Mothers Speak about War and Terror

Sunday, May 9, 2021

What if?

As I prepare to return to California, I’m hypersensitive to the reality of contracting Covid-19. For more than a year, I’ve hunkered down, worn a mask, kept my distance from other humans, and, luckily, not contracted the potentially fatal malady. I’m highly motivated to remain coronavirus-free.

What if that’s not enough?

What if, after purchasing my tickets and various travel insurance policies, my pre-flight Covid test signals I’m positive for the virus?
What if I’m forced to remain here?

Hmmm, best to work at keeping a level head…

News blues

United States:
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said he has “no doubt” that the number of Americans killed by COVID-19 is much higher than what has been officially reported, after a recent study counted nearly double the amount recorded by federal health officials.
It’s estimated up to 900,000 Americans have dies from Covid as “Public health experts agree that official COVID-19 death tolls are undercounts, but there is disagreement over how high the actual tolls are.”

***

Africa:

Africa has suffered about three million COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic—at least officially. The continent’s comparatively low number of reported cases has puzzled scientists and prompted many theories about its exceptionalism, from its young population to its countries’ rapid and aggressive lockdowns.
But numerous seroprevalence surveys, which use blood tests to identify whether people have antibodies from prior infection with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), point to a significant underestimation of African countries’ COVID burden. Undercounting could increase the risk of the disease spreading widely, hinder vaccine rollout and uptake, and ultimately threaten global efforts to control the pandemic, experts warn. Wherever the virus is circulating—especially in regions with little access to vaccines—new mutations are likely to arise, and it is crucial to identify them quickly.

Statistics from around the world concur. View a chart mapping excess deaths and track cases.

As covid-19 has spread around the world, people have become grimly familiar with the death tolls that their governments publish each day. Unfortunately, the total number of fatalities caused by the pandemic may be even higher, for several reasons. First, the official statistics in many countries exclude victims who did not test positive for coronavirus before dying—which can be a substantial majority in places with little capacity for testing. Second, hospitals and civil registries may not process death certificates for several days, or even weeks, which creates lags in the data. And third, the pandemic has made it harder for doctors to treat other conditions and discouraged people from going to hospital, which may have indirectly caused an increase in fatalities from diseases other than covid-19.

Further tracking Covid-19:

Healthy planet, anyone?

To reiterate what most humans know but cannot figure out how, collectively, to address: fossil fuels, cattle and rotting waste produce greenhouse gas responsible for 30% of global heating

Slashing methane emissions is vital to tackling the climate crisis and rapidly curbing the extreme weather already hitting people across the world today, according to a new UN report…that found that methane emissions could be almost halved by 2030 using existing technology and at reasonable cost. A significant proportion of the actions would actually make money, such as capturing methane gas leaks at fossil fuel sites.

Read “Cutting methane emissions is quickest way to slow global heating – UN report” >>

***

A reminder: “The explosive growth of the human population—from 2.5 billion to 6 billion since the second half of the 20th century—may have already started changing how infectious diseases emerge”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I began my birthday – Saturday - paying more attention to the garden at my mother’s house. Since taking the house off the market, my enthusiasm for gardening has returned and I weeded, cleared, and sorted through piles of discarded wood, most of which is recyclable.

After that, I visited my mother at the Care Center (tight lockdown reigns again and I needed prior permission to visit). She was tired and, after dropping asleep twice in ten minutes, I let her catch up on her sleep.
I returned to my own place and continued trimming the overgrown hedge. My initial plan had been to purchase an electric hedge trimmer and carve animal shapes into the hedge. Indeed, I started with a bison, or a wildebeest, depending on one’s perspective, then, put aside my hedge aspirations as more pressing tasks demanded attention. I returned to hedge clipping after a contract gardener failed to show up. Hedge clipping, particularly for a hedge with branches reaching above the roof line, is hard work. I divided the work over two days. It’s finished, now, though the hedge has the semi-bald, chopped look of a child’s doll after the child discovers scissors and haircuts.

Ah well, a gal does her best….

***

A SA postal service story: a Christmas card arrived for my mother. Posted in England well before Christmas, 2020 it arrived 6 May, 2021.

