Gleanings of the Week Ending November 26, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Battle Over Bears Ears Continues in Utah – I am looking forward to visiting Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments and hope that their boundaries stay the way the tribes that have used the area for a very long time want. At some point Utah and the counties that are opposing the size will recognize the values of the tribes and country that want to preserve historical, paleontological, and geologic aspects of these places….and that the state benefits significantly from people visiting. The tourism $ may become more dependable and long term than other uses of the land.

Pyramid and Hundreds of New Kingdom Coffins Found in Egypt - An Old Kingdom pyramid, 300 New Kingdom coffins with well-preserved mummies with names of the deceased, and nearby a pyramid to Queen Neith…a previously unknown Queen.

Long-COVID clinics are wrestling with how to treat their patients – Frustrating situation.

Fenced In: How the Global Rise of Border Walls Is Stifling Wildlife – Border walls have increased since the end of the Cold War! This makes climate change an even bigger challenge to mammals…because they cannot move to better habitat if there is a border wall in the way.

Baby's vaccine responses linked to birth delivery method, study finds – Babies born via Caesarian section have lower antibody levels after vaccinations than babies born naturally.

Scientists Discover More Than 22,000 Endangered Manta Rays off Coast of Ecuador – Larger than any other Manta Ray population.

A Massive Freshwater River Is Flowing Under Antarctica’s Ice – It is flowing at 3 times the rate of the Thames. This finding helps understand some problems with existing models…hopefully it will allow for model updates to predict the impact of warming more accurately on Antarctica’s ice.

A Field Guide to Jackrabbits – Hard to see denizens of the western US (and Mexico).

France Looks to Mandate Solar Panels Over Large Parking Lots – Good idea…maybe it will begin to happen in the US even without a mandate.

Bright LEDs could spell the end of dark skies – Hope cities can learn to use LEDs like Tucson…not overuse bright white LEDs.

Gleanings of the Week Ending November 19, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Energy crisis: How living in a cold home affects your health – The coming winter is going to be very difficult for many – particularly in Europe.

Parks of the 21st century: new ways to reinvent abandoned land – Parks always are signs of hope…the greening of places that might have been eyesores in the past. I wondered how much toxic remediation had to occur for some of the sites they described; its encouraging that we can clean up the messes we’ve made in the past!

Alcohol caused one in eight deaths of working-age US adults – The data used from the analysis was pre-COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the CDC has released data for 2019 and 2020 and it shows a larger-than-normal 26% spike in the alcohol-induced deathrate. In 2020, alcoholic liver disease and mental/behavioral disorders were the leading underlying causes of alcohol-induced deaths. Sad numbers….lots of people and their families impacted.

A field guide to the unusual raptors of the Southern US – I was pleased to see the snail kite in this article – a bird I saw on a birding trip to Florida in 2019.

Farmers in China, Uganda move to high-yielding, cost-saving perennial rice – Very positive results. Hopefully we will eventually have perennial forms of other grains (wheat in particular).

The weirdest places you can find wild turkeys – Wild turkeys have made a comeback since the early 1900s…a restoration success story. Part of the Thanksgiving vibe this week!

Breast cancer survivorship doubles – An analysis of Canadian data from the 2007-2001. The study also highlighted the long-term side effects in these survivors…the need for new therapies to improve the health of women after surviving breast cancer.

Permanent Standard Time Could Save Lives, Explained by A Sleep Expert – I don’t like changing to/from daylight savings time; before reading this article, I didn’t care which one we chose to make permanent. Now I am convinced that we should stick with standard time! There are too many negative health impacts to staying on daylight savings.

How to avoid bad choices – The article is about the research on how to teach children ‘decision-making competence’ – not just a measure of raw brainpower but how well someone is able to appraise situations. There are many approaches but the goal is to get children and adolescents to start thinking about risk and danger in a more analytical way….on the way to adulthood.

Blind spots in the monitoring of plastic waste – The amount of plastic waste in rivers could be up to 90% higher that previously assumed. The current measurements are mainly based on surface observations…but plastic can be suspended or sink! This study tracked 3,000 particles from 30mm to larger objects like plastic cup. Knowing where the plastic is helps guide where clean up would be the most effective.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 29, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

How an asteroid impact would transform the food we eat – Thought provoking…and scary. Right now, I am beginning to wonder how the level of drought in the US is going to change the food we eat…or will we eat the same way but pay much higher prices.

A Field Guide to Unexpected, Out-of-Place Wildlife – Why wildlife shows up in the ‘wrong’ place… I had read about the shifting range of armadillos last spring (was reminded of it by the reference to the Virginia opossum in this post).

State Of the Birds Report: More Than Half of U.S. Bird Species Are Declining – Sad….another indicator that the Earth is changing.

Economic losses from hurricanes become too big to be offset by the US if warming continues – I’ve been wondering about this since Hurricane Harvey and finally there is some analysis of the data…but, so far, it does not seem to be changing the way we deal with the aftermath of these catastrophic storms. The dominate idea still seems to be ‘rebuild.’

