Mission Blue calls for ocean-loving volunteers
to dive into the Great Reef Census
“The world is blue, if you look at it from space that image alone should inspire us to think that we too are sea creatures.” Dr Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue
***
And... back to Covid… today’s Covid-19 stats compared to six months ago...Worldwide (Map)
April 22, 2021 – 143,503,705 confirmed infections; 3,056,000 deaths
November 26, 2020 – 60,334,000 confirmed infections; 1,420,500 deaths
US (Map)
April 22, 2021 – 31,862,100 confirmed infections; 569,500 deaths
November 26, 2020 – 12,771,000 confirmed infections; 262,145 deaths
SA (Tracker)
April 22, 2021 – 1,568,500 confirmed infections; 53,900 deaths
November 26, 2020 – 775,510 confirmed infections; 21,2010 deaths
Down memory lane with a post from one year ago - April 23, 2020: Try it; what have you got to lose?
Tracking Covid-19:
- Tracking Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide
- South African experts to follow for up-to-date and accurate Covid information…
News blues
Forty top world leaders gather online for the first big climate confab since 2019. From an American point of view, five key policies and political dynamics to watch:1. New U.S. emissions target
2. China and the U.S.
3. Brazil
4. Big Money Pledges
5. Intellectual property rights
Read the article >>
***
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing in Geneva on Monday that, for eight consecutive weeks, Covid-19 infections are rising at an alarming rate and that more than 5.2 million new cases of Covid-19 were recorded last week - the most in a single week since the pandemic began. Tedros warned that the pace of the pandemic is accelerating, even as some countries tout their own improved vaccination programs. ***
India: According to a CNN tally of figures from the Indian Ministry of Health, India reported 295,041 cases of coronavirus and 2,023 deaths Wednesday, its highest rise in cases and highest death increase recorded in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic.
Healthcare and other essential services across India are close to collapse as a second coronavirus wave that started in mid-March tears through the country with devastating speed.
Graveyards are running out of space, hospitals are turning away patients, and desperate families are pleading for help on social media for beds and medicine.
"The volume is humongous," said Jalil Parkar, a senior pulmonary consultant at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai, which had to convert its lobby into an additional Covid ward. "It's just like a tsunami."
"Things are out of control," said Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in New Delhi.
"There's no oxygen. A hospital bed is hard to find. It's impossible to get a test. You have to wait over a week. And pretty much every system that could break down in the health care system has broken down….”
***
Iraq has just topped 1 million Covid-19 cases for the first time after setting the highest single-day record with 8,696 new cases announced on Wednesday, according to the daily health ministry report. The ministry also recorded at least 38 Covid-19 related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total recorded death toll to 15,098.
There are currently 109,447 Covid-19 patients hospitalized across the county, with 517 cases in ICUs.
Iraq started its Covid-19 vaccine rollout on March 27, with 300,000 people having been vaccinated since — less than 1% of the nation’s total population of 40,150,000.
The Iraqi government eased lockdown restrictions last month, saying the country faced serious economic challenges.
***
Brazil: The coronavirus has killed an estimated 1,300 babies in Brazil since the beginning of the pandemic, even though there's overwhelming evidence that Covid-19 rarely kills young children.While data from the Health Ministry suggest that over 800 children under age 9 have died of Covid-19, including about 500 babies, experts say the real death toll is higher because cases are underreported because of a lack of widespread coronavirus testing, according to the BBC, which first reported the story.
***
The Lincoln Project:An Idea Called America (0:55 mins)
Truthless (0:55 mins)
Healthy planet, anyone?
 |
| (c) Our World in Data’s Biodiversity |
A diverse range of mammals once roamed the planet. Since the rise of humans, wild mammal biomass has declined by 85%. Our history with them has been a zero-sum game: we either hunted them or destroyed their habitats with the expansion of agricultural lands.
But, for the first time in human history, we have the opportunity to turn this into a net-sum game: we can produce enough food from a smaller land area, making it possible for them to flourish again. Our World in Data’s Biodiversity research looks at the long-term decline of wild mammals.
***
Environmental Documentary "Current Sea" explores the illegal fishing trade (trawling) in Cambodia and the individuals who risk it all to intervene. The film follows the story of ocean activist and Kep Archipelago Hope Spot Champion Paul Ferber, and investigative journalist, Matt Blomberg, in their dangerous efforts to create a marine conservation area and combat the relentless tide of illegal fishing. Coming soon… meanwhile, watch the promo clip.
The film can be watched in hundreds of countries via Amazon Prime/Amazon, iTunes and Google Play and is subtitled in 8 languages.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
It is wonderful to host my daughter here, albeit for too short a time (she departs on Wednesday next week).She helps me understand how stressed – and angry – I am these days, and how short is my fuse. (Anger, frustration, and isolation are – I guess – hallmarks of life under Covid for a re-pat (repatriating) with a “troubled” extended family….)
My daughter does not pooh-pooh, under-estimate, or undermine how much I’ve tried to ameliorate the difficulties my mother faces nor under-estimate how much resistance I face. What a treat!
She’s great company and has a good sense of humor.
In my daughter’s company, whole half-hours, even hours, pass when I don’t think of the 1.5 years spent away from my California home, 1.5 years lost income, 1.5 years of not seeing family and friends….
Moreover, my daughter is fascinated by tasks I never thought anyone (besides me) would have to complete. For example, now that that Chana – Chinese designed and built pick-up truck – is repaired, my daughter intends to help me load that vehicle with metal items and drive them to the scrap yard. She’s also looking forward to driving a load of unusable items – aka “junk” - to the local dump, or “landfill” as it is known around here. Landfills a la South Africa are often located in former lovely valleys commandeered to filled to the brim and higher with rubbish. Landfills are frequented by “rag pickers,” self-employed workers who glean what they can from the debris, clean, repair, and sell it. The rag-picking life is tough, but people here are happy to have the work and the opportunity to make a small living at trolling through the castoffs of other, more materially advantaged people.
She’s great company and has a good sense of humor.
In my daughter’s company, whole half-hours, even hours, pass when I don’t think of the 1.5 years spent away from my California home, 1.5 years lost income, 1.5 years of not seeing family and friends….
Moreover, my daughter is fascinated by tasks I never thought anyone (besides me) would have to complete. For example, now that that Chana – Chinese designed and built pick-up truck – is repaired, my daughter intends to help me load that vehicle with metal items and drive them to the scrap yard. She’s also looking forward to driving a load of unusable items – aka “junk” - to the local dump, or “landfill” as it is known around here. Landfills a la South Africa are often located in former lovely valleys commandeered to filled to the brim and higher with rubbish. Landfills are frequented by “rag pickers,” self-employed workers who glean what they can from the debris, clean, repair, and sell it. The rag-picking life is tough, but people here are happy to have the work and the opportunity to make a small living at trolling through the castoffs of other, more materially advantaged people.
***
We went zip lining in the Karkloof canopy: |
| A view of the Karkloof from a high platform in the canopy. (click to enlarge) |
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| The zip line mystery: who will appear through the virgin foliage? (click to enlarge) |
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| Poster of the different indigenous trees found in the Karkloof canopy. (click to enlarge and read) |
We also saw a solitary Samango monkey. Alas, my Canon camera choose that moment to disobey my finger pressure on the shutter. Alas, I took no photo of the rare primate, but Google to the rescue
Here I am, zip lining onto a platform.
***
Getting even darker here…Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 14: sunrise 6:14am; sunset 5:43pm.
April 22: sunrise 6:22am; sunset 5:32pm.