***

This year, my solitary birthday was one-of-a-kind. Sunlight poured the French doors into the living room/kitchen (shut tight to prevent dogs from entering and begging). As I cooked a delicious meal, I sipped a claret wine (similar to a cabernet) and, by lunch, I was nicely buzzed. (A glassful does it: I’m not much of a wine drinker.) A wine buzz is conducive to reviewing the past year and I concluded 2020/2021 has been a “learning experience par excellence.”
Red red wine, Bob Marley version (5:30 mins)

***

I found a small gecko among my blankets as I made my bed. I tossed a sock over him/her/it and, as I laid the creature on the windowsill, wondered, first, how it become entangled in my blankets and, second, if a gecko can find its way into my bed, could a snake do so, too?
Hmmm, best not to overthink….
Meantime, days are sunny, bright, and warm. Nights? Not so much. Late fall means shorter days and less sunlight…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.
May 10: sunrise 6:33am; sunset 5:17pm.

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Choices

Worldwide (Map)
May 6, 2021 – 154,775,000,0xx confirmed infections; 3,237,590 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 56,188,000 confirmed infections; 1,348,600 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 41,150,000 confirmed infections; 1,130.410 deaths

US (Map)
May 6, 2021 – 32,557,300,xx confirmed infections; 579,300 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 11,525,600 confirmed infections; 250,485 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 8,333,595 confirmed infections; 222,100 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
May 6, 2021 – 1,588,225 confirmed infections; 54,560 deaths
November 19, 2020 – 757,145 confirmed infections; 20,556 deaths
October 22, 2020 – 708,360 confirmed infections; 18,750 deaths

Tracking Covid-19:

***

News blues

Over the past six months, a battle has been brewing over intellectual property and patents on vaccines. Some – many US Congress people included, who receive corporate political donations from pharmaceutical companies – find the idea of sharing human ingenuity during a pandemic anathema and refuse to back the trend. Others, including US President Biden – back the suggestion to share patents.

India and South Africa were the leading voices in a group of about 60 countries which for the last six months has been trying to get the patents on vaccines set aside. However, they met with strong opposition from the previous US administration of Donald Trump, the UK and the EU.
… Biden, has taken a different tack… backed a waiver during the 2020 presidential campaign and reiterated his support on Wednesday. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) called the move a "monumental moment" in the fight against Covid-19….”

Let’s hear a giant cheer for sharing….

Local news blues

The post back on January 10, 2021 – Covid closes in - mentioned two cases of Covid-19 infection in the Care Center where my mother resides. Details of patients were confidential, but the grapevine reported both patients recovered.
During my visit last Monday, my mother complained that Center caregivers wear masks and that she, my mother, cannot hear what they’re saying. (Ironic, as even with my ear an inch from my mother’s mouth, I cannot hear what she is saying….) I explained to her, again, the need for masks, updated her on the pandemic’s effects upon India, and reminded her that even the carefully monitored Center had experienced two infections.
The resident sitting in the Laz-i-boy next to my mother overheard my explanation (through my own mask) and said, “I was one of the residents infected!”
About 70-years-old, a recent amputee, and suffering skin cancer on his bald scalp – he described that experience: no sense of smell; no interest in food – “tasted horribly salty or horribly sugary”; unable to breath without additional oxygen; painful lungs; general malaise.
He’s the first person I’ve met with firsthand experience.

***

On May 4, I received an email from the Care Center with the following excerpts:

As of last week, our staff began receiving COVID Vaccinations… and will continue to do so until all are vaccinated.
Yesterday, however, one of our clinic Sisters tested positive. She’s been sick since Saturday and is isolated at home. While not a Care Centre staff member, she interacts with our staff and some residents and her office is located in the Care Centre.
Two Care Centre residents who recently visited with family members – and those family members – also tested positive. Both residents will isolate for the next days, both are doing well, and neither shows symptoms.
Random COVID tests are regularly conducted in the Care Centre and we are happy to advise that there are no positive cases at this time.
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. If you wish to see your Mom please phone to make an appointment or to advise if you plan to take her out.
Due to recent exposures… we must return to strict lockdown until May 12, 2021…