Life expectancy improves in some countries after big drops in 2020 – but US and others see further falls  - The life expectancy at birth in the US was 79.8 in 2019 and was down to 77.4 in 2021. It might take a few years until the impact of COVID-19 on life expectancy is fully understood. It seems to me that there are other cultural changes that happened concurrent with the COVID-19 pandemic that could impact life expectancy in the US into the future: reduced vaccination rates, reduced trust in medical professionals, increased belief in whatever is said on social media and conspiracy theories, increased stress/mental health challenges, etc.

The Clean Water Act at 50: Big Successes, More to Be Done – The Act was passed the year I graduated from high school. I had done a project about algae as pollution indicator in the streams around Dallas, Texas in the fall before so I was aware of water pollution issues of the time. It is frustrating that there is still so much to be done….

New model of Alzheimer’s as an autoimmune disease – A new perspective….maybe leading to new therapies in the future.

Ancient Maya Cities Were Polluted with High Levels of Mercury – The Maya coated surfaces (walls and floors and bodies) with cinnabar…and the mercury from that leached into the water supply and soils. Chronic mercury poisoning causes tremors, weakened vision and hearing, and paralysis! The contamination at some sites is high enough that archaeologists need to use mitigation techniques and protective gear.

Young kids avoid one learning trap that often snares adults – Young kids are not as good at focused attention as adults which means they notice new things happening away from a ‘focus area’ more quickly…..but focused attention can also mean learned inattention in adults which might not be the best strategy in all situations.

After Three Summers, Man Finally Gets Photos of Hummingbird with Rainbow Wings – Beautiful pictures. They prompted me to look up why hummingbird feathers can show the colors of the rainbow. I found a Science Daily post from back in 2020 that offers an explanation.

Gleanings of the Week Ending July 23, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Watch a Deep-Sea Squid Carry Hundreds of Pearl-Like Eggs – A video from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

It’s a trap: managing cowbirds to save songbirds – The strategy of trapping cowbirds (a brood parasite) to help endangered songbirds along the Santa Clara River in Southern California has evolved to reduce harming other species and cost less.

Electric vehicle buyers want rebates, not tax credits – Of course….immediate rebates rather than waiting for months to get a tax credit are much more appealing.

Urban waterways: discovering the hidden beauty of a Jersey River – River restoration across the country…with the Cooper River story in more detail.

Universal influenza B vaccine induces broad, sustained protection – A new kind of vaccine….using nanoparticles. Perhaps this new technology will lead to an effective universal flu vaccine.

The sustainable cities made of mud – A little construction/architectural history….that could be applied more often.

10 Weird Australian Marsupials You’ve Never Heard Of – So many unusual animals…Australia has more than just kangaroos and koalas!

Cancer probably killed world’s first known pregnant Egyptian mummy – 2,000 years ago a young woman died…and was mummified. The Warsaw Mummy Project has determined that she was pregnant – the fetus was ‘pickled’ in the highly acidic and low oxygen environment of the mummified womb – and the woman probably died of nasopharyngeal cancer.

More Electricity from Wind and Solar than Nuclear for 1st time in USA – Hurray! Wind and solar accounted for over 25% of the nation’s electricity in the first 4 months of 2022!

Loss of male sex chromosome leads to earlier death for men – What? Y chromosome loss happens in 40% (estimated) of 70-year-old men. The loss occurs primarily in cells with rapid turnover, such as blood cells. And it might lead to heart muscle scaring…and then heart failure.

26 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 cases in Maryland are increasing but all the counties in the state are still green in the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Level map. Most of Missouri is too. Still - the positivity is 5-8% in Maryland and 8-10% in Missouri…not low enough for me to be comfortable in crowds or in indoor spaces without a mask. How does that translate into our increased level of activity?

Buying a house. Both my husband and I wore masks when we walked through the house we had bid on and then the next day when we talked to the inspector. There was a meeting in the realtor’s office where we wore a mask as well. During our travel, we masked at rest stops and in registration/hallways of our hotel. We brought an air purifier into our hotel room and got takeout for meals.

Birding. We masked at the Harriet Tubman Byway visitor center and the registration/hallways of our hotel. Otherwise - the activity was outdoors, and we didn’t mask. All our meals were picked up from drive through windows.

House maintenance. We’ve had more people in our house for maintenance purposes in Maryland…preparing the house to be sold. We mask while they are here, and they do too.

Broken tooth. I have an appointment with the dentist because a molar cracked…needs repair. Hopefully the precautions the dental office has in place are effective. This seems like the highest risk situation of all the things I’ve done recently.

And we are moving over the next month! I am realizing that the precautions I have in place (following guidance re boosters, masking when I am indoors other than at home, avoiding crowds, keeping hand sanitizer in the car, taking an air purifier with me on road trips) are probably going to be my strategy for the foreseeable future unless the infection rate drops dramatically. So – this is the last of the monthly posts even though the pandemic is continuing. I’m not getting complacent…I’ve simply accepted that this is the prudent way to be…nothing new to post about every month.

