What if you lived in a country where, in 2020, 23 million firearms of high quality were purchased by its citizens, including 8.5 million first timers, of which 40% were women? What if that country is your home or your neighbour? If it were me, and it is, I’d be afraid, just as I was after hearing this a few days ago on a CBS documentary. 2020 was a banner year for arms sales in the USA, and no doubt some of them will eventually filter over into Canada. Why one can ask are so many firearms wanted and perceived to be needed? Is that country at war, with whom, with itself? It sure seems like something nefarious is going on; they have at least one firearm for every person. Ukraine, on the other hand, was, until recently, one of the least armed countries in the world.
My first reaction when I was watching the show was ‘holy smokes’ - this spree and these types of sales should be illegal. How can it be allowed? Why does any population need to be so armed? I have always considered such heavy arming of a society and the large number of civilians killed by guns as a public and planetary health emergency. Firearms are the leading cause of death of children and teens in the U.S.
How do you negotiate with someone who has come to kill you? Whether it be a mafia, the Russian army or an oil company without a green directive? There are so many contemporary threats to our lives. While firearms and missiles are a quicker and more direct threat, make no mistake, the threats to our Earth via huge changes in its atmosphere and depletion of its species are even more damaging. Just as there are ten million Ukrainians displaced from their homes from a war inflicted upon them by their neighbour, there are already some 20+ million displaced from their homes by a climate crisis they never asked for nor contributed to.
Unfortunately, we here in Canada are egging on the climate crisis. We're already feeling it in spades, and it's just starting. We’re locked into decades of trouble though most just ignore this. But, for sure, we can't keep making it worse. Our play book must be that we will start reducing our use of fossil fuels. Countries, governments, businesses and people around the world are getting into action. For many it’s still mostly words, especially here in Canada, with our banks increasingly financing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a just announced government climate plan that will increase emissions as a way forward to decrease them. Already Canadians are the highest per capita emitter of GHGs among industrial countries. How do we today, not in the future, really begin to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels from our lives?
Read on for more questions to think about in today’s Planetary Health Weekly (#13 of 2022):
Climate Crisis Updates:
Rich countries must stop producing oil and gas by 2034, says study,
Scientists shocked as ‘impossible’ Antarctic heat wave sends temperatures 40C above normal (on the tail of a similar event in the Arctic),
Tornadoes hit New Orleans and wild fires in Texas causing damage, power outages and deaths,
Flights are taking huge ‘detours’ around Russian air space. Here’s what that means for the climate crisis,
Ukraine crisis expected to deepen Horn of Africa’s drought situation,
Coronavirus Updates:
Covid-19 transmission to babies before, during and after birth are rare, study finds,
Pfizer to sell up to 4 million courses of Covid-19 pills to UNICEF this year,
Vaccines are our most powerful pandemic-fighting tool. Yes, they’re silver bullets,
Waning 2-dose and 3-dose effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against Covid-19 associated emergency department, urgent care encounters and hospitalizations,
Six things you can do today to protect your kids from Omicron,
Tracking long Covid in the blood (6 minutes video),
Australia Covid: how many people are still dying? Is vaccination making a differences?
The deadliest virus ever known (a great read from 1997 by Malcolm Gladwell), THEN
Speakers call for conclusion of New Oceans Treaty on Biodiversity in 2022,
Status of food security in East and Southeast Asia and challenges of climate change,
Africa to immunize over 9 million children against polio,
Rich countries must end all oil and gas production in the next 12 years, while the poorest nations should be given 28 years, to provide a fair transition away from fossil fuels, according to a study.
The report, led by Prof Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Manchester University, found that wealthy countries such as the UK, US and Australia had until 2034 to stop all oil and gas production to give the world a 50% chance of preventing devastating climate breakdown, while the poorest nations that are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels should be given until 2050.
Anderson said that while it was now clear there had to be a rapid shift away from “a fossil fuel economy”, it was essential this was done in a fair and equitable way. “There are huge differences in the ability of countries to end oil and gas production, while maintaining vibrant economies and delivering a just transition for their citizens,” he said. Read more at the Guardian
Scientists say it’s still too early to tell whether climate change is responsible for an extreme heat wave in Antarctica that shattered records as it brought temperatures soaring as high as -12°C, a full 40°C/70°F warmer than normal for this time of year.