The email goes on to describe the tighter restrictions.
Alas, not only is it Mother’s Day, it’s also my birthday. Moreover, I’ve yet to share my travel plans with my mother – or that my brother was admitted to hospital.
I’m highly motivated to pass my pre-flight Covid test and return to California. I have no intention of exposing myself to an infection that could, potentially, keep me here.
Thank the gods Care Center staff accept and play WhatsApp audio messages to residents. I frequently communicate with my mother via WhatsApp – and will continue to do so in California. Nevertheless, it feels ‘cold’ to inform her via audio message that 1) her beloved son is in hospital, and 2) that I plan to board 3 planes – in Pietermaritzburg, Johannesburg, and Heathrow – and skedaddle back to California.
I’ve requested permission to visit my mother on my birthday and, weather permitting, take her for a wheelchair ride. Depending on how she’s doing, I will break the news to her in person.

***

If all goes well, on May 11, I will make an online appointment at any of several clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive the first of two free Pfizer “shots” (vaccinations). After the initial shot, onsite clinicians will make an appointment for my second shot 3 weeks later.
Never have I more looked forward to shots!

***

The Lincoln Project:

Mourning One Year (1:52 mins)
This message (0:45 mins)

Swamp Thing (0:56 mins)
Lincoln Project Town Hall – Republican Party (1:20 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Autumn/fall days are here: cooler evenings and nights and warm sunlit days with a tendency toward chilly in the shade. This is a glorious time of year in the Midlands. Snakes like it too.
I head the domestic worker shriek, “Inyoka!”
Snake!
I grabbed my cellphone camera and dashed upstairs where a lovely, slender, 12-to-14-inch bright green snake coiled in the passageway.

Likely a juvenile, its eyes and jaw appeared a lighter shade of green. Google suggested it was a Common Green Snake.
I’ve seen far fewer snakes in the Midlands than I saw when I grew up in Valley of 1000 Hills of KwaZulu Natal. There, one regularly – daily? - spotted large, venomous snakes – puff- and night-adders, boomslang, mambas, ringhals (spitting cobra) along with occasional non-venomous mole and grass snakes.
Five years, off and on, in the Midlands, and I’ve seen six snakes: two gorgeous rhombic night adders, two green snakes (likely Common Green Snakes), and two Common Brown River Snakes. (Does “common” refer to the shade of brown, the shade of the river, the frequency of the snake, all the above? LOL!)

According to herpetologists, snakes are viewed more frequently during autumn as they seek shelter for their winter hibernation.

***

In consultation with my mother, we agreed that seven months trying to sell this house with little success, we’d take it off the market for now.
The decision is a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. The stress, uncertainty, and anger I’ve experienced for months is disappearing. Moreover, I’m enjoying working in the garden again, feel creative, generous with my time and energy. I’m once more nourished by pruning, weeding, transplanting, and imagining what may unexpectedly sprout in the garden after winter.
I depart for California in 25 days… with yet many more “Miles to go before I sleep…”. My mojo is back….

***

Since purchasing return tickets, my California friend and I regularly discuss a list of food items he will purchase from Trader Joe’s and deposit in my vehicle when I return to my houseboat. (Monday’s post outlines safety protocols he insists upon before allowing me near him or his home .)
At first, we argued about how each of us wanted me to format the grocery list. He wanted a straight Word-formatted list. My preference had been to create a fancy, bells and whistles list that, as I worked on it, allowed me to imagine the look, feel, and taste of foods I’ve missed for more than 485 days.

First on that list?

Laceys Cookies Dark Chocolate Almond

I’ve been gone so long from California that I had not realized Google provides photos and descriptions of TJ items! (TJ’s website is not half as nourishing as Google-searching for items.)

Since that discovery, no more arguing over formatting of my grocery list. He’ll get explicit photos to guide him and I have the satisfaction of food porn until I’m driving the real thing to my houseboat.
(FYI for readers unfamiliar with the US and its hype-consumerism. American shoppers have multiple brands and multiple versions of most food items: multiple choices of dairy, for example, from full fat, low fat, non-fat, even non-dairy. Multiple diets: “junk”, healthy, meat eater, veggie, vegan, non-GMO, non-dairy, etc.
In America, shopping for groceries requires full attention, total concentration, scrutinizing of labels, scratching, sniffing… and buying, usually constrained not by actual need but by how much money one can afford to spend.
Freedom. Ain’t it great? (Confusing, too. I’ve heard shagging-dog stories about people from other countries being overwhelmed by the stress of such variety choice – and high-tailing it “back home”….)

