#it’s **alarming** that between the pandemic and rising pollution

[poebrey]

this generation of kids is so fucked and it’s so depressing to watch in real time. the amount of parents that are like “my preschooler got covid/rsv/had to be hospitalized but it’s ok because kids get sick all the time” is so……in 20 years or so when these kids are in early adulthood we’re going to have an increase in autoimmune diseases and chronic respiratory illnesses along with heart conditions and strokes due to repeated covid infections and researchers are going to be scratching their heads on the cause and ignoring that we let kids go back to schools mid-pandemic with no disease mitigation and then ignored a second respiratory disease resurgence

[news-24]

Know the Ultimate Factors of Building Automation System Market - Revenue, Sales Channel, Key Suppliers Forecast to 2028

Building an automation system is the simple approach to managing and controlling the systems that are effectively installed in buildings. It includes facility management systems, life & fire safety alarms, and access & security controls. Generally, it can be advantageous in large projects with complex electrical, mechanical, and HVAC systems. Moreover, it offers disaster management services and tools which will be helpful in accident prevention like fires. Hence, reducing energy consumption in buildings enhances the occupant’s comfort level and effectively manages building operations. 

The market is improved by increasing demand for reduced operating costs, managed home automation services, improved indoor air quality, reduced thermal pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, and energy-efficient buildings. It can also be helpful for developments in analytics communications, touch-screen, and sensor technology. 

Industry Trends:

Building automation and IoT have enabled information exchange between the cloud and various electronic devices. Thus it is making buildings effective without the requirement for direct human intervention. 

Get a Free Sample Copy Of the Research Report: https://www.vynzresearch.com/semiconductor-electronics/building-automation-system-market/request-sample

The AI technology implementation has let businesses use this technology to enhance video surveillance systems. Now, their products can offer more safety and security. Hence, it is expected to enhance the market expansion during the forecast period. The building automation system market survived during COVID 19 pandemic.

Market Segmentation:

Insight by Product Type:

• Software

• Hardware

• Services

The software segment is expected to have more CAGR among the various product types during the forecast period. It is because software is an essential component of the building automation system. After all, the hardware can work only with the help of the software installed. 

The dependence of the building automation system on software is highly anticipated to increase the segment market growth during the projected time. 

Insight by System Type:

• HVAC

• Security & Surveillance

• BEMS (Building Energy Management)

• Lighting Solutions

Among the various system types, security & surveillance system is expected to have more shares in the building automation system market. The consequence of sensor-based security alarm systems allows users to remotely monitor, manage and access operations in commercial and residential buildings. Therefore, it mainly contributed to the segment’s growth. 

Furthermore, with the impact of IoT, it can monitor activities via technologies like smartphones, tablets, and wearables. Therefore, such systems are susceptible and convenient to foreign activity and very fast to inform local authorities and users in cases of fraud and theft. 

Insight by Offerings:

• Security and Access Controls

• Facility Management Systems

• BAS Services

• BEM Software

• Fire Protection Systems

Among the various offerings, facility management systems are expected to have more CAGR during the forecast period. This rising demand for facility management systems in hospitality, tourism and construction due to the government support required to grow intelligent buildings and smart cities will enhance the segment growth. 

The economic, infrastructural development and rapid urbanization in metropolitan cities and mega food parks, and the development of SEZs will increase the facility management systems' growth. Hence it will drive the building automation system market to the next level. 

Insight by Communication Technology:

• Wireless Technology

• Wired Technology

Among the various communication technology, wireless technology is expected to grow more during the forecast period in the global building automation system. It is mainly since it is easy to use and install. In addition, it provides more control and flexibility, thus remotely operating such systems. 

Insight by Application:

• Residential

• Commercial

• Industrial

Among the various applications, commercial applications are expected to grow more during the forecast period in the global building automation system. Generally, commercial buildings include hospitals, shopping malls, restaurants, warehouses, universities, schools, warehouses, retail stores, corporate offices, and more. Moreover, they can save energy effectively by regulating the building’s lighting, health and cooling, appliances, and much more. Thus, it will improve worker productivity and energy efficiency by adopting building automation systems. 

Then increased deployment of building automation systems for significant security needs like collecting and monitoring evidence of tracking and movement details will add to the BAS market growth in the commercial sector. Commercial buildings are projected to adopt building automation systems compared to residential buildings. It is also projected that the critical driver is increasing the use of intelligent building technology due to increased requirements to avoid unnecessary costs in this commercial building sector.

Source: VynZ Research

[szalacsi]

history

“I’m from Malaysia. 

China has traded with Malaysia for 2000 years. In those years, they had been the world’s biggest powers many times. Never once they sent troops to take our land. 

Admiral Zhenghe came to Malacca five times, in gigantic fleets, and a flagship eight times the size of Christopher Columbus’ flagship, Santa Maria. He could have seized Malacca easily, but he did not. 

In 1511, the Portuguese came. 

In 1642, the Dutch came. 

In the 18th century the British came. 

We were colonised by each, one after another. 

When China wanted spices from India, they traded with the Indians. When they wanted gems, they traded with the Persian. They didn’t take lands. The only time China expanded beyond their current borders was in Yuan Dynasty, when Genghis and his descendants Ogedei Khan, Guyuk Khan & Kublai Khan concurred China, Mid Asia and Eastern Europe. Yuan Dynasty, although being based in China, was a part of the Mongolian Empire. 

Then came the Century of Humiliation. Britain smuggled opium into China to dope the population, a strategy to turn the trade deficit around, after the British could not find enough silver to pay the Qing Dynasty in their tea and porcelain trades. 

After the opium warehouses were burned down and ports were closed by the Chinese in ordered to curb opium, the British started the Opium War I, which China lost. Hong Kong was forced to be surrendered to the British in a peace talk (Nanjing Treaty). 

The British owned 90% of the opium market in China, during that time, Queen Victoria was the world’s biggest drug baron. The remaining 10% was owned by American merchants from Boston. Many of Boston’s institutions were built with profit from opium. 

After 12 years of Nanjing Treaty, the West started getting really really greedy. The British wanted the Qing government: 

 1. To open the borders of China to allow goods coming in and out freely, and tax free. 

 2. Make opium legal in China. Insane requests, Qing government said no. 

The British and French (with supports from the US), started Opium War II with China, which again, China lost. 

The Anglo-French military raided the Summer Palace, and threatened to burn down the Imperial Palace, the Qing government was forced to pay with ports, free business zones, 300,000 kilograms of silver and Kowloon was taken. 

Since then, China’s resources flew out freely through these business zones and ports. In the subsequent amendment to the treaties, Chinese people were sold overseas to serve as labor. 

In 1900, China suffered attacks by the 8-National Alliance (Empire of Japan, Russian Empire, British Empire (including India), France, USA, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary). 

Innocent Chinese civilians in Peking (Beijing now) were murdered, buildings were destroyed & women were raped. The Imperial Palace was raided, and treasures ended up in museums like the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. 

In late 1930s China was occupied by the Japanese in WWII. Millions of Chinese died during the occupancy. 300,000 Chinese died in Nanjing Massacre alone. Mao brought China together again from the shambles. There were peace and unity for some time. But Mao’s later reign saw sufferings and deaths from famine and power struggles. 

Then came Deng Xiao Ping and his infamous 'black-cat and white-cat' story. His preference in pragmatism than ideologies has transformed China. This thinking allowed China to evolve all the time to adapt to the actual needs in the country, instead of rigidly bounded to ideologies. It also signified the death of Communism in actually practice in China. 

The current Socialism+Meritocracy+Market Economy model fits the Chinese like gloves, and it propels the uprise of China. Singapore has a similar model, and has been arguably more successful than Hong Kong, because Hong Kong being gateway to China, was riding on the economic boom in China, while Singapore had no one to gain from. 

In just 30 years, the CPC have moved 800 millions of people out from poverty. The rate of growth is unprecedented in human history. They have built the biggest mobile network, by far the biggest high speed rail network in the world, and they have become a behemoth in infrastructure. They made a fishing village called Shenzhen into the world’s second largest technological centre after the Silicon Valley. 

They are growing into a technological power house. It has the most elaborate e-commerce and cashless payment system in the world. They have launched exploration to Mars. The Chinese are living a good life and China has become one of the safest countries in the world. 

The level of patriotism in the country has reached an unprecedented height. For all of the achievements, the West has nothing good to say about it. China suffers from intense anti-China propagandas from the West. Western Media used the keyword “Communist” to instil fear and hatred towards China.

Everything China does is negatively reported. They claimed China used slave labor in making iPhones. The truth was, Apple was the most profitable company in the world, it took most of the profit, leave some to Foxconn (a Taiwanese company) and little to the labor. 

They claimed China was inhuman with one-child policy. At the same time, they accused China of polluting the earth with its huge population. The fact is the Chinese consume just 30% of energy per capita compared to the US. 

They claimed China underwent ethnic cleansing in Xinjiang. The fact is China has a policy which priorities ethnic minorities. For a long time, the ethnic minorities were allowed to have two children and the majority Han only allowed one. The minorities are allowed a lower score for university intakes. There are 39,000 mosque in China, and 2100 in the US. 

China has about 3 times more mosque per muslim than the US. When terrorist attacks happened in Xinjiang, China had two choices: 

1. Re-educate the Uighur (CENSUDED by Youtube) before they turned (CENSUDED by Youtube). (**Here I could not copy the exact word, since today it is censored by YouTube if I write it next to the indicated ethnicity. It is the one used to identify those crazy people who are killing people thinking that by doing this they will be able to go to paradise**). 

2. Let them be, after they launch attacks and killed innocent people, bomb their homes. China chose 1 to solve problem from the root and not to do killing. 

How the US solve terrorism? Fire missiles from battleships, drop bombs from the sky. 

During the pandemic, When China took extreme measures to lockdown the people, they were accused of being inhuman. 

When China recovered swiftly because of the extreme measures, they were accused of lying about the actual numbers. 

When China’s cases became so low that they could provide medical support to other countries, they were accused of politically motivated. Western Media always have reasons to bash China. Just like any country, there are irresponsible individuals from China which do bad things, but the China government overall has done very well. 

But I hear this comment over and over by people from the West: I like Chinese people, but the CPC is evil. What they really want is the Chinese to change the government, because the current one is too good. 

Fortunately China is not a multi-party democratic country, otherwise the opposition party in China will be supported by notorious NGOs (Non-Government Organization) of the USA, like the NED (National Endowment for Democracy), to topple the ruling party. 

The US and the British couldn’t crack Mainland China, so they work on Hong Kong. Of all the ex-British colonial countries, only the Hong Kongers were offered BNOs by the British. Because the UK would like the Hong Kongers to think they are British citizens, not Chinese. 

A divide-and-conquer strategy, which they often used in Color Revolutions around the world. They resort to low dirty tricks like detaining Huawei’s CFO & banning Huawei. They raised a silly trade war which benefits no one. Trade deficit always exist between a developing and a developed country. 

USA is like a luxury car seller who ask a farmer: why am I always buying your vegetables and you haven’t bought any of my cars? When the Chinese were making socks for the world 30 years ago, the world let it be. 

But when Chinese started to make high technology products, like Huawei and DJI, it caused red-alert. Because when Western and Japanese products are equal to Chinese in technologies, they could never match the Chinese in prices. 

First world countries want China to continue in making socks. Instead of stepping up themselves, they want to pull China down. The recent movement by the US against China has a very important background. 

When Libya, Iran, and China decided to ditch the US dollar in oil trades, Gaddafi’s was killed by the US, Iran was being sanctioned by the US, and now it’s China’s turn. The US has been printing money out of nothing. The only reason why the US Dollar is still widely accepted, is because it’s the only currency which oil is allowed to be traded with. 

The US has an agreement with Saudi that oil must be traded in US dollar ONLY. Without the petrol-dollar status, the US dollars will sink, and America will fall. 

Therefore anyone trying to disobey this order will be eliminated. China will soon use a gold-backed crypto-currency, the alarms in the White House go off like mad. 

 China’s achievement has been by hard work. Not by looting the world. I have deep sympathy for China for all the suffering, but now I feel happy for them. China is not rising, they are going back to where they belong. Good luck China.”

[jordanianroyals]

8 March 2021: Queen Rania raised the alarm on growing global inequality caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the crisis has exposed and exacerbated long-standing disparities within society.

Speaking live via video call to the virtual John F. Kennedy (JFK) Jr. Forum hosted by the Harvard University Institute of Politics, Queen Rania warned that, “for the first time in 20 years, extreme poverty is back on the rise,” with so many people reeling under parallel pandemics of hunger, violence, and increasing illiteracy.

Her Majesty described this as “a vicious, destructive cycle,” explaining that inequality fuels the global spread of COVID-19, and in turn, the ensuing health, economic, and education crises fuel further inequality. (Source: Petra)

Addressing Harvard students and faculty in a conversation conducted by Harvard University Professor Melani Cammett, the Queen identified surging inequality as a “defining feature of our world,” crossing geographies as well as income, gender, and racial divides.

Noting that low-income countries are less able to devote resources toward pandemic mitigation and recovery, Her Majesty pointed out that “poorer countries simply lack the liquidity to dedicate to stimulus packages that are much needed to resuscitate their economies.”

The Queen explained that the pandemic has “unveiled a tale of two realities,” drawing a comparison between those who could easily work from home and those who could not afford to self-isolate because “staying at home meant they would die of hunger.”

Her Majesty also stressed the pandemic’s impact on women in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, stating that they were already at a considerable disadvantage prior to the pandemic.