“It is impossible, we would have said until two days ago,” tweeted Stefano Di Battista, a researcher who has published studies on Antarctic temperatures. “From today (March 18) the Antarctic climatology has been rewritten.”
Eastern Antarctic temperatures at this time of year typically register between -60° and -45°C. It is even more unusual that the weather pattern occurred in March, which marks the onset of Antarctica’s low-sunlight fall months, reports The Washington Post.
The warm conditions were caused by an extreme atmospheric river of water vapour in the sky. When the river landed on the east coast it brought rain and moisture that spread over the continent, but a strong high-pressure system prevented the moisture from escaping. While it was trapped in place, the excessive moisture retained more heat than it would have under normal air conditions, while liquid-rich clouds radiated heat towards the surface.
The tornadoes came on a wild weather day in Texas, as wildfires burned in the west and a blizzard warning was issued for the Texas Panhandle, where up to 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow fell.
Since Russia closed its airspace to airlines from dozens of countries at the end of February -- in response to sanctions levied for its invasion of Ukraine -- about 400 flights per month that had previously been routed over the country are being forced to take a wider berth, according to Flightradar24.
Japan Airlines Flight JL43 from Tokyo to London, for instance, uses a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that burns roughly 2,300 gallons of fuel per hour. The rerouted JL43 flight -- which now heads east over the North Pacific, Alaska, Canada and Greenland -- added 2.4 hours of flight time and likely burned around 5,600 gallons more fuel, a 20% increase.
That means Flight JL43 could be emitting an additional 54,000 kilograms, or 60 tons, of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to calculations by Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading, for CNN. That's the same amount of carbon dioxide as the average car driving 137,000 miles, or nearly six times around the planet.
The Horn of Africa is expected to feel the tremors of the intensifying crisis in Ukraine, especially as the prices of food, oil, and fertilizer rise. Parts of the East Africa region— including those in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya — are already experiencing the worst drought in decades, coupled with an underfunded humanitarian response. South Sudan, meanwhile, is experiencing widespread food insecurity due to severe flooding.
“The crisis in Ukraine, which is generating so much suffering there, is also amplifying suffering and really the severity of conditions across the world,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director at Oxfam International, during a press conference Tuesday.
The region is highly dependent on crops from Ukraine and Russia, the country invading it. Wheat prices have already spiked globally, reaching levels comparable to those during the 2008 financial crisis.
The price of wheat and oil has risen by 300% in Somalia, with nearly 700,000 people already displaced within the country by the drought. Devex recently traveled to Puntland state, where many Somali families said plain pasta is one of the only things they can afford. Livestock are dying in large numbers, and many of the remaining animals are too weak to sell. Vegetables and fruits are out of reach for many families because of the price.
In Kenya, the price of fuel went up for the first time in five months, leading to an increase in the price of commodities. Also, the price of gas used for cooking has risen by 48%.
Farmers are expected to suffer heavily as well. Russia leads the world in producing fertilizer, and a rise in the cost of electricity and transportation in Somalia has a “disproportionate impact on poor small-scale farmers and pastoralists who, in the face of erratic rainfall and an ongoing drought, rely on irrigation-fed agriculture powered by small diesel engines for their survival,” according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Beyond price increases, there are also worries that the Russian invasion has diverted global attention from other crises. Humanitarian organizations have expressed concern that donor governments are already shifting aid budgets away from some regions to fund the Ukraine response. Currently, the United Nations’ $6 billion appeal for efforts in Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan is only 3% funded. And as prices rise, humanitarian agencies have less purchasing power with their limited funds.
Globally, nationally and locally, the pandemic continues. It remains far from being over. Please remember that.
Over the last week there were about 11 million new cases (small downward change, though testing is sorely insufficient and this is an underestimation) and 34,000 deaths (down about 20%), and about 140 million people received a Covid-19 vaccine (up about 30%).
In Canada there are still about 30 deaths/day over the last week (down about 10%) and hospitalizations are increasing. Some countries currently have very high daily case counts, including: South Korea, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Botswana, Australia, France, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The hotspots for cases remain the richer industrialized countries.
