A mostly empty 110 freeway toward downtown Los Angeles, California on April 28, 2020. Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The shelter in place orders that brought clean skies to some of the world's most polluted cities and saw greenhouse gas emissions plummet were just a temporary relief that provided an illusory benefit to the long-term consequences of the climate crisis. According to new research, the COVID-19 lockdowns will have a "neglible" impact on global warming, as Newshub in New Zealand reported.
<p>The severe measures that were taken on a global scale to stem the tide of the novel coronavirus pandemic did curb pollution in the atmosphere, but the researchers found the impact will cut global heating by just 0.01 degrees Celsius by 2030, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/07/covid-19-lockdown-will-have-negligible-impact-on-climate-crisis-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>"The direct effect of the pandemic-driven [lockdown] will be negligible," said the researchers, whose analysis was led by Piers Forster at the University of Leeds in the UK, as The Guardian reported. "In contrast, with an economic recovery tilted towards green stimulus and reductions in fossil fuel investments, it is possible to avoid future warming of 0.3C by 2050."</p>
<p>The study was published in <em><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-020-0883-0" target="_blank">Nature Climate Change</a></em>. To figure out the impact of the lockdowns, the researchers looked at mobility data from Google and Apple in 123 countries that covers 99 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> emissions. The information gives real-time information on travel and work patterns, which allows researchers to use advanced computations to estimate emissions levels, according to The Guardian.</p><p>Professor Keith Shine, at the University of Reading and not part of the study team, told The Guardian: "It is deeply impressive to get such a near-real-time analysis of the climate impact [of the lockdowns]."</p><p>What they found was that emissions from people using transportation was at its lowest in April, with nitrogen oxide levels falling by 30 percent and carbon dioxide levels dropping by 25 percent, according to Newshub.</p>
<p>Professor Dave Reay, chair of carbon management at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study, told Newshub that the results are not surprising "given the long lifetime of carbon dioxide and the massive pool of fossil carbon already swilling around in our atmosphere."</p><p>The declines show that swift and decisive changes in how people behave have the potential to dramatically impact the environment in the short term. That was evident in the cleaner skies and the suddenly visible animals in Venice's canals and the streets of various cities. In Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, air quality improved so much that NASA satellite imagery showed the average density of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide – a toxic chemical that reduces immunity – dropped significantly below normal levels, as Newshub reported.</p>
<p>Of course, those lockdowns came with a steep economic price as people were put out of work and supply chains and distribution were severely disrupted. In other words, lockdowns of that scale are so damaging that they are impossible to maintain. Furthermore, once the lockdowns lifted, emissions levels started to rise again. That phenomenon means the world needs to transition to a zero-emissions economy by investing in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> and burying CO2, according to the researchers, as The Guardian reported.</p><p>"It is now make or break for the 1.5 Celsius target," said Forster, as The Guardian reported. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really change the direction of society. We do not have to go back to where we were, because times of crisis are also the time to change."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Coronavirus Lockdown Linked to Falling Air Pollution Levels in Italy ... ›
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Set for Record Decline Due to ... ›
- Coronavirus Lockdowns Led to Record 17% Emissions Drop ... ›
- India's Air Pollution Plummets in COVID-19 Lockdown - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Twitter Posts Show That People Are Profoundly Sad – and Visiting Parks to Feel Happy
07 August
Health + Wellness
Parks keep people happy in times of global crisis, economic shutdown and public anger. NPS
By Joe Roman and Taylor Ricketts
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is the deepest and longest period of malaise in a dozen years. Our colleagues at the University of Vermont have concluded this by analyzing posts on Twitter. The Vermont Complex Systems Center studies 50 million tweets a day, scoring the "happiness" of people's words to monitor the national mood. That mood today is at its lowest point since 2008 when they started this project.