“They only account for 20% of the labor force, although they do five times as much unpaid care and domestic work,” the Queen said, adding that lockdowns and school and daycare closures have only deepened this gender divide.

“That is really difficult for moms and their families, but we also need to remember that it’s terrible for our economies,” she warned. “According to the World Bank, if we could bring women’s lifetime earnings in the MENA region to equal those of men, then we could add around 3 trillion dollars’ worth of wealth to our region. That’s 3 trillion-worth of lost opportunities.”

Queen Rania suggested that the adoption of flexible work-related practices in the wake of COVID could foster increased workplace inclusivity, for women as well as “people who are traditionally shut out from the workplace because of their circumstances,” such as those with disabilities, single parents, or refugees.

Arguing that the pandemic’s economic fallout has increased the predicament of the global refugee community, the Queen warned that in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, the COVID crisis has pushed more than 1 million Syrian refugees further into poverty.

Her Majesty added that the pandemic has even disproportionately affected refugees living in high-income nations, who are at greater risk of unemployment, and pointed that there are those who would use the pandemic as a “political tool” against refugees to stoke panic by attempting to draw a link between refugees and the spread of COVID-19 for political gain.

“What a lot of these politicians and some of the people who vote for them miss is that, in many instances, refugees and immigrants give back to society,” adding that refugees with backgrounds in medicine have contributed to combatting the pandemic in Jordan, France, Peru, and elsewhere.

Referring to the key role played by immigrants in vaccine development, Her Majesty said, “the two co-founders of Moderna and their chief critical scientists are originally immigrants, and so is the chief executive of Pfizer.”

The Queen underlined that these examples “vouch for the power of diversity,” and reminded her audience that “more often than not, refugees and immigrants benefit, not burden economies” as international studies classify them as net job creators, not job takers.

During the Forum, Her Majesty also discussed deep-rooted inequalities in education access and reflected on the pandemic’s toll on the state of regional education.

She explained that in the Middle East, one in five children were already out of school prior to the pandemic, and disruptions to education have put an entire generation at further risk, with 40 percent of schoolchildren in the MENA being cut off from remote schooling in 2020, according to UNICEF.

The Queen emphasized that the COVID crisis should compel the international community to prioritize equal access to quality education, underscoring that this need is even more pronounced in the Middle East because of its unique demographics.

“We have a youth bulge: close to 70% of our population is under the age of thirty. To reap that demographic dividend, we really must make these urgent investments in quality education,” she said, calling for expanding on the hybridization of education by investing in in-person and remote learning methodologies and ensuring educators are prepared to deliver on those effectively.

Despite shining a spotlight on pervasive inequality, Her Majesty said the crisis has also afforded us an “opportunity to reimagine a new future” and the “impetus to make the changes that are so long overdue.”

Queen Rania also highlighted the role COVID-19 has played in changing attitudes surrounding climate change, and credited the pandemic with increasing people’s awareness of their environmental impact, with lockdowns around the world temporarily contributing to cleaner air and lower pollution rates.

Noting that accountability for the climate crisis has long been shirked by humanity as a whole, Her Majesty expressed optimism that the world is finally taking action. “I think now there is a sustainability revolution underway that is led mostly by young people but that is being heard by everyone.”

The Harvard University Institute of Politics John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum regularly hosts heads of state, leaders in politics, government, business, labor, and the media. The institute’s mission is to unite and engage Harvard students with academics, politicians, activists, and policy makers to inspire them to consider a career in politics. Her Majesty was previously a guest speaker at Harvard University in May 2007.

[spacebookettes]

A Robot Sent from the Past

S.H.E. System Hologram Explorer

In a solar system far far away, a bright flash of pink lightning. A fully clothed grey haired athletic humanoid stood up at the bottom of an ocean. A sphere of force field kept the water at bay. SHE looked around, hands met humanoid hips, in a huff.

SHE walked for miles along the bottom of the ocean; passing simple early lifeform growths in pastel colours, mouthless anaemic white worms with slight glittered fronds, hot bubbling acid pink gasses flowing. Annoyed at the lack of dry land.

Eventually the ocean shallowed. Eventually a coastline. Eventually sunshine. SHE looked up toward the sun hazy sky, this wasn’t the right sky. Only short spiky red plant likes covered the rocky surfaces. This isn’t the right land. SHE had been expecting a rendezvous of sorts. With the force field humanoid hands SHE crushed some rock, and kept crushing until enough ore could be gathered and a hot forcefield processing of a small amount of metal. Other metals found, components fashioned. A homing beacon constructed.

A gang of space bikers roared into the hazy atmosphere. SHE had manufactured a shot gun weapon. Only one space bike roared away from the hazy atmosphered planet.

A long journey long ago to a small blue planet. Some cave people were dusting and preening a humongous black monolith that occasionally sang to them. SHE landed, the cave people scattered and watched from behind prehistoric boulders. SHE clasped a forcefield humanoid fist and shattered the humongous monolith. The pieces screamed and reformed into a giant curvy voluptuous lactatious black humanoid liquid form. An alien language was spoken between the two humanoids and once more a spherical forcefield was created, this time humongous; that the black liquid form decanted themselves into. With the black sphere keeping pace SHE sat on the space bike and they ascended the blue atmosphere bound for who knows where.

The end

By Peter Stringer

The RockStar

The RockStar made her way through the market, the galactic markets . Star marketeers selling rocket booty. But a secret RockStar was secretly moving through the Moebius people, a mission.

The great universal pandemic had left a hole in the governance of the universe. The normal ‘harmony' that pervaded the universe had been somewhat decimated, and the Moebius people knew it. The rocket bootyneers had been alot more ‘adventurous'. Now chaos threatened Everything.

The Rock stars had always been a network of secret passers, their roles as entertainers had meant they managed to cross the universe unchallenged. They could go places others couldn’t ... their cargo could go places others couldn’t. So things could be smuggled to the right wrong people. But one RockStar, one huge RockStar had a problem. And it’s not easy for one huge RockStar with a secret problem to find a uncompromised solution.

Art if not interupted with adverts could be mind-blowing

Were the lyrics of the RockStars first song, enshrined in a smallish Original piece of a clear plasticised rectangle. The RockStar was trying to get this particular rectangle to a particular Moebius person, a crocodilian Moebius person. Urgently.

A suitable disguise had been secretly, personally, fashioned. As even The RockStar's people could not be ‘troubled’ by the responsibilities or a secret agent Rock Star. She hurriedly, expertly, navigated the oddly, glitterly, amorphously, shaped rocket booty pursued by who knows what in raggedly dark concealing robes. The moebius people also made Moebius extra animated brewed-up robo lifeformesques. And if they ever found out that Rock stars were helping the wrong right people, the universe may become intolerable. A totalistic, militaristic, force powered by uncompromising dark enhanced soul-likes, controlled by the Moebius power hungry. For in this universe power had not been delegated to the artificial intelligences, not the Moebius peoples of this universe freed from Power and all it’s corruptions.

The RockStar had a plan, she must cause some distraction and stow away the plasticised rectangle and return to her luxurious safety. She ran full on into a crystalline assortment of the delicate control panels of some ancient space cruiser. In the resulting crash of crystalline pieces she deposited the rectangle. Perhaps fate will dispose or someone will have to pay a visit to the market.

The RockStar easily reached the safety of fame, the assailants had fallen back, unsure what had happened and how to proceed.

The signal was sent, but the right ‘people' had been watching and were already enlightened. The right people also had uncompromising enhanced soul-forms. All races must be run.

The End

By Peter Stringer

The SuperModels

Five super models run the world...

A marshy bog land of petrified wood, rare ducks and grassy undergrowth funk. For miles. In the centre is a short stumpy tower, with mud-like walls sandy grey, miserable looking. A warm glow in the top windows.

A gathering of the leaders of the four corners of the globe and one super model security chief. No one would suspect the true rulers of a small blue planet.

Cindy looked down at her crystal tumbler of expensive alcohol glumly. Helena was hurriedly gesturing and talking. Two more super models were deciding as well. These women had slowly secretly taken control of all the power systems. And now decided all. A small alarm was heard from the security room next door. Kate went to look. She checked a screen and came back into the main room. We have a small crew of seven visitors, in the marshes. I’ll tool up Kate said.

A small hatch opened up somewhere in the swampland. Out climbed wet suited, highly armed models. They had see in the dark glasses, not made by Channel. Quickly spreading out behind an advancing group of lightly armed wet footed men. Kate signalled ‘do not engage until we hear why they are here' the models followed silently. The men dressed as duck hunters, were not duck hunters; they stopped close to the tower, silence.

A duck squawk was heard in the distance, a hint of the fake about it.

British accents came from the men. One model with a small dish shaped hearing scope on her ear was listening. The words were being relayed to small screens on each of the models arms.

Back in the tower the 4 remaining SuperModels were also tooling up. On a large screen the relayed words were appearing.

The lack of pollution and optimal nutrition of the past had created super humans, never aging, supernatural charm and ruthless attitudes.

Naomi mouthed the words she read on the giant screen.

Claudia looked down the barrel of an advanced super gun. She looked to the screen.

“if we can just gain control of the tower, hold hostage the empresses, we will have the power to create the third British Empire. WOOOOOSH

Kate returned to the top of the tower. Cindy looked at her with sparkling eyes, ‘we have a new challenger’. Kate went into the security room. Tapped on a screen, CANCEL UKIP, a red X flashed through the words, a blueprint of a government building... ‘i will take charge of this particular challenge to our Super position' said Cindy, one hand rising with a Taser.

The End

By Peter Stringer

[silvestromedia]