***

Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.
May 6: sunrise 6:30am; sunset 5:20pm.

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Fly me to SFO…

News blues

First batch of Pfizer vaccine arrives in South Africa

***

Tracking Covid-19:

***

Recent political ad from MeidasTouch: Voices (1:15 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Most of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources: by weight, 70 percent to 80 percent is plastic that is transported from land to the sea via rivers or coastlines. The other 20 percent to 30 percent comes from marine sources such as fishing nets, lines, ropes, and abandoned vessels.

…higher-resolution modeling of global riverine plastics… found that rivers emitted around 1 million tonnes of plastics into the oceans in 2015 (with an uncertainty ranging from 0.8 to 2.7 million tonnes). Around one-third of the 100,000 river outlets that they modeled contributed to this. The other two-thirds emitted almost no plastic to the ocean. It’s an important point because we might think that most, if not all, rivers are contributing to the problem. This is not the case.
But, importantly, the latest research suggests that smaller rivers play a much larger role than previously thought. In this chart
(c) Meijer et al

we see the comparison of the latest research (in red) with the two earlier studies which mapped global riverine inputs. This chart shows how many of the top-emitting rivers (on the x-axis) make up a given percentage of plastic inputs (y-axis). Note that the number of rivers on the x-axis is given on a logarithmic scale.
… the latest research suggests that the top ten emitting rivers contribute a much smaller amount than previously thought: just 18% of plastics compared to 56% and 91% from previous studies. And to account for 80% of river plastics we need to include the top 1,656 rivers. This compares to previous studies which suggested the largest five or 162 rivers were responsible for 80%.
This makes a massive difference to how we tackle plastic pollution. If five rivers were responsible for most of the problem then we should focus the majority of our efforts there. A targeted approach. But if this comprises thousands of rivers we’re going to need to cast a much wider net of mitigation efforts.

Read “Where does the plastics in our oceans come from?” >>
The Ocean Cleanup Project’s beautiful interactive map encourages you to explore plastic inputs from each of the world’s rivers.
Very interesting data. Most interesting to me? Given its consumer-orientation, the US and US rivers are, by far, not emitters of plastics via rivers.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I did it! I booked tickets to return to San Francisco Bay Area. I’m going home!
Listen to oldies on this happy topic:

Going mobile (3:36 mins)
I got a ticket to ride (3 2:55 mins)
Coming into Los Angeles (3:03 mins)
Fly like an eagle (3:15 mins)
I believe I can fly (5:30 mins)
Learning to fly (4:22 mins)

My plan after I land in SFO?

Head to my daughter’s place to hole up for the night. Next day, go for the first appointment of two for the Pfizer vaccinations. My daughter will make the appointment for me before I arrive.
After that, still wearing face shield and mask, I'll head to the BART train station nearest the friend who has kept my vehicle in good shape during my absence.
Among the first to have received the two-step Pfizer vaccination, this friend has made clear that – until I’ve had both vaccinations - I’m not invited to stay in his home. He plans to shop for and place essential groceries in my van and, maintaining needed social distance at the train station, point out the location of my vehicle so I can drive to my houseboat.

***

The grim humor of flying commercial in South Africa? Airlines carrying travelers on the short, one hour flight to Johannesburg offer insurance to “Receive a full refund of airfare and taxes if the airline you are flying with is liquidated prior to departure.”
This is the reality of political corruption and the results of politicians draining the country’s coffers, particularly SOEs - State-owned Enterprises - of vitally needed funds in a country with 55.75 percent unemployed and largely uneducated youth.
Recent stories of endemic corruption in South Africa: "Millions Out, Billions In (Part One): Businessman Thulani Majola’s investment in ANC and EFF kept everyone sweet "
Even as the Zondo commission warns, “ANC must confront 'painful truths' about its non-response to state capture…” news regularly breaks about of Eskom’s ongoing corruption. I’ve railed about Eskom in this blog. It’s the SOE that regularly imposes “load shedding” – power outages - even as it seeks to raise the cost of electricity. The latest, “Power utility’s R178 000 000 000 dodgy tender tsunami.”
Cry, the beloved country?

