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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Dire State of Earth’s Ice and Snow

Dec 31, 2024 09:01AM ● By Kris Urquhart
Ice and snow on mountains

KellyvanDellen/CanvaPro

In advance of the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties (COP29) that took place in Azerbaijan last November, more than 60 leading scientists from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative issued a report on the state of the planet’s snow and ice. The experts agreed that the frozen parts of Earth are in serious trouble.

Among the findings: Venezuela has lost its final glacier; the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing an average of 30 million tons of ice per hour; ice loss from the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica may be unstoppable; two-thirds of the glaciers in the European Alps will disappear by 2050; and 10 million people in Iceland, Alaska and Asia are at risk of flooding from melting glaciers. The scientists behind the report urged governments and citizens worldwide to phase out fossil fuels and finance climate action.


In-Print National Content Global Brief Global and Health Briefs January 2025
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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