HI,
With alarm bells ringing loudly these days calling for immediate action on the climate crisis, we seem to be only hearing them, and not listening. This week’s PHW production manager messaged me a few days ago from her home in Abbotsford, BC where an uncontrolled fire in nearby Hope, a beautiful little mountain town complete with a fast moving river and nice coffee shops, is sending its smoke her way. Much forest and many hiking trails have already been destroyed and further afield Vancouver, also affected, recorded a day with the world's highest pollution - all this being just another example of current climate crisis events. Last summer Abottsford was hit by an atmospheric river and much flooding. Two weeks ago I outlined other current devastating events from around the world.
Just recently I read a great book, "Hothouse Earth" by Bill McGuire, which detailed many of the mega climate crisis events of 2021. amongst much other excellent reading. Let me remind you of some of those, in his words, just to keep 2022 in perspective, how what was terrible continues with no end in sight. Coincidentally, all this is strongly associated with a global decline in the Human Development Index, a decline that affects 90% of countries around the world.
From Professor McGuire about 2021 (pp. 44-46):
"On 29 June 2021, the unassuming Canadian village of Lytton, in southern British Columbia, registered an astonishing temperature of 49.6C (121F), beating the previous record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the country by the huge margin of almost 5C. It was also the highest temperature ever recorded north of the 50th parallel, and hotter than anything ever experienced in Europe or South America. The following day, the village was gone, wiped from the face of the Earth by one of the many wildfires triggered by the searing temperatures.
Barely two weeks later, on 12 July, a slow-moving line of thunderstorms dumped up to a month’s worth of rain on London, bringing widespread flash flooding that caused sewers to back up and travel chaos. But far worse was to follow. Over the next three days, the same low-pressure system stalled over eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and wettest German five already know that I cannot. Warm, moist air sucked up from the south fed a biblical deluge that brought the worst floods in 1,000 years to some parts of the region, and unprecedented and shocking scenes as the power of water devastated well-off communities in the heart of Europe.
Without warning, the wild weather cultivated by global heating wasn’t battering some distant land but taking its awful tool just across the Channel. Suddenly, it was too close for comfort; all too easy to imagine the images of regain torrents, stranded corpses and demolished homes transposed to our own communities.
More than 1,000 lives were lost as a direct consequence of the unprecedented North American heatwave, while the European floods too close to 250 lives and caused damage totalling in excess of $11 billion. But these instances were just two in a long line of extreme weather events in 2021 that destroyed lies and livelihoods right across the planet. Devastating floods also swamped great tracts of Turkey, China, Japan, India, Pakistan, the United States and New Zealand. Meanwhile, some of the greatest wildfires ever seen raged across Siberia and California, while record-breaking droughts became even further entrenched across the western United States, Central Asia and southern Africa. It was not only Canada that experienced unparalleled heat. All-time temperature records were shattered across much of North America and Southern Europe. Sicily smashed the European record with 48.8C (120F), while the heat in California’s appropriately named Death Valley touched 54.4C (130F), the highest temperature ever (reliably) measured on the planet.
The reality is, then, that we don’t need to look beyond our news fees and TV screens to build a picture of climate breakdown today. While a relative small rise in the global average temperature can only be detected using instrumentation, its ramifications, f the form of extreme weather events, are now out there for all to see.
I can hear the more skeptical among you pointing out that there have always been bouts of severe weather and always will be. This is true, but the fact that weather records are being broken left, right and centre – at a record rate in fact – tells us that something unusual is at work here. Furthermore, it is now possible to calculate how likely a particular weather event would have been with and without global heating. The 2021 European floods, for example, were nine times more likely to occur than in a world where global heating had never happened Even more clear-cut, the extraordinary ‘heat dome’ that roasted must of western North America during the early summer of 2021 would have been virtually impossible in a world where human activities had not artificially pumped up atmospheric carbon levels. In fact, this unprecedented heatwave was a one in 1,000-year event, made 150 times more likely by global heating. It is a disturbing thought that fully 70 percent of more than 400 extreme weather events, analyzed by researchers, were found to have been made more likely or more severe as a result of global heating.
Perhaps the most worrying thing about the obvious boost in the frequency and intensity of unprecedented weather events is that this is being driven by a relatively small temperature rise. The past eight years (to 2022) have been the hottest ever recorded, while the global average temperature over the past twenty years exceeded 1C more (than pre-industrial times). Evidence that global heating doesn’t stand still is provided by the fact that the temperature rise in 2021 was a full 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.
But the hike in global average temperature is far from the whole story. No part of the Earth environment has been shielded from the effects of global heating, and the assessment reports released by the IPCC check off the manifold consequences of the modest rise in temperature that have become apparent so far.”
There you have it. 2021 was terrible, this year is at least as bad (at best) and the years to come we can only fear. The bells are ringing. They’re not calling us to class but into reality. What is it going to take for our leaders to get on with the program, now?
