Wednesday 25 January 2012
Tuesday 24 January 2012
Mosquitoes are not just a nuisance - this small insect is a health hazard
NSW Ministry of Health media release, 18 January 2012
Warning to Take Precautions and Avoid Mosquitoes
The NSW Ministry of Health is reminding the public to protect themselves against mosquitoes after one person contracted Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) in the New England area, and another contracted the Kunjin virus.
Both people experienced relatively mild symptoms and are now recovering from the infection.
“The two cases, which are both caused by infections carried by mosquitoes, are a timely reminder for people to take precautions against mosquito borne infection,” NSW Health Director of Health Protection, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said.
“The person who had MVE was infected from mosquitoes west of the ranges in late 2011. It’s unclear when the person with Kunjin was infected, as the person had travelled both in coastal NSW and west of the ranges before infection,” he said.
“Mosquito numbers increase in summer and with an increase in rainfall. Most people with MVE or Kunjin will not develop symptoms but the infections can have serious consequences for others.”
Symptoms of MVE include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting and muscle aches. In more severe cases encephalitis can develop and this causes neck stiffness, lethargy, drowsiness, confusion, delirium, tremors, neurological problems and coma.
Symptoms of Kunjin include mild illness with fever, enlarged lymph nodes, rash, swollen and aching joints, headache, muscle weakness and fatigue. Some also develop encephalitis.
Anyone with these symptoms of severe MVE or Kunjin infection should immediately seek medical assistance.
In NSW, Kunjin is usually found west of the Great Dividing Range, although Kunjin activity was detected in horses in coastal NSW last year. Water birds are also important hosts for the virus in Australia.
Several viruses including MVE and Kunjin and also Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses are transmitted by infected mosquitoes which breed in flooded, grassy and swamp areas and around rivers and waterways.
Simple steps to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes include:
· When outside cover up as much as possible with light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing and covered footwear.
· Use an effective repellent on all exposed skin. Re-apply repellent within a few hours, as protection wears off from perspiration, particularly on hot nights. The best mosquito repellents contain Diethyl Toluamide (DEET) or Picaridin.
· Light mosquito coils or use vapourising mats indoors. Devices that use light to attract and electrocute insects are not effective.
· Cover all windows, doors, vents and other entrances with insect screens.
· When camping, use flyscreens on caravans and tents or sleep under mosquito nets.
“Preventing these viruses depends on avoiding mosquito bites, especially in the warmer months of the year when mosquitoes are most active,” Dr McAnulty said. For a copy of the NSW Health fact sheet on Murray River Encephalitis (MVE) virus and Kunjin go to:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/murray_valley_enceph.html
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/kunjin.html
NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) advises that Murray River Encephalitis (MVE) and Kunjin virus can also affect horses. Further information on the disease in horses and how to protect horses is available at: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horses/health
Mosquito gifs from Google Images
Obama wants the world to know that yes he can croon
About the only thing Obama gives away for free as he gears up for the U.S. presidential election……………………..
Monday 23 January 2012
Copy of formal agreement between Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and then MP-Elect Andrew Wilkie, 2 September 2010
As the political waters are likely to be muddies by vested interests of all political persuasions this week - here is the Gillard-Wilkie Agreement 2010. Read the source and then read those media opinions on current poker machine gambling policy and political rants as they roll out over the next few days.
More bad news concerning coal seam gas mining - fugitve methane
REPORT: NATURAL GAS FROM SHALE NOT SUITABLE AS “BRIDGE FUEL,” MAY WORSEN CLIMATE CHANGE
Researchers Note Gas Emissions From Marcellus Shale and Other Sites Linked to Significant Increased Risk of Near-Term Climate Change
ITHACA, NY 19 January 2012
Far from being a “solution” to climate change, natural gas extracted from shale is a huge contributor of greenhouse gases when both methane and carbon dioxide are considered, according to a major new study by three Cornell University researchers.
