With Your Christmas Turkey?

Devi Sridhar (University of Edinburgh) is reminding folk about the distinct probability of a pandemic stemming from Bird 'flu. She notes that the H5N1 strain has made its way from birds to humans. This viral stain is also found in dairy cows and other mammals. Cow to cow transmission occurs and cows have passed Bird 'flu to humans. A recent study has suggested that a single mutation would make human to human tranmission possible. Fairly obviously, governments should be stocking up on anti-virals and developing vaccines. There's a problem in the US. Scientists need chicken's eggs to produce vaccines. Bird 'flu has decimated chicken stocks. There's a shortage of eggs (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/16/bird-flu-pandemic-threat-prepared) A human viral pandemic resulting from Bird 'flu could be much worse than Covid19. This species jump wouldn't be easy to delay via lockdowns, whilst effective vaccines are developed. This virus has wings.

Drip, Drip, Drip

England and Wales's privatised Water Companies essentially have monopolies. The 'regulator', Ofwat, has approved their rising average water bills by 36% over 5 years. This is after much wailing from the Water Companies, about the costs of improving their infrastructure, fixing leaks and having to stop discharging raw sewage into rivers (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2024/dec/19/water-bills-for-households-in-england-and-wales-to-rise). Until now, most privatised Water Companies have prioritised spending their income on shareholder dividends and executive bonuses. Some have even taken on massive loans for this purpose and/or reduced operating costs by illegally discharging raw sewage into rivers and lakes. Some of these ill-gotten gains ought to have been spent on improvements to infrastructure and updating to deal with long-anticipated climate change. There's no certainty they will behave better now.

Old Man Boomer

Male boomers (the generation born after the second World War, roughly from 1946 until 1964) are, in some cases, finding it difficult to 'act their age'. Due to advances in medical sciences, many are now living some 30 years longer than their forebears. Living longer, however, doesn't always mean retaining the physical (and mental?) capacity to 'keep on keeping on'. Occasionally, they have to be reminded of things they should no longer attempt (like climbing on roofs) (https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2024/dec/18/boomer-men-ageing). I've always thought of myself as a boomer. Somewhat worryingly, however, I find that I might be one of the last of the pre-boomers (born 1945). The war in Europe had finished but...? Although one shouldn't put others at risk with our actions, I'm still convinced that reasonable exercise of the body and the mind, keeps us useful for longer. Perhaps we just need to become more sensitive to legitimate concerns of our children and grandchildren? The point is that male boomers are having to explore a different lifetime landscape.

Wooden Tops 17. Hazel

Hazel is used for woven baskets, fence 'hurdles' and walking sticks. The thinner sticks are used to support beans and other garden plants.

Bamboozled?

Bamboo isn't a tree. It's actually a very large and fast-growing grass. It's perfect for furniture making. Its possible to use bamboo for scaffolding on buildings or even to construct footbridges. , can serve as a model. Ten years ago, the residents of the small village of Pachgaon in the central Indian state of Maharashta, lived in absolute poverty. The villagers persisted in using the Forest Rights Act (2006) and the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996, to reassert their community's lost entitlements. In 2012, Pachgaon eventually won control of 1,006 hectares of local forest. Gaining these forest rights, meant the villagers could take their own marketing decisions on forestry products. They can decide how they harvest and cut the forest. In the last financial year, Pachgaon's bamboo business made a profit of £35,000. The village's 300 residents are now relatively wealthy by rural Indian standards. The forest is protected and healthy (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/17/india-adivasi-tribal-village-pachgaon-forest-law-traditional-rights). Growing bamboo and other plants must be encouraged to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This reduces global warming and limits climate change. There's ample evidence that tribal communities are generally much better environmental custodians than government agencies or corporations. Developments, such as one in Pachgaon, may serve as a model in some parts of the world. The villagers protect the jungle, and the jungle provides them with a living. It's almost a form of symbiosis.

Wooden Tops 16. Hawthorn

As Hawthorn wood is strong and closely-grained, it's often used for carving. This wood is also employed to make tool handles, as well as other small household items.

Malaria: A Growth Area

Globally, in 2023, there were 263 million cases of malaria. Six hundred thousand people (predominantly young children) died. This death rate from malarial infections, constituted a rise for the fifth consective year. The protozoan parasite, is showing increased resistance to anti-malarial drugs. Its mosquito vector, is also becoming less responsive to insecticides. The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) opines, however, that a funding shortfall was the major driver of increased malarial deaths in 2023. Climate and humanitarian disasters (wars, droughts and famines) are hampering effective control efforts (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/11/global-health-deaths-malaria-rise-drug-insecticide-resistance-climate-crisis-funding-un). Perhaps the recently developed and trialled vaccines against malaria will help? It currently seems likely, however, malaria will remain a major scourge in poorer global regions. This long-established disease certainly attracts less funding/investment than ailments that directly impact the populations of 'developed' nations.