25 months in COVID-19 Pandemic

The positivity rates and hospitalizations continued downward but in Maryland they are not down to the lows we go in the summer of 2021 before the Delta variant came along…and then the Omicron spike. Still – most of the mask mandates have been allowed to expire. My daughter reported that at her university there seemed to be a lot of strep and flu infections after the mask mandate was lifted; masks were protective for more than COVID-19! I have continued to wear my mask when I am indoors (at the grocery store and when I waited to get my car serviced, for example). All the doctor’s offices where we’ve had appointments are still requiring masks.

When I made my road trip from Maryland to Texas (via Missouri), I put on my mask at rest stops and when I registered at the hotel…when I went grocery shopping while I was in Texas. I took my air purifier with me too. I was traveling through areas that had higher positivity/hospitalization rates than Maryland and noticed that there were very few people wearing masks. There are some analyses of sewage around the country that have indicated the presence of the omicron sub-variant that is problematic in Europe in the US but, so far, there does not appear to be an uptick in COIVD-19 cases here.

I am masking when I look at houses – both to protect myself and to be considerate of owners of the houses I am viewing. I do as much as I can online before I see the house in person.

The one place I did not wear I mask indoors this past month was at a baby shower while I was in Texas; I’m far enough past the event to know that no one there was infectious!

I still feel vulnerable because of my surgery earlier this year and my recent illness while I was traveling; I am not as confident that my immune system is as robust as it was a year ago; I am continuing my strategy of masking. My husband and I got our second COVID-19 booster soon after the recommendation came out. As we both continue our search for a new house, the vaccine and indoor masking are our risk reduction strategy…at least for now.

Another observation - my husband had an outpatient procedure this past month, and the COVID-19 process was still in effect: they required that I wait in the car for 1.5 hours rather than a waiting room. I was fortunate that I could park in a sunny place since the temperature was in the 30s!

Overall – the pandemic appears to be waning. People are making individual decisions about masking and the amount of masking varies a lot from place to place. This is the new normal?

Gleanings of the Week Ending April 2, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Where Have All the (Big) Cypress Trees Gone ... And Are They Coming Back? – The cypress stands survived logging but they may never again be as dominant as they were before. The largest trees now are about 3.5 feet diameter; the largest stumps from logging are about 5 feet diameter.

8 bird migrations, from past to present – The annual movement of birds is a part of spring….part of the yearly progression.

Cherry Blossom Time In Washington, D.C. – I was glad to get home in time to see the cherry tree in our yard bloom; it’s a little behind the trees in DC (we are a little north and not on the water).

Nature Conservancy to build solar farms at abandoned coal mines in Virginia – And thus an energy producing community, continues…leaning into the future!

The sound of Merlin: like Shazam, but for birds – An app that IDs birds by their songs…a learning experience to take on a walk.

Higher risk of temperature-related death if global warming exceeds 2°C – We’ll have to be more aware of heatwaves. Perhaps we would modify our behavior during those times…and medical interventions might help. There is a heat threshold above which our bodies are not adapted very well…that will cause increasing problems.

Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush ‘Lord of the Rings’ Landscape – Another perspective of Tolkien…through his art rather than writing.

No breathing easy for city dwellers: particulates – Southeast Asia has seen the largest annual average increases in concentration and mortality rates between 2000 and 2019 from this type of air pollution.

How climate change is leading to bigger hailstones – The records for the largest hailstones have been broken in the last 3 years in Texas, Colorado and Alabama….reaching sizes of up to 6.2 inches in diameter. Large hail causes a lot of damage…if the incidence of large hail increases the damage/costs will trend higher too; the post includes a picture of a car damaged by large hail…daunting to anyone that doesn’t have their car parked in a garage.

Missouri Man Indicted For Fire That Destroyed Ozark National Scenic Riverways Visitor Station – I am paying more attention to news about natural areas in Missouri…now that I am preparing to move to the state. It’s sad when this type of destruction occurs – hard to fathom why someone would burn a visitor station.

24 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

24 months in COVID-19 pandemic and cases/hospitalizations are continuing to decline rapidly in most parts of the US. Most states, local governments, school districts, and businesses no longer have mask mandates. My personal choice is to still wear a mask when I am indoors in public places. A lot of other people are making the same choice where I do my grocery shopping. In the medical building where I went for an appointment recently, the ‘mask required’ signs were still up….and everyone was complying (it’s become the norm for medical settings).

I am traveling today – another road trip to Missouri and then Texas. Hand sanitizer and masks are in the car for rest stops. I am taking the food I will need for the 2-day drive to Missouri with me. An air purifier is going into the hotel room in Lexington, KY (turned on ‘high’ to filter the air for the duration of my night there)…and I have a supply of rapid test kits. I am using the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Level map to assess the higher risk areas along my route. There is a lot of yellow and orange in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Springfield, MO is green. The route between Springfield and Carrollton, TX is green with some yellow (and Carrollton is green). I’ll be gone for a little over two weeks and the trip back to Maryland will be less risky if the trend continues.