And do read on in today’s Planetary Health Weekly (#37 of the year) for more about this program:
- CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY CRISES UPDATES:
- Number of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fires in August worst in over a decade,
- Rivers across Europe are too dry, too low and too warm,
- Can rivers and lakes recover from drought?
- G7 corporate climate plans spell 2.7C heating,
- How does soybean cultivation contribute to Amazon deforestation and loss of Biodiversity?
- Germany puts two nuclear plants on standby in energy u-turn,
- The Thwaites ‘doomsday’ glacier is on the cusp of disaster,
- Jordon Peterson, the climate crisis denier’s new mouthpiece,
- As the planet warms Canada faces an influx of climate refugees,
- This climate risk could cost Canada’s economy $139B,
- Steve Baker (UK MP) leaves climate denial group for ministerial post,
- A weekly roundup for busy people – ICYMI: California baking, wildlife criminals, right to wade & mind that torque!
- Typhoon batters S. Korea, preparations minimize casualties,
- Heat wave breaks in southern California with spotty rain,
- CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
- China’s life expectancy is now higher than that of the U.S.,
- Experts warn of a hidden crisis due long Covid’s link to suicide,
- Why Paxlovid is still not available in many LMICs,
- China’s ‘zero Covid’ bind: no easy way out despite the cost,
- Montana Covid policy brought a hospital to the brink, THEN
- Bez’s Blog #9: "Early Life Lasts A Lifetime,"
- ‘The calvary hasn’t arrived:’ Somalia on the brink of famine,
- More than 50% of people worldwide have headache disorders,
- Lowdown on the latest health-related cyberattack,
- Ozone layer crossed a significant milestone towards recovery in 2022,
- Strong investment growth in the horticulture cluster in the Greater Rotterdam – The Hague area,
- The world is burning – we must fight back together,
- The case for paying carbon taxes on unsustainable food,
- Covid’s toll on Native Americans,
- Quote by a senior Chinese meteorologist on climate change,
- Google to rollout ‘aerial view’ to its maps product, How greenwashing fools us,
- Timber cities ‘could cut 100bn tons of CO2 emissions by 2100,
- Visualizing China’s dominance in the solar panel supply chain,
- Ethiopian ambassador slams WHO’s Tedros over Tigray,
- Why there’s still no new birth control for men,
- U.S. life expectancy declines again,
- Assessment Report on Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature,
- Western University in London, Ontario partners with Ugandan research centre to help address global health challenges, and lastly
- ENDSHOTS of 'Still Enjoying the Fading Summer.'
Do keep on reading. Best, david
David Zakus, Editor and Publisher
|
|
|
|
Moon Rise over Whitefish Lake |
|
|
|
Seguin, Ontario - September 9, 2022 |
|
|
|
ALWAYS WITH UKRAINE SEEKING PEACE, SOLIDARITY AND VICTORY |
|
|
|
CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY CRISES UPDATES |
|
|
|
Aerial view of a burnt area in the Amazon rainforest, near the Lago do Cunia Extractive Reserve, on the border of the states of Rondonia and Amazonas, northern Brazil, on August 31, 2022 - Credit: AFP Genya SAVILOV
More fires burned in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest this August than in any month in nearly five years, thanks to a surge in illegal deforestation.
National space research agency INPE registered 31,513 fire alerts in the Amazon via satellite in the first 30 days of the month, making it the worst August since 2010, when fires totalled 45,018 for the full month. This includes August of 2019, the Associated Press points out, when images of the burning rainforest shocked the world and drew criticism from European leaders. Jair Bolsonaro had recently taken office and was turning environmental enforcement on its head, saying criminals should not be fined and promising development of the Amazon. Read more at Digital Journal
SEE MORE:
At DW: Rivers Across Europe Are Too Dry, Too Low And Too Warm
Extended heat and low rainfall across Europe are causing major rivers to dry up. This is having serious consequences for wildlife, the economy and the people living near the Rhine, Po, Thames and other affected rivers.
At DW: Can Rivers And Lakes Recover From Drought? Major rivers across Europe are at their lowest levels in years, and climate change will only make things worse for aquatic ecosystems. But allowing nature to take back control can help fix some of the damage.
At Digital Journal: G7 Corporate Climate Plans Spell 2.7C Heating: Analysis
Among the G7 businesses in Canada were the worst performing in terms of decarbonization plans, with 88% of reported greenhouse gas emissions coming from firms that have no disclosed net zero plans.
At Big Geo Planet: How Does Soybean Cultivation Contribute to Amazon Deforestation and Loss of Biodiversity?