Pope Francis: ‘We must save lives, not build weapons to destroy them’ A new book entitled “God and the World to Come” hits bookstores on Tuesday, in which Pope Francis grants a book-length interview to Italian journalist Domenico Agasso (Edizione Piemme-LEV). We publish here an excerpt translated from the original Italian. DOMENICO AGASSO Q: Your Holiness, how do you interpret the "earthquake" that hit the world in 2020 in the form of a novel coronavirus? "In life there are moments of darkness. Too often we think that they only happen to others and not to us, to someone else, in another country, perhaps on a distant continent. Instead, we all ended up in the pandemic’s tunnel. Pain and sorrow have broken through the doors of our homes, invaded our thoughts, attacked our dreams and plans. And so today no one can afford to rest easy. The world will never be the same again. But it is precisely within this calamity that we must grasp those signs which may prove to be the cornerstones of reconstruction. Speeches are not enough to solve emergencies. The pandemic is an alarm signal on which humanity is forced to reflect. This time of trial can thus become a time of wise and far-sighted choices for the good of humanity, of all humanity." Cover page of the book Cover page of the book Q: What urgencies do you perceive? "We can no longer blithely accept inequalities and disruptions to the environment. The path to humanity’s salvation passes through the creation of a new model of development, which unquestionably focuses on coexistence among peoples in harmony with Creation. We need to be aware that every individual action does not remain isolated, for good or evil, but has consequences for others, because everything is connected: Everything! By changing the lifestyles that drive millions of people, especially children, into the grip of hunger, we will be able to lead a more austere existence that would make a fair distribution of resources possible. This does not mean diminishing some people’s rights in order to drive downward leveling, but rather involves guaranteeing more and broader rights to those who currently have none." Q: Do you see encouraging signs? "There are already popular movements today which are trying to promote these notions and operations ‘from below’, along with some institutions and associations. They are trying to concretize a new way of looking at our common home: no longer as a warehouse of resources to be exploited, but a sacred garden to be loved and respected, through sustainable behaviors. There is also an awareness among young people, particularly within ecological movements. If we don't roll up our sleeves and immediately take care of the Earth, with radical personal and political choices, with an economic ‘green’ turn by directing technological developments in this direction, sooner or later our common home will throw us out the window. We cannot waste any more time." Q: What are your thoughts on finance and its relationship with government? "I believe that if we manage to heal it from the dominant speculative mentality and re-establish it with a ‘soul’, according to fair criteria, we will be able to aim at the objective of reducing the gap between those who have access to credit and those who do not. And if one day, in the not-too-distant future, conditions are in place for every person to invest according to ethical and responsible principles, we will obtain the result of limiting support to companies that are harmful to the environment and to peace. In the state in which humanity finds itself, it is scandalous to continue financing industries that do not contribute to the inclusion of the excluded and the promotion of the least, and which penalize the common good by polluting Creation. These are the four criteria for choosing which businesses to support: inclusion of the excluded, promotion of the least, the common good, and care of Creation." Q: We are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II. Countries are taking emergency measures to deal with the pandemic and a dramatic global economic downturn. What do you expect from government leaders? "Right now, it is a matter of rebuilding from the rubble. And that burden weighs heavily on those in government positions. In our concern for an uncertain future, for the jobs that are in danger of being lost or that have been lost, for the income that is less and less sufficient, and for the other consequences that the current crisis brings with it, it is fundamental to govern with honesty, transparency and farsightedness. But each of us, not only political leaders, is called to eradicate indifference, corruption and connivance with crime." Q: What principle can we be inspired by? "What is happening can awaken everyone. It is time to remove social injustice and marginalization. If we seize the current trial as an opportunity, we can prepare for tomorrow under the banner of human fraternity, to which there is no alternative, because without an overall vision there will be no future for anyone. By putting this lesson to good use, the leaders of nations, together with those with social responsibilities, can guide the peoples of the Earth towards a more prosperous and fraternal future. Heads of state should talk to one another, confront each other more and agree on strategies. Let us all keep in mind that there is something worse than this crisis: the drama of wasting it. We cannot emerge from a crisis the same as before: we either come out better or we come out worse." Q: What attitude of ours would waste it? "By closing in on ourselves. Instead, we can heal injustice by building a new world order based on solidarity, studying innovative methods to eradicate bullying, poverty and corruption, all working together, each for their own part, without delegating and passing the buck. Also by working to provide healthcare for all. In this way, by practicing and demonstrating social cohesion, we will be able to rise again." Q: Concretely, where might we begin? "It is no longer tolerable to continue to manufacture and traffic in arms, expending huge amounts of capital which should be used to treat people and save lives. We can no longer pretend that a dramatically vicious cycle of armed violence, poverty and senseless and indifferent exploitation of the environment has not crept in. It is a cycle that prevents reconciliation, fuels human rights violations and hinders sustainable development. Against this planetary discord that is nipping the future of humanity in the bud, we need political action that is the fruit of international harmony. United in fraternity, humanity is able to face common threats, without any more counterproductive mutual recriminations, instrumentalization of problems, short-sighted nationalism, protectionist propaganda, isolationism and other forms of political selfishness." Q: Women continue to bear the weight of all recessions: what do you think about this topic? "Women urgently need to be helped in caring for their children and not be discriminated against in terms of pay and work, or with the loss of work because they are women. On the contrary, their presence is increasingly valuable at the center of society, politics, employment, and institutional renewal. If we get better at offering them favorable conditions, they will be able to make a decisive contribution to the reconstruction of the economy and societies to come, because women make the world beautiful and make contexts more inclusive. Besides, we are all trying to get back on our feet, so we cannot overlook the fact that the rebirth of humanity began with a woman. Salvation was born from the Virgin Mary. That's why there can be no salvation without woman. If we cherish the future, if we desire a flourishing tomorrow, we must give the right space to women." Q: What would you specifically recommend to parents? "Playtime with your children is the best time you can have. I know of one family that has created an 'institutional' element in the home: 'The Program.' Every Saturday or Sunday, the mother and father take a sheet of paper and, with the children, agree and write down all the play dates between children and parents in the coming week, and then hang it on a little board in the kitchen. The children's eyes sparkle with contentment as they write down ‘the schedule’, which has now become a ritual. This mother and father are educating. This is what I said to them: "Sow education." By playing with their father and mother, a child learns to get along with other people, and learns about the existence of rules and the need to respect them. They also acquire the self-confidence that will help them as they step into the outside world. At the same time, children help their parents, above all, in two things: giving greater value to life, and remaining humble. For them, they are first and foremost Dad and Mom, the rest comes later: work, travel, successes and worries. And that protects them from the temptations of narcissism and an unbridled ego, which they risk falling into every day." Q: The violence of Covid-19 has ravaged the already precarious prospects of millions of young people around the world. Young people are trudging along under a cloak of uncertainty and reductions in educational, vocational, social, economic and political investment, which is depriving them of the right to a future. What would you like to say to the "Covid generations"? "I encourage them not to give in to the economic downturn, to not stop daydreaming. Don't be afraid to dream big. By working for their dreams, they can protect them from those who want to take them away from them: pessimists, dishonest people and profiteers. Perhaps never before as in this third millennium have younger generations paid the highest price for the economic, labor, health and moral crisis. But feeling sorry for ourselves leads nowhere. On the contrary, the crisis would only have the better of us. Rather, by continuing to fight as many are already doing, young people will not remain inexperienced, bitter and immature. They will not cease in their search for opportunities. And then, there is knowledge. In Genesis (ch.2) we read that the Lord, after having created the heavens and the earth, takes the man and places him in the garden of Eden, so that he may cultivate it and come to know it. He does not put him in retirement, or on vacation, or on the couch: he sends him to study and work. God made man capable and eager to know and to work, and to love. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". There is no commandment more important than this one, Jesus says to the disciples (Mk 12:31). Young people have the vigor and strength to relaunch the fundamental tasks assigned by God, and thus become men and women of knowledge, love and charity. By opening themselves to encounter and wonder, they will be able to rejoice in the beauty and gifts of life and nature, emotions, and love in all its forms. Always moving forward to learn something from every experience, spreading knowledge and amplifying the hope inherent in youth, they will take the reins of life into their own hands and at the same time generate vitality that will advance humanity, making it free. Therefore, even if there seems to be no end in sight to the darkness, we must not lose heart. And, as Saint Philip Neri said, don't forget to be cheerful, as much as possible." Published by Piemme da Mondadori Libri S.p.A. © 2021 Mondadori Libri S.p.A., Milan, Italy © 2021 Vatican Publishing House, Vatican City

[orbemnews]

For Planet Earth, No Tourism is a Curse and a Blessing For the planet, the year without tourists was a curse and a blessing. With flights canceled, cruise ships mothballed and vacations largely scrapped, carbon emissions plummeted. Wildlife that usually kept a low profile amid a crush of tourists in vacation hot spots suddenly emerged. And a lack of cruise ships in places like Alaska meant that humpback whales could hear each other’s calls without the din of engines. That’s the good news. On the flip side, the disappearance of travelers wreaked its own strange havoc, not only on those who make their living in the tourism industry, but on wildlife itself, especially in developing countries. Many governments pay for conservation and enforcement through fees associated with tourism. As that revenue dried up, budgets were cut, resulting in increased poaching and illegal fishing in some areas. Illicit logging rose too, presenting a double-whammy for the environment. Because trees absorb and store carbon, cutting them down not only hurt wildlife habitats, but contributed to climate change. “We have seen many financial hits to the protection of nature,” said Joe Walston, executive vice president of global conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society. “But even where that hasn’t happened, in a lot of places people haven’t been able to get into the field to do their jobs because of Covid.” From the rise in rhino poaching in Botswana to the waning of noise pollution in Alaska, the lack of tourism has had a profound effect around the world. The question moving forward is which impacts will remain, and which will vanish, in the recovery. A change in the air While the pandemic’s impact on wildlife has varied widely from continent to continent, and country to country, its effect on air quality was felt more broadly. In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions last year fell more than 10 percent, as state and local governments imposed lockdowns and people stayed home, according to a report in January by the Rhodium Group, a research and consulting firm. The most dramatic results came from the transportation sector, which posted a 14.7 percent decrease. It’s impossible to tease out how much of that drop is from lost tourism versus business travel. And there is every expectation that as the pandemic loosens its grip, tourism will resume — likely with a vengeance. Still, the pandemic helped push American emissions below 1990 levels for the first time. Globally, carbon dioxide emissions fell 7 percent, or 2.6 billion metric tons, according to new data from international climate researchers. In terms of output, that is about double the annual emissions of Japan. “It’s a lot and it’s a little,” said Jason Smerdon, a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Historically, it’s a lot. It’s the largest single reduction percent-wise over the last 100 years. But when you think about the 7 percent in the context of what we need to do to mitigate climate change, it’s a little.” In late 2019, the United Nations Environment Program cautioned that global greenhouse gases would need to drop 7.6 percent every year between 2020 and 2030. That would keep the world on its trajectory of meeting the temperature goals set under the Paris Agreement, the 2016 accord signed by nearly 200 nations. “The 7 percent drop last year is on par with what we would need to do year after year,” Dr. Smerdon said. “Of course we wouldn’t want to do it the same way. A global pandemic and locking ourselves in our apartments is not the way to go about this.” Interestingly, the drop in other types of air pollution during the pandemic muddied the climate picture. Industrial aerosols, made up of soot, sulfates, nitrates and mineral dust, reflect sunlight back into space, thus cooling the planet. While their reduction was good for respiratory health, it had the effect of offsetting some of the climate benefits of cascading carbon emissions. For the climate activist Bill McKibben, one of the first to sound the alarm about global warming in his 1989 book, “The End of Nature,” the pandemic underscored that the climate crisis won’t be averted one plane ride or gallon of gas at a time. “We’ve come through this pandemic year when our lives changed more than any of us imagined they ever would,” Mr. McKibben said during a Zoom webinar hosted in February by the nonprofit Green Mountain Club of Vermont. “Everybody stopped flying; everybody stopped commuting,” he added. “Everybody just stayed at home. And emissions did go down, but they didn’t go down that much, maybe 10 percent with that incredible shift in our lifestyles. It means that most of the damage is located in the guts of our systems and we need to reach in and rip out the coal and gas and oil and stick in the efficiency, conservation and sun and wind.” Wildlife regroups Just as the impact of the pandemic on air quality is peppered with caveats, so too is its influence on wildlife. Animals slithered, crawled and stomped out of hiding across the globe, sometimes in farcical fashion. Last spring, a herd of Great Orme Kashmiri goats was spotted ambling through empty streets in Llandudno, a coastal town in northern Wales. And hundreds of monkeys — normally fed by tourists — were involved in a disturbing brawl outside of Bangkok, apparently fighting over food scraps. In meaningful ways, however, the pandemic revealed that wildlife will regroup if given the chance. In Thailand, where tourism plummeted after authorities banned international flights, leatherback turtles laid their eggs on the usually mobbed Phuket Beach. It was the first time nests were seen there in years, as the endangered sea turtles, the largest in the world, prefer to nest in seclusion. Similarly, in Koh Samui, Thailand’s second largest island, hawksbill turtles took over beaches that in 2018 hosted nearly three million tourists. The hatchlings were documented emerging from their nests and furiously moving their flippers toward the sea. For Petch Manopawitr, a marine conservation manager of the Wildlife Conservation Society Thailand, the sightings were proof that natural landscapes can recover quickly. “Both Ko Samui and Phuket have been overrun with tourists for so many years,” he said in a phone interview. “Many people had written off the turtles and thought they would not return. After Covid, there is talk about sustainability and how it needs to be embedded in tourism, and not just a niche market but all kinds of tourism.” Updated  March 6, 2021, 6:57 p.m. ET In addition to the sea turtles, elephants, leaf monkeys and dugongs (related to manatees) all made cameos in unlikely places in Thailand. “Dugongs are more visible because there is less boat traffic,” Mr. Manopawitr said. “The area that we were surprised to see dugongs was the eastern province of Bangkok. We didn’t know dugongs still existed there.” He and other conservationists believe that countries in the cross hairs of international tourism need to mitigate the myriad effects on the natural world, from plastic pollution to trampled parks. That message apparently reached the top levels of the Thai government. In September, the nation’s natural resources and environment minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, said he planned to shutter national parks in stages each year, from two to four months. The idea, he told Bloomberg News, is to set the stage so that “nature can rehabilitate itself.” An increase in poaching In other parts of Asia and across Africa, the disappearance of tourists has had nearly the opposite result. With safari tours scuttled and enforcement budgets decimated, poachers have plied their nefarious trade with impunity. At the same time, hungry villagers have streamed into protected areas to hunt and fish. There were reports of increased poaching of leopards and tigers in India, an uptick in the smuggling of falcons in Pakistan, and a surge in trafficking of rhino horns in South Africa and Botswana. Jim Sano, the World Wildlife Fund’s vice president for travel, tourism and conservation, said that in sub-Saharan Africa, the presence of tourists was a powerful deterrent. “It’s not only the game guards,” he said. “It’s the travelers wandering around with the guides that are omnipresent in these game areas. If the guides see poachers with automatic weapons, they report it.” In the Republic of Congo, the Wildlife Conservation Society has noticed an increase in trapping and hunting in and around protected areas. Emma J. Stokes, regional director of the Central Africa program for the organization, said that in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, monkeys and forest antelopes were being targeted for bushmeat. “It’s more expensive and difficult to get food during the pandemic and there is a lot of wildlife up there,” she said by phone. “We obviously want to deter people from hunting in the park, but we also have to understand what’s driving that because it’s more complex.” The Society and the Congolese government jointly manage the park, which spans 1,544 square miles of lowland rainforest — larger than Rhode Island. Because of the virus, the government imposed a national lockdown, halting public transportation. But the organization was able to arrange rides to markets since the park is considered an essential service. “We have also kept all 300 of our park staff employed,” she added. Largely absent: the whir of propellers, the hum of engines While animals around the world were subject to rifles and snares during the pandemic, one thing was missing: noise. The whir of helicopters diminished as some air tours were suspended. And cruise ships from the Adriatic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico were largely absent. That meant marine mammals and fish had a break from the rumble of engines and propellers. So did research scientists. Michelle Fournet is a marine ecologist who uses hydrophones (essentially aquatic microphones) to listen in on whales. Although the total number of cruise ships (a few hundred) pales in comparison to the total number of cargo ships (tens of thousands), Dr. Fournet says they have an outsize role in creating underwater racket. That is especially true in Alaska, a magnet for tourists in search of natural splendor. “Cargo ships are trying to make the most efficient run from point A to point B and they are going across open ocean where any animal they encounter, they encounter for a matter of hours,” she said. “But when you think about the concentration of cruise ships along coastal areas, especially in southeast Alaska, you basically have five months of near-constant vessel noise. We have a population of whales listening to them all the time.” Man-made noise during the pandemic dissipated in the waters near the capital of Juneau, as well as in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Dr. Fournet, a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University, observed a threefold decrease in ambient noise in Glacier Bay between 2019 and 2020. “That’s a really big drop in noise,” she said, “and all of that is associated with the cessation of these cruise ships.” Covid-19 opened a window onto whale sounds in Juneau as well. Last July, Dr. Fournet, who also directs the Sound Science Research Collective, a marine conservation nonprofit, had her team lower a hydrophone in the North Pass, a popular whale-watching destination. “In previous years,” she said, “you wouldn’t have been able to hear anything — just boats. This year we heard whales producing feeding calls, whales producing contact calls. We heard sound types that I have never heard before.” Farther south in Puget Sound, near Seattle, whale-watching tours were down 75 percent last year. Tour operators like Jeff Friedman, owner of Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching, insist that their presence on the water benefits whales since the captains make recreational boaters aware of whale activity and radio them to slow down. Whale-watching companies also donate to conservation groups and report sightings to researchers. “During the pandemic, there was a huge increase in the number of recreational boats out there,” said Mr. Friedman, who is also president of the Pacific Whale Watch Association. “It was similar to R.V.s. People decided to buy an R.V. or a boat. The majority of the time, boaters are not aware that the whales are present unless we let them know.” Two years ago, in a move to protect Puget Sound’s tiny population of Southern Resident killer whales, which number just 75, Washington’s Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law reducing boat speeds to 7 knots within a half nautical mile of the whales and increasing a buffer zone around them, among other things. Many cheered the protections. But environmental activists like Catherine W. Kilduff, a senior attorney in the oceans program at the Center for Biological Diversity, believe they did not go far enough. She wants the respite from noise that whales enjoyed during the pandemic to continue. “The best tourism is whale-watching from shore,” she said. Looking Ahead Debates like this are likely to continue as the world emerges from the pandemic and leisure travel resumes. Already, conservationists and business leaders are sharing their visions for a more sustainable future. Ed Bastian, Delta Air Lines’ chief executive, last year laid out a plan to become carbon neutral by spending $1 billion over 10 years on an assortment of strategies. Only 2.5 percent of global carbon emissions are traced to aviation, but a 2019 study suggested that could triple by midcentury. In the meantime, climate change activists are calling on the flying public to use their carbon budgets judiciously. Tom L. Green, a senior climate policy adviser with the David Suzuki Foundation, an environmental organization in Canada, said tourists might consider booking a flight only once every few years, saving their carbon footprint (and money) for a special journey. “Instead of taking many short trips, we could occasionally go away for a month or more and really get to know a place,” he said. For Mr. Walston of the Wildlife Conservation Society, tourists would be wise to put more effort into booking their next resort or cruise, looking at the operator’s commitment to sustainability. “My hope is not that we stop traveling to some of these wonderful places, because they will continue to inspire us to conserve nature globally,” he said. “But I would encourage anyone to do their homework. Spend as much time choosing a tour group or guide as a restaurant. The important thing is to build back the kind of tourism that supports nature.” Lisa W. Foderaro is a former reporter for The New York Times whose work has also appeared in National Geographic and Audubon Magazine. Source link Orbem News #Blessing #Curse #Earth #planet #Tourism

