How right-wing nationalism fuels climate denial

Denial of everything humane and scientific

46714861_404.jpg

As leaders like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro call global warming a hoax, a new study shows the link between climate change denial and nationalism. DW spoke to its author, Martin Hultman.

US announces it is pulling all troops out of Syria | News | DW | 19.12.2018 Cut and run loser Trump

Ignoring the advice of his military and security advisers Although many in the Department of Defense (DoD), including Defense Secretary James Mattis, have tried for quite some time to convince the president not to make the move, he was unswayed by the advice of his military and security advisors. DoD officials say that the troop withdrawal will betray Kurdish allies fighting alongside US troops in Syria and Iraq. Moreover, they argued that by abandoning the Kurds the US would put any future alliances with local fighters at risk, as the US would be seen as an unreliable partner. In both Iraq and Syria, Kurdish groups have been among the most effective fighters against IS, bolstered by air support, intelligence, equipment and training from Western and Gulf powers. However, NATO member Turkey in particular objected to the cooperation with Kurdish groups it considers either terrorists or their accomplices.

Source: US announces it is pulling all troops out of Syria | News | DW | 19.12.2018

Investors Turn Kenya’s Troublesome Invasive Water Hyacinth into Cheap Fuel | Inter Press Service

“Hyacinth fuel burns slower than the usual kerosene I use and doesn’t produce smoke and soot while cooking like firewood or kerosene. To me it’s much cheaper and cleaner to use, no more coughing in my kitchen when preparing food,” she tells IPS. Ondula says a litre of ethanol retails at 70 Kenyan shillings and lasts four days. That is in marked contrast to the higher cost of kerosene, which currently retails at a national average of 100 Kenyan shillings, and lasts only two days. She says she also used to buy charcoal which was quite expensive, retailing at 100 Kenyan shilling per a 15-kilogram tin, which only lasted hours. So now she only uses ethanol, which she pre-orders.

Source: Investors Turn Kenya’s Troublesome Invasive Water Hyacinth into Cheap Fuel | Inter Press Service

Potential For Zoonotic Emergence Of Coronavirus In Latin America

“The study shows that bats carry a significantly higher proportion of viruses able to infect people than any other group of mammals; and it identifies the species and geographic regions on the planet with the highest number of yet-to-be discovered, or ‘missing’, viruses likely to infect people. This work provides a new way to predict where and how we should work to identify and pre-empt the next potential viral pandemic before it emerges.”

image

,746

Until SARS emerged in 2002 and began to burn its way through Chinese hospitals prior to spreading internationally (see SARS and Remembrance), only four coronaviruses (Alpha coronaviruses 229E and NL63, and Beta coronaviruses OC43 & HKU1) were known to infect humans, and they generally only produced mild illness.

Research has since shown that the SARS virus likely originated in bats and entered the human population – probably through contact with an intermediate host – before spreading widely in humans. 

Ten years later, a similar story began to emerge on the Arabian Peninsula, when another novel Coronavirus – MERS-CoV – began jumping from camels to humans.  This too, appears to be of bat-origin, making camels intermediate hosts.

While bats have long been known to be carriers of Rabies – and more recently linked to Nipah, Hendra, Ebola, Marburg viruses – over the past couple of decades it has become apparent that bats are also hosts for a wide variety of novel viruses with zoonotic potential.

In 2017 researchers from EcoHealth Alliance published a letter in Nature (Host and viral traits predict zoonotic spillover from mammals) providing the first comprehensive analysis of viruses known to infect mammals.

From their website summary: 

The study shows that bats carry a significantly higher proportion of viruses able to infect people than any other group of mammals; and it identifies the species and geographic regions on the planet with the highest number of yet-to-be discovered, or ‘missing’, viruses likely to infect people. This work provides a new way to predict where and how we should work to identify and pre-empt the next potential viral pandemic before it emerges.

When Steven Soderbergh made his pandemic thriller `Contagion’ a few years ago, technical adviser Professor Ian Lipkin created the fictional MEV-1 virus based on a mutated Nipah virus (see The Scientific Plausibility of `Contagion’) simply because of the very real possibility of someday seeing a bat-borne pandemic virus.

Some recent studies of coronaviruses in bats include:

EID Journal: A New Bat-HKU2–like Coronavirus in Swine, China, 2017

Emerg. Microbes & Infect.: Novel Coronaviruses In Least Horseshoe Bats In Southwestern China

PNAS: SARS-like WIV1-CoV Poised For Human Emergence

In 2016, Hotspots For Bat To Human Disease Transmission, we looked at a study that attempted to quantify the risks of zoonotic transmission of a wide variety of bat viruses.  While sub-Saharan Africa and Asia ranked highest, portions of South America showed considerable potential as well.

Bat%2BMap.png
Credit University College London GB)

All of which brings us to an open-access editorial published SciELO – the Scientific Electronic Library Online – that examines the history of zoonotic jumps of coronaviruses – primarily from bats – and the potential for seeing that happen in South America.

Due to its length I’ve only included a few excerpts.  Follow the link to read it in its entirety.

Zoonotic emergence of coronavirus: a potential public risk for Latin America

Emergencia zoonótica de coronavirus: un potencial riesgo público para América Latina

Salim Mattar V 1 , Marco González T 1 *

1 Universidad de Córdoba, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Montería, Colombia

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a group of enveloped RNA viruses, single-stranded (positive sense) belonging to the order Nidovirales, family Coronaviridae. They are divided into four main groups: alpha, beta, gamma and delta; it seems, alpha and beta infect humans. The first known human coronaviruses (HCoV), HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43, cause mild respiratory infections 1.