At PopSci: The Thwaites ‘Doomsday’ Glacier Is On The Cusp Of Disaster
At Tyee: Jordan Peterson, the Climate Crisis Deniers’ New Mouthpiece
In mid-August, Jordan Peterson uploaded a video for his more than 5.4 million YouTube subscribers in which he referred to the growing body of science linking extreme weather events to climate change as “dubious.”
Dressed in suit and tie and seated in an austere white room with the feel of a tech startup office, the Canadian celebrity conservative influencer claimed to take aim at the “globalist utopians” forcing us “to fall in line” in order to stabilize global emissions by 2050. That goal is widely regarded by scientists as crucial for avoiding the worst damages of climate change. But Peterson referred to it as “absolutely preposterous.”
The bulk of the video, which has more than 1.2 million views, consisted of Peterson reading verbatim an article he’d recently written for the Telegraph, a major British newspaper, headlined “Peddlers of environmental doom have shown their true totalitarian colours.”
The idea that “storms, wildfires, droughts, downpours and floods around the globe in the last 18 months are unique and unprecedented” is “a dubious claim,” Peterson said. And to the “power-mad utopians” pushing the supposedly false narrative of a climate emergency Peterson had this to say: “We will not allow you to steal and destroy the energy that makes our lives bearable.”
But bald denials of the climate crisis are increasingly rare in many mainstream media outlets. And as Peterson ramps up his naysaying, climate skeptics are delighted with the former University of Toronto psychology professor born in Alberta. A far-right U.K. website called the Conservative Woman deemed the publication of his recent essay “a first for the usually ‘conspiracy’-shy Telegraph,” and explained that Peterson was “expressing views which, to date, have been shared only on alternative social media outlets.”
Peterson in turn used his Telegraph story and the accompanying YouTube video to name and praise climate skeptics such as Matt Ridley, a journalist and conservative politician who earlier this year argued that climate change is “mostly beneficial” and that “this startling fact is kept from the public by a determined effort on the part of alarmists and their media allies who are determined to use the language of crisis and emergency.”
Trackers of climate disinformation said this potentially represents a worrying new phase in the climate crisis denial movement: skeptics who are increasingly struggling to be taken seriously by legacy media are now being exposed to millions of people via social media through their association with a celebrity conservative influencer from Canada.
“Through Peterson, who has a prominent voice, these other fringe voices are being lifted up,” Kert Davies, executive director of a U.S. research and watchdog group called the Climate Investigations Center, told The Tyee.
Actual climate scientists say it’s dangerous for Peterson, who didn’t respond to a list of questions from The Tyee, to be misleading the public at a time when we have less than a decade to halve global emissions or else risk crossing irreversible global tipping points such as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest.
At Wired: As the Planet Warms, Canada Faces an Influx of Climate Refugees
As droughts, deteriorating farmland, and rising sea levels push people around the world from their homes, advocates in Canada are calling on the federal government to support those who are—and will be—displaced by the climate crisis.
In August, Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac), a body of more than 100 environmental groups across the country, sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Immigration Minister Sean Fraser asking them to grant permanent residency to all 1.7 million migrants in Canada, including half a million undocumented people. This “regularization” process is key to climate justice, explained Caroline Brouillette, national policy manager for CAN-Rac.
“Fighting the climate crisis is not only about reducing our emissions, it’s about how we care for one another—and that’s why we’re asking for this,” she said.
Climate change is already a factor causing people to immigrate to Canada, said Syed Hussan, the executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC), which worked with CAN-Rac to send the letter.
Meanwhile, some groups are calling on the government to make climate change a viable reason for migrants to get permanent residency in Canada. Last year, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) published a report outlining several options the federal government could take.
Canada is both one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases and one of its biggest fossil fuel producers—and has a responsibility to bear for the climate crisis, Brouillette said. CAN-Rac has also stressed the importance of Canada taking action to reduce its emissions.
“It’s about Canada doing its fair share of the global effort to limit warming to 1.5 degrees and to take responsibility for our disproportionate contribution to the crisis,” Brouillette said.
At Weather Network: This climate risk could cost Canada's economy $139B
At Desmog: Steve Baker (UK MP) Leaves Climate Denial Group for Ministerial Post
Steve Baker, the powerful backbench MP and fierce critic of government policies to cut emissions, has been handed a ministerial role in Liz Truss’s new Conservative government. Baker reportedly accused campaigners of “child abuse” for “terrifying children” with warnings about climate change at a meeting in parliament earlier in the summer. His appointment has been criticised amid concern about the direction Truss plans to take the UK on environmental issues, including her plans to lift a ban on fracking and expand drilling for North Sea oil and gas.
Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrats’ climate change spokesperson, said it was worrying to have “such a blatant climate sceptic” in government. “This, combined with Liz Truss‘s decision to end the ban on fracking says everything you need to know about her climate change commitments. “We need strong political leadership on climate change and filling the government with climate sceptics is the antithesis to this.”
