember some of his remarks to his PE students. He would repeat something like the following: 

”Those of you in this class aren’t varsity athletes, for one reason or another. You won’t get the attention or acclaim that they receive, but you can become better athletes and have a higher quality of physical health later in life than our star players. Most gifted high school athletes won’t be in great physical shape after their glory years. The exercise and conditioning that help them excel on the field of play now will be abandoned in a few years.” 

He urged his students to commit to at least a moderate level of exercise and fitness routines that they could sustain over a lifetime. Sports such as tennis, basketball, and golf (played without riding carts) were recommended. Vigorous outdoor activities like hiking, canoeing, and swimming were touted also.  

Coach Wilson’s recommendations made sense to me back then (and do even now). A major benefit of regular physical exertion seems to be an improved quality of breathing, moving, and even thinking. I can accomplish more work or play with less fatigue. Of course, the huge challenge is the discipline to devote time on a regular basis for staying “in shape.”  

About a year ago, I mentioned my memories of Coach Wilson to my musician brother Rod. He surprised me later by saying that Coach Wilson was still alive and that he had passed along my comments about his influence and my trying to follow his recommendation of being a life-long athlete. I’m glad that Rod got that chance to talk with Coach Wilson. He died in late December 2022 at the age of 97.  

In the spirit and memory of Coach Wilson, I’ll offer a few fitness suggestions. The first is to try to participate in multiple sports or recreational activities to avoid boredom. Tennis is my favorite, but I also bike, hike, kayak, and play golf on occasion. I also work with dumbbells and do core exercises three times a week. Completing this simple fitness routine while watching a TV program or an old movie at home helps me.       

Also consider creative alternatives to traditional sports or games. You don’t always have to be very competitive with others or stick to the formal rules of a particular sports activity. You can accommodate your own personality, interests, or fitness goals. If typical workout sessions seem boring, you might try to experiment with variations of conventional physical activities.  

Playing tennis or pickleball using your less dominant arm will not lead to your best result, but there might be as much of a competitive match if your opponent switches arms also. Since very few of us can win against top competition, why be serious all the time? Why not modify fitness routines from time to time, have a little fun, and laugh at our athletic shortcomings?

                       Generative Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots 

Are you an early, middle, or late adopter of new technologies or social innovations?  

While I might be a relatively early or middle adopter for a few things, my wife usually is ahead of me in purchasing trend-setting communication and technology devices. I’m often satisfied enough with existing technology and must be assured that the innovation will better serve my needs or interests. 

Several news articles, and their remarkable claims, about generative artificial intelligence (AI) convinced me a few months ago that I needed to start learning about this emerging phenomenon. Forbes Magazine reported that the most popular generative AI tool, ChatGPT, had an estimated 100 million active users in late January 2023, just two months after its public introduction. This made ChatGPT the fastest growing consumer internet application in history according to UBS, the Swiss financial giant. Also, in a February survey of over 2000 K-12 teachers and students in the USA completed by Impact Research on behalf of the Walton Family Foundation, 51 percent of the responding teachers have used this chatbot.  

Another article cited 91 per cent of the 1,187 business leaders surveyed in an April Resume Builder study said they are seeking to recruit employees with ChatGPT experience for customer service, sales and finance, human resources, and marketing jobs. Industries that should be more impacted by generative AI seem to be healthcare, transportation, and entertainment.   

Several AI technology “experts” have projected that AI technologies will have a bigger economic impact than the COVID crisis or even the Industrial Revolution. Increased business productivity and white-collar job unemployment are expected to occur. Journalist, C.Y. Gopinath, was quoted as stating that “Everyone is playing with the new AI toy, fascinated, terrified, obsessed. It seems there is no area of our lives that is safe from AI, from our jobs to the contents of our refrigerators.” Some corporate AI leaders and government officials in the USA and Western Europe have called for global regulation of AI producers due to their alarm that these systems will soon be too powerful for mere humans to be able to control.  

