Deadly diseases from wildlife thrive when nature is destroyed, study finds

Rats and bats that host pandemic pathogens like Covid-19 increase in damaged ecosystems, analysis shows

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The BR163 highway in Moraes Almeida district in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, September 2019. Photograph: Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty ImagesDamian Carrington Environment editor@dpcarringtonPublished onThu 6 Aug 2020 01.00 AEST

The human destruction of natural ecosystems increases the numbers of rats, bats and other animals that harbour diseases that can lead to pandemics such as Covid-19, a comprehensive analysis has found.

The research assessed nearly 7,000 animal communities on six continents and found that the conversion of wild places into farmland or settlements often wipes out larger species. It found that the damage benefits smaller, more adaptable creatures that also carry the most pathogens that can pass to humans.

The assessment found that the populations of animals hosting what are known as zoonotic diseases were up to 2.5 times bigger in degraded places, and that the proportion of species that carry these pathogens increased by up to 70% compared with in undamaged ecosystems.Advertisementhttps://282d6174f0201c57fdbf1cd1a11453c2.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

Humans populations are being increasingly hit by diseases that originate in wild animals, such as HIV, Zika, Sars and Nipah virus. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, there have been a series of warnings from the UN and WHO that the world must tackle the cause of these outbreaks – the destruction of nature – and not just the health and economic symptoms.

In June, experts said the Covid-19 pandemic was an “SOS signal for the human enterprise”, while in April the world’s leading biodiversity experts said even more deadly disease outbreaks were likely unless nature was protected.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-04/bushfire-royal-commission-hears-former-fire-chiefs-2019-warning/12522382?WT.ac=localnews_northcoast

 

Toxic Glyphosate in NZ manuka honey

Weed-killer glyphosate have been found in New Zealand honey, prompting concern for the high-value mānuka industry.

Their first round of testing took place in 2015 and 2016 and saw 300 mostly raw and unprocessed samples gathered from all over the country. They later found 67 of them, or 22.3 per cent, contained small traces of glyphosate and 5 of those, or 1.7 per cent, were over our regulatory…

 

and with conspiracy theories amok here in our shire have a read of this from New Zealand.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/300067665/coronavirus-massey-university-and-stuff-survey-shows-social-media-and-covid19-conspiracy-theory-links

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-27/gospers-mountain-mega-blaze-investigation/12472044?nw=0

https://www.smh.com.au/national/firefighting-tactics-should-change-as-climate-warms-say-fire-chiefs-20200729-p55gom.html

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2. Class actions

Roundup class action

We have launched a class action against Monsanto on behalf of all people who have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) by reason of using or being exposed to Roundup or Monsanto-branded products that contained glyphosate (Roundup Products).

We allege that Monsanto was negligent in selling Roundup Products which they knew (or ought to have known) could cause cancer. We also allege that the Roundup Products had a safety defect and were not of acceptable quality under consumer protection legislation.

On 1^st May 2020 the Federal Court determined that the class action run by Maurice Blackburn would be heard before any other class action about Roundup.

https://www.mauriceblackburn.com.au/class-actions/current-class-actions/roundup-class-action/

Today its raining and I haven’t been able to go to market. So I have found a fine old cotton sheet and will have to hand sew some elastic ear loops in.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-24/do-masks-cause-co2-poisoning-do-face-shields-work-safety/12476314

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/18/james-lovelock-the-biosphere-and-i-are-both-in-the-last-1-per-cent-of-our-lives

Australian Indigenous Bees

Simon MulvanyMelbourne, Australia

JUL 10, 2020 — 

Australian artist www.ginacranson.com has put together an indigenous bee poster for all states in Australia.

Australia has over 1500 native bees the majority are solitary bees. This means unlike the honeybee they live alone or in small families.

Some indigenous bees like the blue banded bee are superior pollinators as they are able to utilise buzz pollination. Some flowers hide their pollen inside tiny capsules. A Blue Banded Bee can grasp a flower of this type and shiver her flight muscles, causing the pollen to shoot out of the capsule. She can then collect the pollen for her nest and carry it from flower to flower, pollinating the flowers. Quite a few of our native Australian flowers require buzz pollination 

I have found the poster to be a great educational tool that fill children with curiosity, ,awe ,wonder and knowledge. 

I would like to think every Australian would have an opportunity of learning about these bees.

Please support Australia’s indigenous bees and local Australian artist by buying a poster.

A quote rrom E.B. White.

I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for humans if we spent less time proving we can out smart Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority.

 

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bayer said it had agreed to delay a proposed settlement to deal with future claims relating to allegations that its widely used weedkiller Roundup caused cancer after a U.S. judge questioned the plan.

The German company said on Tuesday that lawyers representing those preparing a class action had withdrawn a request for court approval of the $1.25 billion scheme, part of a broader $10.9 billion agreement to settle close to 100,000 U.S. lawsuits related to Roundup.

“The withdrawal will enable the parties to more comprehensively address the questions recently raised by Federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California who presides over the federal Roundup litigation,” Bayer said in a statement.

Last month Bayer agreed to pay as much as $10.9 billion to settle close to 100,000 U.S. lawsuits related to Roundup.

(Reporting by Keith Weir; Editing by Arno Schuetze)

From the Sydney Morning Herald.

Bayer will keep selling its weed killer Roundup in Australia and fight local litigation against the product, despite agreeing to pay up to $US10.9 billion ($15.8 billion) to settle tens of thousands of claims in the US alleging it causes cancer.

Executives from the company’s US and Australian operations vigorously defended glyphosate-based weed killers on Thursday, saying the product was safe to use and backed by a large body of scientific evidence collected around the world.

“What I want to make clear is we continue to proudly stand behind the safety and utility of our products, and our commitment to offer them to farmers and other users in Australia and around the world,” said Brett Begemann, chief operating officer of Bayer’s crop science division.

“The decision to resolve these cases was driven by our desire to bring greater certainty to farmers we serve every day,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/08/what-kind-of-face-mask-gives-the-best-protection-against-covid-19

 

As I progress through my down sizing of my library and bits and pieces I am surprised at my own electronic waste, especially cameras which have failed or I left out in the rain. I have tried to get Cannon to repair one camera but no response.

$10bn of precious metals dumped each year in electronic waste, says UN

A fast growing mountain of toxic e-waste is polluting the planet and damaging health, says new report

Damian Carrington Environment editor @dpcarrington

Fri 3 Jul 2020 00.01 AESTLast modified on Fri 3 Jul 2020 00.23 AEST

<img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4f18b41ce39c9c079118b6aedf5d0e01066c1b89/0_251_4752_2852/master/4752.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=94af06a1a621d7ee193c92c3e3ebf30b" alt="Ecotechprom electronic and electric equipment recycling plant in Moscow

At least $10bn (£7.9bn) worth of gold, platinum and other precious metals are dumped every year in the growing mountain of electronic waste that is polluting the planet, according to a new UN report.

A record 54m tonnes of “e-waste” was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21% in five years, the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor report found. The 2019 figure is equivalent to 7.3kg for every man, woman and child on Earth, though use is concentrated in richer nations. The amount of e-waste is rising three times faster than the world’s population, and only 17% of it was recycled in 2019.

Electronic and electrical goods, from phones and computers to refrigerators and kettles, have become indispensable in modern societies and enhance lives. But they often contain toxic chemicals, and soaring production and waste damages human health and the environment, and fuels the climate crisis.

The report blames lack of regulation and the short lifespan of products that are hard or impossible to repair. Experts called the situation a “wholly preventable global scandal”.