[inez-mcculloch]

The fashion and textile industry past present and future (critical thinking lectures)

In the Fashion and Textile Industries, predicting future trends relies heavily on acquiring knowledge of what has affected and had an impact on them in the past. (Lecture 1 Critical Thinking)

One example of this is the effect of World War II which had a huge impact on the Fashion and Textile Industries and its customers whatever their social standing.

In the first place, many textile, shoe, and hosiery manufacturers were given contracts by the government to produce uniform fabric for the three armed forces, boots and other footwear for them, and socks. This also had the knock on effect with uniforms being made in the clothing and knitwear factories giving few places where civilian clothing could be manufactured.

 Around a quarter of the British population was entitled to wear some sort of uniform as part of the armed forces, women's auxiliary forces or one of the numerous uniformed voluntary services and organisations. This increased demand for uniforms put enormous pressure on Britain's textile and clothing industries. (Imperial War Museum 8 FACTS ABOUT CLOTHES RATIONING IN BRITAIN DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR)

                        Not only this but the rationing of clothing, cloth and footwear was introduced on 01.06.1941 and with 66 coupons allowed for the year only a basic wardrobe could be purchased. This made existing clothes a valuable resource, they could be refurbished with trimmings from the list of non-rationed haberdashery and they could also be repurposed.

As Laura Clouting Historian at the IWM explains in her interview with MUSEUM CRUSH,

‘-  they had to perform conversions of clothes – for example to take a garment like a coat and turn it into a little waistcoat in order to give it a longer life.

 There are echoes of the above in our chosen brand concept, Repurposed Rave, with ‘repair and redesign’ being their ‘key strategies in offering a sustainable product. (WGSN2022)

Jasmine James of JJVintage, is a prime example of a repurposing brand which she founded in 2019. Her motto is, Rescue Repurpose Reuse. Each piece of clothing is unique and she makes them herself.  James uses pieces of old sportswear from Adidas, Champion and Nike to create patchwork tops in a corset like style. She designs quite a wide range of clothes all of which are made from repurposed fabrics including denim. One of her selling points is, “You can still be fashionable while trying to save the world.” And this is the ethos of our brand Karisma. Karisma.

During World War II repurposing, recycling and Make do and Mend were about lack of availability and helping the war effort and partly, as a general rule, how people had maintained their clothes before the war.

However it has now become crucial to repurpose, recycle and mend our clothes to give them as long a life as possible in order to save our planet from global warming. We need to cut waste to the barest minimum or ideally have zero waste and only use sustainable resources in order to at least halt the effects of the Fashion and Textile industries and have a chance of a future.

We live in a very unequal world and the gap between the rich and poor is widening at an alarming rate. (Critical Lecture2)

According to Oxfam’s 5 Shocking Facts, ‘nearly half the worlds population is living on less than $5.5 (£3.96) a day’ which would not buy two takeaway cups of coffee.

Not only this but ‘the richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people’ own collectively. This is about absolute greed and exploitation of human and natural resources.

One example of this is the Leicester factory making fast fashion clothes for Boohoo. The factory workers were made to work during the first lockdown with no safety measures in place and in cramped poorly ventilated conditions. Their pay was approximately £3.50 an hour, almost slave labour, with the minimum wage for an adult at £8.72 and 16-17 year olds are payed £4.55.   This is the real price paid for cheap fast fashion.

However, the exposure of these horrific conditions didn’t stop people buying from Boohoo on line and, Poppy Wood (Reporter and Editor at City A.M.30.09.2020) reports that Boohoo’s profits rocketed more than 50% last year during the pandemic and as it continues their profits will probably keep rising.

As Cathy Owen reported;

‘Boohoo is the UK's fast-growing fast-fashion retailer that was set up in 2006 by Mahmud Kamani and his business partner Carol Kane. It is now valued at more than $4.3 billion, and has just bought the Debenhams brand for £55 million.’25 Jan 2021  https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/debenhams-boohoo-billionaire-high-street-19692433

Sustainable fashion is not going to produce riches for the few like those Mahmud Kamani has but it will help to work towards making the world a fairer place. By using a circular economy it will have much less impact on the environment and many more people will have a fair wage to spread the wealth a bit.

A sustainable brand like Stella McCartney with a net worth of $75 million (celebritynetworth.com) is quite a substantial company. However, JJVintage, Blackhorse Lane Ateliers, Lucy & Yak, BEEN London Accessories and Birdsong which works alongside charities, et cetera, are not vast clothing companies but small, and their products are out of the ordinary and kind to the planet, they also have a good ethos in treating their workers well in good conditions and paying them fairly.

More and more people are turning to these brands wanting to play their part in making sustainable fashion the only way forward. Also Fashion Magazine websites are giving it plenty of coverage. For example, Harpers Bazaar (Our Favourite Sustainable brands, Jessica Davis 19.10.2020); Marie Claire (Best ethical clothing brands Penny Goldstone 26.01.2021); Glamour Magazine (Sustainable fashion brands by Charlie Teather 08.01.2021) etc..

In present times the world is geared towards the few in power supporting the destructive influences of large corporations. For example H & M with approximately $4billion worth of unsold fast fashion clothes on its books (we must hope they allow them to be repurposed).

Also Donald Trump has stirred up race hatred in wanting to build his wall to keep Mexicans out of the USA and blocking people entering America from Islamic countries, he is also in denial of climate change and supports the opening of coalmines and steelworks that have very high carbon emissions. Before the latest US elections he was the most powerful politician in the world using fake news to promote himself and deny his wrong doing. We live in a world where truth and justice are fast disappearing, and no one knows what is real anymore.

It is hoped that the balance will tip in enough time to halt climate change with caring people becoming the majority. The sustainable fashion industry is playing its part to make this happen.

After watching Atlas on the website www.bostondynamics.com/atlas, where the robot could move, dance, summersault and move in the same manner as an agile human it is quite scary. If robots are used to carry out the jobs that lower paid workers do such as delivering parcels and lots of similar jobs, then unemployment will become a huge problem.

It might be possible to have a factory producing clothes made totally by robots who could work all day and night without a break. Although there will be a problem with the marketing because the customer will be unemployed and unable to afford to buy.

The pandemic has perhaps slowed things down and given time for people to rethink how they spend their time and money. Spending time at home may give people chance to appreciate their planet and want to save it and perhaps think sensibly about the clothes they buy and whether they really need them.

Sustainability is a word being used in many areas of industry, people wearing sustainable clothing and promoting it and other sustainable lifestyle products such as homeware are leading the way.

We need to identify all the issues globally and work out a plan that will save the planet, give a fair balance between the rich and poor and turn our backs on the greedy rich and the politicians that support them.

The Mind Tools quote in Critical Thinking Lecture 2 sums up what is needed;

“When you have a serious problem, it’s important to explore all of the things that could cause it, before you start to think about a solution. That way you can solve the problem completely, first time round, rather than just addressing part of it and having the problem run on and on.”

With part of the problem being the Textile and Fashion Industries, the second biggest polluter globally (the oil industry is the biggest) much more has to be done to stop the pollution.  One way is for us to use as much recycled material as possible.

ECONYL is a new textile made from recycled nylon. Aquafil recycle carpets to make the yarn for new ones and the by products are used in other things such as road fill. They collect and recycle fishing nets from fish farms, the fishing industry and ghost nets (discarded fishing nets which volunteer divers collect from the bottom of the sea making the sea bed safer for sea life). Aquafil uses these to make nylon yarn for carpets and other interior products. Nylon clothing is recycled into yarn to make more clothing such as swimwear and any other clothes and accessories that are usually made from nylon. All these are in a closed loop production.  Giulio Bonazzi the CEO of Aquafil is the driving force behind ECONYL, the research behind it, its development and final innovation. He says that to him ‘landfill sites are like gold’. (www.econyl.com)

ECONYL is one of the fabrics we will used in our brand, Karisma.

Looking towards the future in Critical Lecture 3, the development of Smart Textiles seems to have a big part to play in the way forward.

‘SMART TEXTILES – the development of textiles to improve human’s everyday life, to benefit the industry, the health care sector and the environment.’

There are two main groups for SMART TEXTILES - Aesthetic, which includes all the senses and Performance Enhancing

Two interesting Aesthetic textiles are Tômtex and Mylo vegan leather. Both theses textiles are made to have the same properties of leather.

Mylo is made from the underground roots of mushrooms (mycellum) and has less environmental impact than leather.

Tômtex bio material is made from shell seafood waste and coffee grounds – the aim is for it to replace faux and real leather as a sustainable alternative, it is plastic free and fully compostable. (Dr D Rajapakse Textiles: Science and Technology)

Performance Enhancing smart textiles are growing in number, from better camouflage for soldiers to viral protective wear for care workers and everything in between.

Much of what is being innovated will go towards lowering carbon emissions, generating a sustainable future, and helping to halt climate change. Changes and breakthroughs in technology are happening all the time which makes the future very difficult to predict.

[dailynewswebsite]

Delhi's Covid cases spike as temperatures drop and pollution rises

Heavy air pollution has shrouded town in current days

India’s capital, Delhi, is battling a winter surge in Covid-19 circumstances as temperatures plummet and air air pollution rises to harmful ranges.

The town confirmed greater than 8,500 circumstances on Wednesday alone, its highest day by day document but.

It additionally added 85 deaths in a day, placing the overall past 7,000.

The sharp spike in circumstances after a months-long lull has additionally put strain on hospitals – greater than half the out there beds are already occupied.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to the federal authorities asking for extra beds at authorities hospitals as public strain mounts.

At 8.6m and counting, India at present has the world’s second-highest caseload. However it had been on the decline from the center of September: day by day case counts dropped from practically 100,000 to as little as 37,000 within the weeks that adopted, at the same time as testing remained constant.

The day by day nationwide tally continues to hover between 40,000-50,000 – India recorded some 48,200 circumstances on Wednesday.

Day by day circumstances in India’s worst-hit states

However Delhi has seen an alarming spike in current weeks, recording extra new circumstances than another state. The capital has confirmed simply over 450,000 circumstances thus far, some 42,000 of that are energetic.

It comes as giant swathes of northern India confront a winter season and dangerously excessive ranges of air air pollution – two elements that would considerably worsen efforts to regulate the virus, in keeping with consultants.

The rising numbers additionally coincide with a busy pageant season in India, with Hindus celebrating Diwali this weekend. Delhi has banned the sale and use of fireworks and officers have bolstered the necessity for social distancing, however visuals of crowds thronging markets within the metropolis have triggered alarm.

“Two aged sufferers of mine needed to look forward to greater than 20 hours to get a mattress,” mentioned Dr Joyeeta Basu, a doctor in Delhi.

Practically 8,600 beds out of the 16,573 Covid beds in Delhi’s private and non-private hospitals had been full as of Wednesday night, in keeping with the federal government’s Corona app. However extra worryingly, unoccupied beds in intensive care items (ICU) are extra scarce – solely 176 beds with ventilators and 338 beds with out ventilators can be found.