***

Longer nights, shorter days.…
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 15: sunrise 6:18am; sunset 5:39pm.
April 25: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.
May 3: sunrise 6:29am; sunset 5:22pm.

Friday, April 30, 2021

SOS India

News blues

“What’s happening in India is an indication that South Africans can’t become complacent and think that we are going to get natural immunity and be protected."
Related news: Recent numbers in South Africa include 1,674 Covid-19 more infections, for a cumulative total of infections since the start of the pandemic at 1,581,210.
Over the past 24-hours, the tally of deaths in Eastern Cape stands at three, Free State one, Gauteng seven , KwaZulu-Natal four, Limpopo 0, Mpumalanga three, North West 0, Northern Cape 0 and Western Cape one.
The total number of deaths in SA stands at 54,350; recoveries at 1,505,620; number of tests conducted to date, 10,654,870.

***

Thirty-nine percent of the US adult population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s more than 100 million fully vaccinated Americans. Congrats, America and Americans! Maybe time to share the success and the bounty? The US and other wealthy countries appear hesitatant on this logical conclusion. The BBC’s podcast “How to vaccinate the world.”

***

Tracking Covid-19:

***

An excellent view of life in and out of the US from the perspective of an American re-pat… (30:50 mins)

The Lincoln Project:

First 100 (0:55 mins)
Florida man (1:35 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Peek into our a-mazing planet and its critters: Starlings over Rome – 10 million of ‘em… But… there’s the poop problem…. (5:00 mins)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

On her flights to South Africa, my daughter had an extensive stopover in Doha, Qatar. (This, to avoid a stopover at Oliver Tambo airport in Johannesburg where her risk of exposure to Covid was, she deemed, greater than it was in Doha.) She reports Doha transited a group of Japanese travelers in the airport outfitted in haz mat suits.
Her return flight to California, again through Doha via Johannesburg, also had a group of travelers outfitted in haz mat suits. Judging by what showed of their faces, she determined the travelers were Indian and surmised they were traveling to India. Smart travelers. If haz mat suits are appropriate anywhere, they’re de rigueur for India:

…reporting 379,257 new cases on Thursday, a new global record and 3,645 deaths, the highest number of Covid-19 deaths the country has reported in a single day…. The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluations suggests the death toll could peak at more than 13,000 a day - more than four times the current daily death toll.

Be safe, travelers! (Countries around the world are banning flights coming from India and/or changing travel rules and regulations to become more stringent for Indian travelers everywhere.)
Recover soon, India!

***

Temperatures here in KZN dropped over the last few days and its getting darker and darker…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 18: sunrise 5:00am; sunset 6:11pm.
March 29: sunrise 6:07am; sunset 5:58pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 18: sunrise 6:19am; sunset 5:36pm.
May 1: sunrise 6:27am; sunset 5:24pm.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Consequences

Worldwide (Map)
April 29, 2021 – 149,206,600 confirmed infections; 3,146,300 deaths
December 3, 2020 – 64,469,710 confirmed infections; 1,492,100 deaths

US (Map)
April 29, 2021 – 32,229,350 confirmed infections; 574,350 deaths
December 3, 2020 – 13,920,000 confirmed infections; 273,370 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal)
April 29, 2021 – 1,578,500 confirmed infections; 54,290 deaths
December 3, 2020 – 796,475 confirmed infections; 21,710 deaths

Tracking Covid-19:

News blues

India: “We are facing very bad times, very bad times….” (2:00 mins).

India’s overall rate of infection is lower than the US but the US – crazy politics and all - is, at last, getting a handle on the pandemic. India is not, at least not yet. Scenes in video above give a sense of how bad things can get when a pandemic has the upper hand ….

"I'm afraid this is not the peak," said Dr. Giridhara R. Babu of the Public Health Foundation of India on Monday. "The kind of data that we see, (we are) at least two to three weeks away from the peak."
Others say India may be approaching the peak now, sooner than Babu's estimate -- but with so many ill and so few supplies available, the country will see many more deaths before the second wave subsides.

