Monday, November 28, 2005
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Friday, November 11, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Monday, October 31, 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Bird Flu Going to East Africa, United Nations Officials Fear - Perfect Mixing Ground
Africa is the perfect place for H5N1 to acquire human-to-human capabililty.
Africa will also be one of the places the disease hits the worst, wherever it starts.
Bird Flu Going to East Africa, United Nations Officials Fear - New York Times
Africa will also be one of the places the disease hits the worst, wherever it starts.
Bird Flu Going to East Africa, United Nations Officials Fear - New York Times
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Air in the West going South
Maybe GWB should tell these people that global warming is an illusion - like evolution - and they shouldn't be wasting their time studying something that isn't real.
'Expert' Witness Sees Evidence in Nature for Intelligent Design
This is rich. A 'scientist' says that there must be 'intelligent design' behind nature because it's just too complex to have derived on its own.
Um... yeah.
So, since he can't understand rocket engines, either, it must be that God designed them, also.
I'm not sure how he explains, to use a current example, drug resistance in the H5N1 flu virus. Why, a virus couldn't just 'acquire' a gene from another virus - that's way too complex, and how would a virus know that it's supposed to acquire that gene? Viruses swap genes with other viruses (and they don't even have to be H5 viruses) to acquire different traits, like how to disguise themselves so as not to be attacked by the immune system. You know - some people might call that 'evolution', but we all know that nothing evolves.
For example, this 'scientist' says that the flagellum on bacteria that drives it is like an 'outboard motor', and he sees a 'rotary motor' attached to a 'drive shaft that pushes a propeller', and that is, to him, 'a purposeful arrangement of parts'.
Well, a virus acquiring a gene to protect it from Tamiflu, when that virus has never been in the presence of Tamiflu, is 'purposeful', is it not?
Some people also believe we never reached the moon.
Um... yeah.
So, since he can't understand rocket engines, either, it must be that God designed them, also.
I'm not sure how he explains, to use a current example, drug resistance in the H5N1 flu virus. Why, a virus couldn't just 'acquire' a gene from another virus - that's way too complex, and how would a virus know that it's supposed to acquire that gene? Viruses swap genes with other viruses (and they don't even have to be H5 viruses) to acquire different traits, like how to disguise themselves so as not to be attacked by the immune system. You know - some people might call that 'evolution', but we all know that nothing evolves.
For example, this 'scientist' says that the flagellum on bacteria that drives it is like an 'outboard motor', and he sees a 'rotary motor' attached to a 'drive shaft that pushes a propeller', and that is, to him, 'a purposeful arrangement of parts'.
Well, a virus acquiring a gene to protect it from Tamiflu, when that virus has never been in the presence of Tamiflu, is 'purposeful', is it not?
Some people also believe we never reached the moon.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Thursday, October 06, 2005
What We Cannot Do Ourselves, We Cannot Understand In Others
This is why Republicans can't understand people who have empathy for others.What We Cannot Do Ourselves, We Cannot Understand In Others
Seeing Creation and Evolution in Grand Canyon - New York Times
Here's a great example of the evolution/creation debate.
A geologist, who studies rocks, looks at the Grand Canyon and see congruity between what he's learned and what he's seeing.
A creationist, who knows nothing about geology, says that the rocks look the way they do because God created them that way.
It's a good thing that oil exploration geologists aren't creationists, or they wouldn't know where to look for oil unless they thought God just happened to place oil in the same kind of structures - again and again - just for fun.
Geology can explain how the rocks in the canyon folded (heat and pressure over time), and the metamorphosis of the rocks backs up that explanation.
Creationists, I guess, think that God created the rocks all folded up and then morphed them just to have a bit of a go at us; how many people could he sucker into believing that gradual processes did the folding and changing?
God - he's one great kidder!
A geologist, who studies rocks, looks at the Grand Canyon and see congruity between what he's learned and what he's seeing.
A creationist, who knows nothing about geology, says that the rocks look the way they do because God created them that way.
It's a good thing that oil exploration geologists aren't creationists, or they wouldn't know where to look for oil unless they thought God just happened to place oil in the same kind of structures - again and again - just for fun.
Geology can explain how the rocks in the canyon folded (heat and pressure over time), and the metamorphosis of the rocks backs up that explanation.
Creationists, I guess, think that God created the rocks all folded up and then morphed them just to have a bit of a go at us; how many people could he sucker into believing that gradual processes did the folding and changing?
God - he's one great kidder!
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Monday, October 03, 2005
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Smoking Seems To Increase Brain Damage In Alcoholics
They have to be brain-damaged to be alcoholics in the first place, IMHO.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Monday, July 04, 2005
More on the coming pandemic
I've been harping on this for quite a while.
If you think that a major pandemic isn't coming, you're fooling yourself. Pandemics usually show up about every 20 years; we're overdue. The difference is that H5N1 is much more lethal than any other pandemic in recorded history, although just how lethal it will be when it acquires the ability to pass *easily* from human to human remains a mystery, and will remain so until the pandemic hits. There have been cases of human to human, but they have always been 'close contact' cases.
However, a new report out says that, in Vietnam, they've seen evidence that human to human transmission is becoming easier. Scientists have also seen H5N1 is pigs, and pigs are the best mixing media for H5H1 to acquire a human gene to enable quick, airborne, human to human transmissibility.
Please, get your flu shot when they become available. Even a flu shot not targeted at the H5N1 will help - a little; maybe just enough to keep you alive.
PS. If you're sick (with any cold/flu/etc) and you know it and you come around me, you should really bring some pretty big people to protect you, because I am NOT going to be a happy camper. However, my attitude about that has been in place since the late 70's, when I was running a large company and would fire anyone who came to work sick. And yes, I gave them extra paid days off, on the company's tab, to ensure that they didn't come in. In the end, the company saved a LOT of money and saved a lot of production time that would have been lost. McGraw-Hill took some convincing, but - at least in my plant of 250 people - they listened.
I'm betting good money that they don't have that policy in place anymore.
If you think that a major pandemic isn't coming, you're fooling yourself. Pandemics usually show up about every 20 years; we're overdue. The difference is that H5N1 is much more lethal than any other pandemic in recorded history, although just how lethal it will be when it acquires the ability to pass *easily* from human to human remains a mystery, and will remain so until the pandemic hits. There have been cases of human to human, but they have always been 'close contact' cases.
However, a new report out says that, in Vietnam, they've seen evidence that human to human transmission is becoming easier. Scientists have also seen H5N1 is pigs, and pigs are the best mixing media for H5H1 to acquire a human gene to enable quick, airborne, human to human transmissibility.
Please, get your flu shot when they become available. Even a flu shot not targeted at the H5N1 will help - a little; maybe just enough to keep you alive.
PS. If you're sick (with any cold/flu/etc) and you know it and you come around me, you should really bring some pretty big people to protect you, because I am NOT going to be a happy camper. However, my attitude about that has been in place since the late 70's, when I was running a large company and would fire anyone who came to work sick. And yes, I gave them extra paid days off, on the company's tab, to ensure that they didn't come in. In the end, the company saved a LOT of money and saved a lot of production time that would have been lost. McGraw-Hill took some convincing, but - at least in my plant of 250 people - they listened.
I'm betting good money that they don't have that policy in place anymore.
The Claim: Never Swim After Eating - New York Times
Friday, June 24, 2005
Report Says Space Program Is Lacking Money and Focus
I really should devote an entire new blog just to projects that Bush mandates and then fails to fund.
