We all live downstream. Here in Toronto I live on the north shore of Lake Ontario, a giant lake that gets its fill from another giant lake (Erie) and many rivers. Very blessed indeed with all that fresh water year round. But, no matter where you live, if it’s on a body of water (lake, river or ocean) it’s likely that you are downstream, unless you’re in a ‘peak’ neighbourhood, higher than the iCloud. But we must live with what we are given, what flows to us, accept or reject it, or improve on it. Otherwise it’s not going to end well. Be reminded of when a major river emptying into Lake Erie ignited on fire for the tenth time in 1969 because of pollution at about the same time as 3 million gallons of spilled oil decimated the California coast, both fomenting the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1972.
But today how much are we concerned about downstream effects? For every decision there is a consequence. There is the possibility of negative or positive. Pollution or benefit. Upheaval or benefit. Health or disease. This includes the decisions we make individually and as societies, those made for us by governments, all of which have varying degrees of citizen accountability. What are the effects of deciding to drill for more oil off the coast of Newfoundland? What are the effects of giving the go-ahead for a new coal mine in the United Kingdom. What are the effects of wildly increasing global food prices and rampant inflation? What are the effects of prolonged drought in California, Somalia and Ethiopia or ragingly high temperatures in Pakistan and Siberia? What are the effects of unprovoked invasion of a peaceful country by an aggressive neighbour? Are we really worried about nuclear war?
Sometimes we don’t like to think of the downstream, especially if we’re enjoying the present. Let’s just live with what we’re given. After all what can we do to divert it? Are we happy to be reaping the benefits of being ‘lakeside’ and ignoring its contents and where it is flowing next? How concerned are we about what we are sending to those further downstream, including to those whose lives don’t have the options and opportunities of those upstream. I feel that today, the effluent that we’re receiving from those upstream contains so much harm and potential for harm. It’s truly sad and almost disempowering. Somehow, from somewhere, we need a reset. Just relying on current politics, on IPCC reports and COP meetings won’t cut it. We need real leadership to step up and start harm reduction now. Peace to informed people of good will who act.
Do continue on in today’s Planetary Health Weekly (#17 of 2022) for more about downstream effluent and doing something about it:
CLIMATE CRISIS UPDATES:
Wildfires wreaked havoc in 2021, CAMS tracked their impact,
March 29 marked the first time wind surpassed coal and nuclear power in the lower 48,
UNESCO launches emergency plan to save the world’s reefs,
March 2022 temperature update,
The world is banking on giant carbon-sucking fans to clean our climate mess. It’s a big risk,
UN adds record Siberia temperature to extreme weather archive,
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
Does my mask protect me if nobody else is wearing one?
Is Covid more dangerous than driving? How scientists are parsing Covid risks,
As world reopens, North Korea is one of two countries without vaccines,
Italian study shows ventilation can cut school cases by 82%,
China’s Covid controls risk sparking crisis for the country – and its leader Xi Jinping,
Canada’s unvaccinated not always who you think they are,
How much Covid vaccine is Canada wasting? More than officials hoped, THEN
Ukrainian environmentalists tracking possible Russian eco crimes,
Climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine help push Somalia to the brink of famine,
How loneliness is damaging our health,
NEW Focus of Central America Food Security and Climate Mitigation with Carlos Jimenez – FAO Regional Conference 2022,
‘Apathy is one of our biggest problems’: ocean photographer Shawn Heinrichs wants to save the seas,
Early warning systems hold the key to disaster management in Africa,
Does it matter if we know where our food comes from?
‘Strong evidence’ of systemic bias in California pollution exposure,
Ontario providing mental health and wellness funding to the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres,
Quote from Zola Electric’s CEO on Africa’s energy access problems,
New conference added: Stockholm+50 - a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity on June 2-3,
Trust in media 2022: where Americans get their news and who they trust for information,
8 most expensive African countries to live in due to high inflation rates,
How accurate are long-range forecasts? The science behind predicting the weather,
More than 50% of people worldwide have headache disorders,
New book: Oppression – A Social Determinant of Health (2nd
Edition) by Elizabeth McGibbon,
Ukrainian academics in the times of war, and lastly
ENDSHOTS of The Niagara Apothecary in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, hoping for wizardry and magic in Ukraine to expel the invaders.