(SNIP)

The inter-species spread of coronaviruses in new hosts frequently occurs, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are the most notable examples of intra-species infection towards humans. The bovine, canine respiratory, dromedary and human OC43 coronaviruses potentially come from the same common ancestor, demonstrating the viral flexibility to adapt to new hosts. SARS-CoV probably originated in bats, whereas it is likely that PDCoV originated in birds. Therefore, the search for reservoirs in wild animals for CoV is of great interest 2.

The identification of SARS-CoV in Rhinolophid bats led to more intensive investigations of coronaviruses in humans and in bats. After the discovery of MERS-CoV as a zoonotic agent, coronavirus NL63 and HKU1 were recently detected as endemic in humans. Recent studies have shown that bat coronaviruses were the source of many human coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV, HCoV-229E and NL63 1.

(SNIP)

To demonstrate that bats harbor more CoV diversity than other host mammals, phylogenetic analyzes of the alpha and beta-coronavirus genera have been carried out, which were widely found in Chiroptera. The zoonotic origin of four of the six known human CoVs (HCV) has been demonstrated, three of which probably involved bats: SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and HCoV-229E.

There are no studies on CoV of bats, nor in humans in Colombia and in Latin America are very insufficient. This critical lack of information in a country that holds the greatest diversity of Chiroptera in the region, reveals an ecoepidemiological gap that we have to overcome with the implementation of more studies aimed at better understanding the role of CoV in human health and animal in the region and in the world.

(Continue . . . )

In recent years we’ve seen a growing number of reports on bat viruses that pose confirmed or suspected zoonotic threats – including novel influenza viruses – making this an exciting time to be a Chiropterist.

When Penny Marshall knocked a classic out of the park, inspiring generations to come, in ‘A League of Their Own’

The day the world said goodbye to Penny Marshall, it turns out, there was crying in baseball. In the compilation book “The Female Gaze: Essential Movies Made by Women” (Mango: 236 pp., $19.99), Times film reporter Jen Yamato pays tribute to the enduring emotion, dirt-in-the-skirt thrills and quotable…

Second Look Behind the Headlines – News you can use…

Baldacchino di Perla

"Luce di parole, ombra di sogni."

Northern Desert Photography

Living on the Edge of the Sagebrush Ocean

Susana Cabaço

Spiritual Insights & Personal Empowerment

Barbara Picci

Artist & Art Blogger

craft journey

Furnicraft, woodwork, and art

musings corner

reveries and rants

Japão para Românticos

Bem Vindos a este espaço onde compartilhamos um pouco da realidade do Japão à todos aqueles que desejam visitar ou morar no Japão. Aqui neste espaço, mostramos a realidade do Japão e dos imigrantes. O nosso compromisso é com a realidade. Fique por dentro do noticiário dos principais jornais japoneses, tutoriais de Faça você mesmo no Japão e acompanhe a Série Histórias de Imigrantes no Japão. Esperamos que goste de nossos conteúdos, deixe seu like, seu comentário, compartilhe e nos ajudar você e à outras pessoas. Grande abraço, gratidão e volte sempre!

Leben als Mensch

Willkommen auf Elke´s Glücks-Blog

Sharpshot Nature .Com

- Specializing in the great outdoors, capturing nature at its finest!

Diane Ravitch's blog

A site to discuss education and democracy

Expansão e Percepção

Seu Guia de Inspirações e Reflexões Diárias

noga noga.

my-health-and-beauty.com/

Uğurcan'ın Ütopyası

Benim Gezegenime Hoş geldiniz !!!

AKILS

Blog de viajes y lugares

Ed Mooney Photography

The official blog of Ed Mooney Photography. Dad of 3, Photographer, Blogger, Powerlifter. Exploring the historical sites of Ireland.

everything Explored on the earth

It has new aidias,news, about education , motivation, social, historical, culture, marketing creation new aidias education of language science culture and history

Born to die

L'unico modo sensato di vivere è senza regole

Early Morning Memories

by Anuran (A) & Sayoni (S)

My thoughts

Fun for the Brain

Neo Vision College

An exemplary learning community.

Anthony’s Crazy Love and Life Lessons in Empathy

Loves, lamentation, and life through prose, stories, passions, and essays.

Episodic Squalid Rants

public tantrums by a non-two-year-old

The Street Art Directory

Public, street and urban art worldwide

Artie & Stu

all the rules of free form

Everyone read that they fell in love first

<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-2937106805202763" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

davidscottmoyer

Lapsed Painter, Occasional Photographer, Compulsive Writer

Health & Fitness

Health Blogs

Buildings Tell Tales

Exploring the hidden architectural heritage of Budapest

Divit kalem

Yaşamdan

Roy's Weblog

The third incarnation...

Thought Pukes

More than a thought less than a question

"بوصلة الحياة"

"بوصلة الحياة: مدونة متعددة المجالات، من السياسة إلى الرومانسية، ومن تطوير الذات إلى الأدب وأكثر!" بقلم مشاعر بنت عبدالرحمن

parallax

The view from here ... Or here!

ClearingSpace4Joy

Bringer and seeker of joy

Belladonna’s Flashlight

The One Where She Stumbled Through Her 40's and Faced Her Demons

~ Trivial Music Silliness ~

Baw wit da baw. Just sayin'.

mo mnsoor blog

Website storys

Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

Welcome to the Anglo Swiss World

gnaddrig ad libitum

Querbeet und ohne Gewähr

Peace & Truth

KINDNESS IS FREE, sprinkle it all over the world, and 😁 smile

Ética de la vida diaria

Nuestra ética de todos los días...

Elizabeth Gauffreau

Fiction Writer in Poet's Clothing