His 'trip to Mars' BS is just another in a long, long, long list of things he puts before the people so that he sounds all presidential, but then he - I guess - forgets to fund, or adequately fund, them.
It's just the same ole, same ole.
His 'trip to Mars' BS is just another in a long, long, long list of things he puts before the people so that he sounds all presidential, but then he - I guess - forgets to fund, or adequately fund, them.
It's just the same ole, same ole.
Trust for America's Health Fantasy Report
This is going in my politcal and health blogs because it has both political and health ramifications.
The report says that in the coming pandemic, we can expect about 500,000 fatalities. Wow! Really! That many?
Oh, wait, though! In 1918, 645,000 died in the U.S. from the Spanish Flu. The Spanish Flu had an overall death rate of .5% of the population, with would mean, if it struck now, that 1.5 million Americans could be expected to die. Hm... something's off here.
Given that the H5N1 flu has a MUCH higher fatality rate, it would not be unexpected that 1 or 2% of the population die, which would be 3 to 6 million, though I think it would be a lot higher. Also, given that investigators recently found that the TamiFlu vaccine was useless because Chinese farmers had been using a version for a couple of years, this letting the virus 'evolve' (for those believers in Creationism, just ignore the 'evolve' remark; God MADE the virus more resistant so as to hurt us.), we are virtually without protection.
So, how does this Trust for America's Health come up with the 1/2 million number? Apparently, Tarot card reading or tea leaves or some such nonsense, because they're obviously not using real facts.
In the next day or so, I'm going to research their board and staff members and find out just how closely they're tied to the Bush anti-science people; my guess is closer than a Bush is tied to his mommy. (ok, maybe not THAT closely, but close nonetheless.)
Please check back.
The report says that in the coming pandemic, we can expect about 500,000 fatalities. Wow! Really! That many?
Oh, wait, though! In 1918, 645,000 died in the U.S. from the Spanish Flu. The Spanish Flu had an overall death rate of .5% of the population, with would mean, if it struck now, that 1.5 million Americans could be expected to die. Hm... something's off here.
Given that the H5N1 flu has a MUCH higher fatality rate, it would not be unexpected that 1 or 2% of the population die, which would be 3 to 6 million, though I think it would be a lot higher. Also, given that investigators recently found that the TamiFlu vaccine was useless because Chinese farmers had been using a version for a couple of years, this letting the virus 'evolve' (for those believers in Creationism, just ignore the 'evolve' remark; God MADE the virus more resistant so as to hurt us.), we are virtually without protection.
So, how does this Trust for America's Health come up with the 1/2 million number? Apparently, Tarot card reading or tea leaves or some such nonsense, because they're obviously not using real facts.
In the next day or so, I'm going to research their board and staff members and find out just how closely they're tied to the Bush anti-science people; my guess is closer than a Bush is tied to his mommy. (ok, maybe not THAT closely, but close nonetheless.)
Please check back.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
'Plastic Oil' Could Improve Fuel Economy In Cars, Chemists Say
Just one more thing that Bush is not doing to help save the planet.
Is there ANYTHING he WILL do? For instance, he could support biodiesel fuel. The IRS has finally gotten around to giving tax credits for a bit of the cycle of biodiesel, but if you read the IRS requirements from the biodiesel.org website, you will find them to be lengthy, complicated, onerous and seemingly designed to discourage biodiesel manufacture and use.
If you want to read what could be done with biodiesel - not to mention the new 'plastic oil', look at the health effects of biodiesel and look at the number of gallons per year being used. The fact of the matter is that almost all of the biodiesel available is due to one man, though that has changed with Willie Nelson jumping in on the act.
Since biodiesel is made from vegetable oil and plastic oil is made from recycled plastic, they would drive down the price of oil, so you can understand why Bush would not want to see that.
On my political blog, for instance, you find that ExxonMobile had a LOT to do with Bush rejecting Kyoto. Bush is a frigging idiot, so he needs industry flacks to draw things out in crayon, with nice pictures, to help him understand why global warming needs - still - more study. Check my political blog, soon, for a list of Bush's statements about how he's SO frigging committed to the environment, but things still need more study. 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005. Apparently, there are more studies yet to be done. The pictures of shrinking glaciers, the number and strength of hurricanes, the sea salinity changes, the ocean conveyor shutting down, the droughts here and abroad - none of those seem to indicate to this dunce that there is a PROBLEM!
I'm just glad I had no biological children, though I raised - for a time - stepchildren that I wouldn't have missed for the world. However, it's sad to see what world we're leaving them.
Is there ANYTHING he WILL do? For instance, he could support biodiesel fuel. The IRS has finally gotten around to giving tax credits for a bit of the cycle of biodiesel, but if you read the IRS requirements from the biodiesel.org website, you will find them to be lengthy, complicated, onerous and seemingly designed to discourage biodiesel manufacture and use.
If you want to read what could be done with biodiesel - not to mention the new 'plastic oil', look at the health effects of biodiesel and look at the number of gallons per year being used. The fact of the matter is that almost all of the biodiesel available is due to one man, though that has changed with Willie Nelson jumping in on the act.
Since biodiesel is made from vegetable oil and plastic oil is made from recycled plastic, they would drive down the price of oil, so you can understand why Bush would not want to see that.
On my political blog, for instance, you find that ExxonMobile had a LOT to do with Bush rejecting Kyoto. Bush is a frigging idiot, so he needs industry flacks to draw things out in crayon, with nice pictures, to help him understand why global warming needs - still - more study. Check my political blog, soon, for a list of Bush's statements about how he's SO frigging committed to the environment, but things still need more study. 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005. Apparently, there are more studies yet to be done. The pictures of shrinking glaciers, the number and strength of hurricanes, the sea salinity changes, the ocean conveyor shutting down, the droughts here and abroad - none of those seem to indicate to this dunce that there is a PROBLEM!
I'm just glad I had no biological children, though I raised - for a time - stepchildren that I wouldn't have missed for the world. However, it's sad to see what world we're leaving them.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Bush's editor of climate reports resigns: why?
Bush's non-science science editor has resigned. I'm shocked! Why, it was just yesterday that the President's apologist (Scott) said that review of such reports was 'standard'. If what Philip Cooney did was 'standard', then why - in the world - would he resign?
It couldn't be that Bush was bullshitting us, but the facts caught up with him, could it?
Nah!
It couldn't be that Bush was bullshitting us, but the facts caught up with him, could it?
Nah!
Bush sits like a chicken in his roost while bird flu stalks the world
You have to understand that if the Chinese are alarmed, then we should be hitting the ole panic button. When SARS came along, they treated it like just another cold. This time, they are worried, and they are doing something about it.
Meanwhile - er.. this is a hard question to ask, but someone has to do it... is Bush on vacation? Cause if he is, then history would tend to say that we're about to get nailed.
Meanwhile - er.. this is a hard question to ask, but someone has to do it... is Bush on vacation? Cause if he is, then history would tend to say that we're about to get nailed.
More Mad Cow
I've been saying that the government is not doing a good job protecting us from prion diseases; mad cow is just one of the diseases that they are not protecting us from. So, here comes another Mad Cow case, but since the government PROHIBITS ranchers from testing all of their cattle (it's actually against the law), we don't really know how many there are. The whole thing about CWD (chronic wasting disease) among deer and elk is another issue that we're not being told the truth on, but I'll save that for a later date.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Who needs science? Not U.S.