Baker’s appointment was announced last week and then he stepped down from his role as a trustee at the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the UK’s most influential climate science denial think-tank.
At Sierra Club: A weekly roundup for busy people - ICYMI: California Baking, Wildlife Criminals, Right to Wade & Mind That Torque!
At AP News: Typhoon batters S. Korea, preparations minimize casualties
The most powerful typhoon to
hit South Korea in years killed at least six people, dumped a meter (3 feet) of
rain, destroyed roads and felled power lines on Tuesday. The death toll could
have been higher if not for proactive evacuations and school closures,
officials said.
There was also greater public
awareness about the storm and its risks. Typhoon Hinnamnor made impact just
weeks after heavy rain around the capital, Seoul, caused flooding that killed
at least 14 people.
At AP News: Heat wave breaks in Southern California with spotty rain
Southern Californians welcomed cooler temperatures and spotty rain Saturday from a tropical storm veering off the Pacific Coast days after a relentless heat wave nearly overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid.
Officials braced for flooding in coastal and mountain areas from the storm and feared powerful winds could expand the massive Fairview Fire about 75 miles (121 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. But minimal flooding was reported early Saturday and crews made significant progress on the fire and said they expected full containment. More than 10,000 homes and other structures have been threatened by the blaze.
The National Weather Service forecast an end to the gruelling heat wave in the Los Angeles area Saturday though heat and wind advisories remained in effect through the evening, and warned of possible flooding in mountain areas and some beach communities.
California’s state capital of Sacramento hit an all-time high Tuesday of 116 degrees (46.7 C), breaking a 97-year-old record. Salt Lake City tied its all-time high temperature Wednesday at 107 degrees (41.6 C).
On Tuesday, as air conditioners whirred amid the stifling heat, California set a record for power consumption and authorities nearly instituted rolling blackouts when the electrical grid capacity was at its breaking point.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in state history.
|
|
|
|
SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19 UPDATES |
|
|
|
Globally, nationally and locally, the pandemic continues in many countries. Many though erroneously feel it's over, whereas it continues somewhat slower now, but still with high levels of hospitalization and death and with new founded worries about long Covid. Collective action and leadership has all but disappeared.
Over the last week, cases continue down slightly at about 500,000/day (though reporting is highly inaccurate); deaths continue on slightly reduced but still about 2000/day; and vaccinations are down from 6 to 5 million/day.
Vaccination, despite ongoing concerns about waning immunity and huge slander by conspiracy folks, along with other proven public health measures, remain the best ways to keep yourself and others safe from serious consequences. Get all the shots/boosters you can, asap, and practise the other public health measures especially indoors with crowds.
See below for a few global stats and current hotspots:
|
|
|
|
"It is the plague in seemingly all sincerity." Bob Woodward |
|
|
|
Credit: Quartz | qz.com Data: OECD, US CDC
The US’s life expectancy continued its decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping sharply to 76.1 years.
With the latest decline, US life expectancy is now at its lowest since 1996, according to new data (pdf) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Health Statistics. It also means that the gap in longevity at birth between people in the US and China has now widened to a full year.
The biggest driver in the drop in US life expectancy is covid, accounting for 50% of the decline, according to the CDC. Government figures show that as of Aug. 31, over 1.04 million deaths in the US have been attributed to covid.
“Unintentional injuries”—which include opioid overdoses and motor vehicle crashes—were the second-largest contributor to the drop in life expectancy, making up 15.9% of the decline.
Chinese data on life expectancy for 2021 is not yet available. Remarkably, however, Chinese life expectancy actually increased by 0.2 years in 2020 from the year prior. By contrast, US life expectancy fell 1.8 years in 2020 over the same period.
A key reason for the disparity is China’s stringent covid controls, beginning in the early days of the pandemic, with the Wuhan lockdown that began in January 2020, and continuing with today’s aggressive zero-covid policies. Read more at QZ
SEE MORE COVID-19 STORIES:
At SCMP: Coronavirus: Experts Warn Of A Hidden Crisis Due Long Covid’s Link To Suicide
At Devex: Why Paxlovid Is Still Not Available In Many LMICs
At NY Times: China’s ‘Zero Covid’ Bind: No Easy Way Out Despite The Cost
At ProPublica: Montana COVID Policy Brought A Hospital To The Brink
“We cannot say we are learning to live with COVID-19 when 1 million people have died with COVID-19 this year alone, when we are two-and-a-half years into the pandemic and have all the tools necessary to prevent these deaths,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a news briefing.
|
|
|
|
"Early Life Lasts a Lifetime” |
|
|
|
Last month we closed the coffin lid on economic inequality. It is not good for our health, nor for the environment. What should we do with the proceeds that will come from reigning in inequality? Spend it on early life.
