I blog about environmental and social justice issues because I am very concerned about the health of the interdependent web of life of which we are a part.

Melting Arctic ice.......beautiful and frightening!

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Friday, November 6, 2009

Panic Considered: A Contradiction

Government websites can be really interesting places – at least for geeks like me.
Health Canada has been releasing bulletins on swine flu since last spring. H1N1 or swine flu has killed exactly 115 people in Canada as of November 5, 2009.
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/alert-alerte/h1n1/surveillance-eng.php
To help put this in perspective, the 2003 – 2004 flu season killed 7,708 people.
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/05vol31/dr3101a-eng.php
I talked to a woman yesterday who was terrified at the possibility of death by swine flu. She was talking about staying home with her family until the swine flu epidemic passes.  I attempted to reassure her – I told her that I was absolutely sure she and her family would not die of H1N1.  My assurances didn't seem to comfort her in the least.
Today I could have mentioned that
Dr. Richard Schabas, chief medical officer of health for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties in eastern Ontario, said the H1N1 influenza outbreak needs to be put into proper perspective. About 200,000 people die in Canada every year from all causes combined, including about 4,000 from seasonal flu."By the time all the dust has settled on H1N1, somewhere between 200 and 300 people will have died in this country," Schabas said Thursday during a panel on media coverage of H1N1 on CBC-TV's The National.Schabas criticized the media for not trying to put the story into perspective, and for being "a little too easy to spin sometimes" by public health official.http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/11/06/h1n1-media.html
The person I was talking to zoomed off  in her car after our conversation. I watched her beetle off - and I wondered. Why are people so bad at assessing risks? My friend is far more likely to die in a car accident than to croak from the flu – and she drives every day on a long commute. Moreover, she doesn't worry about climate change.  In fact,  hardly anyone I know worries in the slightest about climate change. But anthropogenic global warming is a clear and present danger to all of us.  It is likely to destroy you, me, our families, and the world as we know it completely and utterly. And it is a problem with solutions -  as my earlier posts have discussed – so why aren’t people rioting in the streets ?  Why isn't inexorable pressure buidling to force governments to take meaningful steps?  Is it possible that the media is a little too easy to spin on climate change as well as swine flu?

It is incumbent upon us all to educate ourselves about the lies the climate change denial industry spreads.  Once educated, we must do everything in our power to awaken everyone who prefers to ignore the truth about climate change. 

1 comment:

  1. Hello to those concerned about climate change and/or the Swine H1N1 flu.

    These are worthy causes to share on prevention and our own responsibilities to help out, here, while living on Planet Earth.

    I share on prevention of H1N1 that I use vinegar in all rooms for releasing a natural cleaning antibiotic. I have not had colds or the flu or my boarders. I use 1/4 cup of any cheap vinegar in each room during the cold and flu season. Why it works. I base my theory on the Kreb's cycle where every living cell begins and finishes with acetic acid (vinegar). All you are doing when you put vinegar in every room (or office) is to help keep your own immune system at top notch. Of course, wash your hands, cover your mouth, get enough sleep, eat sufficient fresh fruit and vegetables.

    Climate change: It is hard to reduce pollutants, but BC with our hydro power is the best location to promote and to request for electric cars. There is no residual from their tail pipes and all cars need batteries, so we cannot eliminate all pollution in creating our need for transportation. Not everyone can cycle to work, or walk, so electric is the best way for BC to go.

    Other issues: Children, the newborn infants, are being violated. They are being exploited for their stem cells. See the National ad by Lifebank, located in Burnaby. Yes, stem cells can be taken from the baby's placenta blood, but the baby will be a stronger and healthier baby if you have a signed birth contract for no tying off the umbilical cord, no clamping it off, and no hand-squeezing (finger and thumb) until after the placenta is born. This takes from 7 to 20 minutes, so the doctors hurry the completion of the baby's birth by instant or early umbilical cord clamping while the placenta is yet in the mother's womb. The policies are corrupted and the motive is to seek the baby's stem cells for selling on the open market, even those paid to be stored at private or public cord blood banks, may be sold by the institution, not by the parents, though. The medical societies have written their own policy of profits in selling human cells.

    Check out the Petition on line. Protect Babies and Mothers, Too, or go to www.lotusbirth.com

    dyoung@pris.ca

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