Story continues

Residents in Delhi have flocked to markets in the course of the festive season

Docs say the the pandemic is raging inside town’s hospitals, the place free beds are getting crammed up by the minute.

Hundreds of beds within the government-owned hospitals stay free, in keeping with the app. However there are not any vacant beds in at the very least 24 non-public hospitals and fewer than 50 can be found throughout 80 non-public hospitals listed on the app.

However many who can afford non-public healthcare won’t select to go to a public hospital in India, the place the standard of infrastructure is usually poorer. India has an abysmal document in public well being, spending simply over 1% of its GDP on it.

“All of my sufferers would solely go to a personal hospital. However with the way in which issues are going, we might must accept no matter beds we are able to get within the coming days,” Dr Basu added.

Dr Randeep Guleria, director at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, one in all India’s greatest public hospitals, advised native media that the spike means sufferers requiring admission into hospitals will rise.

“Moreover, there is a rise within the variety of sufferers coming to the emergency [room] with acute respiratory issues due to air air pollution and respiratory viral infections,” he advised NDTV.

Air high quality screens present that air pollution ranges are 14 instances larger than the World Well being Group’s (WHO) protected ranges.

One other worrying issue is that common immunity in colder climate is decreased no matter one’s age or comorbidities, in keeping with Prof Ok Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Well being Basis of India, a Delhi-based suppose tank.

Chilly climate can be extra hospitable to the virus, whose survival time rises in dry and chilly air, he mentioned.

“Chilly air is heavier and fewer cell, which implies viral clouds or viral particles will hover nearer to the bottom, making it simpler to get into one’s lungs.”

Add air pollution to this state of affairs, and it is “a double whammy”, he added, as cooler air implies that pollution will stick round longer.

Research all over the world have linked air air pollution to greater Covid-19 case numbers and deaths. A Harvard College research confirmed that a rise of just one microgram per cubic metre in PM 2.5 – harmful tiny pollution within the air – is related to an 8% enhance within the Covid-19 dying price.

One other research by Cambridge College discovered a hyperlink between the severity of Covid-19 an infection and long-term publicity to air pollution, together with nitrogen oxides, automotive exhaust fumes or burning of fossil fuels.

“We’ve to maintain our fingers crossed,” mentioned Prof Reddy, including that Delhi initially felt a pressure when circumstances shot up in April. “It began to come back again down in June after we had hotter climate and a lot better air.”

European nations like France and Italy, which grabbed headlines in the beginning of the pandemic for rising circumstances, had been hit onerous in January and February beneath a harsh winter, he mentioned.

“That is the primary time we should take care of the virus beneath a winter season so we won’t go by what occurred in the summertime. We will definitely be extra weak.”

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/delhis-covid-cases-spike-as-temperatures-drop-and-pollution-rises/ via https://growthnews.in

[thegrandimago]

The world ground to a halt for parts of last year, but carbon dioxide continues to set records. Concentrations in the atmosphere of the greenhouse gas peaked last month, scientists said Monday, reaching a new historic monthly average high of 419 parts per million. That’s the highest average level in millions of years. Awesome!

The new average comes from readings from the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, a research station operated by the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where scientists have been recording carbon dioxide concentrations since 1958, when carbon dioxide was at 316 ppm. And those recordings have taken a sharp turn upwards recently. We first passed the 400 ppm mark in 2013, so the rate at which we’ve already gotten to 419 ppm is pretty alarming. Carbon dioxide levels have exceeded daily readings of 420 ppm twice this year. (Yearly averages tend to peak in May; plants absorb a lot of carbon dioxide during the summer growing season, while plants and soil start releasing carbon dioxide in the fall and winter.)

“We are adding roughly 40 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution to the atmosphere per year,” Pieter Tans, a senior scientist with NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory, said in a release. “That is a mountain of carbon that we dig up out of the Earth, burn, and release into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide—year after year. If we want to avoid catastrophic climate change, the highest priority must be to reduce carbon dioxide pollution to zero at the earliest possible date.”

While record-keeping at the observatory spans 63 years, fossils, ice cores, and other geologic records help scientists determine what Earth’s atmosphere was like before we started directly collecting data. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is now on par with where it was in the Pliocene Epoch, around 4 million years ago, when world temperatures were around 14.4 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) warmer than they are now, the Arctic was ice-free in the summer and probably full of green trees and plants, and wooly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, giant sloths, and armadillos were wandering around.

Scientists recorded a monthly average of 417 ppm of carbon dioxide in May 2020, and the rise year-over-year is a bit smaller than previous years. What’s really concerning is that even though much of the world was on pause due to the pandemic, carbon dioxide emissions seem to be right back on track. Scientists said that the increase in carbon dioxide over the first 5 months of 2021 was at 2.3 parts per million, which is around the average annual increase between 2010 and 2019. That increase was despite the fact that global energy use decreased by 4% and emissions fell 5.8%, the International Energy Agency said in a recent report. That’s the biggest-ever decline in emissions on record in 2020 and roughly “the equivalent of removing all of the European Union’s emissions from the global total,” the IEA said. Findings early in the pandemic also tracked the dip in carbon dioxide, but now it appears we’re heading in the wrong direction despite recent climate pledges by President Joe Biden and other world leaders to get emissions under control.

“As long as we keep emitting, carbon dioxide will keep going up,” Tans told Axios. “And that’s what we see. Even if we manage to freeze net emissions.”

[newstfionline]

Headlines

A massive, intense heat wave is settling over the continental US (Wired) A perfect storm of crises is forming across the United States. Above our heads, a “heat dome” of high pressure could blast 80 percent of the continental US with temperatures over 90 degrees for the next few weeks. This coming in a summer when the Covid-19 lockdown has trapped people indoors, many without air-conditioning—and mass unemployment may mean that residents with AC units can’t afford to run them. A heat dome “is really just sort of a colloquial term for a persistent and/or strong high-pressure system that occurs during the warm season, with the end result being a lot of heat,” says climate scientist Daniel Swain of UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. That high-pressure air descends from above and gets compressed as it nears the ground. Think about how much more pressure you experience at sea level than at the top of a mountain—what you’re feeling is the weight of the atmosphere on your shoulders. As the air descends and gets compressed, it heats up. “So the same air that’s maybe 80 degrees a few thousand feet up, you bring that same air—without adding any extra energy to it—down to the surface in a high-pressure system and it could be 90, 95, 100 degrees,” says Swain. That heat can accumulate over days or weeks, turning the heat dome into a kind of self-perpetuating atmospheric cap over the landscape.

Comet streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show (AP) A newly discovered comet is streaking past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show after buzzing the sun and expanding its tail. Comet Neowise—the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century—swept within Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its close proximity to the sun caused dust and gas to burn off its surface and create an even bigger debris tail. Now the comet is headed our way, with closest approach in two weeks. The comet will be visible across the Northern Hemisphere until mid-August, when it heads back toward the outer solar system. While it’s visible with the naked eye in dark skies with little or no light pollution, binoculars are needed to see the long tail, according to NASA.

As pandemic surges, older people alarm adult kids by living as they usually would (Washington Post) When the pandemic began, Darcy Scott worried most about her parents, who are in their 80s and among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. To keep them safe, her brother drove them 27 hours from Kerrville, Tex., to Churchton, Md., where Scott and her husband were hunkered down. But after a couple of months, Texas started to open up and her parents wanted to go home. Scott’s brother drove them back, and since then, she has watched with growing dread as her parents have resumed many of their regular activities even as the infection rates there have climbed. “Mom went back to the gym, to aqua aerobics. Dad went out to pick up the recycling around town,” Scott said. “So there you go, we expended 11 weeks of our lives, and now our parents are wading around in a cesspool of germs.” The effects of covid-19 are most devastating for older people, with a 30 percent death rate among people over 85 in the United States who develop it. Many in that age group are sheltering in place and skipping social events in an effort to avoid the virus that causes the disease, and younger family members have often stayed away or gotten coronavirus tests before seeing them, to protect them. But others have taken a more relaxed attitude, engaging in behavior that fills their middle-aged children with terror, for both their parents’ health and their own. This can leave middle-aged people, many of whom may already be worried about their adult children going to protests or beach gatherings, feeling that they must also parent their parents.

Daily Virus Death Toll Rises in Some States (NYT) The daily number of deaths from the coronavirus has risen recently in some of the nation’s most populous states, leaving behind grieving families and signaling a possible end to months of declining death totals nationally. The seven-day death average in the United States reached 608 on Thursday, up from 471 earlier in July, but still a fraction of the more than 2,200 deaths the country averaged each day in mid-April, when the situation in the Northeast was at its worst.

Majority of public favors giving civilians the power to sue police officers for misconduct (Pew Research Center) Two-thirds of Americans say civilians need to have the power to sue police officers to hold them accountable for misconduct and excessive use of force, even if that makes officers’ jobs more difficult. While declining shares give police forces positive marks for using force appropriately, treating racial groups equally and holding officers accountable, there is little support for cuts in spending on local policing.

U.S. dependence on China for rare earth elements (South China Morning Post) As US-China relations hit new lows, Washington is redoubling efforts to address a major Achilles’ heel: its dependence on Beijing for rare earth elements—essential materials in various hi-tech products from smartphones and electric car batteries to Javelin missiles and F-35 fighter aircraft. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently introduced a bill to spur US production of critical minerals, among the latest of several before Congress amid rising concern that China could leverage its dominance in economic and political negotiations. “It’s making people in Washington wake up and say this is not sustainable,” said Martijn Rasser, a fellow at the Centre for a New American Security. “If China really is willing to restrict exports, we’re in for a rough ride over the next few years.”

U.S. Will Impose Tariffs on French Goods in Response to Tech Tax (NYT) The Trump administration on Friday said it would impose new tariffs on $1.3 billion worth of French goods, including cosmetics, soap and handbags, in retaliation for a French tax that largely hits American technology companies, escalating a trade dispute that threatens to further damage the global economy. The 25 percent tariffs will be delayed 180 days and take effect in January 2021, a hiatus meant to give both countries time to resolve their differences over a digital tax that will hit American tech companies. France has adopted a 3 percent tax on the revenues some companies earn from providing goods and services to French users over the internet, even if they do not have large physical presences in France, a measure that will target Facebook, Google, Amazon and others whose businesses focus on digital advertising and e-commerce.

Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel blazes a bloody trail in rise to power (Washington Post) MEXICO CITY—Before they allegedly tried to assassinate this city’s police chief, the foot soldiers of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel already had left a bloody wake across the country. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has killed judges, congressmen, dozens of police officers and thousands of civilians. Its fighters once shot down a military helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade. The cartel controls the movement of more than a third of all drugs consumed in the United States, U.S. officials say, and has expanded into Europe and Asia. And yet until last month, many here saw the rise of the cartel as an internal matter for the parties in an interminable drug war. Then the group sent three dozen men armed with military-grade weapons into one of the country’s most exclusive neighborhoods, authorities say, to kill the capital’s top security official. Omar García Harfuch was shot three times in the June 26 attack but survived. Three people were killed. Since then, several Mexican officials, including the governor of the western state of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, and the head of the country’s human rights commission, Rosario Piedra Ibarra, have said that they received death threats from the cartel. For now, at least, it appears that Mexico has arrived at a moment of reckoning, as the country’s elite look more closely at the new, more brazenly violent face of the country’s criminal underworld.

In Latin America, the pandemic brings new poverty (NYT) Not long ago, Colombia—and Latin America more broadly—were in the middle of a history-making transformation: The scourge of inequality was shrinking like never before. Over the past 20 years, millions of families had marched out of poverty in one of the most unequal regions on earth. The gap between rich and poor in Latin America fell to its lowest point on record. Now, the pandemic is threatening to reverse those gains like nothing else in recent history, economists say, potentially upending politics and entire societies for years to come​. The engines of upward mobility are failing, choked off by an economic shutdown that began in March and fell hardest on the working poor and vulnerable members of the middle class.

UK PM to tell firms to order staff back to workplaces—Daily Mail (Reuters) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell employers next week to start ordering staff back into their places of work, as long as it is safe to do so, in order to stem the coronavirus hit to the economy, the Daily Mail said. On Friday, Johnson said he thought it was time for people to start shifting away from working from home. “I want people to go back to work as carefully as possible,” he said in a question-and-answer session with members of the public. “It’s very important that people should be going back to work if they can, now. I think everybody’s taken the ‘stay at home if you can’ (advice). I think now we should say ‘go back to work if you can.’”

U.K. lifts travel restrictions for dozens of countries, but U.S. arrivals still require 14-day self isolation (Washington Post) The British government rolled back pandemic travel restrictions Friday on arrivals from 75 countries and British overseas territories—but visitors from the United States will still be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. Under the new policy, first formulated last month, travelers entering Britain from dozens of countries, including former novel coronavirus hot spots, will no longer face a requirement to self-isolate. The lightened rules free up residents of Britain to travel to the countries in question, as they will not face a requirement to isolate upon return. Italy and Spain, once the epicenters of the pandemic in Europe, along with countries such as Japan and South Korea that pushed back their outbreaks early, are on the green list. But not all parts of the United Kingdom have adopted the exact same rules: Scotland will still require arrivals from Spain to self-quarantine for 14 days, while England, Wales and Northern Ireland will not.

