Fingers are pointing at the Chilean aquaculture industry as the worst red tide in that country’s history has caused massive die offs of bi-valves and vertebrates. Earlier this year an estimated 40 000 farmed salmon were killed when the micro-organisms that produce the toxin poisoned them. The dead salmon were disposed of at sea, much to the chagrin of local fishermen. The single celled plankton can reproduce rapidly when warm water and sufficient nutrients become available. They can reproduce rapidly and in sufficient numbers to colour the water a reddish hue. The toxin that they produce does not normally poison shellfish but because shellfish are filter feeders, they accumulate enough of the poison to kill animals with backbones. his month an estimated 8 000 tons of dead sardines washed ashore. This die off has also included millions of the shellfish as well. Their shells are also washing ashore. Estimates of a 70% kill off the bivalves have been made. Thousands of dead cuttlefish have washed ashore. Shellfish paralytic poisoning can kill humans that eat contaminated seafood. The cause of the red-tide may not be the tons of farmed salmon dumped off shore. Some scientists attribute the massive kill off to the warmer ocean temperatures caused by the El Nino phenomenon. It is likely to be a combination of factors which include water temperature and available nutrients like rotting fish. Red tides have been increasing in frequency in cooler waters as well. Off the coast of Vancouver Island, it used to be safe to harvest wild oysters in months that contained an “R” in their name. That is no longer the case as agricultural runoff and sewage disposal into coastal waters have provided ‘nutrients’. Those people who have been able to make a good living fishing and collecting shellfish have been thrown out of business. The Chilean government has offered them the equivalent of USD 150 per month to survive. The enraged fisher folk marched on government offices. Chile’s coastal waters have been hit with a series of big die offs recently. Last year over 300 dead whales washed ashore. The El Nino phenomenon has been particularly strong this year. The waters of the Pacific Ocean have warmed more than usual. This has led to numerous weather disruptions around the globe. Sources: Discovery News The Guardian
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Kenya is currently hosting over 600 000 refugees in camps. They announced today that they will be closing the refugee camps. Most of the people living in the camps have fled from Somalia and the fighting there. While the majority are from Somalia there are about 250 000 who have fled violence in South Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Many of the people living in the camps have been there for more than 25 years. Children born in Kenya know nothing of their parents’ home. The Dadaab camp near the Somali border is the largest in the world with over 350 000 people. The government of Kenya announced the closure of the refugee camps last year, but bowed to international pressure to continue to maintain them. This time they have closed the Department of Refugees. A combination of economic, security and environmental concerns have been given as the reason for the move. Kenya is currently dealing with the terrorist group Al-Shabab which is associated with Al Qaida. The terrorists were responsible for numerous deadly attacking on Kenyan civilians. Kenya, having taken into consideration its national security interests, has decided that hosting of refugees has come to an end," CNN Amnesty International has condemned the move to forcibly send people back to Somalia where they have a good chance of encountering violence and death. Sources: CDC CNN Amnesty International Warfarin is a prescription medication that is used to slow or interfere with the ability of blood to clot. Normally we would want our blood to clot quickly as a serious cut can kill within a few minutes. For some people a reduction in the blood’s ability to clot outweighs the possibility of a “bleed out”. Warfarin is often prescribed for those who have clot formation in their legs or lungs or brains. It is often used to prevent these clots in people who exhibit symptoms that might lead to clot formation. For instance, atrial fibrillation(afib) is an irregular heatbeat that may lead to a clot in the heart that might travel to the brain causing a stroke. In the US an estimated 20 million people are taking Warfarin(aka Coumadin, Jantoven). Dr. T. Jared Bunch recently presented at a medical conference. He brought forward some troubling findings about the long term use of Warfarin and vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bunch was the lead researcher of a study at the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah. The research looked at data of 10 000 people some of whom were taking Warfarin. They then checked on those people seven years later. They found that for those that didn’t have atrial fibrillation 1.6% had developed cognitive difficulties. For those with atrial fibrillation and taking Warfarin or its clones 5.8% had developed dementia. If we take the figure of 20 million users in the US alone, this would mean that 1 160 000 