If ChatGPT and several of its competitors, such as Google Bard and Bing Chat, were already creating so much hype, it seemed time that I learned at least the basics. So, I subscribed to these three tools in early May, and I began asking these chatbots a variety of questions. 

I’ve been writing monthly articles for this journal for over seven years now. My fellow PWJ contributors and I could be identified as “content providers.” Newspapers, magazines, and media entertainment/services depend upon their content providers to attract readers, viewers, listeners, and particularly advertisers. Generative AI innovations will apparently affect media content providers as much or more than any other occupational group. 

For those unfamiliar yet with the type of responses obtained from AI chatbots, I’ll share a response that I received when I posed a question in early May to ChatGPT. Since PWJ serves the Southern timber industry, I asked what are the more significant and helpful AI applications for this industry. The areas that were listed as more beneficial were:  

“Forest Management and Planning: AI can assist in forest inventory and monitoring, providing accurate and up-to-date information about tree species, density, and health. This data can be used for optimized forest management, including planning logging operations, identifying areas for reforestation, and predicting timber yields. 

Predictive Analytics: AI algorithms can analyze historical data related to weather patterns, soil conditions, pest outbreaks, and other factors to generate predictive models. These models can help anticipate forest health issues, insect infestations, and disease outbreaks, allowing for proactive management and intervention. 

Precision Logging and Harvesting: AI technology, combined with sensors and robotics, can enhance precision logging and harvesting operations. AI-powered systems can analyze tree characteristics, growth patterns, and location data to optimize the selection of trees for harvest and determine the most efficient harvesting techniques, minimizing waste and improving resource utilization. 

Supply Chain Optimization: AI can optimize the timber supply chain by analyzing transportation logistics, inventory management, and demand forecasting. AI algorithms can help streamline the movement of timber from the forest to processing facilities, ensuring efficient delivery and reducing transportation costs. 

Remote Sensing and Imagery Analysis: AI can analyze satellite imagery, LiDAR data, and other remote sensing information to assess forest health, detect changes in vegetation, and identify potential risks such as fire hazards or illegal logging activities. This helps in early detection, prevention, and mitigation of forest-related issues. 

Natural Resource Planning and Compliance: AI can assist in compliance monitoring by analyzing satellite data and other sources to detect illegal logging activities, encroachments, or unauthorized land use. This helps authorities and organizations ensure sustainable practices and enforce regulations effectively.” 

This sample response likely provides little insight for experienced industry professionals, but such responses could be very helpful for those trying to obtain an introductory or summary account for many topics. Follow-up questions allow users to get deeper into specifics concerning issues initially identified.  

Although ChatGPT and other competing “large language models” perform well for many different tasks, they can occasionally produce what has been referred to as “hallucinations” or errors. Users are cautioned to avoid overreliance, and not double checking, on certain generative AI responses.  

It’s very difficult to summarize generative AI developments, because innovations (and positive and negative reactions to these) are happening so rapidly. Perhaps the best way to stay up with revolutionary generative AI developments is to request one of the chatbots with up-to-date internet coverage to summarize these developments for you. The three chatbots mentioned earlier make it very easy to sign up and use their basic services now for free. 

                                      

                                   The Astonishing Appeal of Pickleball   

Americans participate in diverse sports and recreational activities. Some pursuits, like hunting, fishing, archery, or golf, have been practiced for centuries. New or slightly different activities continue to be introduced. When I was young, there was a craze of at least short-lived enthusiasm for tumbling, trampolines, and miniature golf. Skateboarding was in vogue for a later generation of youth. More recently, many parks and recreation areas have installed disc golf courses.  

Individual sports and outdoor activities can appeal more to those of a certain age range or fitness level. Rugby or tackle football are less likely choices, for example, for folks over the age of 35 or 40 or those who are less fit. Some leisure pastimes have a limited, if dedicated, number of participants. Squash, badminton, and racquetball don’t have nearly the popularity of tennis. According to Statista Research, there were 22.6 million American tennis participants in 2021.   