It's hard to take science seriously when you believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old and that evolution is only a 'theory' (sort of like The Pythagorean Theorem is only a 'theory').
Statistics show that students are, less and less, taking up science as a career; in the South, that's in large part because they are shamed by their peers for being blasphemous because - you know - science leads to thinking evolution might be real, and because studying things like the stars is pointless because, as the Bible say, during the Tribulation, the stars will fall from the sky. Since these same people believe that the Tribulation is due 'real soon now', mostly thanks to lots of ministries 'proving' the signs are coming together, why study stars that are all going to be down here on Earth soon, anyway?
There's also the point about studying stars is pointless because science assumes that they are older than 6,000 years. There is obviously a big disconnect between the stars being 6,000 years old and studying any science that says that they are billions of years old. It's just hearesy.
So, while the 'reality-based' community (Bush's spokeswoman's term) laments what the article calls 'decimating science', most people don't care. Frankly, NASA should try to understand what Eve threw away when she bit into the fruit; what was the world like in the Garden of Eden? What fruit, exactly, is the 'fruit of knowledge'? Can you make use a juicer and make a tasty drink with that fruit?
Statistics show that students are, less and less, taking up science as a career; in the South, that's in large part because they are shamed by their peers for being blasphemous because - you know - science leads to thinking evolution might be real, and because studying things like the stars is pointless because, as the Bible say, during the Tribulation, the stars will fall from the sky. Since these same people believe that the Tribulation is due 'real soon now', mostly thanks to lots of ministries 'proving' the signs are coming together, why study stars that are all going to be down here on Earth soon, anyway?
There's also the point about studying stars is pointless because science assumes that they are older than 6,000 years. There is obviously a big disconnect between the stars being 6,000 years old and studying any science that says that they are billions of years old. It's just hearesy.
So, while the 'reality-based' community (Bush's spokeswoman's term) laments what the article calls 'decimating science', most people don't care. Frankly, NASA should try to understand what Eve threw away when she bit into the fruit; what was the world like in the Garden of Eden? What fruit, exactly, is the 'fruit of knowledge'? Can you make use a juicer and make a tasty drink with that fruit?
Thursday, June 02, 2005
The Better Educated A Woman Is, The Better She Sleeps At Night
While a study comes to the conclusion noted above, another study notes that better educated men have MORE trouble sleeping.
You may wonder what this is doing in the Politics section; good question.
Here's my quandry: the people I know are generally more educated and, as a rule, are much more likely to be:
1) troubled by what BushCo and the Religious Right are doing to this country
2) more likely to have suffered unemployment - or be worried about that prospect, due to off-shoring (aided by the tax credits that Bush has given companies that off-shore)
So, I can understand men having more trouble sleeping, but I'm at a lost as to why women have less trouble sleeping. I don't think that the women are any less knowledgeable than the men, nor are they less involved in what's going on (in fact, in most cases, they are more involved), nor do they have less of a conscience about what's going on (again, generally, they are more concerned).
I chalk it up to women being more advanced than men, and they are able to just say, at bedtime, "Well, I can't do anything about the world situation before morning, so I'm just going to get some sleep." Whereas, perhaps, men keep fretting about things they can't change while they are asleep. It just goes to point out, I think, the innate wisdom of women.
You may wonder what this is doing in the Politics section; good question.
Here's my quandry: the people I know are generally more educated and, as a rule, are much more likely to be:
1) troubled by what BushCo and the Religious Right are doing to this country
2) more likely to have suffered unemployment - or be worried about that prospect, due to off-shoring (aided by the tax credits that Bush has given companies that off-shore)
So, I can understand men having more trouble sleeping, but I'm at a lost as to why women have less trouble sleeping. I don't think that the women are any less knowledgeable than the men, nor are they less involved in what's going on (in fact, in most cases, they are more involved), nor do they have less of a conscience about what's going on (again, generally, they are more concerned).
I chalk it up to women being more advanced than men, and they are able to just say, at bedtime, "Well, I can't do anything about the world situation before morning, so I'm just going to get some sleep." Whereas, perhaps, men keep fretting about things they can't change while they are asleep. It just goes to point out, I think, the innate wisdom of women.
Pesky, unneeded regulators - it's enough to give you a heart attack
Yeah, I guess this just proves the Republican mantra that regulation stifles industry.
Just think how many more defib units that Guidant could have sold if not for the pesky regulators? Their stockholders will now suffer because of - you know - the regulators. The company did what companies should do - keep selling. Those whiners that cried about their loved ones dying just need to get over it; the loved ones were old and defective and it was time for them to go. Deal with it.
You may contact Guidant here: http://guidant.com/contact/
I did, and I left them this encouraging message:
It's a shame that those pesky regulators brought all of this stuff up about your defib units. Now the stockholders will pay the price for the interference of the government.
Frankly, the more units you sold did the economy good 2 ways: more money in circulation and it got rid of people that consume an inordinate amount of this country's medical resources.
Frankly, after someone buys a defib unit, the chances of them buying another are slim, so - as Gov. Dick Lamm said so long ago, they 'have a duty to die'; you were just helping them along.
Is that such a bad thing?
Tell their families to quit whining and enjoy the dividends on your stock - should they own any. Liberals and do-gooders always step in to ruin a good thing.
Just think how many more defib units that Guidant could have sold if not for the pesky regulators? Their stockholders will now suffer because of - you know - the regulators. The company did what companies should do - keep selling. Those whiners that cried about their loved ones dying just need to get over it; the loved ones were old and defective and it was time for them to go. Deal with it.
You may contact Guidant here: http://guidant.com/contact/
I did, and I left them this encouraging message:
It's a shame that those pesky regulators brought all of this stuff up about your defib units. Now the stockholders will pay the price for the interference of the government.
Frankly, the more units you sold did the economy good 2 ways: more money in circulation and it got rid of people that consume an inordinate amount of this country's medical resources.
Frankly, after someone buys a defib unit, the chances of them buying another are slim, so - as Gov. Dick Lamm said so long ago, they 'have a duty to die'; you were just helping them along.
Is that such a bad thing?
Tell their families to quit whining and enjoy the dividends on your stock - should they own any. Liberals and do-gooders always step in to ruin a good thing.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
More junk 'greenhouse' science - according to the Right
The Right has a 'scientist' on Fox that puts out a column called 'Junk Science', and I will detail this person in a future article, though for now, it's enough to know that he was a 'scientist' that helped to tobacco industry 'prove' that cigarettes didn't harm people, but I'm sure he would call this article 'junk science'.
In this article, from that bastion of fake science, the University of Oregon, comes a study that says that the contrast between the rainy and dry seasons will become even more pronounced than it is now.
The mistake that environmentalists make is that they keep talking about the greenhouse effect as if it is 'coming', and not here now.
What this article points out is that the greeenhouse effect has been here for a while, but it will become much worse, specifically in the difference between wet and dry seasons.
The article doesn't go into a lot of detail; face it, people nowadays are mostly like Bush; don't know, don't care, so going into detail just wastes time and newspaper space that could be better spent on cartoons and fashion news.
However, you can pay for the full article here: http://www.gsajournals.org/gsaonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1130%2FG21263.1
The bottom line: get out your umbrella.
In this article, from that bastion of fake science, the University of Oregon, comes a study that says that the contrast between the rainy and dry seasons will become even more pronounced than it is now.
The mistake that environmentalists make is that they keep talking about the greenhouse effect as if it is 'coming', and not here now.
What this article points out is that the greeenhouse effect has been here for a while, but it will become much worse, specifically in the difference between wet and dry seasons.
