ShiraDest Round Robin: Day 64/67 of GED in Five Months, lines and laws, and transporting us to the stars!

Educating for Future Democracy Collaborative

Ad Astra! But, how do we get there? Today’s reading discusses Newton’s proofs of Kepler’s earlier laws, based on both observation and mathematics. After all, if we can see it, but don’t know how much food and fuel we need to get there, it might be a longer trip than we thought! “ Newton’s […]

Day 64/67 of GED in Five Months, lines and laws, and transporting us to the stars!

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Good COVID news: it’s not transmitted by food or packaging – Food Politics by Marion Nestle

Highlights of the FAO’s conclusions:

  • Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food or on inanimate surfaces; they can only multiply in humans and certain animals. Once in the environment, viruses degrade and becomes less infectious.
  • It is important to note that, although the detection of virus or viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) remnants on foods and food packaging provides evidence of previous contamination and is not disputed, there is no confirmation of SARS-CoV-2, or any other respiratory illness-causing virus, being transmitted by food or food packaging and causing illnesses in people who touch the contaminated food products or packaging.
  • The virus responsible for COVID-19 is susceptible to most commonly used disinfectants and sanitizing agents used in the food processing environment. Standard cleaning and sanitizing procedures…should therefore be effective at disinfecting the food processing environment.

Well, at least that, and what a relief.

That still leaves us with these preventive measures: vaccinate, mask up, and avoid unmasked crowds.

Source: Good COVID news: it’s not transmitted by food or packaging – Food Politics by Marion Nestle

How does COVID-19 affect the brain? Here’s what we know so far – ABC News

The 67-year-old had a job she loved in the results department of a clinical lab and was looking forward to a holiday on a cruise. Then in March, she got COVID-19. Even though Ms Andersen’s infection wasn’t severe, she has been stuck with lingering neurological symptoms such as nerve pain, fatigue, “brain fog” and smell issues ever since. The Blacktown resident has been unable to work due to her symptoms. “I don’t feel the way I felt before COVID. It’s really quite confronting,” Ms Andersen said.

Source: How does COVID-19 affect the brain? Here’s what we know so far – ABC News

Whales filmed swimming with surfers at Christchurch’s New Brighton beach | RNZ News

The inquisitive Southern Right whales approached the surfers and circled them, while they sat on their boards watching. Community board member Jo Zervos, who took the video from the New Brighton pier, told Morning Report she’d seen on Facebook that the whales – a mother and calf -were nearby, so headed to the beach for a look. “I thought I’d pop down to New Brighton and have a look and sure enough, they were heading that way so I went out on the pier and quite a few people had noticed them and had been pointing so there was a bit of a crowded. “The people in the water were quite unaware until they actually got quite close by. I’ve never seen it before in my whole life and I’ve lived by the beach here over 50 years so it was a really special experience and usually the whales will just swim past, but this time they hung around for about an hour circling back and forward around the each of the pier.

Source: Whales filmed swimming with surfers at Christchurch’s New Brighton beach | RNZ News

Hospitals fill in Texas, Mississippi due to COVID-19 | CIDRAP

In Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has made both mask and vaccine mandates illegal, has asked hospitals in the state to stop non-emergency procedures in an effort to free up space for COVID-19 patients.  Abbott tweeted that he has also brought in medical staffing from outside of Texas to help hospitals, and directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers in communities across the state. Abbott said he hopes these infusion centers will prevent moderately ill patients from becoming sick enough for hospitalization. Currently 9,500 Texans are hospitalized with the virus.

Source: Hospitals fill in Texas, Mississippi due to COVID-19 | CIDRAP

Sizing Up How Agriculture Connects to Deforestation

Sizing Up How Agriculture Connects to Deforestation The map above, based on an analysis of Landsat data by The Sustainability Consortium and WRI, highlights several key drivers of forest loss. Shifting agriculture (yellow) typically involves the clearing of small plots within forests in Africa, Central America, and parts of South America. The clearing is done by subsistence farmers, often families, who raise a mixture of vegetables, fruits, grains, and small livestock herds for a few years and then let fields go fallow and move on as soil loses its fertility. The practice is especially common in Africa, and has become more so since 2000 due to increasing human populations. In South America and Southeast Asia, commodity crops (tan on the map) have become the dominant driver of forest loss. Common commodity crops include beef, soybeans, palm oil, corn, and cotton. They are typically grown on an industrial scale and traded internationally. Unlike the temporary forest clearings associated with small-scale agriculture, commodity-scale production often involves clear-cutting and results in significant impacts on forests (like the Indonesian palm oil plantation below).

Source: Sizing Up How Agriculture Connects to Deforestation