My rationale for continuing to wear a mask indoors is all about protecting the high-risk family members (older and immunosuppressed) I will be with in Missouri/Texas and when I return home. At the same time – my husband and I are in the process of house hunting…getting ready to move from Maryland to Missouri…not something we could have done last year at this time. Progress has been made and I hope the COVID-19 cases will continue to decline…in the US and around the world…that the pandemic will end.

23 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

23 months and the Omicron variant is declining. There is a lot of hope across the US that the decline in infections will continue…that another variant will not burst on the scene and cause infections to rise again. Maryland – where I live – is approaching the positivity rate of last summer (before the Delta variant) but our hospitalizations are still relatively high although heading downward. There is a lot of push to reduce mask mandates.

My strategy still includes wearing a mask when I am indoors with unfamiliar people…until the stats get a little lower. Over the past month, my indoor interactions have been going to the grocery store and doctor’s office…plus arranging for the replacement of the swelling battery in my laptop (it was under warranty and the manufacturer provided the service at my home).

My husband has picked up the free COVID at-home tests and masks that became available over the past month. We probably have plenty for our needs at this point….may have some we never use if the downward trends continue.

I haven’t had COVID (the precautions and vaccination have worked for me so far) but I am thinking more now about the impacts on our economy and individuals from “long COVID.” At this point it’s hard to predict how much the impact might be but so many people have had COVID that even a small percentage dealing with physical or cognitive challenges over the coming years from long covid would be a significant cohort in our workforce and requiring specialized medical expertise. I wonder if the current mix of specialists in our medical system is going to be adequate. Since there is some indication that the severity of the case does not always correlate to having “long COVID,” the potential for long term impacts is increasingly important in my motivation to continue masking for myself and others until I feel confident that I am unlikely to be infected.

I have broader plans with increased interactions with other people over next 6 weeks: hiking with a group and road trip to Missouri and Texas (I haven’t been since November because of weather, Omicron, and my surgery). Keeping plans flexible is key…reacting to the local infection rates…staying informed about new variants…taking precautions to mitigate risk.

Gleanings of the Week Ending January 29, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Photography In the National Parks: My 10 Favorite Shots From 2021 – I only went to one national park in 2021: New River Gorge (in West Virginia). There are so many beautiful National Parks to see…and they’re worth seeing again and again.

Big Gulp: Blue Catfish Eat Wood Duck – We’ve seen fishermen catch blue catfish at the base of Conowingo Dam (we’re there for the bald eagles). They are huge…sorry to learn that they eat ducks.

Top 25 birds of the week: Raptors! – How many of these live in your area of the world?

Air Pollution Makes It Harder for Bees to Sniff Out Flowers – Not just a problem for bees…also moths, hoverflies and butterflies are having a harder time. This results in a 14-31% reduction in pollination among plants exposed to polluted air.

Ocean microplastic pollution may be greater than estimated – Not a good trend…and this form of pollution that is new enough that the full impact is still being discovered.

With Fewer Animals to Move Their Seeds, Plants Are Stuck in Threatened Habitats – Another way the world is becoming less resilient at a time when climate change is pushing all life to use all the resilience available.

Large Permian Basin Methane Leaks Are Causing As Much Climate Pollution as 500,000 Cars – It’s frustrating that the oil industry has not been a better steward of resources they are extracting for energy. The methane leaks are a waste of the effort put into extraction….and bad for the planet too.

Dinosaur food and Hiroshima bomb survivors: maidenhair trees are ‘living fossils’ and your new favorite plant – Learn more about the ginkgo tree! There is one along my walking route in my neighborhood and others I find in local gardens and parks near where I live. They are so different from other trees…worth noticing.

North Sea Fossil Fuel Companies Plan to Invest More in Wind than Oil Drilling – Hurray! Maybe other companies around the world begin to do this too….a strategic move for Shell, Total and BP.

Antimicrobial resistance now a leading cause of death worldwide, study finds – This challenge will increase over time…if we don’t take action to slow the development of resistance and develop new antimicrobial techniques (maybe we need more strategies than simply trying to develop new antibiotics).

22 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

22 months in COVID-19 pandemic is a long time to be in heightened awareness mode…long enough for new habits to become well established. I would feel very odd going into a store without a mask….or going shopping at a time where there are lots of people in the store…or shopping slowly…or going out to eat rather than getting takeout. These new habits are just part of the way I am out in the world right now; they are not difficult to sustain.

My concern about COVID-19 has increased over the past month as the Omicron variant has become more widespread and the infections/hospitalizations in Maryland (where I live) have increased dramatically. My husband and I have backed off the plans we had for beginning to get out more. We are enjoying our house and yard…doing outdoor activities on our own in areas without a lot of other people rather than meeting a group.