Moreover, India is the world’s largest vaccine producer and, that it is struggling to overcome its latest COVID-19 surge is everyone’s problem. “Ninety-two developing nations rely on India, home to the Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine maker, for the doses to protect their own populations, a supply now constrained by India’s domestic obligations.”
The people paying attention know that coronavirus is a symptom of an over-stressed planet out of whack. The chamber of horrors in which India finds itself was not caused by any one man, or any single government. It’s a symptom of prevailing worldviews – and “What Happens When Rich People Do Nothing.” (I suggest an edit to this article’s title: “…when rich and/or clueless and/or feckless people do nothing…”

***

Meanwhile, over the last week, California has reported an average of 1,901 new cases per day, a 34 percent decrease from two weeks ago….

***

By Wednesday, South Africa recorded 849 Covid-19 new cases in 24-hours with a cumulative total of 1,576,320.

Deaths, broken down by province: Eastern Cape five, Free State five, Gauteng three, KwaZulu-Natal one, Limpopo five, Mpumalanga 0, North West 0, Northern Cape two and Western Cape 17, bringing the total number of deaths since the star of the pandemic in the country to 54,186.

***

The Lincoln Project’s latest ads remind the public of the recent past:
His Party (3:00 mins)
McCarthy (0:45 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

I am a longtime member on a Restoration Advisory Board that encourages local residents to overview the cleanup of toxic chemicals from the superfund site that is the former Naval Air Station, Alameda. As such, I’ve become aware of the volume of residual chemicals that the US Department of the Navy dumped on the 2,000-plus acres of landfill on the edges of the City of Alameda, California.
My research suggests that dumping toxics, by design or carelessness, has become a feature of “doing business” in our world. Various branches of the US government and business appear to act upon the aphorism “outta sight, outta mind.” Take the sampling up and down the California coast, for a regional example:

Dumping and/or dispersing of toxic substances is a feature of American life. Nevertheless, it’s still shocking to learn that the Environmental Protection Agency, the US department tasked with protecting the environment is so, well, lax.

Starting in 1973, the EPA issued chemical giants permits to discard thousands of drums of industrial chemical waste at the offshore site. The pollutants included chlorinated hydrocarbons, or CHCs, a family of toxic chemicals that can persist in the environment and become concentrated in marine organisms, potentially migrating up the food chain and posing a risk to human health. In the decades since, oil companies have built up a vast network of wells and seafloor pipelines in the same portion of the Gulf. The area’s largest producer is Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, which operates three platform rigs and three drillships in what’s known as the Mars-Ursa oil basin. Shell also happens to be one of the companies that received permits from the EPA to dump huge quantities of industrial chemical waste in the Gulf in the 1970s, albeit at a different location.

Read more >>

I’ve written much on this blog about the damage caused by toxics. For postings, see:

I’ve many posts of toxics and the effects on people and planet. Search the blog for terms such as “mothers”, “Vietnam”, “war”, “toxic”, “agent orange”, “RAB”, and similar.
Sometimes I’m tempted to believe we humans have despoiled out planet beyond the possibility of cleanup. But I cannot afford, emotionally, psychologically, sor piritually to hold onto that belief.
We must clean up our only home.
Knowledge is power. It begins with you.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My daughter is on her way back to California. Boo hoo! I already miss her. We enjoyed our two weeks together.
Seventy-two hours before her departure, she complied with her pre-flight Covid test. After that, we mulled how to spend her final days. This, after she’d driven the Chana bakkie to a local recycling plant where we recycled piles of various gauge electrical cable. (Driving is a thrill for her: on the “wrong side of the road,” and “steering wheel on the wrong side of the vehicle,” and “Huh, I’m not used to driving a manual transmission….”
As a passenger, I’m terrified: IMHO, too few thoughtful drivers in this country.)
After mulling a visit to Pietermaritzburg’s botanical gardens, we settled, instead, on driving towards the Drakensberg, to the village of Underberg. (I’d hoped we’d have had enough time together actually to spend a night at one of the many Drakensberg hotels or B&Bs. Alas, we simply ran out of time. Too many trips to scrap yards and recycling centers?)
The restaurant I’d visited once in the past, was hosting a private party so we sought another place. Slim pickings. We drove beyond Underberg to The Olde Duck, sat at an outdoor table under a willow tree, and enjoyed the view of the “’berg” on a perfect fall/autumn day.
We also visited the botanical gardens on the public holiday known as Freedom Day – a day to celebrate and contemplate election day 1994, the first time many – the majority? – of South Africans had the freedom to vote in an election. (That election resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming the first African elected as president in South Africa.)
The day my daughter departed South Africa, an audio message was sent to the community from a local security company reporting a hold up of a vehicle transporting at least 31 prisoners.
The message urged caution and described an incident that had occurred approximately 8 miles away from our town. Apparently, five men holding AK47s had stopped the prisoner transport vehicle, picked out and armed with AK 47s, had attacked a prison vehicle transporting a group of prisoners, and left the remaining prisoners to fend for themselves. Most had taken advantage of the situation and escaped the vehicle and were on the run.
By the time I returned from Shaka International Airport – about six hours after the prison break – six prisoners had turned themselves into police custody. Never a dull moment in KZN!