Dozens of US Marines in Japan’s Okinawa get coronavirus (AP) Dozens of U.S. Marines at two bases on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa have been infected with the coronavirus in what is feared to be a massive outbreak, Okinawa’s governor said Saturday, demanding an adequate explanation from the U.S. military. Gov. Denny Tamaki said he could say only that a “few dozen” cases had been found recently because the U.S. military asked that the exact figure not be released. The outbreaks occurred at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is at the center of a relocation dispute, and Camp Hansen, Tamaki said. Local media, citing unnamed sources, said about 60 people had been infected.

Singapore ruling party holds on to supermajority, but with historic losses (Washington Post) After gambling on holding a vote in the midst of a pandemic and a recession, Singapore’s ruling party predictably won general elections—but with one of the smallest vote shares in the party’s history, and conceded a historic number of seats to the opposition. There was little doubt that the ruling People’s Action Party, which has been in power since 1959, would hold on to its supermajority. But its share of the popular vote fell to 61 percent, from 70 percent in 2015. The Workers’ Party, the main opposition, managed to wrangle more seats away from the ruling party, winning 10 out of 93 seats—the most ever held by opposition lawmakers. The results reflect a mounting challenge to the PAP’s dominance in the city-state and a growing desire for a plurality of voices in the legislature.

Long-Planned and Bigger Than Thought: Strike on Iran’s Nuclear Program (NYT) As Iran’s center for advanced nuclear centrifuges lies in charred ruins after an explosion, apparently engineered by Israel, the long-simmering conflict between the United States and Tehran appears to be escalating into a potentially dangerous phase likely to play out during the American presidential election campaign. New satellite photographs over the stricken facility at Natanz show far more extensive damage than was clear last week. Two intelligence officials, updated with the damage assessment for the Natanz site recently compiled by the United States and Israel, said it could take the Iranians up to two years to return their nuclear program to the place it was just before the explosion. Another major explosion hit the country early Friday morning, lighting up the sky in a wealthy area of Tehran. It was still unexplained—but appeared to come from the direction of a missile base. If it proves to have been another attack, it will further shake the Iranians by demonstrating, yet again, that even their best-guarded nuclear and missile facilities have been infiltrated. Officials familiar with the explosion at Natanz compared its complexity to the sophisticated Stuxnet cyberattack on Iranian nuclear facilities a decade ago, which had been planned for more than a year. In the case of last week’s episode, the primary theory is that an explosive device was planted in the heavily-guarded facility, perhaps near a gas line. But some experts have also floated the possibility that a cyberattack was used to trigger the gas supply.

Virus cases up sharply in Africa, India (AP) South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled in just two weeks to a quarter-million, and India on Saturday saw its biggest daily spike as its infections passed 800,000. The surging cases are raising sharp concerns about unequal treatment in the pandemic, as the wealthy hoard medical equipment and use private hospitals and the poor crowd into overwhelmed public facilities. Globally more than 12.5 million people have been infected by the virus and over 560,000 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

[thewrosper]

If covid-19 takes hold in India the toll will be grim

It is poor, crowded, short of doctors and equipment and rife with exacerbating diseases. It was called the Spanish influenza, but given the number of Indians it killed, the flu pandemic of 1918-19 should perhaps have carried a different name. Some 18m are thought to have died, or 6% of the country’s population at the time. A century later, with covid-19 lapping at India’s now far more crowded shores, fears are rising that the world’s second-most-populous country could again bear a disproportionate share of the global agony. Until now, India has been lucky with this coronavirus. Despite the proximity of China there is only modest human traffic between the Asian giants, a result of chronically strained relations. Nor do many travellers visit India from other early centres of the pandemic, such as Iran and Italy. Partly as a result, India has registered fewer than 200 cases so far, and only three deaths. Most of those testing positive acquired the virus outside the country. Indian governments, both central and state, have also been strikingly forceful in their response. They were quick to restrict travel from afflicted areas and apply basic screening at airports. India has also airlifted—and closely monitored the health of—hundreds of its own citizens from stricken spots such as Wuhan, Tehran and Milan. Public information campaigns have saturated every television channel; recorded messages even interrupt calls on India’s 900m mobile phones. Across most states, schools and universities have been shut and public events cancelled. Kerala in the far south, a state with a record of excellence in public health, has gone further. Volunteers now deliver free school lunches directly to homes, while kerbside basins have been installed at even the remotest rural bus stations to encourage hand-washing. To enforce adherence to individual isolation orders, health authorities farther north in Maharashtra are stamping hands in indelible ink with the word “Home Quarantined” and an expiry date. Health officials insist that they have managed to limit infections to people who were exposed to the virus abroad and their immediate contacts within India. In some places, they have been assiduous in finding and isolating those at risk. One case in Kerala, where success in stemming an outbreak of the far deadlier Nipah virus in 2018 has built institutional expertise, involved tracing nearly 1,000 people who had come in contact with a single family. But not all states are as efficient. Border screening varied between entry points and never amounted to more than taking the temperatures of passengers—a dragnet a covid-carrier could slip through by taking paracetamol, a doctor grumbles. Many also note the paucity of testing data. Due to the cost and relatively small supply of testing kits, plus the limited capacity of government labs and a commendable desire to control the complex testing process so that it does not itself become a vector for the virus, India has so far only tested some 11,500 people. This compares with 270,000 in South Korea, a country with a fraction of the population. And because the testing protocol has focused so heavily on travellers, it has become what one expert calls a self-fulfilling prophecy, detecting only cases with foreign origins. “I suspect that if we did 20 times more tests we might find 20 times more cases,” says Ramanan Laxminarayan of Princeton University. “I personally think we are already in the thousands if not tens of thousands.”

Should the virus have indeed slipped past India’s barriers, there is little reason to think it will follow a different course from elsewhere. That would put India’s epidemic about two weeks behind America’s and perhaps a month behind Italy’s. That is alarming, given how poorly prepared India is. Decades of under-investment in public health—recent budgets have averaged a meagre 1.3% of gdp—have left it with a thin and creaky system (see chart). There are not enough doctors, not enough beds and not enough equipment for the country’s 1.3bn people, even in ordinary times. Moreover, these scant resources are unevenly distributed. Excellent private hospitals and prestigious public medical schools mean that big cities such as Delhi and Mumbai may be reasonably served. But in 2017 some 63 children suffering from encephalitis died when the oxygen supply ran out at a state-run hospital in Gorakhpur, a drab provincial city near the border with Nepal. India’s 100,000-odd intensive-care beds, which cater to perhaps 5m people a year, could be faced with that many in a month. The public is not well prepared either, particularly for a disease that primarily afflicts the lungs, and is more severe in patients with pre-existing conditions. The prevalence of both extreme air pollution and drug-resistant tuberculosis do not bode well. Indians also account for an estimated 49% of the world’s diabetics. Widespread poverty not only exacerbates such diseases, it makes it practically impossible for many Indians to leave jobs or to work at home. All too often, anyway, those homes are too tiny and crowded to allow for “social distancing”. In many cases there is not even any way to wash properly: some 160m Indians do not have access to clean water. The potential for a dire outcome is glaring. Yet as Mr Laxminarayan notes, India has a talent for pulling together for colossal “non-routine” events, such as massive weddings and political rallies. Others hope that the novel coronavirus will take a battering from the looming and ferocious summer heat. (That is true of some other ailments, but may not be for covid-19). On the streets, meanwhile, it is common to hear the whimsical opinion that Indians are already so toughened by hardship that this virus won’t hurt them. Then, for the truly fervent, there are magic cures. At a recent event in Delhi, members of a fringe cult celebrated the curative properties of cow urine. “It should be served to all tourists on arrival to cure them, for the protection of India,” enthuses Rajeev Kumar of the All-India Hindu Mahasabha, a Hindu nationalist group. “We are even sending a little pack to President Trump, to keep him safe from corona!” Read the full article

[thetruthseekerway]

The Pandemic: Punishment or Blessing?

New Post has been published on https://www.truth-seeker.info/quran-science-2/the-pandemic-punishment-or-blessing/

The Pandemic: Punishment or Blessing?

By T. O. Shanavas

The Pandemic: Punishment or Blessing?

All Muslims accept that God is al-Kareem (The Most Generous). Muslims learned in madrasa that the Omni-Benevolent God is the source of all generosity.

But I never had an internally consistent satisfactory answer to my impasse over theodicy (the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil), as well as the existence of the free will within Qadr of Allah (God knows everything and has already decided everything that will happen).

Muslim scholars have tried to circumvent the quandary as follows: Allah exists outside of time and space, beyond the cosmic veil in the Unseen. By contrast, we human beings can only conceive of realities within the framework of time and space.

Divine providence, or predestination, is a reality that exists beyond time and space, which means we are simply incapable of conceiving it with our limited rational faculties. Then, how do we, Muslims, respond to someone or a Muslim college student using same logic to vindicate polytheism and denies Tawhid (The Unification of oneness of God)? Coronavirus and social isolation gave me time to reflect on the topic and the coronavirus experience gave me the answer.

Allah created the earth and the universe. God offered Heavens and Mountains to take the responsibility of its care. But they refused, but later mankind accepted it. The dialogue between God and heavens, mountains and the plenum of gases enlightens us that as in the case of the animal kingdom these inanimate creatures also have self, consciousness, and subjectivity. The inanimate creations communicate with God in their own language that human does not understand.

God directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, “Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.” They said, “We have come willingly.” (Qur’an 41:11) The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing and Forgiving” (Qur’an 17:34).

“We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it;- He was indeed unjust and foolish;” (Qur’an 33:72). God instructed man also : “And do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.” (Qur’an, 2:60), and elsewhere: “And do not desire corruption in the land. Indeed, God does not like corruptors.” (Qur’an 28:77)

The world has changed since then. Arrogant man self-glorified himself as the invincible lord of the world and assumes that everything on the earth is his personal property that can be used, abused, or wasted. All knowing God notices man’s dereliction of his duties by polluting the earth, the air, oceans, cutting down forests, and destroying the habitat of other communities of His creatures to satisfy man’s greed. The consequences of human ravages on the earth many?

For example:

100,000 citizens die every year in America alone from air pollution. Then, add up all the life lost in the rest of world (https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-04-08/100-000-americans-die-from-air-pollution-study-finds).

Climate change and pollution resulted from the self-indulgent human exploitation of the natural wealth apportioned for the entire divine creatures are responsible for a staggering extinctions 318 animal species to date that we know of (https://theecologist.org/2019/oct/04/rising-pollution-endangering-species).

Globally, 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic pollution (https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Ocean_Factsheet_Pollution.pdf).

Bees are the foundation for many sources of food, fruits, nuts, coffee, vegetable, etc., Honeybees are already under siege. Colony Collapse Disorder kills an alarming number of bees each year linked to some pesticides. If bee goes into extinction, the fruits, vegetable and grains will disappear from markets (https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/pollution-and-honeybees).

There are many more human inflicted mayhem on the ecosystem to list here. Muslims accept and speak frequently of the universe as a classroom and a testing ground for the adjudication of the sincerity of our faith in God. But few Muslims ever talk about God’s amazing immaculate organization of the universe. I believe that an understanding of the flawless configuration of the universe is extremely important to make a spiritual sense out of the coronavirus pandemic, the human ravage on the environment, the mass migration of refugees, etc. under the watch of Omni-Benevolent God.

God created the universe as a testing ground for his creatures while saving the Jannah for the righteous: ”And We shall assuredly try you until We know those of you who struggle and are steadfast, and try your tidings” (Qur’an 47:31). Allah is flawless in His process of creation and its products so that whatever He created have the potentiality to do what He indented them to execute.

A perfect machine functions by itself without its inventor’s constant intervention. Then only it is perfect and so says God: “Thou seest the mountains and thinkest them firmly fixed: but they shall pass away as the clouds pass away: (such is) the artistry of Allah, who disposes of all things in perfect order: for he is well acquainted with all that ye do.” (Qur’an 27:88).

At the inception of the creation, God built a self-regulating system that we call the universe. He created it with paradisaical precision so that it would do all its duties and function. As revealed in the Quran, the universe and its animate as well as inanimate components, whether it is micro or macro, are living beings that have assigned duties and responsibilities (Qur’an 41:12}

“…He assigned to each heaven its duty and command..”). God endowed the universe with a faculty to monitor its components. This incredible machine acts and reacts, gives and takes, rewards and retributes etc. It knows what God wants to happen in every micro and macro situation as well as in every nook and corner. It executes what God programmed to happen in every situation without God’s constant attention. It is a perfect laboratory machine to evaluate and finally judge man, as Khalifa on the earth.

There is another marvelous wisdom behind the creation of this self-regulating universe. By the genesis of this incredible self-regulating universe, God took Himself off the equation to become “the best judge of all judges” (“Is not Allah the most just of judges?” Qur’an 95:8) so that no creatures including man can implicate Allah for their sin as predestination. Such an understanding of the universe as a flawless machine or computer perfectly merges with the Qur’anic concept of Omniscient Omni-Benevolent Compassionate God in a world with mankind with free will.

This video demonstrates God’s immaculate creation better.

The video illustrates a very small sampling of “الْحَكِيمُ (All Wise) in Action.” We named its activities as the Economy of Nature.

So, God, being the programmer of universe, knows everything and what will happen for every action and its reaction. This is what’s meant by Qadr of Allah . Still in the same universe, God can respond to our prayers without violating His established laws of the universe:

“Your Lord has said, ‘Call upon Me and I will answer you. Surely those who wax too proud to do Me service shall enter Gehenna utterly abject.’” (Quran 40:60).