The natural gas industry already accounts for almost a fifth (17 percent) of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions inventory, when analyzed using recently available new evidence. This percentage is predicted to grow to almost one quarter (23 percent) as shale gas continues to replace conventional natural gas.
Methane, which is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is the culprit, according to the new report.
Just accepted for publication in Climatic Change and available online now at http://216.250.243.12/shalegasghgreport.html, the study titled “Venting and Leaking of Methane from Shale Gas Development,” is the work of professor Robert Howarth and Renee Santoro, researchers in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, and Anthony Ingraffea, a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell.
The study follows up on the author’s groundbreaking April 2011 paper, which provided the first comprehensive analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from shale gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing, with a focus on methane emissions. Rather than understating the impact by looking only at shale gas used for electricity generation (just 30 percent of U.S. usage), the studies also look at heat generation (the largest use) over both a 20- and 100-year time frame. The new paper emphasizes this 20-year time frame, and analyzes the US national greenhouse gas inventory in that context.
The 20-year time frame is particularly important, the authors explain, because it may well be the timing for a “tipping point” for climate change if emissions are not brought under immediate control. The new paper builds on major new findings from the United Nations and from researchers at NASA published over the past six months, highlighting the urgent need to immediately reduce methane pollution globally.
Robert W. Howarth, David R. Atkinson professor, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, said: “We believe the preponderance of evidence indicates shale gas has a larger greenhouse gas footprint than conventional gas, considered over any time scale. The greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas also exceeds that of oil or coal when considered at decadal time scales, no matter how the gas is used. We stand by the conclusion of our 2011 research: ‘The large [greenhouse gas] footprint of shale gas undercuts the logic of its use as a bridging fuel over coming decades, if the goal is to reduce global warming.’”
Anthony Ingraffea, Dwight C. Baum professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, said: “Can shale-gas methane emissions be reduced? Clearly yes, and proposed EPA regulations to require capture of gas at the time of well completions are an important step. Regulations are necessary to accomplish emission reductions, as economic considerations alone have not driven such reductions. And it may be extremely expensive to reduce leakage associated with aging infrastructure, particularly distribution pipelines in cities but also long-distance transmission pipelines, which are on average more than 50 years old in the U.S. Should society invest massive capital in such improvements for a bridge fuel that is to be used for only 20 to 30 years, or would the capital be better spent on constructing a smart electric grid and other technologies that move towards a truly green energy future?”
According to the report:
• The natural gas industry dominates methane emissions for the U.S., contributing 39 percent of the nation’s total methane emissions.
• On an overall basis, methane makes up 44 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions when considered on the 20-year time frame after emission, including all gases and all human activities.
• The methane emissions from natural gas systems make up 17 percent of the entire man-made greenhouse gas emission inventory of the U.S., when viewed through the lens of the 20-year time frame.
• When viewed on the time scale of 100 years following emission, the importance of methane is substantially reduced, but the shorter time frame is critical, given possible tipping points in the global climate system over the coming few decades.
MEDIA CONTACT: Leslie Anderson Maloy at (703) 276-3256 or landerson@hastingsgroup.com.
What is it with the American South that it so easily embraces the idea of assassination?
Andrew Adler, owner-publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times in the Friday 13th January 2012 edition of his newspaper suggesting that Israel consider assassinating President Obama:
“Give the go-ahead for U.S. based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.
Yes, you read "three" correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?
Another way of putting "three" in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives ... Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?
Yes, you read "three" correctly. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?
Another way of putting "three" in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives ... Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?
You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.”
* Newspaper image from Gawker
Sunday 22 January 2012
Is your local council using Brothel Busters?
Brothel Busters, known formally as Lyonswood Investigations and Forensic Group, advertised a vacancy for an investigator in MyCareer (see below) this week. While the job description makes for interesting (and somewhat mind-boggling) reading, it's the introductory part of the advertisement that caused this reader to wonder about which local councils use this mob's "services". And, for those that do, how do they go about detailing their expenses in their financial statements?
Source: MyCareer, 21/1/12
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