***

Long nights, shorter days here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 14: sunrise 5:58am; sunset 6:15pm.
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 29: sunrise 6:26am; sunset 5:26pm.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Vaccine realities

News blues

Dr Fauci on where things are vis-à-vis vaccine, vaccination programs, booster shots. (From an American perspective but globally applicable. 10:55 mins)

***

Good to know: COVID vaccines help produce antibodies ― and trigger another immune response that also fights the virus.

Much of the research regarding immunity against COVID-19 (which can be achieved either through vaccination or natural infection) has looked at antibodies. These little fighters go after the coronavirus and prevent it from binding to cells in our body and creating an infection. Some lab studies have found that antibodies don’t do as good of a job fighting variants, which has raised fears that the vaccines might not be able to keep us safe.
But antibodies don’t tell the full story. … The immune system is very complex, and in addition to antibodies, there’s a whole other aspect, known as the cell-mediated immune response, that’s just as important…. This part helps create something called T-cells, which are crucial to preventing infections. The COVID-19 vaccines don’t just generate antibodies; they also prompt your immune system to produce T-cells.
“T-cells are the main line of defense against the virus,” said Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist with UCSF. T-cells can identify many different parts of the coronavirus (some studies say up to 52 parts) and get rid of any cells that are carrying the virus. The cell-mediated immune response can also help our systems produce new antibodies if need be.
Mutations or not, T-cells will still be able to detect the virus and jump into action. …
So, why aren’t we all talking about how awesome T-cells are? They’re really hard to measure… [but] findings are exciting.
For one thing, all of the vaccine clinical trials found that participants produced strong T-cell responses after vaccination…
There’s also evidence that the variants probably aren’t going to have a very meaningful effect on the immunity we get from being fully vaccinated. Two recent studies found the T-cell response was unaffected by variants, and another paper found that while some antibodies diminished against variants, our T-cell response held up just fine.
When it comes to COVID-19, a robust T-cell response is the difference between a mild infection and serious disease, research shows. The cells can’t always prevent an infection, but they may be able to clear it out quickly so you don’t get badly sick.

Healthy planet, anyone?

The helping hand strikes again. Or overkill leads to overkill…
Trying too hard, UK retailer Marks & Spencer’s “do good for the environment” effort backfires. Turns out, releasing 30 million honeybees into the British countryside is not helpful to the environment – more likely, this effort “could damage ecosystems and deprive wild pollinators of valuable food sources.”

[M&S] placed up to 1,000 beehives on 25 farms to produce single-estate honey for customers as part of its five-year Farming with Nature programme. The bees are in cedar beehives, many made in the 1930s, with plenty of nectar nearby….
But the announcement has been met with dismay by some bee experts and conservationists. “Such and [sic] opportunity missed M&S, this is greenwashing or beewashing at its most blatant,” tweeted Gill Perkins, chief executive of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
Critics say M&S should focus on restoring native habitats instead of releasing millions of honeybees, which are just one of the nearly 270 bee species in the UK, many of which are in sharp decline. “They are actually ending up doing something that may damage the environment,” said Matt Shardlow, head of the conservation charity Buglife.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

My daughter and I visited the community’s weekly Karkloof Farmers Market, purchased goods – goat cheese and blue cheese for me, locally crafted shoes for her – then sat outside for a cup of rooibos tea. All visitors to the market wore masks.
After that, breakfast at the Yellow Wood Café. The café, one of my favorite local historic sites, was hand built from local stone and reminds me of my childhood in a similar era building. My mother’s old place, largely hand built in local stone by my grandfather, was torn down to make room for industry.
A screen shot blurb for the Yellow wood Café website:

Wildebeest

With the Howick Falls in the background, we watched a wildebeest leap over a fence to graze with the café’s domestic animals – donkeys, Shetland ponies, sheep, and pigs. Howick Falls in the background.

