Posted by feww on April 30, 2008
EV71 Hits China’s Anhui Province
A highly contagious virus has infected 1,884 people, killed 20 children and is spreading. The virus known as EV71 causes fevers, blisters and rashes on the victims’ hands and feet.
The outbreak of the lethal intestinal virus started in March in Fuyang City in the east China’s Anhui Province, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Experts from places out of Anhui Province examine a sick child in Fuyang City, east China’s Anhui Province, April 29, 2008. The Health Ministry of China sent Fuyang 35 medical experts from Hunan and Hubei provinces in central China to give better treatment to sick children on April 28. An outbreak of lethal intestinal virus Enterovirus 71 has altogether sickened 1,520 children in Fuyang, claiming 20 lives by the morning of April 29. A total of 585 have recovered and 412 are in hospital. Of those, 27 are seriously ill. (Photo and caption: Xinhua). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
As many as 540 children remain in hospital for further observation. The symptoms in children include fever, mouth ulcers, rashes and blisters hands and feet. Several children with severe pneumonia were admitted to hospitals between March 27-31. Some of the victims were diagnosed with brain, heart and lung damage. All of the victims are reported to be less than six, the majority being under two years old.
At least 27 are said to be in critical condition, according to the provincial health department.
Posted in Fuyang City, Travel, blisters, fevers, foot and mouth, health, politics, rashes | Tagged: Anhui Province, brain damage, China, Deadly virus, EV71, heart damage, infection, lung damage, mouth ulcers, pneumonia | No Comments »
Posted by feww on April 30, 2008
Our thanks to Lisa G. for forwarding the link to the following (Source)
We are at the tipping point because the climate state includes large, ready positive feedbacks provided by the Arctic sea ice, the West Antarctic ice sheet, and much of Greenland’s ice. — James Hansen
Tipping Point: PERSPECTIVE OF A CLIMATOLOGIST [PDF]
by JAMES HANSEN
An Excerpt from Hansen’s report:
Our home planet is dangerously near a tipping point at which human-made greenhouse gases reach a level where major climate changes can proceed mostly under their own momentum. Warming will shift climatic zones by intensifying the hydrologic cycle, affecting freshwater availability and human health.
[James Hansen is director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Institute for Space Studies and an Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.]
The ice in the Arctic is much younger than normal, with vast regions now covered by first-year ice and much less area covered by multiyear ice. Left: February distribution of ice by its age during normal Arctic conditions (1985-2000 average). Right: February 2008 Arctic ice age distribution. Credit: NSIDC [Caption: NASA]
Related Links:
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Posted in Arctic, Climate Change, Greenland’s ice, atmosphere, big oil, biofuels, biosphere, environment, food, greenhouse gases, health, politics | Tagged: climatic zones, CLIMATOLOGIST, Columbia University, Earth Institute, freshwater, human health, hydrologic cycle, JAMES HANSEN, positive feedbacks, Tipping Point | 1 Comment »
Posted by feww on April 28, 2008
Flood forces 2nd day of evacuations in northern Ontario
CBC News - As many as 2,000 people were expected to be airlifted Sunday from three communities in northern Ontario after rapidly rising water levels and melting ice prompted local leaders to declare an emergency. The rising Albany River is threatening the communities of Kashechewan [in Cree, "Keeshechewan" means "where the water flows fast"] and Fort Albany near James Bay. Rising water levels were also threatening the community of Attawapiskat.
Residents are expected to be away from home for six to eight weeks. (Source)
Posted in Climate Change, Global Warming, energy, environment, health | Tagged: floods, Kashechewan, Keeshechewan, Attawapiskat, northern Ontario, Canada | No Comments »
Posted by feww on April 28, 2008
Excerpts from
Cheap oil has distorted the notion of creating ‘economic gains’ to such great extents that governments subsidize the industry to export and import the same product, often in similar quantities, within the same fiscal period. Country A exports Q tons of product P to country B, while it imports Q tons of the same product P from country B at the same time, with a net zero gain in commodity exchange for either country. However, the exchange produces about 9Q tons of CO2e pollution, nine times the weight of the commodity that was flown in either direction, for every 1,000 miles that the consignment is airborne.
Our weekly shopping basket includes items that would have flown more air miles than the average family fly in their lifetime! A 1kg (2.2lb) bag of New Zealand kiwifruit (in any of its cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury… or organochlorine varieties) produces about 142kg (313lb) of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent gases) pollution flying to the US, or 188.7kg (416lb) of CO2e to Europe.
Related Links:
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The Death of Homo Sapiens Sapiens
- Killed by Homo Economicus
- Domination by Disinformation
- Is a Future Possible?
- Exponential Growth Economy and Oil
- Where Is All the Money?
- Exporting Democracy to the Middle East
Posted in Climate Change, environment, food, new zealand, politics | Tagged: economy, EU, money, Food Chain, internalizing costs, Spain, US, shopping basket, Wal-mart, China, Costco, kiwifruit, Israeli strawberries, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, oil subsidy | No Comments »
Posted by feww on April 27, 2008
Rising Food, Fuel and Fertilizer Prices
How expensive must food, oil and fertilizers get before they could turn the tide of China-US trade imbalance AND force the EU economy into major retreat?
Would the breadbasket of the world use the rising prices of grains (cereal crops) as an economic weapon against China and EU?
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