As we go from the erection to the resurrection how we are ushered into life determines how we leave it. To understand how the health of populations is produced requires recognizing the importance of early life along with that of economic inequality as the two foundational pillars. But as we have seen with Japan and Finland in a previous blog, that doesn't explain enough of why people don't live so long in the United States. Understanding health at the population level is not a way of thinking we are exposed to. Yet that is the critical perspective we must take.
So how to understand early life? It all started when your father's sperm fertilized your mother's ovum to produce a zygote. Actually, your mother made the ovum that begat you when she was inside your maternal grandmother's womb. Women are born with all the ova they will ever have. So your grandmother's circumstances, conceptually at least, can affect you. That zygote divides about 42 times to produce a newborn. There are only about five further cycles of cell division to produce you the adult. We are talking about exponential growth here which hopefully you studied in high school (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.).
Cell division is a sensitive period that can be affected by many circumstances. Various plant and animal experiments demonstrate that radiation, various chemicals, hormones and even stress can affect the process. Influencing the huge number of cell divisions that happen in the 9 months of pregnancy would be far more efficient than working on the next five cycles to adulthood. The fetus is very sensitive to what is going on around her or him. Dr. David Barker, a doctor epidemiologist, tracked high infant mortality rates in parts of England and Wales to heart disease mortality there 45 years later. Barker found birth records of men born between 1911 and 1930 in Hertfordshire, England with birthweight and weight at one year. He tracked these individuals and found those with the lowest birthweight at one year had the highest rates of death from heart disease. He hypothesized that poor nutrition during pregnancy led to low birthweight and consequent heart disease. These findings were reported in 1989. Further research demonstrated that low birthweight was related to many diseases in adulthood, including lung and kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, depression among others. See this video about his work.
Cohort studies look at a group of people that are followed to see what happens to their health. A natural experiment occurred during World War II, the Dutch Hunger Winter, when nutritional stress was imposed on the Dutch from November 1944 to April 1945. Those pregnant during that time were followed to see what the outcomes were for their babies when they became adults. Fetuses who were exposed to the famine during the early months of their gestation, in contrast to those born before the famine, were more likely to have diabetes, mental disorders, and a lipid blood profile (high cholesterol and tri-glycerides) subjecting them to high risk of coronary artery disease, as well as increased stress sensitivity, female obesity, and many other chronic diseases in adulthood. Those exposed in mid-gestation were prone to lung and kidney disease and diabetes. Those exposed in late gestation had higher rates of diabetes. These findings correspond to periods in the uterus when various organs are being formed. What’s more, the damage isn’t restricted to a single generation—it was also found to perpetuate into successive generations.
When those Dutch famine-affected infants became adults and had children of their own, that second generation tended to have health problems in later life, including diabetes and obesity. This demonstrates the intergenerational transmission of health from those affected by the famine in utero to their own children. Recall how you began your existence in your maternal grandmother's womb since the ovum that begat you was produced there. When we explore more biology in a later blog we will find epigenetic explanations (i.e., those that relate to induced DNA changes) for how this happens.
In 1947 a series of cohort studies began in England that enrolled all those born in the first week of March and continued following them at regular intervals to gauge their health outcomes. Studies of the 1958 birth cohort, most of whom have not yet died, reveal that using self-assessed health as a proxy measure for mortality, what happened between birth and age seven influenced their health as much as everything afterwards. Study details and much more here. This study led to the summary concept that roughly half of one's health ((consider odds ratios in Figure 1 above being similar) has been programmed before entering school.
British birth cohort studies continue. They have some limitations including people drop out and can't be followed up, the characteristics of those giving birth today in Britain are quite different from those in 1958, and studies are limited to what was collected in the early period.
Life course epidemiology considers this mode of research. Being of low birthweight and being born prematurely compromises adult health. David Barker studied the Helsinki birth cohort, namely those born in the capital of Finland between 1934 and 1944 to demonstrate early life associations with adult health. Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is the cover term for this field of study.
Being born of low birthweight is the marker that tends to lead to worse health in adulthood. While your birthweight may have been low, it doesn't mean that your health is compromised as the effect is seen in populations. Populations in poverty and subjected to racism show health effects of low birthweight. This point needs to be stressed, namely we are speaking of findings affecting populations such that there are individuals born with low birthweight who don’t have adult health compromises.
The first thousand days after conception, that is around the time you are blowing out two candles on your second birthday cake, is now considered the critical period when a large fraction of adult health is programmed.
What is important in the first year or two after birth? John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, studied British orphans after World War II. He developed the concept of attachment, relating to caregivers in the first few years. Secure attachment was more likely when there was a single caregiver present in the first year. Newborn babies don't have good vision but can see marked contrast. A single caregiver's eyes becomes a source of comfort. Readers can likely easily recall their mother or early caregiver's eyes. As a baby develops and crawls around knowing there is a secure base to return to with reassuring eyes allows exploration of surroundings. Secure attachment beginning in early life is now seen to be critical for healthy adulthood. Bowlby found the presence of a second pair of eyes in the child's second year good. Too many eyes or no eyes led to serious developmental troubles later in life.