This level of interest in tennis can be roughly compared to participation estimates for other sporting activities. The number of hunters fell from an estimated 17 million in 1980 to 11.5 million in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fishing remains a more popular diversion with 29.2 million registered anglers in the United States in 2021, as provided by the Outdoor Foundation's 2022 Special Report on Fishing. The National Golf Foundation estimated that 25.1 million people played on a golf course in the United States in 2021.   

Many news sources have reported that the fastest growing American sport, by far, in recent years has been pickleball. Invented in the 1960s by three men from Washington state, the sport is something of a cross between ping-pong and tennis. Pickleball can be played indoors as well as outdoors, and the courts are about half of the size of a traditional tennis court.  

It seems difficult to believe some very recent statistics that have been released showing the growth and addictiveness of pickleball. The Association of Pickleball Professionals claimed that 48.3 million adult Americans have played pickleball at least once in the past 12 months. This represents an increase of 35% since the organization’s last research report was shared in August 2022, when the adult participation number was said to reach 36.5 million. Another pickleball media outlet stated that the number of pickleball players increased by 85.7% in the year 2022 and grew 158.6% from 2020-2022. The report also noted that 67% of pickleball players engaged in more than eight outings over a year.   

Like most of you, I grew up in the Deep South and have lived here most of my life. It seemed to me that Southerners traditionally lagged a year, two, or more before adopting most trends established elsewhere. This appears to be the case with pickleball so far. Many East and West Coast states, Midwestern states, and even Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia provide much more player access. Pickleball court availability is also easier to find in or near metropolitan areas. So, there are more pickleball courts and facilities in south Louisiana, particularly the Baton Rouge and New Orleans area, than in north Louisiana. The Shreveport- Bossier City area has more courts available for play than in Monroe, Alexandria, Ruston, Vidalia, or Natchitoches.  

More pickleball access will be available in this area to match its apparent demand. The new West Monroe Sports Complex that is scheduled to open later in 2023 includes 100,000 square feet of indoor space. The complex can be configured so that 16 pickleball courts are available. Similar to many existing indoor recreational facilities in our area, there will be days in the week and times in the day dedicated to pickleballers. More and more outdoor tennis courts are being painted or marked for pickleball dimensions, and some tennis players are complaining that it’s getting more difficult for them to find preferred court times due to the growing number of those wanting to play pickleball. 

So far, I’ve noticed more youth, those under about 16 years of age, than others playing pickleball outdoors. Older or retired folks appear to be more disposed to play indoors, usually at area rec centers. Pickleball has been touted for older adults who wish to become or stay physically active. One pilot study conducted by North Carolina State researchers suggested that pickleball helps older adults reach recommended weekly amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity. A few studies have also warned about injuries occurring as more older adults become involved.            

Pickleball leagues and tournaments are also becoming more common. The Ruston Sports Complex hosted the Louisiana Indoor Amateur Pickleball Open in late April this year, and I attended for part of that day. I had a chance to talk briefly with Mike Golson from Lake Charles who, along with his partner, had won the 4.0 level men’s doubles championship. Mike started playing pickleball when he took a lifetime sports class at ULM in the 90s. 

For a couple of years now, I’ve resisted the pickleball temptation. Tennis was my primary recreational interest from age 17 to about 40, and I’ve begun playing tennis again in the last year. While tennis offers more strenuous exercise, I made the decision recently to purchase a pickleball racquet and try to play. It’s going to be difficult, though, to convince a few of my tennis playing friends to join me. They even complain about the louder and less pleasant sound of the solid racquets hitting pickleballs. 

 What’s Your Basic Health Strategy?  

There must be a million books and articles that have been written on diet and fitness programs. Many folks try various diet plans, often with short-term involvement and very limited success. 