<p>They call the tweet analysis the <a href="https://hedonometer.org/timeseries/en_all/" target="_blank">Hedonometer</a>. It relies on surveys of thousands of people who rate words indicating happiness. "Laughter" gets an 8.50 while "jail" gets a 1.76. They use these scores to measure the mood of Twitter traffic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU0MDk2OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5OTE2NTE0MH0.r5pybtrk3Hbw6T563Ocywomubq61WtEpw3Q44HVUITs/img.png?width=980" id="c7ac9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76b7770b6cc9fd69f3e395f74864a776" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Hedonometer measures happiness through analysis of key words on Twitter, which is now used by one in five Americans. This chart covers 18 months from early 2019 to July 2020, showing major dips in 2020. hedonometer.org
<p>These same tweets also indicate a potential salve. Before pandemic lockdowns began, doctoral student <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0P0ZYbIAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">Aaron Schwartz</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10045" target="_blank">compared tweets before, during, and after visits to 150 parks, playgrounds and plazas</a> in San Francisco. He found that park visits corresponded with a spike in happiness, followed by an afterglow lasting up to four hours.</p><p>Tweets from parks contained fewer negative words such as "no," "not" and "can't," and fewer first-person pronouns like "I" and "me." It seems that nature makes people more positive and less self-obsessed.</p><p>Parks keep people happy in times of global crisis, economic shutdown and public anger. Research has also shown that transmission rates for COVID-19 are <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Is-risk-of-coronavirus-transmission-lower-15287602.php" target="_blank">much lower outdoors than inside</a>. As scholars who study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yFzb2EUAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">conservation</a> and how nature <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=CCnUeN8AAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">contributes to human well-being</a>, we see opening up parks and creating new ones as a straightforward remedy for Americans' current blues.</p>Park Visits Are Up During the Pandemic
<p>According to the Hedonometer, sentiments expressed online started trending lower in mid-March as the impacts of the pandemic became clear. As lockdowns continued, they registered the lowest sentiment scores on record. Then in late May, effects from George Floyd's death in police custody and the following protests and police response once again could be seen on Twitter. May 31, 2020 was the saddest day of the project.</p><p>Recent surveys of park visitors around the University of Vermont have shown people <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/sd3h6" target="_blank">using green spaces more</a> since COVID-19 lockdowns began. Many people reported that parks were highly important to their well-being during the pandemic.</p><div id="4c7e4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bc0ac146ab2a94228f32d973fc2ab272"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1289428912879964160" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Goldengatepark #sf #quarantinemood https://t.co/9l3ufnbkt6</div> — Suvd (@Suvd)<a href="https://twitter.com/Suvd19486406/statuses/1289428912879964160">1596258783.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The powerful effects of nature are strongest in large parks with more trees, but smaller neighborhood parks also provide a significant boost. Their impact on happiness is real, measurable and lasting.</p><p>Twitter records show that parks increase happiness to a level similar to the bounce at Christmas, which typically is the happiest day of the year. Schwartz has since expanded his <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.10658.pdf" target="_blank">Twitter study</a> to the 25 largest cities in the U.S. and found this bounce everywhere.</p><p>Parks and public spaces won't cure COVID-19 or stop police brutality, but they are far more than playgrounds. There is growing evidence that parks contribute to mental and physical health in a range of communities.</p><p>In a 2015 study, for example, Stanford researchers sent people out for one of two walks: through a local park or on a busy street. Those who walked in nature showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.005" target="_blank">improved moods and better memory performance</a> compared to the urban group. And a team led by <a href="https://penniur.upenn.edu/people/eugenia-gina-south" target="_blank">Gina South</a> of the University of Pennsylvania showed in a 2018 study that greening and cleaning up blighted vacant lots in Philadelphia <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0298" target="_blank">reduced local residents' feelings of depression, worthlessness and poor mental health</a>.</p>
Creative Strategies
<p>It isn't easy to create new parks on the scale of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park or the Washington Mall, but smaller projects can expand outdoor space. Options include greening vacant lots, closing streets and investing in existing parks to make them safer, greener and shadier and support wildlife.</p><p>These initiatives don't have to be capital-intensive. In the University of Pennsylvania study, for example, renovating a vacant lot by removing trash, planting grass and trees and installing a low fence cost only about US$1,600.</p><p>Urban green space is most needed in neighborhoods that have lacked funding for parks, especially given <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/nyregion/coronavirus-race-deaths.html" target="_blank">COVID-19's disproportionate impact on Black and Latinx people</a>.</p><p>Cities can also create parklike spaces by <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-fewer-cars-on-us-streets-now-is-the-time-to-reinvent-roadways-and-how-we-use-them-140408" target="_blank">closing streets to cars</a>. Many cities worldwide are currently retooling their transportation systems for the post-COVID-19 world in order to <a href="https://thecityfix.com/blog/bicycles-slower-speeds-livable-city-paris-mayor-anne-hidalgo-plans-ambitious-second-term-dario-hidalgo/" target="_blank">reallocate public space</a>, widen sidewalks and make more space for nature.</p><p>Urban designers, artists, ecologists and other citizens can play a direct role, too, creating pop-up parks and green spaces. Some advocates <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-15/a-brief-history-of-park-ing-day" target="_blank">transform parking spaces into mini-parks</a> with grass, potted trees and seating for just the time on the meter, to make a larger point about turning so much public space over to cars.</p><p>Or cities can invest a little more. Minneapolis, Cincinnati and Arlington, Virginia, have won <a href="https://www.tpl.org/parkscore" target="_blank">national recognition</a> for their ambitious investments in public park systems. These areas could serve as models for neighborhoods that lack access to parks.</p><div id="25fd0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="383f0d2df0237e9359c30dcce6cd6c42"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1276558744835379201" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Looking to safely get outside? Check out the best parks for social distancing in this year's top ten ParkScore citi… https://t.co/HJjEtDsrTD</div> — The Trust for Public Land (@The Trust for Public Land)<a href="https://twitter.com/tpl_org/statuses/1276558744835379201">1593190296.0</a></blockquote></div>
A New Park Deal?