There are many different ways children are reared globally. The African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" reflects the communal aspect operating there. Whatever the way children are raised no one will deny the time and resources needed to produce healthy adults. National policies impact child rearing. Only two countries do not have a national policy of providing paid maternity leave after a woman delivers a baby. One is the United States. The other is Papua New Guinea. Every other nation provides paid time off after you have a baby. Many studies attest to the health benefits that accrue. Another reason, then, for poor U.S. health status, with some 50 nations having lower mortality rates, relates to its lack of national support for early life.
There are many aspects of early life to explore as we conclude that early life lasts a lifetime. Summary details here. Future blogs will explore adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and parenting.
First we need to consider how a country that has a great deal of poverty affects everyone's health in that country. Next month my blog will explore that concept as well as presenting the 2021 Health Olympics tally from the 2022 United Nations Human Development Report. Comparing the ranking from the February 2022 blog, we find Canada is holding its own but the United States is in a free-fall.
Read Bez's earlier blogs at: PHW Blogs
|
|
|
|
Credit: Devex, Sara Jerving
Four rainy seasons in a row have failed in the Horn of Africa since late 2020, a climatic event not seen in at least 40 years. The chances are high that the next rainy season, expected to start in October, will also fail, which would be unprecedented. Exacerbating an already dire situation, the war in Ukraine has caused food prices to spike; the cost of a food basket in East Africa has risen 49% in the past year.
Over 7 million people in Somalia — nearly half of the population — need urgent assistance for acute malnutrition and at least 330,000 children need treatment for the deadliest form of malnutrition. The country now has one million people who are displaced. Over 755,000 were displaced this year because of the drought.
The United Nations said last week that “famine is at the door” and is expected to occur in the Bay region, including Baidoa and Burhakaba districts, between October and December. Those responding to the crisis suspect famine might have already arrived. "We are seeing the telltale signs of full-blown famine,” said Daud Adan Jiran, Mercy Corps country director for Somalia. Read more at Devex
|
|
|
|
Disorders can include migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches and headaches related to things like exercise or sinusitis. Credit: Stock/Getty Images
Migraines, sinus headaches, tension pain. Sound familiar? Almost everyone has experienced a headache at some point in their life. 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. Read more at Washington Post
|
|
|
|
Credit: Chris Ried, Unsplash
CorrectHealth, an organization that provides healthcare to those in correctional facilities, has suffered a data breach. The significance of this incident is that it has potentially exposed full names, social security numbers and addresses of at least 54,000 people. This represents one of several cyber-incidents occurring during the summer of 2022.
CorrectHealth has engaged the help of a cybersecurity firm to investigate the incident and has complied with the U.S. FBI as part of a larger investigation into the unnamed threat group responsible. Weighing in on the incident for Digital Journal is Daniel Selig, Security Automation Architect at Swimlane. Read more at Digital Journal
|
|
|
|
The Antarctic ozone hole is shown here, as it was measured on October 7, 2021. Also visible on the map are thin regions of the ozone layer farther north, in the mid-latitudes. Credot: NOAA Climate.gov
As of this year, the levels of ozone-depleting chemicals in the stratosphere reached a major milestone on the path to recovery, dropping by more than half of what's needed for the ozone layer to fully recover.
Back in the 1980s, it was discovered that chemical gases used in air conditioning, refrigeration and aerosol cans — collectively known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or ozone-depleting substances (OSDs) — were damaging the stratospheric ozone layer. This protective layer, located high up in the atmosphere, essentially acts as a natural shield against harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The depletion of ozone by CFCs was resulting in a large ozone hole over Antarctica, which was detected by satellites each year. It was also causing a thinning of the ozone layer over the mid-latitudes. Read more at Weather Network
|
|
|
|
Credit: Article
The investment in knowledge-intensive horticultural suppliers quadrupled during the latter half of the seven-year period 2015-2022 due to the robust international growth of greenhouse horticulture, readily available capital in the market and the sector’s multiplier effect.
Based on a quick scan, InnovationQuarter, Westland and Lansingerland municipalities and Buck Consultants International (BCI) believe this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
The analysis concentrated on breeding, greenhouse construction and cultivation and climate systems rather than growers, logistics service providers, wholesalers and packagers. Between 2019 and 2022, some 44 of the 136 knowledge-intensive horticultural suppliers surveyed in the Greater Rotterdam – The Hague area attracted investments. Read more at FPC
|
|
|
|
The Case For Paying Carbon Taxes On Unsustainable Food |
|
|
|
Credit: PopSci
Minimizing the risk of living on an unlivable planet requires significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through various means, like shifting to renewable energy and electrifying sectors that rely on fossil fuels. In countries like Finland and Sweden, taxes play a key climate role, especially when it comes to policies that charge a fee based on the carbon content of fossil fuels.