The article doesn't go into a lot of detail; face it, people nowadays are mostly like Bush; don't know, don't care, so going into detail just wastes time and newspaper space that could be better spent on cartoons and fashion news.
However, you can pay for the full article here: http://www.gsajournals.org/gsaonline/?request=get-document&doi=10.1130%2FG21263.1
The bottom line: get out your umbrella.
Plastic emasculates male babies
Oh, sure; now they tell us - like they never suspected a thing.
However, it does help explain Republicans and why they are so insecure about their masculinity. (sorry, just HAD to get that in! )
However, it does help explain Republicans and why they are so insecure about their masculinity. (sorry, just HAD to get that in! )
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Thermohaline shutting down
My friends have said - for a long time - that I have the Chicken Little syndrome: The sky is falling! The sky is falling! However, though most people ignored it, the Pentagon came out with a well-researched report that said that the scenario already underway is a dire one, and they were so concerned that they actually produced a report on it (PDF file link).
I have been going on and on about the thermohaline circulation (the ocean conveyor - picture) that brings warm water into the North Atlantic and keeps Europe warm. Should this conveyor shut down (the concept behind "The Day After Tomorrow" movie), Europe would plunge into an ice age, since it's on the same latitude as Nova Scotia. We are already seeing some of the effects (link).
I have been saying, for months, that the NOAA watch on the current has been remarking that it has been 'strikingly weak' (link). Additionally, if the Northern Atlantic has more fresh water, and the equator gets saltier, that would also work to stop the thermohaline circulation, and both of those things have happened (link). There are two main events that have taken place in the North Atlantic that contributed to this; one was Lake Ellsmere breaking out and releasing billions of gallons of fresh water into the North Atlantic (link), and the other is the ongoing flood of water coming from rivers in Russia that are draining off the increasing melt.
I have been going on and on about the thermohaline circulation (the ocean conveyor - picture) that brings warm water into the North Atlantic and keeps Europe warm. Should this conveyor shut down (the concept behind "The Day After Tomorrow" movie), Europe would plunge into an ice age, since it's on the same latitude as Nova Scotia. We are already seeing some of the effects (link).
I have been saying, for months, that the NOAA watch on the current has been remarking that it has been 'strikingly weak' (link). Additionally, if the Northern Atlantic has more fresh water, and the equator gets saltier, that would also work to stop the thermohaline circulation, and both of those things have happened (link). There are two main events that have taken place in the North Atlantic that contributed to this; one was Lake Ellsmere breaking out and releasing billions of gallons of fresh water into the North Atlantic (link), and the other is the ongoing flood of water coming from rivers in Russia that are draining off the increasing melt.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
WHO to warn on changing avian flu
"Something Wicked This Way Comes"
No, it's not the circus act in the movie, nor is it Jason Robards warning us; in some ways, it's worse.
I really fail to understand why governments are not hitting - well, not the panic button, but the "we've really, really, really got to pay attention to this NOW! button.
Maybe Georgie has had word from God that the flu, like his vision on AIDS, will only strike those who should die anyway.
For the rest of us, I would encourage everyone, who is able, to get a flu shot. While it may not prevent this particular variety of flu, it may be able to lessen the effects. For example, last year the flu shot turned out not to cover the specific flu that was going around, but the flu shot still prompted the body to produce antibodies that were able to moderate the effects of the flu.
Good luck to us all.
One note, though: if you're a Republican that hates the UN and world bodies 'interfering' in our lives, please pay no attention to this, and please do NOT take any flu vaccine that comes through UN/WHO auspices - that would just be encouraging those busy-bodies, don't cha know? (link to definition for the benefit of Republicans)
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Breast Cancer - Low fat diets
Interesting article on how a low fat diet can benefit breast cancer remission.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Friday, May 06, 2005
Monday, May 02, 2005
Bee parasite
I've been trying to tell people about this looming problem for several years, but since it wasn't an emergency, no one cared. Well, it's about to hit the 'emergency' stage.
While most people think that something that wipes out 50% of bees is no big deal - so we have a little less honey? - they don't understand that bees are required to pollinate $15 billion dollars worth of agricultural products a year, like most fruit and nuts. The last time I looked, fruits and nuts should form a goodly portion of your daily diet; think scurvy, for one.
What can you do? Write your lawmakers - at all levels - and demand accelerated government programs to find solutions to the mite problem.
While most people think that something that wipes out 50% of bees is no big deal - so we have a little less honey? - they don't understand that bees are required to pollinate $15 billion dollars worth of agricultural products a year, like most fruit and nuts. The last time I looked, fruits and nuts should form a goodly portion of your daily diet; think scurvy, for one.
What can you do? Write your lawmakers - at all levels - and demand accelerated government programs to find solutions to the mite problem.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Prisoners 'aware' in executions; they suffer excruciating pain.
While right-wing-nuts will probably think this is a 'good' thing, the fact is that what civil libertarians have been saying for a long time is true: a lot of prisoners who are killed by lethal injection suffer tremendous pain before dying. What's not talked about is that the prisons and federal and state officials have known this, and they enjoy it. Why else would they not monitor executions to make sure that concentrations of the anesthetic are sufficient to render the prisoner unconscious? Because they then give the prisoner a paralyzing drug, when the last drug is given - the one that tortures them literally to death - they cannot move, blink, moan - nothing. And the everyone involved just loves the fact that they get to torture these people to death.
Chemical Present In Clear Plastics Can Impair Learning And Cause Disease
Another example of how our government is doing the job on us that we feared the Russians would want to do: hurt us at a very basic level. And you probably thought that all of those cancer cases that the US is paying people for (finally) that were caused by nuke testing outside of Las Vegas and by labs like Hanford were all that our government had done to try and kill us off. Silly you.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Water Crisis - China this time
Besides the oil crisis, water is the other major crisis - that people are aware of (more on that in other posts - search on keyword 'crisis')
This is really only the beginning. Search back through this blog for the water crisis currently affecting the US, and other water problems around the world. If you think the past in an indication of the future, you're in for a rude awakening. Also take a look at the fish problems in the ocean. (keywords 'fish, ocean')
Countries are already having wars over water, and Israel is more likely to attack Syria over water than over weapons.
This is - unfortunately - the best of times.Original Link
This is really only the beginning. Search back through this blog for the water crisis currently affecting the US, and other water problems around the world. If you think the past in an indication of the future, you're in for a rude awakening. Also take a look at the fish problems in the ocean. (keywords 'fish, ocean')
Countries are already having wars over water, and Israel is more likely to attack Syria over water than over weapons.
This is - unfortunately - the best of times.Original Link
Monday, March 21, 2005
Friday, March 18, 2005
Many who pledge abstinence at risk for STDs
No Stopping Global Warming, Studies Predict
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Gene study of mutant AIDS virus shows drug-resistant, vicious foe
Monday, March 14, 2005
Nanobacteria - you ain't seen nothing yet.
Nanobacteria are implicated in kidney stones and heart disease and who knows what else. They are recently discovered 'things' that replicate. And we're going to bring back samples from outer space that could contain nanobacteria that are completely foreign to human organisms? Now THAT'S stupid.Nanobacteria -- The New Thing In Heart Disease
Think the bird flu is dangerous? They don't even know what to make of this.