I take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy whatever I am doing:

…a sunrise before going into the grocery store

… the unfurling of yellow roses over several days as I do my normal activities in my home office (I had the vase on the window sill)

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…the snow caught in the pinecones/greenery on our front door (I had opened the door to take it down to dismantle/take to the compost pile but decided to leave it)

Making the conscious effort to appreciate my surroundings is my best strategy for sustaining a positive attitude. I have also started setting 30 minute timers all during the day and doing 3 minutes of walking. It is a great way to move throughout the day and stay focused on whatever I need to do during the other 27 minutes!

My husband and I have planned what we will do after my cancer surgery since there will be a higher than usual chance we will be exposed to COVID-19. For him, being in the waiting room for hours is the challenge; even if he goes outside to eat/drink and everyone is masked when indoors…it will be a lot longer indoors away from home since the initial lockdowns of the pandemic. For me, the exposure could take place during the surgery itself…from the time I take off my mask to the time I wake up from anesthesia; presumably everyone will be masked and the air filtration will be good….but still more chance of exposure than my normal routine. Our plan for 5 days post-surgery is to be on separate floors of our house when we have our mask off (sleeping, eating/drinking, showering) ….and test if we have any symptoms. I’ll post more about it as we implement the pan.

By the time I am recovered from surgery and ready for another road trip to Texas, the Omicron variant may be waning and hopefully another variant is not burning bright and hot….but maybe that is wishful thinking.

21 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

And the pandemic continues …

Just as the Delta Variant seemed to be waning, the Omicron variant appeared…just starting its sweep of the country now; it’s too early to predict its impact over the next few months as the usual cold weather in much of the country and indoor holiday celebrations provide the ideal conditions for the spread of airborne infections (like COVID-19). It helps that more and more people are getting vaccinated but there are wide disparities in vaccination rates across the country.

Things are different than a year ago –

• A year ago we were wondering when we would be able to be vaccinated…now we are have been vaccinated and boosted.

• I wear KF94 masks now all the time rather than double masking with cloth masks like I was a year ago.

• I am going to the grocery store every week rather than every 3 weeks.

• My daughter came for a short visit at Thanksgiving (road trip from Missouri) – last year we settled for talking on the telephone.

• My husband observed the Lunar Eclipse with the local amateur astronomy club…rather than just planning on going to some of their sessions. They are still doing virtual meetings.

• We did some virtual birding events like we did last year but we also attended a Druid Hill Park (Baltimore) birding walk.

• I traveled to Texas (road trip) to visit my family….something I would not have done last November.

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Some things are the same:

• We are still not eating in restaurants; we do get takeout occasionally…about the same frequency as we did last year.

• My husband is attending the virtual AGU meeting.

• We both enjoyed the Crane Fiesta from Bosque del Apache for the second year in a row.

From a mental health perspective, I am probably less anxious about COVID-19 than I was a year ago because I am vaccinated and my masks are KF94s…that protect me as well as others. I am frustrated that COVID-19 is still a pandemic. I acknowledge being uncomfortable in crowds….and realize that it could be years before I choose to go to a concert or fly on an airplane or go into a grocery store on a weekend. Maybe it is more than COVID-19 that has caused the feeling; there are so many events in the country that surprise me (not in a positive way) and avoidance, under the umbrella of being COVID-19 vigilant, is my way of coping.

From a physical health perspective, my cancer diagnosis and coming treatment are my priority…the health of my 90s-year-old parents is a close second. I’m anticipating trips to Texas – hoping that there won’t be an emergency trip to Texas before my surgery. My confidence in making road trips safely (from a COVID-19 perspective) is high based on my 3 road trips since being fully vaccinated in April: carrying all food with me, air purifier to run in hotel room, KF94 masking any time I am inside, making most stops at interstate rest stops.

I am anticipating a quiet holiday at home this month…and then a lot of action in the first half of 2022!

20 Months in COVID-19 pandemic

20 months is a long time for a world crisis to be sustained…but the pandemic is still not over. It does appear that the US has crested the Delta Variant wave and the overall risk level in most areas of the country has declined over the past month. Vaccines and boosters are approved for more people recently too so I got a booster before I left on my road trip.

I am realizing that my cancer diagnosis would have come about 6 months earlier had I not made the decision to delay my annual physical until the vaccines became available and the infections began to decline last summer. I am relieved that the type of cancer I have is not a fast-growing kind; the prognosis is still about the same as it would have been: high probability of successful treatment.  There are probably a lot of people that made similar decisions about their health care during the pandemic and the already strained medical system is now dealing with the backlog of treatment while also addressing the ongoing pandemic.

It was good to be in the rivers again with high school students (volunteer gig for me). I enjoyed it more than ever before both because of the locations and because of the attitudes of the students. They seemed keen to participate…more focused on the field trip…grateful to be back in school. It was easy to be their guide!

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There was home maintenance that was not a disconcerting as earlier in the pandemic. The normal checking of our heating system was less stressful…everyone wearing masks. Almost everyone has gotten used to wearing them indoors. We also had a crew trim our trees….for the first time. Our house is ready for winter.

