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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Survival Alert

Join America’s Start Saving Water Now Challenge

America, like most of the rest of the world, is running short of fresh water. Our welfare depends on having annual access to 150 trillion gallons of fresh water for drinking, cleaning, growing food, making products and generating electricity. In every region of the country, the conservation and recycling of this vital resource is a key solution to achieving a sustainable future.

“We can do better” is the urgent message of the 2013 National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. Last year, people in more than 1,000 cities took simple actions to save water and related energy expenditures, pledging to collectively reduce their water use by 4.7 billion gallons over one year.

The Wyland Foundation, supported by the National League of Cities and the Environmental Protection Agency, are again sponsoring prizes for residents in the most “water-wise” cities, based on pledges to be made in April. Last year, $50,000 in awarded prizes included a Toyota Prius, Lowe’s gift cards and 1,200 water-saving fixtures.

Sign on at WylandFoundation.org/mywaterpledge.

water Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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