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Stop the Amazon Fires: Pressure the United Nations to Act

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The Amazon rainforest is in a critical state of near-collapse with a record number of fires in Brazil this year—twice as many as in 2018—as the Brazilian government allows it to happen. The fires have been deliberately set to deforest the Amazon and displace its indigenous populations to make way for soybean and cattle farming and oil drilling, actions encouraged by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. The Amazon is known as the as the “lungs” of our Earth; its oxygen is an essential, irreparable link that holds the global ecosystem within balance. Scientists say that with another 5 percent burned, the Amazon could reach the tipping point of ecosystem collapse.

Dramatic and swift action needs to take place, and the United Nations has the power to move on issues such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, food production, and more. This situation checks almost all boxes.

A global online petition at Change.org urges the UN to:

1. Send in immediate humanitarian support to all the indigenous and local groups that have lost their homes and way of life.

2. Coordinate a large-scale effort with Brazil and neighboring countries to fight the fires in the highest-risk areas, such as those affecting indigenous peoples, animals and the most fragile ecosystems.

3. Create economic sanctions on Brazil that would make the cutting, selling and buying of timber and meat produced in the country illegal.

Natural Awakenings magazine will be dedicating the coming year to covering the climate crisis and providing personal choices that people can make to reduce their own carbon footprint.

The role of the rainforest in human and planetary health

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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