A man-made flu, based on the 1918 pandemic flu, may have escaped from the lab and ended up in Korean pigs (think: North Korea biowar experiments). If this has happened, the medical community doesn't have a clue has to how bad this might be, but they know it is VERY bad news.Wired News: Pigs Hold Clues to Man-Made Flu
Bird flu cluster may signal the change we've been waiting for.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Experts weigh super-volcano risks
I've been telling people about this for years; perhaps this will get their attention. Yellowstone has a history of an eruption about every 600,000 years; it's been 640,000 years since the last one. The article doesn't mention the uplift of Yellowstone that's currently going on, nor about the 1,000 foot tall 'bulge' in the bottom of Yellowstone lake, both very worrisome signs.
As the article says, it's not a matter of 'if', just 'when'.
As the article says, it's not a matter of 'if', just 'when'.
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Police puzzled, others see mysterious Bali temple signs as divine warning by Sebastien Blanc: another form of crop circles??
If you read this carefully, you will find that there was a power cut to the affected villages, and the dogs all started howling, the night that the signs appeared. You will also note that hundreds of temples are affected, and yet no one has ever been seen leaving the signs.
I'm going to do some research on this, looking for similar markings around the world, combined with similar power/dog events.
I'm going to do some research on this, looking for similar markings around the world, combined with similar power/dog events.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Enduring and Painful, Pertussis Leaps Back
Who woulda thunk? A disease that, I'm pretty sure, most of us had thought of as conquered, is back - with a vengence.
9,784 cases in 2003, then 18,957 cases in 2004. The worst thing is that the FDA has yet to approve a vaccination for adults, unlike Europe, which has had one for years. Think your childhood vaccination protects you? Think again.
9,784 cases in 2003, then 18,957 cases in 2004. The worst thing is that the FDA has yet to approve a vaccination for adults, unlike Europe, which has had one for years. Think your childhood vaccination protects you? Think again.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Two New Viruses Reported Belonging to AIDS Family
Nature seems determined to thin the human herd. Two new viruses, related to the HIV virus, but they have no idea what they will do to humans, if anything.
The thing is, these viruses are retroviruses, which means the change all by themselves, and one of them, HTLV-4, is unlike anything ever found in humans.
It's going to be an interesting year.y
The thing is, these viruses are retroviruses, which means the change all by themselves, and one of them, HTLV-4, is unlike anything ever found in humans.
It's going to be an interesting year.y
Friday, February 25, 2005
As The World Turns, It Drags Space And Time
For those of you who are interested, an article about how 'gravity' causes spacetime to be 'dragged' around objects, sort of like spinning a basketball in a puddle of oil
Of course, if Newton were right, and objects 'attracted' one another, this would never happen.As The World Turns, It Drags Space And Time
Of course, if Newton were right, and objects 'attracted' one another, this would never happen.As The World Turns, It Drags Space And Time
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Britain freezes in cold spell, hundreds of schools shut
As predicted, England, and Europe, are experiencing more dramatic weather. The Gulf Stream (part of the ocean conveyor that keeps Europe warmer than it should be) is still, as the website that monitors it says, "strikingly weak". Click on the link in the left sidebar that relates to the Gulf Stream, and you will notice that, as it starts to cross the North Atlantic, that it peters out into a maze of almost non-existent currents. I've been watching this chart for a couple of years, and never before about 4 months ago, has it stayed on 'strikingly weak'.
Back in April, 2004, NASA was remarking about the slowdown in the ocean conveyor. For months now, it's been the same refrain, and for months now, I've noted that with the large influx of fresh water that resulted from Lake Ellsmere draining into the North Atlantic and with the warming of the North Atlantic
Now, couple this is a cooling of the Southern oceans and a reduction in their salinity (link), and what you get is a reduction in the energy available to power to ocean conveyor.
It works this way normally: As water warms in the Southern ocean, it rises as it heads toward the North Atlantic. Because the salinity of the two areas is about the same, it rises smoothly (relatively), thus drawing more water with it. As it rounds Florida, heading North (the Gulf Stream), it starts dumping heat, since it is now closer to the surface and a lot warmer than the surrounding water. This salt water column, then cools off as it crosses south of Greenland, and as it now flows past Europe, it dumps the last of its heat and drops. This drop of so many billions of gallons of water acts as a 'pull' to all of that water behind it, and pushes the water in front of it. As it sinks to the ocean bottom and heads south, it carries nutrients and waste down. In the Southern ocean, even though it's at the bottom of the ocean, it starts picking up heat and starts rising, picking up more heat. And the cycle starts again.
However, if the Southern ocean is cooler, it doesn't pick up as much heat, so the water doesn't rise as fast or as powerfully. When the current finally gets to the coast of the U.S., off of Maine, it is not as warm is it previously was, so it doesn't have as much heat to give off. This leaves the northern hempishpere, and in particular, Europe, cooler, since the prevailing winds aren't picking up as much heat to distribute over Europe.
Now, couple this with the fact that the North Atlantic has more fresh water, and thus a lower salinity, and even though the water cools while going around Greenland, the fresh water is not as heavy as salt water, so it doesn't since as fast. (link to salinity article)So, like a train of a slight hill, vs. a train on a steep hill, it doesn't get going as fast downhill, and this reduces the speed of the current. As the current is reduced, and the water stays away from the bottom, as it gets to the Southern hemisphere, it is warmer than before, and this coupled with the cooler ocean, means that it doesn't warm as much - as a percentage of original temperature, so it won't rise as fast, nor will it rise as far, because it is close to the surface.
Eventually, the roller-coaster track of the current becomes level, thus ending the conveyor. This means that no warm water flows North (or very little) and Europe is subject to the might of the cold blasts from the Arctic.
This is what we are already seeing.
The conveyor, even though you don't hear much about it, is coming to a stop, and it is doing so in a time frame that scientists thought could never be.
Can you say, "Brrrr!"
Back in April, 2004, NASA was remarking about the slowdown in the ocean conveyor. For months now, it's been the same refrain, and for months now, I've noted that with the large influx of fresh water that resulted from Lake Ellsmere draining into the North Atlantic and with the warming of the North Atlantic
Now, couple this is a cooling of the Southern oceans and a reduction in their salinity (link), and what you get is a reduction in the energy available to power to ocean conveyor.
It works this way normally: As water warms in the Southern ocean, it rises as it heads toward the North Atlantic. Because the salinity of the two areas is about the same, it rises smoothly (relatively), thus drawing more water with it. As it rounds Florida, heading North (the Gulf Stream), it starts dumping heat, since it is now closer to the surface and a lot warmer than the surrounding water. This salt water column, then cools off as it crosses south of Greenland, and as it now flows past Europe, it dumps the last of its heat and drops. This drop of so many billions of gallons of water acts as a 'pull' to all of that water behind it, and pushes the water in front of it. As it sinks to the ocean bottom and heads south, it carries nutrients and waste down. In the Southern ocean, even though it's at the bottom of the ocean, it starts picking up heat and starts rising, picking up more heat. And the cycle starts again.
However, if the Southern ocean is cooler, it doesn't pick up as much heat, so the water doesn't rise as fast or as powerfully. When the current finally gets to the coast of the U.S., off of Maine, it is not as warm is it previously was, so it doesn't have as much heat to give off. This leaves the northern hempishpere, and in particular, Europe, cooler, since the prevailing winds aren't picking up as much heat to distribute over Europe.