Dokeep reading. Best, david
David Zakus, Editor and Publisher
First Spring Crocuses, Whitefish Lake, Ontario, April 24, 2022 - Wishing a Spring Reset for Ukraine and the Climate Crisis
In 2021, several regions around the world experienced devastating wildfire seasons. We have all read harrowing stories about the human misery and damage to property caused by intense and prolonged wildfires. Throughout the year, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service* (CAMS) has been keeping a close eye on global wildfires and their emissions. Using satellite observations of active fires, CAMS estimates the amount of pollutants they emit in near-real-time and predicts the impact on global atmospheric composition and air quality, providing data that allow decision-makers to take informed mitigating action. Let’s take a look at what the data revealed.
According to the CAMS scientists, global wildfires in 2021 caused an estimated total of 1760 megatonnes of carbon emissions, which is the equivalent of 6450 megatonnes of CO2. To put this figure into some perspective – total CO2 emissions from fossil fuel in the EU in 2020 amounted to 2600 megatonnes, in other words - wildfires this year generated 148% more than total EU fossil fuel emissions in 2020.
Highest estimated emissions ever:
This year’s wildfire activity in some regions around the world was at a much larger scale than previously seen in the CAMS dataset, according to ECMWF Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Senior Scientist and wildfire expert Mark Parrington. “As the year draws to a close, we have seen extensive regions experience intense and prolonged wildfire activity. Drier and hotter regional conditions under a changing climate have increased the risk of flammability and fire risk of vegetation,” he said, adding that this had led to some extremely large and fast-developing fires that persisted for a long period of time.
Consequently, several regions around the globe saw some of their highest estimated emissions in 2021, based on the CAMS 19-year Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) dataset, going back to 2003. The summer of 2021 in particular experienced a number of extreme wildfires which led to the highest estimated emissions for some of the months in the CAMS GFAS dataset. Not only were extensive parts affected throughout the summer, but their persistence and intensity were remarkable. This included vast expanses in Siberia, North America, the eastern and central Mediterranean, and North Africa.
High temperatures, severe lightning, strong winds and other extreme weather events that create ideal conditions for wildfires are becoming increasingly common due to the effects of climate change. Read more at Atomsphere
Wind power is slowly but surely cementing its importance to the energy grid. Last month marked a particular milestone for wind power generation, with turbines generating 2,017 gigawatts in the lower 48 on March 29—the first day in recorded history that wind surpassed both coal and nuclear, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Wind power accounted for 19% of power generation on that day, while nuclear was just a fraction under. Coal power generation stood at 17%. March 29 certainly offered the right conditions for wind power to flex its might: According to the EIA, wind power generation generally hits its high point in the spring.
Wind power did not come online at a commercial scale in the U.S. until the 1980s, though its growth has of late has been substantial. In 2021, wind led the pack in added power grid capacity as more and more turbines came online. Copiouswind farmprojects are either being pulled together or in the early proposal stages across the country. And, according to the climate think tank Ember, the entire world seems to be on the right track with wind power. A recent report found that renewables overall reached record growth, accounting for 38% of all power generation on the planet.
Unesco has launched an emergency plan to save the world’s reefs amid warnings they will all disappear by the end of the century. Audrey Azoulay, Unesco's director-general, is calling for an international effort to help safeguard the vital reefs.
The threat level has been raised after significant amounts of coral bleaching has occurred as a result of ocean warming, acidification and extreme weather. The process of coral bleaching occurs when water is too warm and the coral expels the colourful algae from its tissues causing it to turn completely white.
"Reefs are bleaching far more rapidly than the initial science suggested," Unesco, the UN cultural agency, said. "These bleached corals are highly vulnerable to starvation and disease and have an increasingly high mortality rate. This year, for the first time, mass coral bleaching also occurred in a traditionally cooler period.
