As the world turns...

News blues

The struggle between and among the Covid convinced and unconvinced continues. The people of Anchorage, Alaska (largely unconvinced) were afforded six days to present their concerns about mask mandates – and, turns out, whatever else was on their minds. And a lot was on their minds.
Those focused on mitigating and surviving Covid stayed home to participate via Zoom and social media. 

… people lined up to comment against the ordinance.
Opponents have shown up en masse night after night . Mayor Dave Bronson and Assembly member Jamie Allard, ardent opponents of COVID-19 restrictions and masking requirements, have encouraged comments and engaged in procedural tactics that extend the process.
Mask ordinance opponents on social media encouraged families to bring their children to testify, and many did. A group served pizza to attendees in the entrance to the library.

Fun times!
Read “Anchorage Assembly and mayor battle over proceedings during sixth chaotic night of public comment on proposed mask mandate" >> 

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Seeking resources and information on Covid vaccines? Explore the CDC website  >>

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The Lincoln Project - and other media
Package Deal  (0:55 mins)
Not for Sale  (0:25 mins)

After following the pandemic for close to two years, from perspective of a locked down South African and a Californian, Lawrence Wright’s new book, The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid is a good reminder of how We the People arrived at our current state. It’s also a confirmation of media reports from the pandemic’s early days.
Interesting quotes:

During the transition to the Trump administration, the Obama White House handed off a sixty-nine-page document called the “Playbook for Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents.” A meticulous, step-by-step guide for combatting a “pathogen of pandemic potential,” the playbook contains a directory of the government’s resources in time of need and is meant to be pulled off the shelf the moment things start to go haywire. At the top of the list of dangerous pathogens are the respiratory viruses, including novel influenzas, orthopoxviruses” (such as smallpox), and coronaviruses.
The playbook outlines the conditions under which various government agencies should be enlisted. With domestic outbreaks, the playbook specifies that “[ w]hile States hold significant power and responsibility related to public health response outside of a declared Public Health Emergency, the American public will look to the U.S. Government for action when multi-state or other significant public health events occur.” Questions concerning the severity and contagiousness of a disease, or how to handle potentially hazardous waste, should be directed to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Federal “Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Is there evidence of deliberate intent, such as a terrorist action? The FBI has the lead. Have isolation and quarantine been implemented? How robust is contact tracing? Is clinical care in the region scalable if cases explode?
There are many such questions, with decisions proposed and agencies assigned. Because the playbook was passed to a new administration that might not be familiar with the manifold resources of the federal government, there are appendices describing such entities as the Surge Capacity Force in the Department of Homeland Security, consisting of a group of FEMA “reservists and others that can be called upon as “deployable human assets.” The Pentagon’s Military Aeromedical Evacuation Team can be assembled to transport patients. HHS has a Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, with the dry acronym DMORT, consisting of “intermittent federal employees, each with a particular field of expertise,” such as medical examiners, pathologists, anthropologists, dental assistants, and investigators.
The Trump administration jettisoned the Obama playbook.”

Another interesting quote…

“January 27 ...  “Rick, I think we’re in deep shit. The world.” 

There was an op-ed in USA Today that morning. “I remember how Trump sought to stoke fear and stigma during the 2014 Ebola epidemic,” Joe Biden wrote. “Trump’s demonstrated failures of judgment and his repeated rejection of science make him the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health challenge.” The former vice president cited Trump’s proposed cuts to NIH, CDC, and the Agency for International Development— “the very agencies we need to fight this outbreak and prevent future ones.”

Trump had dismantled the White House team in charge of global health security.”
“And he has treated with utmost contempt institutions that facilitate international cooperation, thus undermining the global efforts that keep us safe from pandemics and biological attacks. “To be blunt, I am concerned that the Trump administration’s shortsighted policies have left us unprepared for a dangerous epidemic that will come sooner or later.”

The Kindle version of this book is available in local libraries.

Healthy planet, anyone?

Plastic products have played significant roles in protecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The widespread use of personal protective gear created a massive disruption in the supply chain and waste disposal system. Millions of discarded single-use plastics (masks, gloves, aprons, and bottles of sanitizers) have been added to the terrestrial environment and could cause a surge in plastics washing up the ocean coastlines and littering the seabed. This paper attempts to assess the environmental footprints of the global plastic wastes generated during COVID-19 and analyze the potential impacts associated with plastic pollution. The amount of plastic wastes generated worldwide since the outbreak is estimated at 1.6 million tonnes/day. We estimate that approximately 3.4 billion single-use facemasks/face shields are discarded daily as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, globally. Our comprehensive data analysis does indicate that COVID-19 will reverse the momentum of years-long global battle to reduce plastic waste pollution. As governments are looking to turbo-charge the economy by supporting businesses weather the pandemic, there is an opportunity to rebuild new industries that can innovate new reusable or non-plastic PPEs. The unanticipated occurrence of a pandemic of this scale has resulted in unmanageable levels of biomedical plastic wastes. This expert insight attempts to raise awareness for the adoption of dynamic waste management strategies targeted at reducing environmental contamination by plastics generated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click to download the pdf version of “COVID pollution: impact of COVID-19 pandemic on global plastic waste footprint” >>

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Life in congested commute lanes continues for another day….
Talking Heads put it right: “ask yourself, how did I get here…?” (3:44 mins)