Wednesday, April 15, 2020

To all who compare Covid-19 to the seasonal flu and think the shutdown is not necessary

To all who compare Covid-19 to the seasonal flu and think the shutdown is not necessary.

  • Seasonal flues affect about 1,000,000,000 (that is 1 billion) people per year, causing 290,000 to 650,000 deaths - a death rate of 0.07%. Source: WHO March 1, 2020
  • As of 4/15/2020, COVID-19 affected 1914916 people worldwide (confirmed cases) with 123010 confirmed deaths - that is a death rate of 6.42% - or about 100 times the death rate of a regular seasonal flu. Source: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports/
  • The only seasonal flu that was as devastating was the Spanish flue of 1918 that infected about 500 million people or one-third of the world's population and killed an estimated 50 million people (10%). Source: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/reconstruction-1918-virus.html
  • All other significant epidemic and pandemic outbreaks in recent history infected far less people and/or had a much lower fatality (see Figure below)
INTERACTIVE: Global epidemics March 2, 2020

Friday, April 10, 2020

Why we must close high-risk wildlife markets | Stories | WWF

The disease COVID-19 has caused a health crisis worldwide. We don't know the full and devastating reach of this pandemic yet, but we do understand how it underscores the destructive impacts of wildlife trade and consumption on human health and societies.



COVID-19, caused by the coronavirus, is a zoonotic disease, meaning it originated from an animal. The source of the outbreak is believed to have been a "wet market" in Wuhan, China, that sold live and dead wildlife and domestic animals, along with other foods for human consumption. Such markets can be a living petri dish, with viruses shed by stressed animals warehoused together mixing with other bodily fluids in unhygienic conditions. When these often new or unknown viruses jump to people, the results can be catastrophic.

Continue reading at: Why we must close high-risk wildlife markets | Stories | WWF

Thursday, April 9, 2020

We just spent two weeks surveying the Great Barrier Reef. What we saw was an utter tragedy

Unfortunately, while the world is paralyzed by COVID-19, the climate catastrophe gets worse...


The 2020 coral bleaching event was the second-worst in more than two decades. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

Continue reading at: We just spent two weeks surveying the Great Barrier Reef. What we saw was an utter tragedy

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Standing Rock Tribe Wins in Court After Years of Perseverance | Earthjustice

A federal judge struck down permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline, even after COVID-19 precautions led to an unconventional day in court.
Tribes and allies gathered to defend Standing Rock Sioux territory from the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. A federal judge struck down the pipeline's permits on March 25, 2020, after years of litigation.Tribes and allies gathered to defend Standing Rock
Tribes and allies gathered to defend Standing Rock Sioux territory from the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. After years of litigation, a court struck down the pipeline's water permits on March 25, 2020.

Continue reading at: Standing Rock Tribe Wins in Court After Years of Perseverance | Earthjustice

Monday, March 23, 2020

Corona Virus Rap: Flatten the Curve: Mach die Kurve flach | MaximNoise - YouTube

Now with embedded subtitles...

Flatten the Curve

Today, stay home under your own roof
Flatten the curve
Between your four walls, whether day or night
Flatten the curve
Don't just think about yourself - pay attention to others. Flatten the curve
Together we're strong; alone we're weak. Flatten the curve.

The sun's shining outside, but I'm staying in today
'Cause I think about others, too, and I'm not egotistic
Because even though I'm healthy, it sadly makes no sense
For me to make things hard for Grandma and Grandpa
So much is unknown about the virus
But it spreads aimlessly across the land, and at the same time, causes fear
So I don't cough on you or reach for your hand
We want to break these chains and slow the whole thing down
Sure, we all had other plans
But we still won't make a scene today
We're getting into quarantine
'Cause we can all meet up when it's over
So why not consider others and save a few lives on the way?
Isolation's no easy situation
But we've got to get through it, so long as viruses threaten us
We want to protect doctors and hospitals;
That's why, today, we're staying right where we live

Come and sing with me:
Today, stay home under your own roof
Flatten the curve
Between your four walls, whether day or night
Flatten the curve
Don't just think about yourself - pay attention to others
Flatten the curve
Together we're strong; alone we're weak
Flatten the curve

I flatten the curve like the paper in my toilet
And if I have no more, I wash my poop off with a rag
It'll be washed well, then hung up to dry
There'll be no trouble started here over a pack of toilet paper
Ay, I flatten the curve like my belly at my morning workout
Full energy; it makes me fit and calms my worries
I drink water, and pay attention to nutrition while I'm at it
And when this whole horrible mess is over, I'll be fit as a fiddle
I flatten the curve, flat at jokes no one laughs at
And finally we come to the things you don't1 have time for
We can learn foreign languages or read a book for once
We can play Playstation and have a good time
I flatten the curve for everyone who wouldn't make it otherwise
For everyone who's too weak, and who the curve would steal forever
'Cause this curve can be the world to someone
Just stay home and you can be a hero

Come and sing with me:
Today, stay home under your own roof
Flatten the curve
Between your four walls, whether day or night
Flatten the curve
Don't just think about yourself - pay attention to others
Flatten the curve
Together we're strong; alone we're weak
Flatten the curve

It's all just so crazy.
But one day we'll be back, stronger than ever
Avoid contact and keep your distance
Today we keep the curve flat, man, yeah

It's all just so crazy.
But one day we'll be back, stronger than ever
Avoid contact and keep your distance
Today we keep the curve flat, man, yeah

Come and sing with me:
Today, stay home under your own roof
Flatten the curve
Between your four walls, whether day or night
Flatten the curve
Don't just think about yourself - pay attention to others
Flatten the curve
Together we're strong; alone we're weak
Flatten the curve

Thursday, March 19, 2020

9th Environmental Documentary Series Scheduled

DUE TO PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES TO REDUCE THE CHANCES OF CONTRACTING THE CORONA VIRUS, WE HAD TO CANCEL THE 9TH SERIES. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON THE LINKS ON THE NAMES OF THE FILMS, MANY ARE AVAILABLE FOR PAY-PER-VIEW AT MODERATE COSTS.

All films will start Wednesdays 7:00 PM on the Adrian Campus in the Science Building, Room SCI 131 and are free and open for everybody. This faculty-led program and any related discussion is for educational benefit only. A campus map can be found at:
sienaheights.edu/About/Campus-Map-Parking

The tentative schedule can be found at:
http://sustainability.sienaheights.edu/environmental-documentaries.html


Come and bring a friend – the more the merrier – feel free to forward widely.