<p>The United States has historically driven economic recovery with major infrastructure investments, like the New Deal in the 1930s and the 2009 <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act.asp" target="_blank">American Reinvestment and Recovery Act</a>. Such investments could easily include nature-positive spaces.</p><p>Parks are not panaceas, as evidenced by the widely publicized <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/nyregion/amy-cooper-false-report-charge.html" target="_blank">racist confrontation between a white woman and a Black birder</a> in New York's Central Park in early July. But Hedonometer data add to a <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/7/eaax0903?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news" target="_blank">growing body of evidence</a> that they provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807504116" target="_blank">clear mental health benefits</a>. Creating and expanding parks also <a href="https://www.nrpa.org/contentassets/f568e0ca499743a08148e3593c860fc5/economic-impact-study-summary.pdf" target="_blank">generates jobs and economic activity</a>, with much of the money spent locally.</p><p>We believe investments in nature are well worth it, offering both short-term solace in difficult times and long-term benefits to health, economies and communities.</p>From Your Site Articles
- Growing Up Near Nature Is Good for Your Adult Mental Health, New ... ›
- Doctors Prescribe Spending Time In Parks - EcoWatch ›
- This Is the Best Type of Green Space for Your Mental Health ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
A mural honors the medics fighting COVID-19 in Australia, where cases are once again rising, taken on April 22, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Robert Cianflone / Getty Images
By Gianna-Carina Grün
While the first countries are easing their lockdowns, others are reporting more and more new cases every day. Data for the global picture shows the pandemic is far from over. DW has the latest statistics.
What's the Current Global Trend?
<p>The goal for all countries is to make it to the blue part of the chart and stay there. Countries and territories in this section reported zero new cases both this week (past seven days) and the week before.</p><p>Currently, that is the case for 14 out of 209 countries and territories. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU0MDY4Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzc0MDAwM30.ZSsLzwTWoiEiCBH6RkYt_PochwwAyvViegJbDj21uzk/img.png?width=980" id="b7cbf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6209b12a1c6732b279e1778374028cfa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p><em>Please note: The number of newly reported cases highly depends on a country's ability to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-numbers-in-india-are-low-but-so-is-the-testing-rate/a-52840933" target="_blank">conduct tests</a> and its <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-what-you-should-know-about-tests/a-53349363" target="_blank">strategy for administering tests.</a></em></p>
How Has the Covid-19 Trend Evolved Over the Past Weeks?