"Under the current emissions scenario, all World Heritage-listed reefs are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century." Coral reefs play a critical role in absorbing carbon emissions, protect coastlines from storms and erosion and provide large economic benefit.
The Orca plant in Iceland is what is known as a "direct air carbon capture facility," and its creator and operator, Swiss firm Climeworks, say it's the world's largest.
It opened over a year ago and removes about 10 metric tons of CO2 every day, which is roughly the the same amount of carbon emitted by 800 cars a day in the US. It's also about the same amount of carbon 500 trees could soak up in a year. It's a fine start, but in the grand scheme of things, its impact so far is miniscule. Humans emit around 35 billion tons of greenhouse gas a year through the cars we drive and flights we take, the power we use to heat our homes and the food — in particular the meat — that we eat, among other activities. All this CO2 accumulates in the in the air, where it acts like the glass of a greenhouse, trapping more heat in the atmosphere than Earth has evolved to tolerate.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is sounding "alarm bells" over a record high temperature in Siberia. The record 38C temperature was logged in June 2020 in the town of Verkhoyansk.
Globally, nationally and locally, the pandemic continues, but with cases and especially deaths declining. But it remains far from being over. Please remember that and take care, and ensure you've got your booster.
Over the last week there were again about 5 million new cases (though testing is sorely insufficient and this is likely a huge underestimation) and again ~20,000 deaths, and about 112 million people received a Covid-19 vaccine (up ~30%).
In Canada we continue in our total fog, with many citizens confused. The smaller Canadian jurisdictions continue to report higher case rates than U.S. counterparts, though the larger provinces are getting better.
Some countries currently have very high daily case rates, including: Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Germany, South Korea (but it's now recovering quickly), France, Italy, Austria, Portugal and Greece.
It’s true that masks work best when everyone around you is wearing one. That’s because when an infected person wears a mask, a large percentage of the infectious particles they exhale are trapped, stopping viral spread at the source. And when fewer viral particles are floating around the room, the masks others are wearing are likely to block those particles that have escaped.
But there is also plenty of evidence showing that masks protect the wearer, even when others around them are mask-free.
The amount of protection depends on the quality of the mask and how well it fits. Health experts recommend using an N95, KN95 or KF94 to protect yourself against the Omicron subvariant BA.2, which is now the dominant version of the coronavirus and is far more infectious than previous strains. Read more at NY Times
Evgenia Zasiadko, who has escaped Ukraine, leads a team of investigators with Kyiv-based EcoAction documenting possible environmental crimes committed by Russia. Credit: CBC
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shattered millions of lives, but environmental activists also worry the ecological damage to their country will be irreversible.
"It's actually a huge risk for the whole world," said Evgenia Zasiadko who heads up the environmental crimes team at Kyiv-based EcoAction, a non-governmental organization that pushes for green policy in Ukraine. Zasiadko has escaped Ukraine, finding a route from Kharkiv to safety in a country she is not disclosing due to security concerns after enduring days of heavy shelling and airstrikes. She's keeping watch from a distance, determined to hold Russia accountable for environmental damage in Ukraine.
So far they've logged 144 alleged environmental crimes using open-source intelligence, verified video and witness reports. Zasiadko says in Eastern Ukraine she expects there are many more incidents not yet on their radar.
Zasiadko fears the environmental impacts of the war will displace a second wave of refugees in Ukraine due to contaminated soil and water. "The territory would not be possible to live, to use their water, to grow any plants or vegetables because it would be a high risk for their health in the long term," she said.
Soil contamination from munitions can persist for decades, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Little published information exists because of restrictions on military information, the organization notes, but it has been documented in parts of Scotland and Germany. Read more at CBC
A woman in a makeshift shelter in Luglow, Somalia. Credit: Abdulkadir Mohamed/NRC
After three consecutive years of almost no rain, the East African country of Somalia is in the grips of its worst drought in more than 40 years, according to an analysis by the World Food Programme, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations. Experts say conditions are so dire for the nation’s 16 million residents that a famine threatening millions of people is fast approaching.
“A famine could be declared in some parts of the country in the next few months,” Abdi-Rashid Haji Nur, the Somalia country director for Concern Worldwide, told Yahoo News.