A neonatologist examines a newborn baby at the National Maternal Perinatal Institute in an isolated area reserved for mothers infected with COVID-19, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
COVID-19 transmission to a newborn from the birthing parent is fewer than 2%, according to a new systematic review study that analyzed data from more than 470 studies.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Birmingham, found that among more than 14,200 babies who were born to a parent infected with COVID-19, 1.8% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 using a PCR test. Data varied from region to region, however, with North American studies suggesting a 0.1% positivity rate and studies from Latin America and the Caribbean suggesting a positivity rate of 3.2% to 8.7%.
No connection was found between nursing and infection among newborns, despite detection of the virus in a handful of breast milk samples, researchers said. Read more at CTV News
The figures available show younger people made up a disproportionately high number of Omicron cases – the 20 to 29 age group, who were out enjoying post lockdown freedoms were particularly susceptible to infection. But as with all waves of the disease, people aged 80 and over were mostly those who died.
As the Intergovernmental Conference, tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, concluded its fourth session, delegates decided to hold a fifth session - with the goal of finalizing a new treaty and stressed the need to facilitate greater participation to allow all countries and communities to have a say in how marine resources existing outside of national jurisdiction should be shared.
Rena Lee (Singapore), President of the Intergovernmental Conference, commended delegations for the flexibility and attention demonstrated during the fourth session. Even with restrictions placed on the session due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, delegations did not let those constraints impede their work, she observed, adding: “I am truly privileged to be in the same canoe with all of you.” A draft agreement was within reach, she said, adding: “Our journey there will become smoother as we work to pull in the same direction.”
Following deliberations on whether the Conference’s work should conclude at its fifth session, delegates adopted the “Draft report of the intergovernmental conference on an internationally legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction” (document A/CONF.232/2022/L.3). This authorized the President of the Conference to finalize the report in conformity with the practice of the United Nations and issue the same in all official languages.
During the general discussion, speakers welcomed the progress achieved during the fourth session, with many urging that work continue during the intersessional period. In addition, delegates stressed the need to account for national circumstances when formulating a legal regime to govern the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Others underscored that the principle of the common heritage of mankind should underpin any treaty in this area.
This review briefly summarizes the situation regarding food security in East and Southeast Asia. In accordance with the World Food Summit definition and 2009 Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security, the four pillars of food security—food availability, access to food, the stability of food supplies, and food utilization—are closely scrutinized along with the characteristics of food security at the sub-regional level. Historical trends for the agricultural economy and the food trade, such as food imports and exports, production and consumption, and the food price index in the sub-region, are presented and statistically analysed.
Additionally, because agricultural industry in this region is vulnerable to climate change, issues about how climate change affects food security in food production systems, agricultural livelihoods, nutrition, and food policy making, which can be linked to the four pillars in different ways, are also discussed. Read more at MDPI
Credit: Thoko Chikondi/Copyright 2022 The Associated Press
A campaign to vaccinate more than nine million children against polio was launched this week in four southern and eastern African countries after an outbreak was confirmed in Malawi.
The emergency immunization campaign has begun in Malawi, where vaccine drops are administered to children across the country. It is now being extended to neighbouring Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, according to UNICEF, which is working with governments and other partners. Three more vaccination campaigns will follow in the coming months, with the aim of reaching more than 20 million children. Read more at AfricaNews
The Canadian federal government is delaying climate action by subsidizing small, modular nuclear reactor (SMR) development, over the objections of the remote, Indigenous communities the technology is supposed to serve as an alternative to diesel generators, opponents warned last week.
“There is no guarantee SMRs will ever produce energy in a safe and reliable manner in Canada,” the groups said in a release, after Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a C$27.2-million grant for Westinghouse Electric’s $57-million bid to move its e-Vinci reactor toward licencing. They said systems of the type Westinghouse is developing “are not the energy answer for remote communities”, since they “do not compete when compared with other alternatives.”
In a study conducted in 2020, “the cost of electricity from SMRs was found to be much higher than the cost of wind or solar, or even of the diesel supply currently used in the majority of these communities,” the release added.
“Canadians want affordable energy that does not pollute the environment,” said Susan O’Donnell, spokesperson for the Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick. “Why would we invest in unproven technologies that, if they ever work, will cost two to five times more than building proven renewables?” Read more at Energy Mix
Actor and climate activist Jane Fonda has launched a new political action committee in the United States, vowing to do “whatever it takes to defeat the political allies of the fossil fuel industry, no matter which side of the aisle they’re on.”