Another characteristic of the world, that we live in, is the amazing harmony of our free will with the omniscience of the Almighty. Human experiences are linked to time and space. In order to integrate God’s Omniscience with man’s experience of the past, the present, and the future, God created time with an elastic property. God enlightened us on this relative characteristic of time long time before Albert Einstein did (“…but lo! A day is like one thousand years of what you reckon.” Qur’an 22:47).

So, time can shrink even to a freezing halt as in the case of God or expand for the rest of creations depending on its space, speed of motion, gravity, etc. So, our experiences of the past, the present, the future are only a present event happening concurrently for God who is outside time and space. Thereby, in this self-regulating world there is freedom, free will, randomness for mankind without the infringement of God’s omniscience.

We, the human species, take extraordinary measures in extraordinary situations. For example, for the greater good, we, as a nation, lockdown our nation leaving millions of our compatriots, living on paycheck to paycheck, without a source of income for daily living and lifesaving medicines. So, I am thinking aloud here whether coronavirus is an extraordinary response to an extraordinary event by the internally programmed corrective action against greedy heedless mankind polluting the earth, air, and water (“…when some evil afflicts them because of what their (own) hands have sent forth, behold they are in despair!..” Quran 36:37 & “Indeed, Allah does not wrong the people at all, but it is the people who are wronging themselves.” Quran 10:44).

What happens when the universe deploys coronavirus? The earth is showing signs of returning to its original pristine state in a short 4-6 weeks’ time.

Satellite animation shows air pollution in China and Italy clearing amid coronavirus lockdowns (https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/health/us-pollution-satellite-coronavirus-scn-trnd/index.html).

A few Muslims, Christians, and Jews called out the pandemic as a divine punishment against those who differ with them in faith. But I see a God acting as the God of the entire universe not as a God of man only. Is the pandemic a divine blessing for the entire ecosystem of the earth along with lessons as well as a warning to the greedy extravagant heedless humankind for their dereliction of duties as Khalifa?

The laws of the economy of nature are working as it is programmed by God for the welfare of entire creations, not just for man alone. Coronavirus brought tragedy for humankind. Even hugging and kissing became a weapon. But coronavirus delivered also the signs of the abatement of pollution as a result of national lockdowns and the return of life such as dolphins in Italian waterfront, etc. The current pandemic made the earth little more habitable for all other forms of life as a result of abatement of the pollution. Hedonistic hunters are not killing freely roaming wild animals for their selfish fun and joy.

Within the natural economy of the earth, if the current lockdown continues nature will save many millions from the premature deaths around the world with the abatement of pollution. Many species of animals will have a rebirth as a result of the decreasing environmental pollution. The lockdowns cut down the violent deaths. 313 people die from gun violence every day in the US. Marked decrease in travel in lockdown is saving life. 1,000 people die per day from automobile accidents in the US. That does not include the people crippled from accidents. Future generations can breathe and drink untainted air and water if man if mankind learns from it. In the big picture more life saved, more habitat reinstated, a little less global warming and pollution of the earth, air, and water.

Bill Gates pointed out few other blessings that coronavirus brought us. Nothing with standing of the cultural, financial, religious difference the pandemic taught us that humanity is one. The affliction in one is an affliction on the entire humanity. It brought families back together and taught the importance family in our life.

It reminds us that we can be patient. It showed us that “and man is created weak.” (Quran 4:28)

Now read the following verses in the background of the divinely programmed self-regulating system of the universe. Then we can discern the harmony of the presence of evil in the Omni-Benevolent God created world, and motivate all of us to act dutifully, justly, ethically and empathically to the rest of God’s creatures. We are being tested and simultaneously are being warned by coronavirus calamity that we are not necessary for the purity of air, water, the earth and sky.

God demands from us to cease our abuse and wasting of worldly resources and the “corruption of the earth.”

“Verily, We shall put you to test with some fear, and hunger, and with some loss of wealth, lives, and offspring. And (O Muhammad) convey good tidings to those who are patient, who say, when inflicted by hardship, “Verily we are of God and verily to Him shall we return;” upon them is the blessings of Allah and His mercy.” (Qur’an 2:155)

Yes, men and women around the world including me hate and fear coronavirus. It is a tragedy for human species. While coronavirus snatches away thousands of beautiful lives, the decline in pollution, the restoration of natural habitats like dolphins returning to Italian coastline, millions of lives saved from the decrease of pollution, etc. are the good things.

The contradictory concurrent happenings are referred in this verse “…perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not”; (Qur’an 2:216).

In the big picture Allah is the Omni-Benevolent Lord of the Worlds where man is one among many zillions of creatures. The existence of evil in our amazing self-regulating universe is not incompatible with Omni-Benevolent Lord. The emergence of evil and calamities are the end results of the interactions among the animate and inanimate components of the universe.

The prospect of the emergence of evil is built into the structure of the universe in order to make the universe a testing ground. The emergence of an evil rests with the creatures and the application of their free will as we have seen in the case of human selfish squandering the natural resources by deforesting and polluting natural habitats of flora and fauna. Another example of the emergence of pandemic tragedy in US from human activity is Trump’s downplay of impending threat of coronavirus for his political expediency.

So, evil is not from God as He stated in verses 10:44 & 36:37. Let me quote the verse again here:

(“…when some evil afflicts them because of what their (own) hands have sent forth, behold they are in despair!” Qur’an 36:37 & “Indeed, Allah does not wrong the people at all, but it is the people who are wronging themselves.” (Qur’an 10:44).

God’s self-regulating system of the universe looks for the most goodness for the most creations. Man, God’s Khalifa, can join in this struggle or be the victim.

It is not too late for man to repent and rectify his greedy mindset. And seek God’s forgiveness and mercy: Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (Qur’an 39:53)”

———–

O. Shanavas is a native of Kerala, India and is now based in the USA. He is the author of “Islamic Theory of evolution of Evolution the Missing Link between Darwin and The Origin of Species.” Co-author of the book, And God Said, “Let There Be Evolution!” Reconciling the Book of Genesis, The Qur’an, And the Theory of Evolution. Edited by Prof. Charles M. Wynn and Prof. Arthur W. Wiggins.

[sustainability-organicproject-aa]

“An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” A Movie That We Should All Watch. A Climate Leader’s Perspective.

January 30, 2018

by Aileen F. Amador Ferrand

One of the most important and powerful documentaries of our times, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” is already available in HD digital version and DVD in Europe.  It is the second part of  “An Inconvenient Truth,” the famous documentary by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, which won an Oscar in 2006.  This new movie, establishes that the climate crisis is urgent, and that we should act fast to save our planet.  Fortunately, now more than before, there are viable solutions.  The importance that this documentary has in our lives is crucial.  Thus, if you did not see this movie in theatres, you must see it now.

In 2006 when an “An Inconvenient Truth” was released, this film captivated me. The world was in serious trouble and I had to act to save it.  As part of my job as an environmental advisor for the Government of Puerto Rico, in different occasions I had the opportunity to work and draft various laws, rules and public policies that promoted solar energy, green buildings, and energy conservation, among others.  In fact, while working with the then Energy Affairs Administration, I wrote, the first Rule on Solar Photovoltaic Equipment and Installers.  An act that significantly triggered solar panel installations in the Island.  

Nevertheless, I always wanted to do more so in 2017, I decided to attend the Al Gore Climate Leadership Corps seminar, in Denver, Colorado.  It was a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to engage with other future Climate Leaders that had my same energy and enthusiasm.  We all shared an equal respect for Mother Nature and wanted to contribute to safeguarding it.

After several excellent introductory speeches the long awaited moment arrived: Al Gore came on stage to teach us how to do his famous PowerPoint presentation. Immediately, I was impressed by his vast knowledge on the subject.  Gore has more than 30,000 slides with crucial information about climate change, but somehow he has condensed his presentation so that it can be done in one hour. Without a doubt, in my opinion, he is one of the most knowledgeable persons on this topic in the planet.

I was highly impressed also by the humility displayed by this human being.  All throughout the conference he tried to limit any praise given to his persona even though in several occasions we gave him standing ovations.  At all moments he demonstrated great attention and respect to each person he interviewed or engaged in conversation, no matter the country of origin, the race, gender, age, social condition, or level of knowledge about climate change.

Gore has a clear mission and a great compromise with the planet and that is his focus.  His purpose with these trainings is to convert us into climate leaders so that we educate people that are not aware of the dangers of climate change and ultimately inspire change.

What are these dangers? While Gore started to explain these, suddenly, I found myself daydreaming, and imagining what the world would be like if Gore had been the President of the U.S…. I thought “what a contrast with what we are living today!”

A not so positive slide moved me out of my reverie, and brought me back to reality.  “Sixteen of the hottest years on record, since measurements began in 1880, have occurred since 2001,” Gore expressed.  “The world is cooking bit by bit,” I thought.  In fact, 2016 was the hottest year on record  since measurements began in 1880.  In tandem, 2017 was the second hottest year on record, according to NASA  and the European Union’s climate monitoring program. On average the planet’s surface temperature has risen 1.1 degrees Celsius (2°F) hotter than preindustrial era years. Scientists have seen this warming trend and are thus significantly alarmed.

In reality we should all be alarmed by this dire fact. In different parts of the world we are already registering extremely high temperatures above what the human body can tolerate. According to Al Gore’s presentation the heat index in Iran (Bandar Mahshar) reached 165°F (74°C).  In May 2016, India established a heat record of 123.8°F (51°C).  In response the Indian government distributed water to prevent dehydration and deaths, since 2,330 people died during the last heat wave in 2015.  Climate change will cause these heat waves to be more frequent. It is estimated that in 2100, 74% of the world’s population will experiment more than 20 days of deadly heat waves.

In June 2017, extremely dangerous temperatures soared in the western U.S. California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona all registered temperatures that broke records.  For example, 127°F in Death Valley, CA, 122°F in Palm Springs, CA, 117°F in Las Vegas and 118°F in Phoenix, Arizona. Due to the extreme heat, flights in Phoenix, Arizona had to be cancelled.  

Parallel to the increase in temperatures, the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, obtained, in April 2017, a measurement of 410 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere, setting a new record.  According to scientists in an article from Scientific American, we have not reached this concentration of CO2 in millions of years, and thus they predict that we are entering in what is known as climate’s danger zone, where our own survival is at stake.

In 2017 the effects of climate change were indeed evident and dramatic. Every day on the news it was like “taking a nature hike in the Book of Revelation,” as Gore says. A gigantic platform of ice Larsen C broke off in Antartica in July of 2017.  The melting of the poles continued reaching historically low levels, contributing to sea level rise worldwide.  The Artic ice cap melted to hundreds of thousands of square miles below average in the summer of 2017, which was the eighth lowest year in the 38-year satellite record. The loss of Arctic sea ice is clear from space.

The 2017 California wildfire season was one of the worst and most destructive on record.  The Washington Post reported “[n]early 9,000 wildfires tore through the state, burning 1.2 million acres of land (an area the size of Delaware or the Larsen C iceberg), destroying more than 10,800 structures and killing at least 46 people.”  Forest fires also scorched parts of Portugal and Spain this past October killing at least 44 people.

It is as if Mother Nature is giving us a message. One that if not heeded can likely worsen.  It is estimated that in this century we may or will experience food and water shortages, a proliferation in pandemic diseases and an expansion of inhabitable areas. In turn these can augment the number of climate refugees and more disputes can unfold as a consequence.  

How does this affect Puerto Rico?

According to a study published in Nature Climate Change magazine, heat waves will affect tropical areas more, since warmer temperatures combined with humidity require a smaller margin to reach dangerous heat levels.  More humans in these areas will be exposed to heat stress.

Al Gore was very emphatic regarding the link between heat temperature rise and health. He spoke about the Puerto Rican Zika epidemic and how climate change has contributed to the propagation of Zika in the Island.  This is very revealing since many people ignore this connection.  Climate change causes mosquitoes to reproduce faster, bite more and the virus incubates faster inside the mosquito. I always remember how in his first documentary, he had warned us about the spike in diseases of this type.

Tropics will also suffer more frequent and stronger hurricanes. The ocean traps ninety three percent of excess heat generated by greenhouse gas pollution.  As Gore says, this is like putting storms “on steroids.”  We saw the devastating path of Katrina in 2005 and superstorm Sandy in 2012, later Haiyan in 2013, one of the worst typhoons to hit the Philippines.  The 2017 hurricane season, with the passing of Harvey, Irma and Maria, is a testament to what it is like to live in a warmer planet. Hurricane Harvey in Texas brought 82 deaths, surreal flooding in Houston and coastal areas, and the US record for rainfall from a single storm, dumping 51 inches of rain, in parts of Texas.

For the Caribbean and Puerto Rico the latter two were devastating.  Irma wreaked havoc in its path. I still remember the images of utter destruction and chaos from St. Martin, St. Barths, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Cuba and Florida.  

Puerto Rico is still suffering the onslaught of Maria, a category 4 hurricane that left the entire Island without electricity, access to water, food and basic necessities.  Today, roughly four months after, there are about half a million people without electricity and thousands without water.

The excess heat also causes more water to evaporate from the oceans and the soils and thus the planet experiences more extreme rain episodes, floods and droughts. In September 2017 Italy suffered such an extreme drought, that it had to turn off its famous fountains.  Puerto Rico has experienced in the last few years both droughts and extreme rainfall.  We cannot forget the droughts that occurred during 2014-2016.  In particular the intensity of the 2015 drought, considered as the worst drought in the last 100 years. It was more severe than the 1994, 1967 and the 1968 droughts.