Now, couple this with the fact that the North Atlantic has more fresh water, and thus a lower salinity, and even though the water cools while going around Greenland, the fresh water is not as heavy as salt water, so it doesn't since as fast. (link to salinity article)So, like a train of a slight hill, vs. a train on a steep hill, it doesn't get going as fast downhill, and this reduces the speed of the current. As the current is reduced, and the water stays away from the bottom, as it gets to the Southern hemisphere, it is warmer than before, and this coupled with the cooler ocean, means that it doesn't warm as much - as a percentage of original temperature, so it won't rise as fast, nor will it rise as far, because it is close to the surface.
Eventually, the roller-coaster track of the current becomes level, thus ending the conveyor. This means that no warm water flows North (or very little) and Europe is subject to the might of the cold blasts from the Arctic.
This is what we are already seeing.
The conveyor, even though you don't hear much about it, is coming to a stop, and it is doing so in a time frame that scientists thought could never be.
Can you say, "Brrrr!"
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Tick-Tock: The clock is running on the H5N1 avian flu.
Tick-tock.
Tick-tock.
The 'authorities' are saying millions, but my science contacts in viral medicine are saying hundreds of millions to billions.
There's another entry in the blog about the H5N1 causing symptoms that look nothing like flu and don't involve the respiratory tract; however, it kills at the 76% rate, anyway.
Good thing GWB cut (reduced) the funding for the CDC for the first time since.. oh... 1946. Guess we don't need no stinkin' science! Just think how much room that will leave for rich people who will, of course, be the first (maybe only) ones to receive any vaccine, assuming they can produce one when H5N1 picks up a good human transmission gene. It's not "IF", it's only "WHEN", and the 'when' is not that far in your future. Viral scientists say we may have dodged the bullet for this go-around, but they aren't saying that we absolutely did; flu season isn't over.
One of the key ways that an flu (and they are all avian in origin) mutates into a human-transmissible form is to mix with a human gene in an animal that can carry both infections, and the main animal that does this is the pig. Thus, this article is of great concern.
(it's on my blog, also, but back a ways. Get the date from the article an you will find it at about the same date on my blog, though I have the original article, and not this quoting of it.)
A little history.
The Spanish flu, in 1918, killed - depending on who is quoting the figure, between 15 and 50 million people, but the generally accepted number is 50 million. If you know your WW I history, you'll know that this flu was the real reason that WW I came to a halt; they simply ran out of people to fight the war. Isn't it interesting that the Armistice with Germany was signed in November of 1918?
In 1918, the world population was 1.8 billion, as of 2-20-2005, the world population is roughly 6.5 billion. Now, if you ramp up the deaths mathematically, you get, based on 40 billion in 1918, 144 million dead. Now, let's take a look at another statistic: the death rate from the Spanish Flu was... are you ready? 2.5% Keep that little number in mind. 2.5%. And it was enough to take 10 years off of the average life span of people in this country for several years.
Now, the accepted death rate, in humans, for the H5N1 flu is 76%. So, if we ramp the 144 million up mathematically, we get 4,392,000,000. That's 4.4 billion.
The fact that we have vaccines now is somewhat of a modifying factor; however, when H5N1 mixes with the human gene that will turn it into a readily transmissible virus, what we think the vaccine will be may not work. Additionally, getting it made takes months, then there is the distribution problem. By the time we get one made and ready to be distributed, it could all be over.
The next fact to consider is that, in 1918, we didn't have the population mixing that we have now. People travel, every day, all over the world. Additionally, lots and lots of them do this either in packed planes or in packed trains, so the transmission rate in those environments is much, much higher. Planes, especially, with their dry air, lend themselves to a majority of people on each aircraft becoming carriers themselves.
The population density in 1918 was also not what it is now. Consequently, if one village - or small town in America - got sick, everyone might either be dead or non-contagious before anyone mixed with someone from elsewhere; that is no longer the case, except in remote parts of the world.
I don't think the 1918 figures ramp up mathematically, I think they ramp geometrically. At first, this looks like everyone on the planet might be dead, but when H5N1 finally becomes human-transmissible, viral scientists don't think the kill rate will be 76% anymore. While it could conceivably go up, it will probably go down; maybe to 50%. Added to that is the situation wherein, once governments are aware that H5N1 is going to have a much bigger impact that predicted, they will shut down aircraft and train transportation (not to mention subways and cruise ships).
It will make the financial impact of 9/11, which was rather large, seem miniscule in comparison.
So why write about all of this? Because, as mentioned above, Bush has reduced the CDC budget. (link) Not only should it not be reduced, it should be increased dramatically, and funding of surveillance programs here and overseas should be ramped up, since the earlier the alarm bells go off, the earlier that vaccine production can start. Lastly, the U.S., like almost all foreign countries, needs to spread out the vaccine manufacturer's it buys from, and it needs to give money to these manufacturers to allow them to expand both facility-wise and research-wise. Some might argue that giving money to French companies - and other companies - isn't what we should be doing, but if this flu is allowed to propagate without companies being able to respond, the money we saved by not funding the research, the monitoring programs, the facility expansions, will pale in comparison to the economic damage this virus could wreak upon the world, not to mention the U.S. And however much we mitigate the damage here, if the world goes down (ie. China) then we all go down.
Global warming is, after H5N1, the most dire problem the world has. Terrorism isn't even in the same league. At least one can fight the flu and global warming, whereas you can't really fight a method of attack. No country in the world has EVER beaten terrorism, without wiping out the entire population from whence the terrorists (or freedom fighters) originated. The only way that terrorism has ever been handled successfully, is by negotiation. Just look at Israel, Spain, South America, etc. etc.
At least we can do something about H5N1, but it will take the people in this country realizing that this is not some 'future' event that may, or may not, happen. They will also need to realize that even if, by some miracle, we kept it out of this country (we couldn't keep SARS out, and it was a MUCH smaller infection problem), the economic consequences will ruin us as it ruins the rest of the world.
So, please take time to write your city, county, state and federal representatives (or lackeys, if you head a large corporation) and ask that they get about the business of preparing us (and the world) to detect it (when, not if, it comes) and be able to respond with appropriate countermeasures.
If we start now, it may not be too late. Then again, we could already be the walking dead, we just don't know it yet.
Can you say, "Ah choo!"?
PS. Oh, yes. With, say, 10% fewer people in the US (and THAT is being generous, since I'm not using the 76% figure), land values WILL - not may - go down. Food prices will go way up. Stocks - don't even ask about stocks, because the stock market is controlled by a bunch of sheep, and once anything happens that's bad, regardless of whether or not it *should* affect the stock market, it goes south - in a hurry. However, it will be a great time to buy! My advice is to sell once the CDC announces the alert (unless you own stock in a company that produces the H5N1 vaccine), and then buy back into your stocks in about 1 month.
An interesting note on the H5N1: the current anti-viral products out there are ineffective against H5N1: from: http://www.pulmonaryreviews.com/may04/pr_may04_avianflu.html - H5N1 has demonstrated resistance to amantadine and rimantadine, and ribavirin was ineffective as well. In the absence of a proven effective treatment, supportive care may be the best treatment option. ** that means that the best they can do for you is give you fluids and aspirin.
Lastly, as the article here shows, there is still a new virus, H7N7, that most people haven't even heard about yet, that, itself, is waiting to pounce on us, much like a tiger on a small mouse.
If you're interested in what the H and N thingies mean, you can check out this PDF document here.
Tick-tock.
The 'authorities' are saying millions, but my science contacts in viral medicine are saying hundreds of millions to billions.
There's another entry in the blog about the H5N1 causing symptoms that look nothing like flu and don't involve the respiratory tract; however, it kills at the 76% rate, anyway.