Howick Falls was once a tourist destination of note. Ditto the Howick Falls Hotel and the various historical buildings nearby and across the road. These days, tourist buses seldom appear, tourists are rare, even tourist-centric craftspeople are thin in the ground. The area, generally, presents an atmosphere of desperation and depression.

An information structure near the foot of the observation platform displays a poster titled “Howick Facts and Figures.”

A closeup of the facts and figures, however, lists a litany of deaths and suicides over the years!

Hmmm....

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Day by day, dark and darker in the southern hemisphere…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 2: sunrise 5:50am; sunset 6:29pm.
March 16: sunrise 5:59am; sunset 6:13pm.
March 22: sunrise 6:03am; sunset 6:05pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 14: sunrise 6:14am; sunset 5:43pm.
April 22: sunrise 6:22am; sunset 5:32pm.

Friday, April 23, 2021

Mixed bag

News blues

India. A disaster’s unfolding in India with 6 million Covid infections - second only to the United States in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people. The country recorded 332,730 new cases on Friday, marking the highest daily case count globally. The United States is second, having recorded a high of 300,310 cases on January 2.
Additionally, more than a dozen people died when an oxygen-fed fire ripped through a coronavirus ward fire in a hospital intensive care unit and killed 13 COVID-19 patients in the Virar area on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Read the article >>

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South Africa plans to begin issuing Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine to the general public next month after settling a contractual dispute with the U.S. drugmaker.

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Tracking Covid-19:

Healthy planet, anyone?

Joe Biden pledges a drastic reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2030… but no specific targets for agriculture – accounting for 10 percent of all U.S. emissions with discharges mostly stem from fertilizers, livestock and manure.
A Fact Sheet focusing on Biden’s climate pledge…

…notes that agriculture is both a source of greenhouse gases and potentially a key piece of the solution by capturing and storing heat-trapping carbon dioxide in forests and farmland. Environmental advocates … say the White House needs to address both sides of that equation to make a dent in global warming.
“It’s difficult to make concrete pledges in terms of using ag as a carbon sink… you can be more concrete around reducing fertilizer use [and] trying to address emissions around these large-scale hog and dairy operations.”
[Yet the] Biden administration is leaning heavily toward awarding financial bonuses for farmers, ranchers and foresters who retool their operations to suck carbon from the atmosphere. The White House blueprint specifically calls for “incentives” to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions through new farm practices and technologies.

Read “White House dances around a big contributor to climate change: Agriculture” >>

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President Cyril Ramaphosa told the delegates of US President Joe Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate that emissions in South Africa would begin to fall by 2025, rather than peak and plateau that same year, adding that South Africa had introduced new target ranges that were more ambitious than before.

“Firstly the top of the 2030 range has been reduced by 28% or 174 million metric tonnes, which is a very significant reduction. Second, according to our previous nationally determined contribution, South Africa’s emissions will peak and plateau in 2025 and decline only from 2035. … South Africa’s emissions will begin to decline from 2025, effectively shifting our emissions decline 10 years earlier.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Like me, my daughter eschews tourist-rich spots and heads to shopping malls only under duress.
A dream daughter, she accompanied me to the local scrap metal recycling yard yesterday and, after taking the Covid test required for air travel on Monday, we plan to visit the local landfill site. She’s a chip off ye olde blocke!
Today, we head to the local farmers market …then back home to display on the lawn near the public road items such as planks. Passers by stop and glean what they want from the collection. Such recycling – home grown and localized – is a perfect way of recycling goods too useful for the landfill yet no quite good enough to sell.

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Getting darker here…
Feb 26: sunrise 5:47am; sunset 6:33pm.
March 18: sunrise 5:00am; sunset 6:11pm.
April 1: sunrise 6:09am; sunset 5:54pm.
April 24: sunrise 6:23am; sunset 5:30pm.