Three failed rainy seasons and a fourth now unfolding have resulted in barren harvests, malnourished livestock and such limited natural resources that at least 700,000 Somalis have uprooted their lives and left their homes in hopes of finding safety and sustenance. Many have been forced to set out on long journeys through dangerous terrain and conflict-ridden communities in search of urban centers to access support. Read more at Yahoo News
The human brain, having evolved to seek safety in numbers, registers loneliness as a threat. The centers that monitor for danger, including the amygdala, go into overdrive, triggering a release of “fight or flight” stress hormones. Your heart rate rises, your blood pressure and blood sugar level increase to provide energy in case you need it. Your body produces extra inflammatory cells to repair tissue damage and prevent infection, and fewer antibodies to fight viruses. Subconsciously, you start to view other people more as potential threats — sources of rejection or apathy — and less as friends, remedies for your loneliness.
And in a cruel twist, your protective measures to isolate you from the coronavirus may actually make you less resistant to it, or less responsive to the vaccine, because you have fewer antibodies to fight it. Read more at NY Times
NEW FOCUS: Latin America Food Security and Climate Mitigation - FAO Regional Conference 2022
Credit: FAO United Nations
According to CEPAL (the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America) one of the most serious effects of food shortages in Central America is child undernutrition, and the ongoing lack of foodstuffs of sufficient quantity and quality to meet the energy needs of the whole population.
The UN reports hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean rose by 13.8 million people in just one year. Hunger rose more sharply than in any other region between 2019 and 2020, reaching 59.7 million people, its highest point since 2000. Food insecurity affects 267 million people and 106 million adults present obesity, it being another face of malnutrition.
During the XXXVII FAO’s regional conference held in Quito between March 28th and April 1st, the members reiterated the commitment to confronting and overcoming the most complex humanitarian, economic and social crisis in recent decades, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
The agricultural sector is key to move beyond the crisis. From farms all the way to consumers' tables, the people, organizations and businesses that make up the region's agricultural systems employ millions of people. These systems are responsible for between 9 and 35 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the countries of the region. These foods systems are a fundament key stone of the Regions sustainable strategies. Read more at FAO United Nations
The images of sea life captured by photographer and cinematographer Shawn Heinrichs have a dual message: we should revere these majestic, yet fragile creatures, but we should also fear the prospect of their extinction.
Fundamental to us wanting to protect and preserve something, is our ability to connect with it. Given so few people ever get to directly go into the ocean and connect with the marine life in these habitats, it is so important that we bring the stories to them.
It's through the imagery, the video, and all the storytelling that we help people feel a connection, and through that, they develop a sense of empathy and a desire to act. It is a huge opportunity and an obligation on our part as storytellers to bring these stories to the people.
The most immediate threat to our oceans is our extraction, but in the long term perhaps one of the greatest threats will be climate change and global warming.
We look at the oceans as this inexhaustible resource -- a place where we can keep taking and taking.
One of the biggest problems we face today is that people feel helpless, or they feel apathetic. It's either 'not my problem,' or 'there's nothing I can do about it.'
We're long past the time for pretty pictures and fun stories. We have to take action. In my mind we have less than a decade left before we are in uncontrolled loss of the planet through climate and through destructive fisheries.
But I also believe that we are seeing fundamental change happening right this moment. The next generation is waking up. They're speaking to their parents and grandparents -- conversations that would never happen a decade ago are happening today. I see little activists that are 13 years old, taking a stand in their schools to eliminate plastics. I see fishermen transitioning their livelihoods, from fishing sharks to taking a few people out to swim with sharks. I see entire cities designating protected areas. We are seeing change.
So I do have hope. But more than anything, I'm inspired to be part of it. Because I think we have a chance, but we must act now. Read more at CNN
A project funded by the Adaptation Fund and implemented by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is improving West African climate adaptation and disaster management by developing region-wide early warning systems.
Specifically, the organisation aims to assist the six countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo – that sit above the Volta Basin, ninth largest river basin in sub-Saharan Africa covering an area of about 400,000km2.
