August 2008
33 posts
[watsan, disinfectants] How Well Do Antimicrobial...
“How Well Do Antimicrobial Products Kill Biofilms? ScienceDaily (Aug. 24, 2008) Montana State University scientist Darla Goeres knows that there is more than one way to grow a biofilm, a fact that she uses to make sure that when a product claims it kills “99 percent” of bacteria, it really does the job. Biofilms are the extremely common communities of bacteria that form on most...
[health, epidemiology] Years of Potential Life...
Alcohol-Attributable Deaths and Years of Potential Life Lost Among American Indians and Alaska Natives United States, 2001—2005 full text http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science & Management A Little Red Hen [a blog by Naomi Dagen Bloom] O’Folks, off their rocker [a blog by Vuee]>
[history, H5N1] CDC Releases 1918 Pandemic Flu...
http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/?p=3185 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released today an online storybook containing narratives from survivors, families, and friends about one of the largest scourges ever on human kind - the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions of people around the world. The storybook provides valuable insight for public health officials preparing for the...
[ bird flu] Rhode Island reports H7N3 in swans
Rhode Island reports H7N3 in swans Wildlife officials in Rhode Island recently announced that during routine surveillance they detected the low-pathogenic form of H7N3 avian influenza in wild mute swans. Read article… CIDRAP News Headlines — Monday, August 25 http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science &...
[watsan, organizational culture] India: Toilet...
http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/india-toilet-seats-bmc-eats-its-own-words/ MUMBAI: When American talk show host Jay Leno quipped that Indians can send a rocket into space but cannot build a decent toilet, he probably had the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in mind. The BMCs tall claims of constructing 20,000 toilet seats in one year stands exposed after it was revealed...
[superlative thinking] Earthquakes may endanger...
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/teia-eme082108.php Earthquakes may endanger New York more than thought A study by a group of prominent seismologists suggests that a pattern of subtle but active faults makes the risk of earthquakes to the New York City area substantially greater than formerly believed. Among other things, they say that the controversial Indian Point nuclear power...
Public involvement usually leads to better...
Told you so….. mpb http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/naos-piu082208.php When done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies’ decisions about the environment, says a new report from the National Research Council. http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science & Management A...
National Preparedness Month
http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/?p=3115 http://www.ready.gov/america/npm08/ September is National Preparedness Month. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Ready Campaign. This year the focus of NPM is to encourage citizens to take important preparedness steps: Get a Kit Make a Plan Be Informed Get Involved http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI...
This is Public Health Toolkit
http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/?p=3121 US Association of Schools of Public Health [ASPH] - 2008 Toolkit: http://www.thisispublichealth.org/toolkit/
.Most people dont understand what public health is, much less how it impacts their daily lives. The This Is Public Health campaign was designed to let people know that public health affects them on a daily basis and that we are only as healthy as the...
Public Health Preparedness Summit
http://nnlm.gov/mcr/bhic/?p=3124 Share your expertise at the nations largest gathering of public health preparedness and emergency management professionals being held February 18 - 20 2009 in San Diego. http://www.phprep.org/2009/ Showcase best practice training models, tools, and resources that illustrate proven results in building and sustaining public health preparedness at the...
[bird flu, H5N1] Evidence of Infection by H5N2...
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/plospathogens/NewArticles/~3/369436441/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000127 by Nicolas Gaidet, Giovanni Cattoli, Saliha Hammoumi, Scott H. Newman, Ward Hagemeijer, John Y. Takekawa, Julien Cappelle, Tim Dodman, Tony Joannis, Patricia Gil, Isabella Monne, Alice Fusaro, Ilaria Capua, Shiiwuua Manu, Pierfrancesco Micheloni, Ulf Ottosson, John H. Mshelbwala, Juan...
[environmental change] Drier, warmer springs in US...
http://www.physorg.com/news138338828.html Human-driven changes in the westerly winds are bringing hotter and drier springs to the American Southwest, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science & Management A Little Red Hen [a blog by Naomi Dagen Bloom] ...
[aging] More than 10 percent of older Americans...
http://www.physorg.com/news138373507.html About 13 percent of elderly Americans are mistreated, most commonly by someone who verbally mistreats or financially takes advantage of them, according to a University of Chicago study that is the first comprehensive look at elder mistreatment in the country. http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural...
[environmental change] Birds can't keep up with...
http://www.physorg.com/news138437498.html The habitats of wild bird species are shifting in response to global warming, but not fast enough to keep pace with rising temperatures, according to a study released Wednesday. http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science & Management A Little Red Hen [a blog by Naomi Dagen Bloom] ...
[Katrina Alaska, environmental change, erosion]...
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/VoicesOfNewOrleans/~3/369726000/wapo_some_harsh_truths_while_r.html From last Friday’s anniversary editorial: But the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) reports that less than half of the $33.2 billion in allocated federal rebuilding funds has been spent. The Brookings report shows that fair-market rents have climbed 46 percent since Katrina. Disbursements from...
[funding, environmental change, pollution]...
Analysis of teeth and growth rates are a couple of still novel techniques. mpb Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:29:02 -0400 (EDT) From: NCER_listserver@saic.com Hi M Pamela Bumsted Welcome to the NCER mailing list, Wednesday August 20, 2008 Volume 10 Number 16. The following is a broadcast announcement listing of a new funding opportunity sponsored in whole or in part by the U.S. Environmental...
[environment] China's Olympic Pollution Efforts...