The trip to Longwood was our first since before the pandemic. It was a good day trip for us although I enjoyed the pre-pandemic version more.

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And then I felt confident enough to make another road trip to Texas….still in the mode of carrying all my food for the drive with me and only spending one night in a motel (with an air purifier running in the room). I masked up every time I went indoors for rest stops too.

Overall – we’re coping…I hope the trend continues and the pandemic ends at some point although it seems likely that even if it does there will be enough climate changed induced disasters with enough frequency to keep the anxiety levels spiking. And I normally consider myself an optimist (pre-pandemic, at least); maybe I’m not recovering that outlook yet.

19 Months in COVID-19 pandemic

19 months into the pandemic: the wave of infections from the delta variant is beginning to decline although the US is still experiencing more than 1,000 deaths per day; vaccine mandates are beginning to come into effect; schools are in-person, sometimes finding it challenging to keep outbreaks at bay; booster shots for high-risk Pfizer recipients were approved; it appears that approval for vaccination of children under 12 may be coming soon. So – it is still problematic but there are positive trends.

I am planning another road trip to Missouri and Texas later this month – expecting the trends to continue…the situation to improve along my route from Maryland. The KF-94 masks have protected me so far and I have a good supply for the trip. My concern has shifted away from contracting Covid-19 and toward the ‘what if’ concerns along the way. My road trips so far have been without incident, but I understand that if an accident occurred that required medical attention, the hospitals along my route might be overwhelmed with COVID patients…and that at least some people are so stressed by the ongoing situation that they become angry very quickly. So – I’ll be doing my usual careful driving and limiting my interactions…keeping the interactions I do have to cheerful greetings and checking in/out of the hotel.

I have enjoyed the volunteering I’ve done this month with 6th and 9th graders. They are old enough to wear their masks as well as I do! And they seemed pleased to be in school and having a field trip experience – more so that pre-pandemic years.

The idea of future pandemics is something I have been thinking about and how we have a new dimension of inequality: people that are vaccinated and people that are not. Most of the people dying from COVID-19 now are unvaccinated. And some percentage of people will recover from the initial infection but with long term health issues that will have health and economic impacts on the individuals and the country. Will that happen with other diseases that are prevented – or made milder – with vaccines: measles, chickenpox, mumps, shingles, pneumonia, whopping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, etc.? Some of those diseases might not kill people but there are sometimes long-term health issues that are expensive to treat and a continuing burden on our health care system. However good the system becomes to quickly produce effective vaccines – it won’t help as much as it should if people refuse the shot!

Even with that concern for the long term – I am thinking positive about the trends for this pandemic and hope that many more people will shift their attention to the present and looming impact of climate change….taking aggressive action to reduce and mitigate as fast as we can.

Gleanings of the Week Ending October 9, 2021

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Earth is dimming due to climate change – Decades of measurements of earthshine indicate that the Earth is becoming less reflective with warmer oceans (and fewer bright clouds).

Kilauea Resumes Eruptions At Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park – Exciting times on the big island…

In UK, Interest in EVs Spikes Amid Fuel Shortages – There have been stories about Ford and GM strategy recently too….lots of indicators that many people will be buying EVs sooner rather than later if enough are produced.

NASA lander records the largest ‘Marsquakes’ ever detected – The lander has been on the surface since 2018!

Dental care: The best, worst and unproven tools to care for your teeth – Hmm….I wonder how much this research will change what dentists advise?

Baby Poo Has Ten Times More Microplastics Than Adult Feces – A scary result…and no ideas on how to reduce exposure (and we don’t know exactly what harms it might cause)….just more research needed. Very frustrating.

Coastal Northeastern US is a global warming hotspot; 2 degrees Celsius of summer warming has already occurred – From Maine to Delaware…the area is warming faster because of climate change linked alterations in the ocean and atmospheric conditions of the North Atlantic.

2021 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest Winners Highlight Global Wildlife and Nature – Beautiful…and thought provoking. My favorite was the artsy one at the end…a high key image.

Paradigm shift in treatment of type 2 diabetes to focus on weight loss – There are probably other chronic ‘diseases’ that have become more prevalent over the past few decades that could be improved with weight loss….but it is hard to lose weight…and keep it off. It requires permanent lifestyle changes.

A Leisurely Trip to Kansas – Another post that includes pictures of a rough green snake. I’ve been on the lookout for them since my son-in-law sent a photo he took with his phone!

Annual Flu Vaccine

It’s that time of year again – time to get the annual flu vaccine. This year it was very easy for me; I went to my grocery store pharmacy just as I did last year… right after they opened. There was no line, and their system already had all my information. I filled out a form on a clip board, provided an electronic signature, and got the shot.

I refrained from buying myself a treat like a piece of cake or a soft drink -went to the nearby thrift store instead. I found 2 pairs of ‘like new’ leggings that are easy additions to my fall wardrobe!

I am still planning another road trip to Texas in October so getting the flu shot in September means it will be fully effective by then. I am hopeful that the high rate of infection and hospitalization along my route will be reduced by then – and that hospitals will not be as overwhelmed as they are right now…just in case some accident occurs along the way.  