The majority of its 29 million inhabitants live below the poverty line, with four of the six ranked among the UN’s list of least developed countries, and livelihoods are highly dependent on agriculture, which is vulnerable to regular extreme meteorological and hydrological events.
“These socio-economic baseline issues are exacerbated by a climate that has undergone considerable change in recent decades and is expected to continue changing throughout the 21st century,” said Ramesh Tripathi, manager of the WMO project.
“Based on an initial assessment with the stakeholders, integrated water resources management, risk maps and development of early warning systems were identified as concrete adaptation measures to increase resilience to floods and droughts and ensure socio-economic sustainable development,” he added.
Through a US$7.92 million grant from the Adaptation Fund, the WMO, alongside the Volta Basin Authority and Global Water Partnership West Africa, is seeking to improve existing flood and drought management strategies and plans at the regional, national and local level. Read more at Climate Change News
"My parents were coffee growers, I am a coffee grower, I have known how to handle coffee since my birth," says Faustin Mulomba, from Bweremana in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).
Mr Mulomba has spent most of his life working in coffee cultivation, but last year was put in charge of a coffee-washing station for the AMKA co-operative, a group of more than 2,000 farmers close to Lake Kivu. Here, beans from farms across the region have their outer skin and pulp removed. They are washed, sorted and dried, before being sent to the city for further processing.
Up to 120,000kg of coffee cherries pass through his station in a year, which amounts to a little less than a shipping container full of green coffee beans.
While Mr Mulomba's family has a long history in coffee production, the introduction of new technology has changed the way he looks at the business. Now, when beans from his co-operative are sold to Nespresso, the company uses sophisticated data capturing and storage methods - including blockchain technology - to track the beans as they move from the farm to the customer.
Blockchain is a digital ledger, or a log, of transactions. The information is distributed and stored among a network of users. The idea behind using the ledger is to make the information easy to verify, but difficult to manipulate.
In practice, Mr Mulomba uses a simple smartphone app to scan QR codes that give him information about a particular bag of coffee, such as the weight and pulping data. For Mr Mulomba, the new tech means he can see how much coffee has been produced in the co-operative, where the coffee is and if it has been handled correctly. Read more at BBC
There is "strong evidence" of systemic racial and ethnic bias in air pollution control across California, according to a new study from UC San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS).
Researchers assessed air pollution data from before the coronavirus pandemic began and as California's first stay-at-home order was in place. They found predominantly Asian and Hispanic communities saw a bigger drop in air pollution exposure during the shutdown than predominantly white areas, which researchers said means the state's Asian and Hispanic areas "experience significantly more air pollution from economic activity compared to predominantly white neighborhoods." Meanwhile, drops in pollution exposure were not "statistically significant" in Black communities, instead remaining closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Jennifer Burney, the Marshall Saunders chancellor's endowed chair in global climate policy and research at GPS, suggested the study's findings were at odds with what might be expected of the blue state. Read more at Newsweek
Credit: Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Ontario is providing $812,500 to the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres to help raise awareness, reduce stigma and support Indigenous-led mental health and wellness initiatives for Indian Residential School (IRS) Survivors, families and communities across the province.
The funding will be used to provide access to cultural-based workshops, traditional healing activities and education initiatives that foster self-respect and identity and help improve mental health and emotional supports. Funding will also be used to raise awareness for individuals, families and communities of the history and impacts of the IRS system. This funding is in addition to dedicated funding being provided to First Nations leading burial investigations at former Residential Schools across the province.
“It is critical that culturally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health supports are available for Indian Residential School Survivors, their families and Indigenous communities,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs. “Our government continues to seek direction from Indigenous partners on their funding needs for Indian Residential School burial investigations, including funding for critical mental health supports.”