However, emissions caused by agriculture must be addressed, too. “The food we eat is the biggest cause of biodiversity loss in the world and the second biggest source of greenhouse gasses, so it’s very difficult to address those problems without considering the food system,” says Ian Bateman, co-director of the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute (LEEP) at the University of Exeter. Read more at Popsci
|
|
|
|
SPOTLIGHT ON INDIGENOUS WELLNESS |
|
|
|
Covid’s Toll On Native Americans |
|
|
|
Credit: The National Center for Health Statistics
Carol Schumacher of the Navajo Nation had grappled with untimely deaths; her mother died at 65 of pulmonary disease, and her father died at the same age in a car crash caused by a drunken driver. But she was not prepared for the devastation of Covid: Since it arrived in the U.S. more than two years ago, she has lost 42 family members to the virus.
Dealing with the massive death toll strained her own health, Schumacher told our colleagues. “I just wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with so much loss,” she said.
That loss has been tragically common among Native Americans, the C.D.C. revealed last week: From 2019 to 2021, their life expectancy fell from 71.8 years to 65.2. Covid was largely to blame. Read more at NY Times
|
|
|
|
|
Southern China has recorded its longest continuous period of high temperatures since records began more than 60 years ago. Credit: AFP
“Around the globe, extreme
weather with high and even super-high temperatures will likely occur frequently
in the coming decade or for a longer period of time in the future. Judging by
the situation this year, I don’t think people have got the full picture of how
big an impact such weather can have on our production activities and our lives.
Only by strengthening coordination among various industries and deepening our
knowledge about climate change can we come up with effective coping measures.”
Xu Xiaofeng, former deputy
director of the China Meteorological Administration, said in an interview with
National Business Daily.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Sept 19, 2022: Transforming Education Summit New York City
- Sept. 23 All over the World - Take part in the Climate Strike
#FridaysForFuture #PeopleNotProfit There’s just 5 weeks to go for Fridays For Future’s big Global Climate Strike on September 23. Be sure to support your local youth! Here is their call to action: Join in for the Global Climate Strike as we demand policymakers and world leaders to prioritize #PeopleNotProfit! We demand that our Governments listen to MAPA voices [1] and immediately work to provide Loss & Damage Finance to the communities most affected by the climate crisis. One of the best ways you can help is by amplifying youth voices - if you can’t attend a march in your area (or if there aren’t any), make sure to follow youth groups on social media and amplify their call to action. All events, big or small, add up and politicians and the media take notice. Find out more: fridaysforfuture.org/september23 Official FFF Map (shows Canada events): https://fridaysforfuture.ca/event-map
- Sept. 30 Deadline and On-going: International Health Trends and Perspectives (IHTP, a new journal based at Toronto Metropolitan University, (formerly Ryerson University, Toronto) is dedicating a special issue to the topic of Planetary Health to highlight research, theoretical and community based contributions of scientists, scholars and activists globally. It is inviting manuscripts that are solutions and equity-focused. See the call for papers and details here: https://bit.ly/3tDixHT
- October 4-5, 2022: World Ocean Tech and Innovation Summit (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- October 6-12, 2022: PHM-Exch> (EN/AR/ES/FR) Course on Struggle for Health by PHM and Amel Association / الموضوع: دورة تدريبية عن النضال من أجل الصحة لمنطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا تقوم بتنفيذها حركة صحة الشعوب بالتعاون مع مؤسسة عامل الدولية / Curso sobre la lucha por la salud impartido por PHM y la Asociación Amel / Cours sur la lutte pour la santé par le PHM et l'association Amel
- October 13-15, 2022: IUCN Leaders Forum – Call for Youth Change Makers (Jeju, South Korea)
- October 22-25 (virtual) and October 28-30 (in-person) StellenboschU-CUGH African Global Health Conference, 2022, Cape Town, South Africa
- October 31 - November 4, 2022: 7th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (Bogotá, Colombia)
- November 6-18, 2022: COP 27 UN Climate Change Conference, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
- November 21-23, 2022: Canadian Conference on Global Health Join us 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".
- December 7-8, 2022: The 4th International Conference on Rare Diseases Vienna, Austria
- December 7-19, 2022: COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference, Montreal, Canada
- April 14-16, 2023: CUGH's Annual Global Health Conference - Global Health at a Crossroads: Equity, Climate Change and Microbial Threats
- May 23-25, 2023: The Battery Show Europe (Stuggart, Germany)
|
|
|
|
|
|
FYI#1 SPOTLIGHT ON MEDIA |
|
Google to Rollout "Aerial View" to Its Maps Product |
|
|
|
Google Maps is one of the most popular apps on the planet, and now, these three new features can enhance your navigation and trip-planning experience even more. A photorealistic aerial view, real-time cycling routes with more in-depth information, and location-sharing options for linked users can help you stay safe, connected and even more organized.