Good thing GWB cut (reduced) the funding for the CDC for the first time since.. oh... 1946. Guess we don't need no stinkin' science! Just think how much room that will leave for rich people who will, of course, be the first (maybe only) ones to receive any vaccine, assuming they can produce one when H5N1 picks up a good human transmission gene. It's not "IF", it's only "WHEN", and the 'when' is not that far in your future. Viral scientists say we may have dodged the bullet for this go-around, but they aren't saying that we absolutely did; flu season isn't over.
One of the key ways that an flu (and they are all avian in origin) mutates into a human-transmissible form is to mix with a human gene in an animal that can carry both infections, and the main animal that does this is the pig. Thus, this article is of great concern.
(it's on my blog, also, but back a ways. Get the date from the article an you will find it at about the same date on my blog, though I have the original article, and not this quoting of it.)
A little history.
The Spanish flu, in 1918, killed - depending on who is quoting the figure, between 15 and 50 million people, but the generally accepted number is 50 million. If you know your WW I history, you'll know that this flu was the real reason that WW I came to a halt; they simply ran out of people to fight the war. Isn't it interesting that the Armistice with Germany was signed in November of 1918?
In 1918, the world population was 1.8 billion, as of 2-20-2005, the world population is roughly 6.5 billion. Now, if you ramp up the deaths mathematically, you get, based on 40 billion in 1918, 144 million dead. Now, let's take a look at another statistic: the death rate from the Spanish Flu was... are you ready? 2.5% Keep that little number in mind. 2.5%. And it was enough to take 10 years off of the average life span of people in this country for several years.
Now, the accepted death rate, in humans, for the H5N1 flu is 76%. So, if we ramp the 144 million up mathematically, we get 4,392,000,000. That's 4.4 billion.
The fact that we have vaccines now is somewhat of a modifying factor; however, when H5N1 mixes with the human gene that will turn it into a readily transmissible virus, what we think the vaccine will be may not work. Additionally, getting it made takes months, then there is the distribution problem. By the time we get one made and ready to be distributed, it could all be over.
The next fact to consider is that, in 1918, we didn't have the population mixing that we have now. People travel, every day, all over the world. Additionally, lots and lots of them do this either in packed planes or in packed trains, so the transmission rate in those environments is much, much higher. Planes, especially, with their dry air, lend themselves to a majority of people on each aircraft becoming carriers themselves.
The population density in 1918 was also not what it is now. Consequently, if one village - or small town in America - got sick, everyone might either be dead or non-contagious before anyone mixed with someone from elsewhere; that is no longer the case, except in remote parts of the world.
I don't think the 1918 figures ramp up mathematically, I think they ramp geometrically. At first, this looks like everyone on the planet might be dead, but when H5N1 finally becomes human-transmissible, viral scientists don't think the kill rate will be 76% anymore. While it could conceivably go up, it will probably go down; maybe to 50%. Added to that is the situation wherein, once governments are aware that H5N1 is going to have a much bigger impact that predicted, they will shut down aircraft and train transportation (not to mention subways and cruise ships).
It will make the financial impact of 9/11, which was rather large, seem miniscule in comparison.
So why write about all of this? Because, as mentioned above, Bush has reduced the CDC budget. (link) Not only should it not be reduced, it should be increased dramatically, and funding of surveillance programs here and overseas should be ramped up, since the earlier the alarm bells go off, the earlier that vaccine production can start. Lastly, the U.S., like almost all foreign countries, needs to spread out the vaccine manufacturer's it buys from, and it needs to give money to these manufacturers to allow them to expand both facility-wise and research-wise. Some might argue that giving money to French companies - and other companies - isn't what we should be doing, but if this flu is allowed to propagate without companies being able to respond, the money we saved by not funding the research, the monitoring programs, the facility expansions, will pale in comparison to the economic damage this virus could wreak upon the world, not to mention the U.S. And however much we mitigate the damage here, if the world goes down (ie. China) then we all go down.
Global warming is, after H5N1, the most dire problem the world has. Terrorism isn't even in the same league. At least one can fight the flu and global warming, whereas you can't really fight a method of attack. No country in the world has EVER beaten terrorism, without wiping out the entire population from whence the terrorists (or freedom fighters) originated. The only way that terrorism has ever been handled successfully, is by negotiation. Just look at Israel, Spain, South America, etc. etc.
At least we can do something about H5N1, but it will take the people in this country realizing that this is not some 'future' event that may, or may not, happen. They will also need to realize that even if, by some miracle, we kept it out of this country (we couldn't keep SARS out, and it was a MUCH smaller infection problem), the economic consequences will ruin us as it ruins the rest of the world.
So, please take time to write your city, county, state and federal representatives (or lackeys, if you head a large corporation) and ask that they get about the business of preparing us (and the world) to detect it (when, not if, it comes) and be able to respond with appropriate countermeasures.
If we start now, it may not be too late. Then again, we could already be the walking dead, we just don't know it yet.
Can you say, "Ah choo!"?
PS. Oh, yes. With, say, 10% fewer people in the US (and THAT is being generous, since I'm not using the 76% figure), land values WILL - not may - go down. Food prices will go way up. Stocks - don't even ask about stocks, because the stock market is controlled by a bunch of sheep, and once anything happens that's bad, regardless of whether or not it *should* affect the stock market, it goes south - in a hurry. However, it will be a great time to buy! My advice is to sell once the CDC announces the alert (unless you own stock in a company that produces the H5N1 vaccine), and then buy back into your stocks in about 1 month.
An interesting note on the H5N1: the current anti-viral products out there are ineffective against H5N1: from: http://www.pulmonaryreviews.com/may04/pr_may04_avianflu.html - H5N1 has demonstrated resistance to amantadine and rimantadine, and ribavirin was ineffective as well. In the absence of a proven effective treatment, supportive care may be the best treatment option. ** that means that the best they can do for you is give you fluids and aspirin.
Lastly, as the article here shows, there is still a new virus, H7N7, that most people haven't even heard about yet, that, itself, is waiting to pounce on us, much like a tiger on a small mouse.
If you're interested in what the H and N thingies mean, you can check out this PDF document here.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Brightest Galactic Flash Ever Detected Hits Earth
Imagine a star exploding in the sky and appearing as bright as a full moon. Now imagine that it's, say, Jupiter that does that. It would have to be a pretty big bang to appear so bright when Jupiter is 724 million miles from earth. Now imagine that the star that blew up is 50,000 light years away; that's 300,000,000,000,000,000 miles away. (300 quadrillion miles) In the Gamma ray band, that's how bright it appeared, and it was strong enough to disrupt our upper atmosphere a bit.
The article says that if it had been witin 60 trillion miles of us, it could have caused a mass extinction on earth.
Now, THAT'S a big bang!
The article says that if it had been witin 60 trillion miles of us, it could have caused a mass extinction on earth.
Now, THAT'S a big bang!
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Air Pollution Damages Babies in Womb -Study
This is no surprise to anyone who follows science, though I'm sure Bush will say that it needs more 'study' - his favorite way of not doing anything. This report just makes the news about mercury from chlorine plants and coal-fired plants harming the unborn just that much more important; not that anything will be done. Bush has put off doing anything for 12 years.
Where are those born-agains who scream about killing the unborn? Is just getting them born the important thing, but in what condition they are born unimportant? It would seem so. Since air pollution - and mercury pollution - cross geographic boundaries around rich neighborhoods, apparently these people don't even care if it's their own kids or grandkids that are being permanently harmed.