China’s Olympic Pollution Efforts Paid Off, Expert Says from National Geographic News Beijing’s air for the opening track-and-field events at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games is “better than expected,” said U.S. Olympic distance runner Amy Yoder Begley. “When I came to China to race in 2002,” Yoder Begly said in an e-mail earlier this week, “the air caused my...
“Entrepreneurs test energy-harnessing turbines in Alaska rivers. With crushing...”
– Alaska Newsreader: Alaska Newsreader | adn.com
I’ve been recommending Jim and the folks at ABS for years because he really takes a practical approach to power (and recycling) in remote Alaska. mpb
“Canada reports record number of cruise ship visits to the Arctic. The Canadian...”
– Alaska Newsreader: Alaska Newsreader | adn.com
[watsan, water] Summit Targets World Water Issues
Summit Targets World Water Issues from BBC News Online While global attention has recently focused on energy and food, a global summit this week in Stockholm, Sweden, will tackle the key issue of water. The World Water Week meeting starts on Sunday and will hear renewed calls to solve growing challenges of sanitation, climate change and drinkable supplies. Sanitation in particular is one of the...
[preparedness, Katrina] Learning to Be Your Own... →
While most discussions of disaster preparedness focus on community resources, the most important variable in an emergency is your own behavior. Much of what we know about surviving disasters comes from people who have been through them. Their stories are collected in a fascinating and useful new book, “The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes — and Why” (Crown), by Amanda Ripley, a...
[watsan] Child friendly schools in Sri Lanka: How...
http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/child-friendly-schools-in-sri-lanka-how-children-can-learn-the-importance-of-safe-drinking-water/ (
) The child friendly concept has been developed by Malteser International and UNICEF for 53 schools in Galle, Matara, Hambantota and Ampara Districts. Around 16,000 pupils have already or will soon get access to child friendly water and sanitation...
[watsan] First Global Water, Sanitation & Hygiene...
http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/first-global-water-sanitation-hygiene-wash-in-emergencies-survey/ The first ever on-line global survey of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector of humanitarian response is now open to all sector professionals. The survey seeks to identify gaps in WASH response during emergencies by asking respondents about their experience in...
[community] tax deductions for mileage
Gas Rates, Volunteers, and Justice: Reader OpEd By Susan J. Ellis - August 15, 2008 - Feature Articles Many people don’t realize that on their personal tax returns volunteers can deduct mileage expenses incurred as part of volunteering. For example, if a volunteer drives 30 miles to volunteer at an art school or drive a patient to chemotherapy, the volunteer can deduct $4.20 on her next tax...
[watsan, subsistence] Rapid Growth Found in...
We have a shallow bay and tundra ponds which double as cess pits or garbage dumps. Fortunately, our temperatures stay on the cool side, although in spring one can watch the bottom muck in ponds rise to the surface as the dark pond warms. The muck then sinks back down (I’m guessing because the outgassing finishes.) We don’t have much if any water quality monitoring around our living...
[aging] Rural Assistance Center Health Update
Special Committee on Aging Holds Hearing on Rural Health Access Jul 31, 2008 — On July 31st, the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing on “Aging in Rural America: Preserving Seniors’ Access to Health Care.” http://hlthenvt.tumblr.com for Grassroots Science Edublogging, FYI Sci.TEK teachers Biocultural Science & Management A Little Red Hen [a...
[SWMP, trash, energy] Warning on eco bulbs
While I have used a compact fluorescent bulb (with cover) outside during the Bethel winters (to light steps when returning from work), I have found two or three of the small ones that smoked or snapped at their bases after a year of use in the stove hood or a ceiling fixture. I never leave these on inside the house unattended. mpb Warning on eco bulbs The Government’s safety agency has...
Beluga whales spotted swimming far up Kuskokwim... →
Beluga whales spotted swimming far up Kuskokwim River The Associated Press Published Wednesday, August 13, 2008 * Print story * E-mail story * Comments * Digg Digg * del.icio.us del.icio.us * Facebook Facebook * Add to Mixx! Mixx * Reddit Reddit * Stumble It! McGRATH — Two beluga whales making their way up the Kuskokwim River have been spotted again. The whales were seen Tuesday evening in front...
[watsan] A Tall, Cool Drink of ... Sewage?
A Tall, Cool Drink of … Sewage? from the New York Times Magazine (Registration Required) … When you flush in Santa Ana [Calif.], the waste makes its way to the sewage-treatment plant nearby in Fountain Valley, then sluices not to the ocean but to a plant that superfilters the liquid until it is cleaner than rainwater. The “new” water is then pumped 13 miles north and...
“Hire me in ferret mode.”
– [anthropology] This Blog Sits at the: Catch and release, diffusion style
[sustainability] Campaign to grow vegetable garden...
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/355413730/campaign-to-grow-veg.html Several past U.S. presidents had vegetable gardens on the White House lawn. Eleanor Roosevelt started a victory garden on the White House lawn in 1943, which encouraged millions to do the same in their own front yards. When WWII ended, home gardeners were producing 40 percent of the United States’ produce....
“Coast Guard deploys to Barrow. The prospects of an ice-free Northwest Passage...”
– [environmental change, Melt Rush] Alaska Newsreader: Alaska Newsreader | adn.com
“Of course, the results of these or any other public-opinion surveys do not alter...”
– [environment, sciencing] Elizabeth Kolbert— Changing Lanes: Comment: The New Yorker 