people can expect to develop cognitive impairment in the next decade. “Our study results are the first to show that there are significant cognitive risk factors for patients treated with Warfarin over a long period of time regardless of the indication for anticoagulation." T.Jared Bunch, MD The Mayo Clinic site is a reliable and useful place to get medical information. They warn about serious bleeding, including brain bleeds, skin necropsy and advise that persons taking the medication consider wearing a medical bracelet. They warn that it is advisable to alert health care providers that Warfarin is being used before procedures, even something as minor as a vaccination. It is difficult to get a firm figure on world-wide use of this medication, but 1% of the world population has been given in more than one source. Warfarin was first sold to the public in 1952 as a rat poison. In 1954 it was marketed for humans. Like any effective medication, unwanted reactions may occur. Before embarking on a new prescription drug be sure to quiz your health care provider closely about possible side effects. Sources: Medical News Today Mayo Clinic CBS News Tuesday the wildfire outside of the northern Alberta town jumped the Athabasca River and started to devour the town. As buildings started to burn authorities ordered that all residents of the town to evacuate. Today the only people to remain in the town are emergency workers. 88 000 people have left with only thirty minutes to gather their kids, pets and precious documents. The majority left in private vehicles and some in emergency buses. The Fort McMurray airport remained open until Wednesday for departures but was closed to civilian traffic later on Wednesday. The hospital has been evacuated with patients moved to Edmonton which is normally a four hour drive. For those who chose to take the road south to Edmonton that time stretched for at least two more hours as vehicles choked the roadway. Accidents temporarily blocked the way as well as vehicles that ran out of gas and had to be pushed to the side of the highway. The RCMP dispatched a fuel tanker to the area to supply those that ran out of gasoline. Gas stations had run dry. Those people who evacuated to the north found shelter in bunkhouses at the oil sands camps. At last count 1600 structures have been destroyed by the flames. Firefighters worked through the night and all the structure fires have been extinguished. The danger to the town is ongoing as the fire is still out of control and the high temperatures, low humidity and fierce winds create firestorms. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has pledged $2 million for the Red Cross to begin activity. PM Justin Trudeau has authorized the military to assist where they are needed. A nearby First Nation reserve, Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, is coping with a serious wildfire. Residents may have to evacuate. The good news, if there is any here, is that all the people fleeing the fires made it to safety. To move over 80 000 people in a few hours requires people to be at their best. And the people of northern Alberta showed just that. Sources: Edmonton Journal The National Post The massive die off of aquatic life along Vietnam’s central coast may also have claimed the life of a diver and sickened nine more. The divers were working on the construction of an embankment for the industrial conglomerate Formosa Plastics(FHS). An autopsy was scheduled for the first diver but the results have not been released. The other divers working on the project have skin rashes and elevated levels of copper in their blood. Tonnes of sea life have been washing ashore since mid-April. Both farmed and wild fish have perished as well as deep water dwellers not normally found near the coastline. Five dead whales have washed ashore in the general area of the industrial construction. In a surprisingly candid statement from a person speaking on behalf of the industrial complex, Chu Xuan Phan spoke to the Vietnamese press and is quoted below. Of course, FHS made a great effort to comply with the government’s regulations. Still, if you want a steel mill or you want seafood, you have to choose. Not even the prime minister can have both. Asia Sentinel His supervisor has commented that Mr. Chu will be disciplined for his unauthorized speech. There have been unconfirmed reports that divers witnessed large amounts of red liquid pouring from FHS’s discharge pipe. More than the dead fish are beginning to smell. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Health has announced that the waters are safe and the sea food is safe to eat. Not the ones washing up on the beaches or floating but those that are still swimming. The PM has stated that they will not shield anyone from consequences if they find that the catastrophe was human caused. Formosa Plastics is investing US$10.5 billion in their first phase of the construction of a steel mill, power plant and port complex. They estimate that once in operation, the steel mill will produce seven million tonnes of steel per year. Sources: Asia Sentinel Than Nien News |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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