There are, as I've noted on a few occasions, several ways to control the human population -- the easy way and the not so easy way. Maybe I've been wrong. Perhaps the choice is not so much between easy and not-easy so much as it's between clean and messy. Overpopulation is a huge part of the equation that is global climate change. If our population were half the current size -- which it would be in one generation if each couple would limit reproduction to one child -- we'd have far less greenhouse gas even without any conservation or shifts to green fuels. But the Bush junta is all about pushing for measures that make it almost impossible for couples to control their reproduction. So, I guess we're going for "messy." Here's what "messy" means:
BBC is reporting that:
Climatic changes could lead to more outbreaks of bubonic plague among human populations, a study suggests. Researchers found that the bacterium that caused the deadly disease became more widespread following warmer springs and wetter summers.
. . .
"The desert regions of Central Asia are known to contain natural foci of plague where the great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) is the primary host. "Plague spread requires both a high abundance of hosts and a sufficient number of active fleas as vectors transmitting plague bacteria between hosts," the Norwegian scientist added. Fleas became active when the temperature exceeded 10C (50F), so a warm, frost-free spring led to an early start to breeding. Plague is passed to humans through flea bites The flea population continued to grow when the spring was followed by a wet, humid summer, the researcher wrote. The combination of the two seasons' climatic conditions led to an increase in the number of the insects feeding off the great gerbils, resulting in a greater transmission of plague. The study showed that just a 1C (1.8F) rise in the springtime temperature led to a 59% increase in the prevalence of the disease. The greater prevalence of plague in the region's wildlife increased the risk of local people becoming infected.
. . .
"Analyses of tree-ring proxy climate data shows that conditions during the period of the Black Death (1280-1350) were both warmer and increasingly wet.
"The same was true during the origin of the Third Pandemic (1855-1870) when the climate was wetter and underwent an increasingly warm trend," he added.
. . .
Professor Stenseth warned that recent changes to the region's climate suggested that warmer springs were becoming more frequent, increasing the risk of human infections.
Or, we could provide real sex education, free, effective birth control, abortion on demand, and incentives to have only one child. Apparently the "pro-family values" party prefers the Black Death. Go ahead and google to see how you die when you contract the Black Death. Ask yourself how "icky" abortion sounds after that.
2 comments:
Go ahead and google to see how you die when you contract the Black Death.
Or read Connie Willis's "Doomsday Book", which covers the original Black Death's impact on a single household as visited by a time traveller...
yestiddy, the state reported the 7th case of plague here this year...two fatalities...all the cases in or near nominal residential centers close to Abq (as opposed to 'normal' years, when it's usually confined to one or another Rez communities).
actually there's two kindsa plague: pneumocystic and septicemic:
"Seventh case of plague reported
ALBUQUERQUE -- New Mexico has reported its seventh case of human plague this year.
The state Health Department said Wednesday that the elderly Bernalillo County woman, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in Albuquerque.
She has the septicemic form of the plague, which infects the bloodstream.
Albuquerque and Bernalillo County environmental-health officials are investigating her home to see if there is an ongoing threat of plague.
Two earlier victims this year -- women from Torrance and Bernalillo counties -- died. Other cases this year occurred in Santa Fe and San Miguel counties.
Plague, a bacterial disease, generally is transmitted through the bites of infected fleas, but people also can get it by direct contact with infected rodents, wildlife and pets.
New Mexico reported four human plague cases last year and none in 2004."
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