Thus far, the realistic aerial view is available for almost 100 famous landmarks worldwide, in cities like Toyko, Barcelona, New York, London and San Francisco. The immersive views combine AI with "billions of high definition Street View, satellite and aerial imagery, [for a] photorealistic aerial view," according to Amanda Leicht Moore, Director of Product for Google Maps.
To find an impressive landmark using your Goole Maps app, search for the landmark by name in the app and then click on the photos section. Not only will the picture of the landmark itself pop up, but users can also view a short, 30-second video aerial view of the landmark.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Credit: Study is first to analyse scale of emissions cuts possible from large-scale transition to ‘timber cities’. Photograph: Roger Bamber/Alamy
Building new urban homes from wood instead of concrete and steel could save about 10% of the carbon budget needed to limit global heating to 2C this century, according to a new study.
The overhaul of construction practices needed for such a shift would require up to 149m hectares of new timber plantations – and an increase in harvests from unprotected natural forests – but it need not encroach on farmland, according to the paper by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
Housing 90% of the world’s growing urban population in mid-rise wooden buildings could prevent 106bn tons of carbon emissions by 2100, says the research.
|
|
|
|
FYI #3 |
|
Visualizing China’s Dominance In The Solar Panel Supply Chain |
|
|
|
Credit: Visual Capitalist
Many governments are investing in renewable energy sources like solar power, but who controls the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels?
As it turns out, China owns the vast majority of the world’s solar panel supply chain, controlling at least 75% of every single key stage of solar photovoltaic panel manufacturing and processing.
This visualization shows the shares held by different countries and regions of the key stages of solar panel manufacturing, using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
|
|
|
|
|
|
FYI #4 |
|
Ethiopian Ambassador Slams WHO's Tedros Over Tigray |
|
|
|
Hirut Zemene, Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union. Credit: Jean-Marc Ferré / U.N. / CC BY-NC-ND
The Ethiopian ambassador to the European Union says that Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been “degrading” and “abusing” his position as head of the World Health Organization through his criticisms of the Ethiopian government’s role in the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia.
“The way he's handling the matter is completely unprofessional to me,” Hirut Zemene said in an interview in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon. “He is a United Nations figure … The role he is playing right now … is very, very much degrading his position. I would think he would think about global health — like he says ‘global health for all’ — around the world, around Ethiopia, not only in one particular area.”
The New York Times reported last year that Tedros, an ethnic Tigrayan, has lost relatives in the conflict, which began in November 2020 between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF. Fighting escalated again on Aug. 24 this year following a lull that had allowed for the limited resumption of humanitarian assistance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FYI#6: SPOTLIGHT ON EDUCATION |
|
Western University (London, Ontario) Partners With Ugandan Research Centre To Help Address Global Health Challenges |
|
|
|
Western University Schulich Medicine and Dentistry dean Dr. John Yoo and JCRC executive director Dr. Cissy Kityo (centre, holding shovel) leads the tree planting activity during the signing of the new collaborative agreement between Western and the Joint Clinical Research Centre in Kampala. Credit: Western University
A new strategic partnership between Western and the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in Kampala, Uganda, establishes a long-term commitment for research collaboration to address the world’s most challenging global health issues.
The interdisciplinary education, training and research collaboration between JCRC and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry was formally announced on July 6 in the Ugandan capital. The partnership also includes Makerere University College of Health Sciences and Mbarara University of Sciences and Technology.
“Transformation is a term we use often but JCRC has helped transform the care of communicable diseases for an entire country and continent,” said Dr. John Yoo, dean of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. “I cannot think of a better partner for Western in helping educate the next generation – our students and theirs – to be citizens of a global community.”
Yoo led a Western delegation, which included associate vice-president of equity, diversity and inclusion Opiyo Oloya, and Canada Research Chair in HIV Pathogenesis and Viral Control Eric Arts, to Kampala for the formal signing of the agreement and the official launch of the partnership.
|
|
|
|
|
|
STILL ENJOYING THE FADING SUMMER |
|
|
|
Whitefish Lake, Hawkrigg Lane, Seguin, Ontario
September 9-15, 2022
|
|
|
|
Photo Credits: David Zakus |
|
|
|
|
THANKS FOR READING THE FREE
PLANETARY HEALTH WEEKLY
Current News on Ecological Wellness and Global Health
To Subscribe and access Archives of all Past Issues & Yearly Indexes GO TO: planetaryhealthweekly.com
AND PLEASE PASS IT ON TO FAMILY & FRIENDS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|