Jitters

Some days it hits hard: what another four years of Trumpism would do to the US and to people across the world.
Prejudice. Corruption. Chaos. Violence. Unjust justice. Lack of leadership. Strong arm tactics. Increasing poverty of the majority juxtaposed with exorbitant wealth of a tiny minority .
Not to be dismissive, but … I’ve little faith that human beings in leadership positions have the desire or a clue as to how to pull out of our planet’s nosedive into tragedy. Nor do I have faith that We, the People, can work constructively together to change our trajectory.
(Sorry to begin your week on a downer.... Care to prove me wrong? I welcome it.)

News blues…

Quickie news bites:

A UN summit on biodiversity, scheduled to be held in New York next month, will be told by conservationists and biologists there is now clear evidence of a strong link between environmental destruction and the increased emergence of deadly new diseases such as Covid-19.
Rampant deforestation, uncontrolled expansion of farming and the building of mines in remote regions – as well as the exploitation of wild animals as sources of food, traditional medicines and exotic pets – are creating a “perfect storm” for the spillover of diseases from wildlife to people, delegates will be told.
Almost a third of all emerging diseases have originated through the process of land use change, it is claimed. As a result, five or six new epidemics a year could soon affect Earth’s population.
“There are now a whole raft of activities – illegal logging, clearing and mining – with associated international trades in bushmeat and exotic pets that have created this crisis,” said Stuart Pimm, professor of conservation at Duke University. “In the case of Covid-19, it has cost the world trillions of dollars and already killed almost a million people, so clearly urgent action is needed.”  

***

Papua New Guinea’s battle against a climbing rate of Covid-19 infections is being hampered by the most basic of shortages – access to clean water –public health experts have warned.
Case numbers have jumped from just 11 cases two months ago to 424 on Friday, with four deaths. And efforts to contain escalating case numbers throughout the archipelago, and to prevent outbreaks across the Pacific region, are being hamstrung because thousands cannot access clean water for hand-washing and cleaning.
“The latest statistics indicate that 55% of people in the Pacific have access to basic drinking water … the lowest in the world,” said David Hebblethwaite, leader on water security and governance at the Pacific Community. “In terms of access to sanitation, we have crept just below sub-Saharan Africa … this is clearly a health issue related to hygiene and handwashing.” After an initial outbreak in the capita, Port Moresby – with cases centred on healthcare workers at the country’s largest hospital – infections have now been detected across PNG … The actual rate of infection is likely many times higher than the official figure: fewer than 16,000 tests have been conducted across the entire country since the pandemic began. 

Healthy futures, anyone?

Flying hundreds of feet above the ground in a motorized paraglider, George Steinmetz has photographed the world's most remote environments from the sky. Over the past four decades, Steinmetz has captured pictures from the mega dunes of the Namibian desert to rice paddies in Yunnan Province, southwest China.
Each location was unique, but the Steinmetz noticed a common theme - humans were changing the planet.
He could see how even the most isolated places had been damaged and their wildlife decimated as they were exploited for resources…
In 1997, Steinmetz purchased his first motorized paraglider and set off to take pictures of the Sahara Desert. After that, Steinmetz… spent some 15 years flying over every extreme desert in the world… [and] to survey and photograph forests, oceans, cities and farmland…

***

A view into “How anti-Trump Republicans are working to defeat him.” (5:11 mins)
The Lincoln Project: 

School  (0:25 mins)
Don  (1:25)
Trump Talks Trump  (0:55 min)
Meidas Touch: Tick Tock, Trump  (0:55 min)
End The Misery (The Misery Index)  (0:55 min)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Rain. And forecasts for rain off and on over the next week. Who knows whether the weather will play out according to the weatherperson, but spring is on the way – and welcome.
Cheers me up.