On the same day I got the flu shot – we had a very hazy day in Maryland and it was attributed to the California wildfires. Signs of climate change are everywhere. For me – getting the flu shot is an action to avoid a health issue at a time when the pandemic and climate change are straining the resources of our country to deal with those disasters – making it even more challenging to take the strategic actions to reduce and mitigate the climate change going forward.

18 months in COVID-19 Pandemic

18 months into the pandemic and the US is experiencing high rates of delta variant infections. The number of new cases is higher than it was in September 2020 and the number of new deaths is a higher too although not as much as the new cases; the vaccines and early treatments are reducing the number of deaths somewhat. The most people in the hospital and dying are unvaccinated. More schools are opening this fall – mostly with mask mandates. There is a lot of concern for the children under 12 since there is not a vaccine approved for them yet.

On a personal level, I am glad I am fully vaccinated, and that the KF-94 masks protect me as well as others. The availability of higher quality masks is one of the differences from last year when I was still wearing cloth masks (2 of them) that were protection for others – not necessarily for myself. I wear my mask anytime I am not at home indoors (like the grocery store) and outdoors when I am near other people (like at the Farmers Market). We are not eating in restaurants…but getting takeout occasionally. I haven’t done another road trip in the past month.

I am attending training for volunteer gigs coming the fall – ones that are primarily outdoors. Those will start in a few weeks if the local schools manage to avoid major COVID outbreaks that would force them to close. There are some places where it appears the delta variant has already peaked (like Springfield MO) but I’m glad I am not planning another road trip until mid-October when (maybe) the overall infection rate will be lower that it is right now on my route to and from Texas.

I wish I could see an clear end of the pandemic, but it may just be wave after wave of variants…some that the vaccine might not be effective against. I’m glad that masks are effective against respiratory spread in general and have grown accustomed to wearing one.

It is frustrating that COVID is still demanding so much of our attention at a time when we need to focus more on actions to address the larger rolling disasters of climate change.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 11, 2021

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Wind Energy Accounted for 42% of New US Power in 2020 – And solar was 38% of the new energy. And 8 east coast states have large offshore wind projects in the works in the years ahead. Hurray! It’s a good trend and it looks like the slope of the trend will keep increasing for wind and solar (decrease and go to 0 for new natural gas).

How people respond to wildfire smoke -  Another reason to slip on a mask.

Devastating Rain in Tennessee – A map of the change in soil moisture between August 20 and August 21. The floods on August 21 in Tennessee (area circled on the map) killed at least 22 people. I was surprised that there was an area of Illinois (to the north and a little west of the flash flood circle) where the soil moisture increased even more; perhaps that area floods frequently and the area is managed with flooding in mind.

New analysis reveals Vesuvius Victims’ diverse diets – From analysis of Herculaneum skeletons. Men got more of their protein from seafood. Women ate more meat grown on land, eggs and dairy products.

Eye provide peek at Alzheimer’s disease risk – Amyloid plaques can form in retinas of the eye. Does their presence there provide a visible biomarker for detecting Alzheimer’s risk?

Top 25 birds of the week: Wild Birds! – Bird photography…..challenging and beautiful subjects for our cameras.

Have you seen a weasel lately? – There is a suspicion that weasels are in the decline…but the data is circumstantial. These are not predators that have been widely studied. The post points to a role for citizen scientists!

Dispatches from a world aflame – Reviews of two books about the recent fires…and the relation to climate change.

Preemption of Green Cities in Red States – At a time when we need to get serious about addressing climate change – a drive by some states to keep local governments from taking any action. There is a cognitive dissonance between historically arguing for local control then usurping that control when the state government does not agree with it. I like local control but acknowledge that higher up the governance hierarchy could make sweeping changes easier. Perhaps some of these state governments will redeem themselves by quickly taking strong action toward climate change reduction and mitigation – soon. The top issue for me when I vote these days has become climate change!

Climate Change Is The Greatest Threat To Public Health, Top Medical Journals Warn – Another reason that actions to address climate change must be at the forefront of our thinking about the future. Medicine cannot make up for the injury we are making to ourselves and every living thing on the planet.

17 Months in COVID-19 Pandemic

17 months into the pandemic and whatever optimism that I felt earlier about the vaccines helping the country return to normal this fall has evaporated. Last spring, I was very optimistic that by this time, I would be planning fall foliage/birding trips…that maybe we would be able to do the Staunton River Star Party – camp out on the field with other amateur astronomers. Now I am not looking seriously at any non-family related travel. I am hoping to be able to make another road trip to Texas for my mother’s 90th birthday in the early fall.