Ontario continues to engage with Indigenous leaders, Residential School Survivors, Indigenous Elders, communities and organizations to seek ongoing guidance on how to best support IRS-related work and to facilitate access to funding as seamlessly as possible. Read more at Nation Talk
Quote Of The Week:
Credit: Article
In a 2021 interview with Business Insider Africa, the CEO of Zola Electric, Bill Lenihan, was asked if Africa's energy access problem can ever be solved. This is what he had to say:
"What I do know is that it can definitely be improved upon. I believe we can also solve the affordability problem with the right energy ecosystem. And the right energy ecosystem is not a centralised ecosystem. It’s not the grid kind of ecosystem. The grid has had its chance to solve this problem for a hundred years and it has not; will not. In my opinion, distributed, digital and renewable energy will solve that affordability problem." Read more at Business Insider Africa
Upcoming Events
International Health Trends and Perspectives (a new journal based at Ryerson University, Toronto) is dedicating a special issue to the topic of Planetary Health to highlight research and theoretical contributions of scientists and scholars globally. It is inviting manuscripts that are solutions and equity-focused. See the call for papers and details here: https://bit.ly/3tDixHT
November, 2022: Canadian Conference on Global Health Join us in November 2022 in Toronto for the 28th Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH). This year's hybrid event will explore the theme of: "Inclusive Global Health in Uncertain Times: Research and Practice". Stay tuned for more information.
FYI#1 SPOTLIGHT ON MEDIA
Trust in Media 2022: Where Americans Get Their News And Who They Trust For Information
YouGov asked 1,500 Americans where they get their news from and how much they trust a variety of prominent media organizations and news anchors. The poll, conducted from March 26 - 29, shows that while Americans are more likely to trust than distrust many prominent news sources, there are very few organizations that are trusted by more than a small proportion of Americans on both sides of the political aisle. In fact, the most Americans overall place trust in an organization that rarely covers domestic politics: the Weather Channel (52% of Americans trust it). The Weather Channel is trailed by the U.K. news outlet, BBC (39%), the national public broadcaster, PBS (41%), and The Wall Street Journal (37%).
Earlier this year, some renown economists told Bloomberg that the biggest danger to the global economy in 2022 is not the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it would be high inflation. And quite honestly, the projection didn't come as much of a surprise to analysts at Business Insider Africa. After all, inflation has always been a major problem here in Africa.
Inflation is one of the biggest enemies to wealth creation. It silently but consistently erodes the value of money. Across Africa, it is a constant problem. And even though many of those it affects are unawares of the damage it can cause, they do feel its effect in the form of high prices, expensive food items, etc.
African countries with the highest inflation rates in 2022
Sudan: According to Reuters, Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics reported the country's inflation at 258.40% in February 2022. This makes Sudan the country with the highest inflation rate in Africa. It should however be noted that Sudan's inflation rate is expected to reduce to 41.8% before end of 2022, according to projections by Statista.
Zimbabwe: According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), this Southern African country's inflation rate stood at 66.1% as of February 2022. This makes Zimbabwe the African country with the second highest inflation rate.
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's inflation rate rose to 34.7% in March 2022, up from 33.6% in February this year. This is according to statistics obtained from various sources, including Trading Economics and the US Department for Agriculture.
Angola: According to statistics obtained from Angola's Instituto Nacional de Estatística, inflation rate in the country increased by 1.565 to 28.56% in March, up from 27.28% in February. Statista has projected that inflation in the country would decrease further to 14.9% this year.
Zambia: According to Zambia's Central Statistical Office, the inflation rate in this Southern African increased to 16.1% in March, up from 15.30 in February.
Ghana: According to Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana's inflation rate accelerated to 19.4% in March of 2022, up from 15.7% in February.
Sierra Leone: Information obtained Statistics Sierra Leone show that this West African country's inflation rate accelerated to 17.94% in March of 2022, up from 15.77% in February.
Nigeria: Nigeria's inflation rate jumped to 15.92% in March 2022, up from 15.70% in February. This is according to information made available by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The projection, according to Statista, is that Nigeria's inflation would eventually reduce to 13.3% before the year runs out.