In a video announcing the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, the seven-time Academy Award winner described the rapidly closing window for meaningful climate action in terms of election cycles, writes Grist.
“Scientists have been very clear. We have to cut our fossil fuel emissions in half by 2030. We have eight years, that’s just four election cycles before the point of no return,” she said.
“There is no question that the obstacle between saving the planet, and not, is the money that has a stranglehold on our politicians,” Fonda added, pointing out that in 2020 alone Big Oil funnelled US$139 million into the pockets of American politicians, “Republicans and Democrats alike.” Read more at Energy Mix
In Los Angeles, climate activists joined Indigenous land and water protectors in a march on City National Bank, demanding it divest from the Coastal GasLink pipeline in British Columbia. Leading the protest was Adam McKay, director of the hit Netflix film “Don’t Look Up.” McKay and Hollywood A-listers including Meryl Streep, Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio say they’ll pull their money out of City National unless its parent company, the Royal Bank of Canada, ends support for the pipeline that is being built on sovereign Wet’suwet’en First Nations land. Indigenous activist George Funmaker also joined the protest. Read more at Democracy Now
After three decades of neglect, environmentalists are waking back up to the need to limit human numbers. But like Rip Van Winkle, we find that the world changed while we were asleep. There are now billions more people, hundreds of millions of new members in the global middle class, and elevated consumption among the wealthy. Meanwhile the planet has grown warmer, more polluted, tamer and more depauperate. This article specifies what just population policies look like for an overpopulated world: one where most national populations must decrease significantly to create sustainable societies, and where failure to do so threatens environmental disaster for humans and the rest of life on Earth. It argues that governments in both underdeveloped and overdeveloped countries should encourage and enable one-child families and discourage larger ones, striking a proper balance between reproductive rights and reproductive responsibilities. Read more at Ecological Citizen
The African continent has reason to worry about the effects of climate change, having been warned that production of some critical food crops may reduce by as much as 50%. And yet with other global challenges like the Russian war in Ukraine getting all the media attention, there is a real risk that climate change continues to be overlooked. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together leading scientists on the subject, recently published a report whose findings can inform relevant and timely interventions. Read more at Africa News and also see video
Sagamok Anishnawbek, a First Nations community in northeastern Ontario, is participating in a pilot benefits plan program that provides plan members with access to traditional Indigenous medicines and services.
Located along the north shore between Sudbury, Ont. and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., the community’s employee base includes fire department workers, school teachers, community planners and community advocate workers. Of Sagamok’s approximately 240 employees, 218 are Indigenous.
When Jeff Moulton, the community’s director of human resources and shared services, presented the new benefits offering to Sagamok’s chief and council, there was immediate buy-in from both parties. “When we set up our annual work plans, part of that process is always keeping in mind the best interest of the Indigenous members. There are 12 determinants of well-being for Indigenous peoples, one of which is the cultural aspect — which includes ceremony, language, medicines — [which] has always been an important focus.” Read more at Benefits Canada
International Health Trends and Perspectives (a new journal based at Ryerson University, Toronto) is dedicating a special issue to the topic of Planetary Health (see graphic below) to highlight research and theoretical contributions of scientists and scholars globally. Inviting manuscripts that are solutions and equity-focused. See the call for papers details here https://bit.ly/3tDixHT
March 28-April 3, 2022: CUGH 2022 Global Health Conference - All virtual: Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Social Justice (Los Angeles, California). Virtual Satellite Sessions: March 21-25, 2022
The Promise of Planetary Health (amazing 10 minute video)
Credit: Planetary Health Alliance
We find ourselves actors in one of history’s greatest dramas—a lone species with an exceptional talent for bending the natural world toward our will, spinning through space on a stunning but fragile planet. We are waking up to planetary health - the understanding that our disruption of Nature is threatening not just other species but also ourselves. Many of the solutions are in front of us. Do we have the will to implement them in time? "The Promise of Planetary Health" is presented by the Planetary Health Alliance in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund and the Harvard University Center for the Environment
“We’ve allowed our myth of human exceptionalism to create a rupture between humanity and the natural world we depend on. The reverence and awe that most of us feel towards nature has lost its authority in guiding our decisions.”
The Climate-Health Working Group is an ad hoc group of people from many different parts of the Cochrane collaboration on systematic reviews, as well as other organizations. We are working on several projects at the moment, with the long-term goal of registering as a Cochrane Field. This is the interim website for our projects.