I’ve already posted about the road trip I took to Texas during this last month. It was the second one this year and very different than I expected when it came to COVID-19. The first trip was back in April-May just after I was fully vaccinated. At that time – I felt relatively secure and hopeful that the pandemic would be waning over the summer; the hotel had COVID-19 precautions in place and many people were wearing masks. I became more anxious as the second road trip progressed. The delta variant was surging in some areas when I drove from Maryland to Missouri to Texas, but other areas seemed relatively untouched. I limited my activities in Springfield, Missouri (one of the early places that the delta variant filled the hospitals); there were two indoor events I attended for a wedding in Dallas where it still seemed safe. By the time I started home, the delta variant was surging in more areas, no one was wearing a mask along my route except me (even in the hotel), and I was anxious enough about the possibility that I had been exposed to buy and use the at-home antigen test even though I never developed any symptoms. Based on statistics – if I was exposed and had a breakthrough infection, it would not be life threatening but I didn’t want to risk any ‘long COVID’ issues or expose others. It was reassuring to test negative with two tests. I was grateful that my daughter had convinced me to upgrade from cloth masks to KF94s last spring before I made my first trip. They are the mask I have been wearing since April.

The dominant emotion I feel now about COVID-19 is sadness – for the lives damaged and lost since the vaccine has become widely available…for not being with my family as much as I would like or traveling to places I enjoy…for the self-destruct aspect of the US culture that continues to surprise me (it is hard for me to accept its pervasiveness)…for the failure of leadership, particularly at the state level.

Mask mandates for indoor settings are something that can be helpful in the short term…but vaccine mandates might be even more important. With the full FDA approval of the vaccines, maybe vaccine mandates will become more widespread. They are already beginning to happen in health care, military and school settings. It will be a long slog with legal challenges, unfortunately.

I am conscious of activities I won’t be restarting anytime soon – as long as the delta variant continues to cause spikes in cases:

Flying. COVID-19 is just one of the reasons. The increased number of incidents with unruly passengers is another. I was disheartened that some airlines recently declined to mandate vaccines for their employees.

Eating in restaurants. I’ll enjoy take out but with the delta variant there is no way the filtration systems can make it safe to eat in the same indoor space with other unmasked (while eating) patrons.

Any spaces where there are a lot of people. Theaters are not a place I would want to be; same for stores during times when a lot of people are shopping. Even parks are problematic if there are large numbers of people.

I am going to the training for the fall programs where I have volunteered in years past. Most of the programs are outdoors…I’ll do some of them this fall…skip the ones that have an indoor setting.

Last spring – I expected that the August post might be my last about my COVID-10 pandemic experiences. But it isn’t over yet. So frustrating….and sad.

16 months in COVID-19 Pandemic

16 months into the pandemic with vaccines available to anyone 12 or older…and the Delta variant is surging in some areas where the percent of the population vaccinated is low. Unfortunately - Springfield, Missouri is one of those places. It is frustrating that the deaths and the start of long term disabilities from COVID-19 that are happening now could have been avoided via vaccination….that the impact on lives of individuals and the economy (through increased health care and loss of productivity for those that became ill and didn’t fully recover) will be part of the legacy of (what I hope is) the late stages of the pandemic in the US.

I was at home in Maryland – a state with a high vaccination rate – for most of June. Even with Maryland’s stats, the Delta variant has me still wearing a mask any time I am in an indoor space like the grocery store (early morning when there are not many people around) or doctor’s offices (catching up on appointments I put off during the pandemic). We are still in takeout mode for restaurants and my husband wears a mask when he picks up our food. At other stores, we are doing curbside pickup. I wear a mask at the Farmers Market even though it is outdoors because it is difficult to keep distance while I am shopping. By this time, I had hoped we would be at the point of not needing masks, but the variants have changed the situation.

We are enjoying outdoor places: Brookside Gardens, Howard County Conservancy’s Mt Pleasant, Centennial Park, and Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. We choose times where there won’t be many other people around – usually in the mornings. I’m glad we’ve been able to avoid crowds/not wear masks since sometimes the temperature is warm enough that masks would be uncomfortable. Our yard is a great place to enjoy the outdoors as well; I enjoy yardwork in short bursts…when it’s not too hot.

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Webinars have been a boon during the pandemic and this past month included one of the most thought-provoking: The Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty. It was an interdisciplinary 4 days of sessions (Day 1: https://tinyurl.com/4t7zjv72 Day 2: https://tinyurl.com/2f9n4b72 Day 3: https://tinyurl.com/48rbba2k Day 4: https://tinyurl.com/5bbey7pr)).

I’ve been thinking about the most effective pandemic coping mechanisms for me…deciding that the variety of strategies I’ve developed over many years have all contributed. It is having many familiar strategies to choose from that is important….and utilizing them often – together or alone. There are some that are part of my daily routine: journaling, 12,000 steps,  browsing 4 online books, mindfulness/yoga, blog post, noting something I am celebrating, creating Zentangle tile. My office is arranged such that the view from the window is a wall of trees with a roof at one side where birds occasionally perch. My husband and I try to plan one ‘field trip’ each week – a garden walk, birding, hiking, astronomy. Overall…we’ve settled into a routine that is sustainable.

I have road trip plans for the next month….and will be taking precautions to stay well while I am on the road and visiting family.