The International Scene

There are other climate change effects such as declining agricultural yields, intense droughts and the connection with the war in Syria, which are explained in the film, and this is why I exhort you to watch it.  Al Gore does an extraordinary job connecting world events related to climate change that people in general are not aware or see them as isolated.

Gore maintains an optimistic attitude in spite of battling for years for this cause and the reversal demonstrated by the new U.S. administration when they announced their exit from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. This international agreement, signed by almost every country on the planet, has a goal to maintain the increase in temperature well below 2°C, and ideally limit it at 1.5°C.  After all, in the U.S. more than 1,400 cities, states and businesses have professed their compromise with the Paris Agreement.  

Worldwide, he believes we are starting to experience a sustainability revolution. There has been a substantial increment in the use of solar and wind energy. Since 2011, investments in renewable energies have surpassed investments in fossil fuel derived energies. Today, 9.8 million people work directly or indirectly with renewable energy. Carbon is staying behind as a primary source of energy.  

There are other less optimistic points of view.  “The Uninhabitable Earth,” an article published by the New York Magazine on July 2017, read by around two million people, predicts a very depressing future for the planet.

Gore, notwithstanding, firmly believes that we are going to win this battle.  In the truth we have the power.  “Can we? Shall we? Will we?” he asks at the end of his presentation and cites the U.S. poet, Wallace Stevens: “After the last no comes a yes, and on that yes, the future world depends.”

End

[dailynewswebsite]

Fewer people attended hospital with stroke during the pandemic – but why?

Within the occasion of a stroke, the well-known mantra is “time is mind”. Even small delays in figuring out signs and looking for specialist care might be detrimental to a affected person’s restoration and long-term high quality of life. That is the case even for comparatively delicate strokes.

So it’s alarming that hospitals within the UK – and worldwide – noticed the variety of folks attending with suspected stroke fall in the course of the pandemic. Though it’s doable that fewer folks had been having strokes in the course of the outbreak, the priority is that folks with a stroke weren’t utilizing hospital providers when in want.

In response to this, our work investigated altering stroke attendance between January and Might 2020 in Better Manchester, and the doable causes behind this.

Hospital visits considerably down

The Better Manchester and Japanese Cheshire area accommodates three hyperacute stroke models. Collectively, they admit roughly 4.5% of all confirmed strokes in England, Wales and Northern Eire.

Throughout March 2020, we noticed a 16% drop within the variety of folks admitted with stroke and a 21% drop in folks coming to hospital following transient ischaemic assaults (TIAs) – also called “mini-strokes”. General, fewer folks had been arriving with much less extreme strokes, whereas attendance with average to very extreme stroke remained constant.

The explanations for a discount in milder strokes presenting at hospital aren’t clear. In parallel to the pandemic, the UK’s quarantine and lockdown measures influenced way of life elements, environmental elements and attitudes in direction of looking for healthcare, all of which might be related to decreasing stroke exercise.

Clear air and clear dwelling

Decreased numbers of sufferers presenting to hospital may merely be resulting from fewer strokes and TIAs occurring within the inhabitants. Life-style elements akin to food plan and train habits are related to stroke threat – and anecdotal proof prompt each optimistic and detrimental way of life modifications occurred in the course of the spring. Gross sales of train gear and alcohol at supermarkets each elevated.

But it surely’s tough to find out if these will increase translated to a relative change on the particular person stage. Was there a rise in alcohol consumed, or did grocery store gross sales merely substitute alcohol gross sales in bars and eating places? And did folks use their new train gear? Regardless, it’s thought unlikely that such modifications would have had such a direct affect on stroke threat.

Regardless of outlets promoting extra alcohol, general beer gross sales had been down this spring, suggesting folks drink otherwise at house. Shane Lopes/Shutterstock

Environmental elements may even have had an affect. Air air pollution and ambient air temperature have beforehand been related to elevated rapid threat of stroke. Ranges of nitrogen dioxide, one of many major traffic-related emissions, had been estimated to have fallen throughout lockdown. Nonetheless, in our examine, adjusting for modifications in nitrogen dioxide and air temperature didn’t seem to account for the change in stroke exercise.

Have been fewer folks looking for assist?

The choice is that strokes and TIAs had been occurring on the similar fee within the inhabitants, however fewer folks went to hospital. This appears the extra doubtless purpose for the change in recorded strokes, although we are able to’t be certain.

Sufferers having had a TIA or who’ve delicate stroke signs might even see enchancment inside 24 hours, which can encourage them to delay looking for assist. Such sufferers usually search recommendation from a GP, household or associates earlier than reaching out for additional medical help.

However beneath social distancing, self-isolation and shielding, figuring out signs and looking for recommendation could have been tough, particularly if GPs had been additionally beneath restrictions. The worry of getting contaminated or diverting assets away from extra pressing wants may have made folks reluctant to hunt medical care, significantly for milder or transient strokes.

China additionally reported a discount in stroke exercise in the course of the pandemic, and one examine has proven that some Chinese language sufferers delayed presenting to hospital with stroke signs. We shouldn’t bounce to conclusions, however this implies it’s doable that stroke victims within the UK prevented hospitals when the pandemic was at its worst. Equally, we are able to’t but rule out different elements influencing China’s decrease fee of stroke admissions both.

However whereas it’s believable that stroke sufferers had been missed in the course of the early months of the pandemic, it’s going to be very tough to show this. The true population-level incidence of stroke is tough to estimate at one of the best of instances, and this yr’s estimates will most likely be extra unreliable than common (nationwide stroke reporting was disrupted) and could also be confounded by COVID-19 itself.

Stroke exercise throughout the UK healthcare system now seems to be returning to regular. However with social restrictions now once more being imposed it’s necessary to reiterate the Act-FAST (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) message for figuring out signs and looking for assist. A stroke, no matter how delicate it could seem, is a medical emergency. Early identification and accessing acceptable care could make all of the distinction.

Craig Smith has acquired analysis funding from the Medical Analysis Council, the Nationwide Institute for Well being Analysis, the Stroke Affiliation and the Leducq Basis.

Christopher Ashton and Matthew Gittins don’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or organisation that may profit from this text, and have disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/fewer-people-attended-hospital-with-stroke-during-the-pandemic-but-why/ via https://growthnews.in

[scienceblogtumbler]

How Airborne is the Virus?

In March, an Italian study claiming that pollution particles could be a vector for spreading SARS-CoV-2 made the headlines. The physicist and chemist Jean-François Doussin explains why this thesis does not hold up and tells us what we know about the spread of the virus through the air.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, the idea that pollution particles could be a vector for spreading the virus has been trumpeted in media of all types. How did this rumour start? Jean-François Doussin: It all started with a report drafted by 12 Italian academics and posted online in mid-March. The authors, who are not specialists in atmospheric pollution, stated that the high concentrations of fine particles in northern Italy, a highly industrialised – and therefore heavily polluted – valley, may have facilitated the propagation of coronavirus in the Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna regions. Even though the study did not meet standard criteria for ensuring the validity of scientific findings (it was never subjected to peer review), and despite the appeal for caution issued by the Italian Aerosol Society (IAS, an association of Italian aerosol experts), echoed in our country by the European Research Infrastructure for the observation of Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases, ACTRIS, the theory upheld by the Italian researchers caused an uproar. Major national and international news outlets relayed it, presenting it as fact, and even started referring to fine particles as a ‘boulevard for coronavirus’. The thesis then began circulating on the social networks, since of course bad news always travels faster…

Did the pseudo-risk of a link between pollution and the propagation of coronavirus prompt any cities to alter their public health strategies? J.-F.D: Yes – most recently, the mayor of Paris asked for the facilitated implementation of alternate-day travel if vehicle traffic turned out to be ‘too intense’ after the lifting of the lockdown, in particular because ‘studies have shown that particle pollution leads to an accelerated propagation of coronavirus’. In this pandemic period, it is certainly necessary to reduce fine particulate matter because it weakens the body. And it is true that the current anxiety about using public transportation fans fears of a return to peak pollution levels. But, given what we know today, the risk of facilitating the spread of the virus cannot be used as grounds for the much-needed fight to preserve air quality. Another example illustrates the possible impact of fake news on government decision-making: according to the newspaper La Repubblica, the Italian research council is in favour of opening the beaches this summer, except in the event of rough seas, because the sea spray will allegedly increase contamination.

The Italian researchers’ assertions were met with great scepticism by the scientific community. Why was that? J.-F.D: For several reasons. First of all, the correlation that they established between fine particle pollution and contamination levels, in other words between peak pollution and peak infection periods, was based on sets of data (concerning the number of infections and fine particulates), a time interval (10-29 February), a geographic zone and meteorological variables that were all much too limited to have any chance of producing sound scientific conclusions. In addition, the study ignores well-established aspects of fine-particle physics. In fact, simple calculations show that the probability of two fine particles (e.g. one pollution molecule and another containing the virus) colliding and ‘coagulating’ to form a single mass, which then travels over several kilometres, is virtually negligible as long as the concentration does not exceed 10,000 particles per cubic centimetre. Concerning pollution particulates, such a threshold could be found right at the mouth of a factory smokestack or vehicle exhaust pipe, but is exceedingly rare in the atmosphere. As for the number of virus-laden fine particles in the air exhaled by an infected person, it varies from 0.06 to 3 per cubic centimetre, or up to 100 according to certain sources. Whether for pollution particles or those of respiratory origin, that’s a long way from the fateful threshold of 10,000!

However disputable the Italian report may be, the pandemic has nonetheless severely affected heavily polluted regions like the Po Valley… J.-F.D: Yes, undeniably. But the most polluted regions are also the most populated, and therefore are the most conducive to spreading the pandemic. While the thesis of pollution being a contamination vector does not sound not very convincing to experts, the population density factor, on the other hand, is quite credible.

Are people who have lived for years in polluted regions more vulnerable to serious complications in cases of SARS-CoV-2 contamination? J.-F.D: So far, only one epidemiological study, conducted at Harvard University (US) but not yet published in a recognised scientific journal, has indicated that some of the many comorbidities (additional medical conditions) associated with SARS-CoV-2 (obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.) are exacerbated by long exposure to fine particle pollution. According to this investigation, in the United States, when the average atmospheric concentration of aerosols smaller than 2.5 microns increases by 1 microgram per cubic metre, the Covid-19 mortality rate rises by 8% in populations that are chronically exposed to pollution, and thus have greater pulmonary vulnerability. This remarkably high figure has been challenged and is currently the subject of counter-experiments.

If SARS-CoV-2 is not ‘carried’ by pollution particles, does this mean that the virus cannot travel long distances? J.-F.D: Unfortunately, no. The latest scientific findings tend to show that the pathogen does not need a vector to travel far, or in any case well beyond two metres. Contrary to what was thought at the beginning of the pandemic, the virus – which measures 0.15 microns and is coated with dried mucus when it is exhaled through coughing, sneezing, speaking, etc. – does not seem to be mostly contained in very large  particles (far greater than 10 microns, like saliva droplets), but rather in particles ranging from 0.5 to a few microns. Droplets of this size, which are blocked by FFP2, FFP3 and N95-type masks but not by surgical or homemade masks, have a quasi-negligible falling speed. They remain suspended in the air for hours and can travel dozens or even hundreds of kilometres. In Bergamo (Italy), measurements taken far from the contamination sources revealed the presence of Covid-19 RNA in aerosol samples.

How long does the coronavirus remain active, and thus potentially infectious, in the aerosol phase? J.-F.D: For 3 to 16 hours, according to two recent studies.

Does the fact that SARS-CoV-2, once it is exhaled by an infected person, is capable of travelling and staying ‘alive’ for a long time, mean that there is a risk of ‘airborne’ transmission? J.-F.D: No. Given the low quantity of virus particles exhaled by an infected person, and in particular their high dilution as they circulate in the air, we don’t know if the quantity of pathogens inhaled by a receptor is sufficient to be infectious. There have been no reported cases of long- or medium-distance airborne contamination. Under the current state of knowledge we cannot state that such a risk exists, although there is no proof to the contrary – hence the urgent need for further research on the topic. France’s network of atmospheric research infrastructures could certainly play an important role in that effort.

How can the population be alerted to the risk? J.-F.D: It’s a delicate subject, first of all because airborne contamination is such an alarming prospect. It is relatively easy to watch what we eat, drink and the objects we touch, but it’s difficult to control the air we breathe. We are unavoidably exposed to it, like it or not, with no possibility of escape other than moving elsewhere. Secondly, although it seems judicious to apply the principle of caution, as with any environmental risk, hastily concluding that there is a possibility of being contaminated in that way could undermine the necessity of social distancing, which seems, along with protective masks (however imperfect they might be), to be the only measure that has shown a degree of effectiveness so far. It would be a disaster if people started asking themselves, ‘why bother to continue wearing a mask if it offers so little protection against the smallest particles?’ That is why I recommend applying a global precautionary principle that is not limited to the single – and hypothetical – risk of atmospheric contamination.

Isn’t it to be expected that the unknowns surrounding the pandemic would elicit irrational reactions? J.-F.D: I understand the frustration of the general public when they hear scientists, who deal constantly with doubt and uncertainty, say things like, ‘at present, we don’t know. We may know one day, but it’s impossible to say when’. For us though, this is not a weak statement. It embodies an ethics that integrates the unknown and establishes a ranking of risks based on available knowledge. Research on coronavirus may be advancing by leaps and bounds, but scientific progress is slow by nature. Unfortunately, this situation leaves a lot of room, especially on the social networks, for would-be ‘whistle-blowers’ who are not always trustworthy.

source https://scienceblog.com/516759/how-airborne-is-the-virus/