Baxil [bakh-HEEL'], n.
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09:39 pm
![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/57248126/240226) [Link] |
in case you're not yet hiding under the bed
Discarded plastic is strangling Earth's oceans: " 25 percent of our planet is a toilet that never flushes." Antibiotics are breeding yet more superbugs: " The TB bacillus ... has suddenly morphed into something virtually incurable. ... In a matter of days, it killed 52 out of 53 people who had it."* Sometimes you just have to wonder if the reason we haven't been contacted by intelligent life is that the acceleration of civilization leads inevitably to self-extinction. -- * If you don't read the full article, at least take some consolation in the fact that it seems to be harder to catch than ordinary tuberculosis.
Current Location: ~calorg Current Mood: scared Current Music: "Run Lola Run" soundtrack
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| ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2832096/743032) | From: | wy |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 05:06 am (UTC) |
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Re: TB... Well, at that level of virulence, it'll quickly kill itself. Note how the AIDS virus has reduced virulence in the time since it's initial spread...
Small wonders, I know.
...
And yeah, the sargasso sea in the atlantic is just about as bad. That's true.. it's of no interest to a pathogen to kill people rapidly, or indeed at all (we virtually all have varicella zoster virus - chickenpox/shingles - unless vaccinated, which isn't done in the UK). SARS is a good example; very dangerous, but it was too deadly for its own good and didn't get transmitted much. ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/1021922/240226) | From: | baxil |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:09 pm (UTC) |
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It's not a good evolutionary strategy, but it does happen -- and when it does, it can be scary for the host species. ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/1021922/240226) | From: | baxil |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:06 pm (UTC) |
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I'm not nearly as worried about the disease as I am about the plastics ... although the idea of a lethal airborne disease really isn't reassuring.
I wasn't aware that AIDS had reduced its virulence; I know it's not as big a concern any more, but I had assumed that was due to better treatment methods and new drug cocktails. What's your source? ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2832096/743032) | From: | wy |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:11 pm (UTC) |
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![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/9461209/240226) | From: | baxil |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:28 pm (UTC) |
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Thanks. Filed for later reference. re: discarded plastic
Wow, even the article notes "wrist-slittingly depressing."
They also note, fascinating to me, "Currently, McDonough is working with the Chinese government to build seven cities using “the building materials of the future,” including a fabric that is safe enough to eat and a new, nontoxic polystyrene." I want to see how that turns out - or, better yet, I want cities like that here. ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/9461209/240226) | From: | baxil |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:36 pm (UTC) |
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There's definitely cause for hope ... I just hope we don't pass a tipping point before we can bring solutions to bear.
Welcome to the journal, by the way! How'd you find me? You made an interesting comment somewhere and I clicked. I think it was at chéz circuit_four, but my memory's a little spotty. Love the coinage "Bastard Culture," by the way. Not a big surprise; nature adapts, and humans in general do a pretty bad job of using antibiotics according to the directions.
Good reason to stay healthy, and out of hospitals. The plastic of the Eastern Garbage Patch is... wow. ![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2832096/743032) | From: | wy |
Date: | May 24th, 2007 06:13 pm (UTC) |
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| | Re: Stunning | (Link) |
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You should look at some of the trash that washes up on the islands in those gyres. From: | lhexa |
Date: | May 26th, 2007 05:37 am (UTC) |
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*whimpers* |
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