I wouldn’t recommend diet programs to others because I’m hardly qualified with a health-related background and credentials. I do read articles occasionally on health research. Part of my interest probably stems from having a mother who was committed to taking proactive health measures.  

Mom was a firm believer in the health guru of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Dr. J.I. Rodale. Each month, she would receive a copy of his Prevention Magazine. Founded in 1950, Rodale’s magazine promoted disease prevention rather than relying on cures. Among his recommendations were avoiding nicotine and caffeine, returning to traditional whole grains and vegetables, and taking nutritional supplements. Every supper that Mom served us for at least a decade started with an empty plate filled with 10 or more pills or capsules that we had to consume before starting our meal. Most of these were certain vitamins, minerals, and supplements such as bone meal. I remember the bone meal pill, particularly because it was difficult to swallow and had a foul taste.  

I wonder today whether, or how much, the long-term consumption of those nutritional supplements in our formative years contributed to our generally good health. That’s the trouble with following health recommendations; you don’t have another you available as a control measure to determine the actual difference that a particular change has really made.   

Although some behaviors, like smoking, seem well established scientifically as serious health hazards, many people smoke, in one form or another. Rational self-preservation would seem to argue strongly against such proven bad habits, but humans aren’t pure logic machines. We have, at best, only “bounded rationality,” and we can often raise arguments to support what seems to others to be risky pursuits. 

Beyond some well-established conclusions, health research can occasionally seem confusing or contradictory. A health recommendation can appear to be supported scientifically for years before later researchers reject or modify it. Most research studies focus on one or several health-related inputs or outcomes, such as obesity or heart disease. Weaknesses in research design, intervening or contextual factors not taken into full account, and other problems can limit the scope of research conclusions. Better meta-analyses of many relevant, individual studies can suggest general recommendations for the public. This more careful reporting often has very limited visibility and impact, however, in the media flood of profit-seeking product claims. Health-related articles in social media so often lead to advertising pitches for something that will solve our individual health problems.           

I believe that more Americans desperately need a slightly more strategic approach for making better personal health choices. It would take just a little information gathering and question asking. After a visit to a GP, can we summarize our overall health attributes, positive and negative, in less than a page of bulleted list entries? What are our greater health threats, based on our family and personal history? These might be heart disease, forms of cancer, diabetes, etc. What food and health choices have been shown multiple times over decades of research to have positive outcomes related to these threats? Finally, how might we practically include these choices into our normal, day-to-day personal routines?  

In my own case over the last 15 years, I’ve made lifestyle changes associated with food consumption. I still have a few poor habits, but I’ve slowly added healthier foods and supplements on a daily or regular basis.     

Recognizing the benefits of Mediterranean style cooking, I select many different leaf and root vegetables and slowly cook these using extra virgin olive oil. Seasoning these cooking vegetables, I use spices including ground ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric mixed with black pepper. These vegetables are prepared in volume enough for helpings over about two weeks, stored in the refrigerator, and heated and added to pasta, rice, or other main meals. I also consume daily at least one cup of hot green tea sweetened with honey. Occasional snacks for me include grapes, various berries, bananas, and particularly tree nuts. My choices for daily nutritional supplements are two formulations containing prebiotics and probiotic strains, a joint repair compound containing glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM, and a simple multivitamin tablet.  

My diverse outdoor pursuits, as well as my personal health goals and threats, probably aren’t some of yours, so I can’t really suggest many health-related choices for others. I would emphasize, though, that we have but one life to lead. Why shouldn’t we try to make more responsible health choices over time for the benefit of those who care deeply for us? 

The Greeks argued for a golden mean, between opposing extremes, for many life choices. I don’t want to be at either dieting extreme – being a diet fanatic or someone who ignores all health research and recommendations. I choose a middle path of casually monitoring health-related news and adding to my routines occasionally what seems a practical and healthier difference.  

What about you? In the spirit of making a toast with your favorite beverage, I would say, “To your good health, my friend!”