So, when these people face their brain-damaged kids in the coming years, and say, "I love you", I guess what they are really saying is: I love you, but not as much as money.
Where are those born-agains who scream about killing the unborn? Is just getting them born the important thing, but in what condition they are born unimportant? It would seem so. Since air pollution - and mercury pollution - cross geographic boundaries around rich neighborhoods, apparently these people don't even care if it's their own kids or grandkids that are being permanently harmed.
So, when these people face their brain-damaged kids in the coming years, and say, "I love you", I guess what they are really saying is: I love you, but not as much as money.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Global warming changes are here now
It has always been amazing to me that Republicans - and some ignorant Democrats - question global warming. The nay-sayers argue that there isn't any evidence that man is causing it; they say that 1) global warming might not be happening at all or 2) that global warming now is just part of a natural cycle of Earth, but that we will be able to adjust.
They miss - perhaps on purpose - the point that CO2 is the major contributor to global warming (assuming one accepts that it's happening), and that regardless of whether we started it or it is part of Earth's natural cycle, our increasing the CO2 in the atmosphere is contributing to the warming. They ignore the fact that, even if this warming is part of a natural cycle, if we cut back on CO2 emissions, we could at least mitigate the warming.
Since the end of the 1700's, we have increased the CO2 levels in the atmosphere from 280ppm to 370ppm. This level is higher than any time in the past 160,000 years (link)
There is no arguing that CO2 levels have been high during each of the Earth's warming periods in the past, and low during ice ages, so the relationship of CO2 level to global warming is indisputable.
As noted in the article that was linked to just above, just to stabilize CO2 emissions at today's level would require a 60% reduction in emissions. Even so, levels in the upper atmosphere would continue rising for some years, and effects would continue to grow for the next 50 years. And that's if we cut emissions 60% today. That is not going to happen.
As you may have noticed, over the past 10 years (at least), the maximum temperature increase predicted has kept going up, and the time in which that increase would occur has shortened. It is no longer IF we will feel the effects, it is only a question of how bad they will be. In fact, we are feeling the effects now. Glaciers all over the world are melting; some are already gone. Ice at both poles is thinning and breaking up, just witness the B15 iceberg, which is 2500 sq. miles.
What's really amazing to me is that when the Pentagon came out with it's own report on global warming, people (in general) dismissed it. (summary : full report) The report, if you bother to read it, is nothing short of a doomsday scenario that WILL happen; no maybes here. One of the major threats in the report is that the ocean conveyor, which, in our part of the world is known as the Gulf Stream, will slow down or stop; this will (and currently already has) have ever-increasing effects. If you follow one website that I do (link), it has a link to Gulf Stream velocities by week. Over the past year, the link, which changes text to reflect the state of the Gulf Stream, has taken more and more to saying, "strikingly weak". In fact, for the past several months, it has not said anything else.
Also, if you read the news about England, you have noticed that they are getting cooler and that they have been having more storms, and those storms are more violent, and in the past 2 years, this has become the standard.
Climate change is here. The drought in the West, storms over Europe in the winter, blistering heat over Europe in the summer, drought in Australia, etc. etc.
Within the next couple of years, people are going to wake up to what's happening, and that awakening is likely to come in the form of gunshots as countries, and people within those countries, battle of water and food resources.
But until then, Bush will continue to suggest more 'studies', the petroleum industry will continue to propagandize against global warming, just as they are in England. Recently, there was a news article about a group put together by U.S. oil and gas companies to specifically go to England to try and distort the global warming issue enough so as to confuse people and reduce pressure on the respective U.S. companies. Nothing like good ole propaganda.
It seems that some people are more interested in immediate money than they are in the long-term state of the world. As with the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. that convinced Bush to ignore mercury regulation and thus trade immediate profits for the health of our children, these heartless sons of bitches are basically condeming millions - maybe billions - of people to a slow, nasty death.
But then again: they are conservatives and lack any type of compassion. This is what made Bush's first run at the White House so strange; he had to actually come out and say that HIS would be conservatism, but WITH compassion. Umm.... sure.
They miss - perhaps on purpose - the point that CO2 is the major contributor to global warming (assuming one accepts that it's happening), and that regardless of whether we started it or it is part of Earth's natural cycle, our increasing the CO2 in the atmosphere is contributing to the warming. They ignore the fact that, even if this warming is part of a natural cycle, if we cut back on CO2 emissions, we could at least mitigate the warming.
Since the end of the 1700's, we have increased the CO2 levels in the atmosphere from 280ppm to 370ppm. This level is higher than any time in the past 160,000 years (link)
There is no arguing that CO2 levels have been high during each of the Earth's warming periods in the past, and low during ice ages, so the relationship of CO2 level to global warming is indisputable.
As noted in the article that was linked to just above, just to stabilize CO2 emissions at today's level would require a 60% reduction in emissions. Even so, levels in the upper atmosphere would continue rising for some years, and effects would continue to grow for the next 50 years. And that's if we cut emissions 60% today. That is not going to happen.
As you may have noticed, over the past 10 years (at least), the maximum temperature increase predicted has kept going up, and the time in which that increase would occur has shortened. It is no longer IF we will feel the effects, it is only a question of how bad they will be. In fact, we are feeling the effects now. Glaciers all over the world are melting; some are already gone. Ice at both poles is thinning and breaking up, just witness the B15 iceberg, which is 2500 sq. miles.
What's really amazing to me is that when the Pentagon came out with it's own report on global warming, people (in general) dismissed it. (summary : full report) The report, if you bother to read it, is nothing short of a doomsday scenario that WILL happen; no maybes here. One of the major threats in the report is that the ocean conveyor, which, in our part of the world is known as the Gulf Stream, will slow down or stop; this will (and currently already has) have ever-increasing effects. If you follow one website that I do (link), it has a link to Gulf Stream velocities by week. Over the past year, the link, which changes text to reflect the state of the Gulf Stream, has taken more and more to saying, "strikingly weak". In fact, for the past several months, it has not said anything else.
Also, if you read the news about England, you have noticed that they are getting cooler and that they have been having more storms, and those storms are more violent, and in the past 2 years, this has become the standard.
Climate change is here. The drought in the West, storms over Europe in the winter, blistering heat over Europe in the summer, drought in Australia, etc. etc.
Within the next couple of years, people are going to wake up to what's happening, and that awakening is likely to come in the form of gunshots as countries, and people within those countries, battle of water and food resources.
But until then, Bush will continue to suggest more 'studies', the petroleum industry will continue to propagandize against global warming, just as they are in England. Recently, there was a news article about a group put together by U.S. oil and gas companies to specifically go to England to try and distort the global warming issue enough so as to confuse people and reduce pressure on the respective U.S. companies. Nothing like good ole propaganda.
It seems that some people are more interested in immediate money than they are in the long-term state of the world. As with the coal-fired power plants in the U.S. that convinced Bush to ignore mercury regulation and thus trade immediate profits for the health of our children, these heartless sons of bitches are basically condeming millions - maybe billions - of people to a slow, nasty death.
But then again: they are conservatives and lack any type of compassion. This is what made Bush's first run at the White House so strange; he had to actually come out and say that HIS would be conservatism, but WITH compassion. Umm.... sure.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
Vietnam bird flu deaths increase
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Myopia fix coming to US
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Study Finds Mad Cow Proteins in All Parts of the Animal
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
Friday, January 07, 2005
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Shellfish Increasing Harbingers Of Dangerous Microbes
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
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