Humanity is facing an urgent crisis of climate change. The changing climate is having, and will continue to have, widespread and severe impacts on global human health. Our group believes that Cochrane has an important role to play in preparing and disseminating evidence syntheses relevant to the health impacts of climate change. Although there are many groups working in the area of addressing climate change-related problems, Cochrane can play a unique role due to its focus on health and established track record in producing high-quality syntheses.
Our group is interested in the potential of evidence syntheses to make a contribution to the discussion of the impacts of climate change on human health and health systems, with a focus on how Cochrane can be part of this contribution. We are discussing the range of the methods and advocacy issues related to producing and disseminating evidence syntheses relevant to climate-health impacts.
As a leader in the field of evidence synthesis, Cochrane is in a position to lead on methodological considerations for reviews within this topic, as well as to publish quality reviews in this area. How can Cochrane members draw on our expertise and commitment to producing relevant and rigorous reviews in order to address the health impacts of climate change? Our group members believe there are opportunities for authors, review (editorial) groups, methods and geographic groups, Fields and others connected with Cochrane to contribute.
We are currently working towards applying to register as a Cochrane Field sometime in 2022.
We are always happy to welcome new people. Please contact Denise Thomson (she/her), dthomson@ualberta.ca, for more information or to ask to be added to the mailing list.
Biden Administration Announces Plan To Spend Billions To Prevent Wildfires
Credit: David Swanson/Reuters
After a year that included one of the largest wildfires in California history and ended with an unseasonably late blaze that became the most destructive ever seen in Colorado, the Biden administration announced a 10-year, multibillion-dollar plan to reduce the fire risk on up to 50 million acres that border vulnerable communities.
The federal Agriculture Department said in a statement that it would take measures to reduce the danger of catastrophic fires in dozens of spots in 11 Western states by thinning overgrown trees and using controlled burns to get rid of dead vegetation. The plan, detailed in a report, would quadruple the government’s land treatment efforts.
“It’s the time to act,” Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, said at a news briefing, adding that the government needed to “change the trajectory of our wildfires.”
Stop Feeling Bad About Giving Your Kids Non-Organic Strawberries And Apples
Credit: istockphoto
You’ve probably heard of the “Dirty Dozen,” a list of 12 fruits and vegetables named annually by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) to be the most laden with pesticides. The US advocacy group’s message is that people can limit their exposure to pesticides by buying these 12 products from the organic aisle. Toddler favourites are routinely among the top offenders, and this year’s list, released in March, is no different: strawberries and grapes are named as pesticide peddlers. If you’re pregnant or parenting little ones, the list could drive you to buy these foods organic, or, at the very least, feel guilty for eating the non-organic variety or serving them to your kids.
It’s important to note that the EWG is heavily funded by organic food companies, says Erin MacGregor, a registered dietitian and co-owner of the Toronto-based food and nutrition company How To Eat. She calls the guidelines “a marketing tactic by a segment of the food industry that really benefits from the fear of pesticides.” And she worries about the impact of this tactic. “If you’re a parent that has a strict grocery budget and you’re not able to afford organic fruit and vegetables, this messaging can make you feel like you’re not doing the best you can for your children or you’re risking their health, when that’s not the case,” she says.
To come up with the list of fruits and vegetables to avoid, the EWG analyzes data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which tests produce throughout the year and records how much and what types of pesticides it finds. The fruits and vegetables that top the EWG list are ones that have multiple different types of pesticides and a high “average amount of pesticides.” Carl Winter, a toxicologist at the University of California at Davis points out that the EWG’s list raises alarm over the presence of pesticides, but doesn’t look at whether those trace amounts actually pose a risk to human health.
"Fundamentals of Microbiology" by Jeffrey C. Pommerville
Credit: Book Cover
Access a FREE copy of the 12th edition of the "Fundamentals of Microbiology" below and learn so much about the science of microbes including SARS-CoV-2.
Giving kids in Ghana a free secondary education may not have significantly improved their wages or secured them a private sector job later on, but new research shows some unexpected effects for female graduates of these programs: they had better health outcomes, with intergenerational benefits for their children.
The data were presented at a World Bank seminar by Nobel Memorial Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo as part of a massive study that she has been conducting with other researchers since 2008.
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