Blog entry 6

Zika Virus

Noah Swart

Environmental Health

   The modern world sees its fair share of deadly viruses, just recently the Ebola outbreak in Southern Africa left the world wondering how it would leave its mark. As public fear of the disease reaches its height the disease usually starts to die down, from either public health efforts or its inability to spread fast enough before the host’s death. The Zika virus isn’t deadly or even all that harmful to most normal health people, but the reason it’s getting such news traction and public health awareness is because of its unique effect on the unborn fetus.

Effects of Microcephaly 

travel

   The Zika virus has been linked to birth defects in the fetuses of affected women that become pregnant or are pregnant when exposed to the virus. The babies are born with an undersized head and an underdeveloped brain, this defect is referred to as Microcephaly. This link was first noticed in Brazil this May and has since been spreading through a unique mosquito population that’s already infamous for its ability to carry the west Nile virus. Now the Worldwide Health Organization has been struggling to figure out how to prevent and control the outbreaks.

   Health organizations all around have pinpointed the spread to that of bugs, mostly mosquito's around the world. This would explain why it hasn’t spread widely into North America as it’s currently in the winter seasons and mosquito's can’t survive through the harsh cold weather.  Drastic measures have already been taken in South American countries such as the use of large mosquito pesticides to kill off the large brooding population.

  The most effective way to stop the spread is to simply inform the population about the dangers and how to protect themselves from getting infected in the first place. Secondly, it’s important to make sure those that have already been exposed to the Zika virus have gone through the stages of sickness and don’t have any of the virus still lingering in them. This is to be sure that it cannot spread to family members or friends. Flights in and out of affected countries are monitored to prevent a large scale spread via travel. These are all simple but effective methods health organizations use to prevent and control the spread.

Blog Entry Five

Noah Swart

Environmental Health and Safety

Mr. Moss

Sustainability

  Environmental Sustainability is a pretty self-explanatory title, but it in itself is a very complex. The earth isn’t self-sustaining and a lot of species on the planet use what they need. Humans are the only species on the planet that understand the earth’s sustainability, and are able to accurately measure it. Of course, it took humans a long period of time to actually get to the point of measuring out impact on the planet. We are the largest cause of global warming and Eco destruction all around the planet. The question then begins, what exactly is Environmental Sustainability and how are we able to measure and properly repair and not continue the destruction of our environment.

Triangle of Sustainability

  Environmental Sustainability refers to the sustainability of a certain measurable Eco system. This Eco system can be a small pond or the entire planet’s environment. The sustainability of these places is measured by what’s in them and if the sources of the ecosystem are able to be replenished on their own. If an ecosystem isn’t naturally able to be replenished then its Environmental Sustainability will only be till all its natural resources are used up. Humans can play either a positive or

negative role in environmental sustainability. If humans plant more trees or keep river systems cleaner that can elongate the sustainability of the area. If in the case of the rain-forest, humans cut down trees at a rate that newer trees cannot grow back in time then the sustainability is dramatically decreased.

  As for the Earth’s Environmental Sustainability, that can be a lot trickier to measure. We have to take into account how quickly all the natural resources of the planet are being used up and why. Along with this we have to understand what natural resources mean more to the Earth as a whole. We know that we need oxygen to breath and that trees are of great importance to this sustainability. With this knowledge we have set environmental standards for how many trees are allowed to be cut down in certain areas, and if certain logging efforts could potentially damage an important ecosystem then certain steps are made to prevent that logging of the area.

  Environmental Sustainability, itself, is a very complicated field that requires a lot of knowledge of particular and wide range ecosystems.  This factor leads to a lot of confusion in the overall sustainability of the Earth, some believe we are eventually doomed to fail as a planet while others see the planet as a perfectly pristine natural resource that belongs to humans as free use. Both of these conceptions of the planet are of course wrong, and the planets sustainability is fully within our reaches. The only problem is that society as a whole is either unwilling or unknowingly allowing the destruction of our planet to continue unchecked.

Noah Swart

Blog Topic 4

Stress and how we deal with it

Environmental Health and safety

Stress in itself is seen in many different ways by each person and cultures. Some societies even see stress as an indicator of a hard worker. This social standard causes a problem however, as stress is not good for the body. Although, to be able to treat and assist in stress relief we first need to be able to location the stress indicator and what one can do to relieve this indicator. It can be as easy as changing your perspective on life or where you fit in life. However, it can be as difficult as someone you’re close with who can cause your stress. This means that you have to find a way to cope successfully with this stress, or manage in it such a way that your stress won’t effect you later in life.

There are multiple methods to successfully dealing with stress

The feeling of stress

, but a lot rely on the individual to understand when they are stressed and why. One key way to relieving stress is to participate in physical activities, working your body without putting physical stress on yourself can greatly reduce your stress levels. You can even mix two stress relievers in one, by conjoining in physical activates and social activities at the same time can greatly help. Of course, you can always work your way around life avoiding stress, but it does find its way to sneak up on you, without even seeing stressful, until the time hits. By altering your situation in life you can turn a stressful environment into something more positive. Such as just expressing your inner feelings to those around you instead of portraying yourself in a way different then you are. Even just managing your time better can create an effect in life. One example is to complete your assignments ahead of time instead of the day before.

Even if altering your situation doesn’t work you can just do what mammals were programmed to do, adapt. Look at the big picture in life and see that what you stress about has a small effect in the long run of your life. Just change your standards on what makes you happy and enjoy yourself, make time for the small things and you’ll see a drastic change. The last and most important way to reduce stress is simple, just accept who you are and what life itself is. You can see the world as the largest complicated mess or a small existence in a vast expansion of space that doesn’t worry about the troubles of everyday life.

Just Relax 

Society is so good at finding the indicators for stress because society itself causes stress. Who and how we interact with each other can and will change how our bodies perform in the future. Everyone will always tell you that stress is a state of mind, but it’s a state of mind that can damage the individual who isn’t able to control and rid their minds of all the stressful thoughts. Be mindful of how your body works and you’ll be able to find a peaceful place.