How Accurate Are Long-Range Forecasts? The Science Behind Predicting The Weather
Credit: Christy Climenhaga/CBC
Although forecasting can be an art, it does begin with hard data. Stephen Kerr, manager of training and development at Environment and Climate Change Canada, says in order to see what's coming in the weather, you first have to examine what is happening now. "A meteorologist essentially follows a process called an analysis, diagnosis and prognosis," Kerr says. They first look at radar, airport reports of weather conditions like temperature, wind and pressure, even data captured by weather balloons to get a grasp on how the atmosphere is behaving. During the diagnosis phase they turn all those reports into a weather story of the day. "They look at this data and then they really make a clear picture as to what's occurring," Kerr says. "What's driving it? Then at that point, the meteorologists can start looking into the prognosis, thinking about the evolution of how the weather will unfold by using their scientific knowledge." The prognosis stage is where mathematics comes into play. Meteorologists analyze numerical weather models. These use equations to predict what will happen using the current conditions.
More Than 50% Of People Worldwide Have Headache Disorders
Credit:Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
New research quantifies how many people worldwide have headache disorders — and it’s a lot.
When a group of researchers trawled through over 350 scientific publications on headaches, they found that 52% of people worldwide have experienced a headache disorder in the past year.
Headache disorders range from annoying to disabling. They include migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches and headaches related to things like exercise or sinusitis.
The researchers estimate that on any given day, 15.8% of people worldwide have a headache.
Oppression - A Social Determinant of Health (2nd Edition) by Elizabeth McGibbon
Credit: Book Cover
In this current environment, it is urgent to understand how oppression and health are closely connected. Oppression: A Social Determinant of Health offers a thorough and accessible overview of the root or structural causes of ill health, such as capitalism, globalization, colonialism, medicalization and neoliberalism. The contributors to this volume insist that the key to tackling these structural forces is understanding and changing oppressive practices that cause ill health, thus reframing growing health inequities within the scope of moral responsibility and social change.
This thoroughly updated second edition contains contributions from internationally recognized experts in the field of critical social science analyses in health systems and health sciences studies. New chapters provide timely discussions about oppression, Treaty Rights, Big Pharma, the Anthropocene and the COVID-19 pandemic. This book provides a comprehensive overview of core ideas for investigating how oppression “gets under the skin” to perpetuate health inequities.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a brutal full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Eight years after the invasion of the Crimea and Donbas, the Russian government acted on Vladimir Putin’s assertions that Ukraine is not (and should not be) a country – a view deeply ingrained in propaganda-addled Russian popular opinion, to attempt to obliterate the Ukrainian state and identity. The Russian army has been bombing Ukrainian cities, including residential areas, universities and schools. Russian soldiers have been killing, raping, and torturing thousands of civilians, including children, their mothers and grandparents. More than four million Ukrainian citizens, mostly women, children and the elderly, fled to Poland, Romania, Hungary, and other countries in the EU and beyond. Forty million people, including female and male members of the armed forces, medical workers, teachers and nurses, stayed back in the hope that they would be able to survive, resist and defeat the Russian aggressor.
Ukrainian professors and students have been integral participants in the unfolding tragedy and heroic fight for survival. Some joined the territorial defense or regular army battalions to defend their country. Others launched various humanitarian projects, fundraising campaigns, and refugee support groups. Those who could, continued to teach. Many also joined the info-war, defusing misinformation and propaganda, and informing their colleagues in Russia and other countries about #PutinWarCrimes (a hashtag trending on social media for weeks).
The Niagara Apothecary was an apothecary in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, established no later than 1820, and is now a National Historic Site of Canada. It was operated by a series of successive owners, most of whom had apprenticed under the preceding owner.
The Niagara Apothecary is an authentic museum restoration of a 1869 pharmacy as part of a practice that operated in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, from 1820 to 1964. After being closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Niagara Apothecary plans to resume seasonal activities as of May 30, 2022.
Publisher and Editor: Dr. David Zakus Production: Julia Chalmers and Aisha Saleem Social Media: Mahdia Abidi, Shalini Kainth and Ishneer Mankoo Website, Index and Advisory: Eunice Anteh, Gaël Chetaille, Evans Oppong, Jonathan Zakus, Dr. Aimée-Angélique Bouka & Elisabeth Huang Blogs: Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, Aisha Saleem and Dr. Jay Kravitz