<p>The situation has improved slightly: 87 countries report more cases this week than last week. </p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU0MDY4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzY4MzU4MX0.MzzvxPlKwUGWobBBFGpVwWXizOWZnLZVeTyV7OcWlIY/img.png?width=980" id="6c55a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a7bb4dee972b5132ac3d9920a6eb9b2c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><h3><strong></strong>What Is the Current Covid-19 Trend in My Country?</h3><p>Based on the newly reported case numbers – which can reflect local outbreaks as well as country-wide spread – in the past 14 days, countries and territories <a href="https://github.com/dw-data/covid19-trend" target="_blank">classify</a> as follows:</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU0MDY5My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDA2MzI1N30.Elrh1JEKUlx_9aBhfzN9RvfW372HzRyMbAonLISlU_A/img.png?width=980" id="19485" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dd593682ea783065b88832f321680b3d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>More than twice as many new cases this week as last week:</p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: Cyprus, Philippines, Vietnam </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Benin, Djibouti, Gambia </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Turks and Caicos islands, US Virgin Islands </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Estonia, Finland, Greece, Jersey, Malta, Norway </li><li><strong>Oceania</strong>: Guam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea </li></ul><p> <br>More new cases this week than last week: </p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Lebanon, Maldives, Nepal, Singapore, Syria, Timor Leste, Turkey, Uzbekistan </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Angola, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Zimbabwe </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Albania, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, San Marino, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom </li><li><strong>Oceania</strong>: Australia </li></ul>
<p>About the same number of new cases in both weeks (no change or plus/minus seven cases):</p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: Bhutan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Mali, Uganda </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Bermuda, Curacao, Nicaragua, Sint Maarten (Dutch part) </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Gibraltar, Monaco </li><li><strong>Oceania</strong>: Northern Mariana Islands </li></ul><p>Fewer new cases this week than last week: </p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Zambia </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, United States of America, Uruguay </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia </li></ul><p> <br>Less than half as many new cases as last week: </p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Oman, Sri Lanka </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Cote dIvoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Mauritania, Mauritius, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Antigua and Barbuda, Greenland, Grenada, Saint Lucia </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Liechtenstein </li></ul><p> <br>Zero new cases this week as well as last week: </p><ul><li><strong>Asia</strong>: Brunei Darussalam </li><li><strong>Africa</strong>: Tanzania, Western Sahara </li><li><strong>Americas</strong>: Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Saint Kitts and Nevis </li><li><strong>Europe</strong>: Guernsey, Holy See, Isle of Man </li><li><strong>Oceania</strong>: Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia </li></ul><p><em>These charts and this article are updated every Friday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (UTC/GMT). </em></p><p><em>If you have questions regarding the analysis, please refer to the project's <a href="https://github.com/dw-data/covid19-trend" target="_blank">github repository </a> for code and methodology. For feedback regarding the charts, please contact data-team@dw.com </em></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-global-pandemic-trend/a-53954594?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Coronavirus Has Infected More Than 60,000 Worldwide, New ... ›
- Apple Fire Forces 7,800 to Seek Shelter in Coronavirus-Ravaged ... ›
- CDC Expands List of Those With Higher COVID-19 Risks - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
As Schools Reopen, Georgia Students Suspended for Blowing the Whistle on Crowded Hallways
07 August
Health + Wellness
Hannah Watters wrote on Twitter that she was suspended for posting a video and photo of crowded hallways at her high school. hannah @ihateiceman
As the debate over how and if to safely reopen schools in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic continues, two student whistleblowers have been caught in the crosshairs.
<p>The students, who attend North Paulding High School in Georgia, told <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/north-paulding-high-school-suspensions-for-hallway-photos?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bffbbuzzfeedvideo&ref=bffbbuzzfeedvideo&" target="_blank"><u>BuzzFeed News</u></a> they were suspended for posting videos of crowded hallways on social media.</p><p>"Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed," 15-year-old Hannah Watters wrote in the Twitter post that accompanied a photo she took. "We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate."</p>
<div id="d143c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4612c650da5606ed7270b92ccc8b9ba4"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1290728743263252480" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enoug… https://t.co/x0k2JLqEFk</div> — hannah (@hannah)<a href="https://twitter.com/ihateiceman/statuses/1290728743263252480">1596568687.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Watters said she received a five day, out-of-school suspension for sharing a video and photo of the conditions. Another student, who asked to remain anonymous, also said they were suspended for tweeting photos of hallway crowding.</p><p>The school told Watters she had been suspended on three grounds: using her phone without permission, using it to post on social media and posting pictures of minors without their consent.</p><p>However, Watters <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/07/us/georgia-teen-photo-crowded-school-hallway-trnd/index.html" target="_blank"><u>told CNN</u></a> that the rules against phone use do not apply to students in grades nine through 12 and that she posted the video and photo after school. She acknowledged that she broke the rule against posting photos of other students.</p><p>"I'd like to say this is some good and necessary trouble," Watters told CNN. "My biggest concern is not only about me being safe, it's about everyone being safe because behind every teacher, student and staff member there is a family, there are friends, and I would just want to keep everyone safe."</p><p>Watters' wasn't the first image of crowding at the high school to go viral. That honor goes to a photo shared by the account @Freeyourmindkid, according to BuzzFeed News. It is not clear who took the image or if they were penalized.</p>
<div id="9ccc4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c0ec871de71a27b1357a35e0c1f2e455"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1290626349426671617" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This is the first day of school in Paulding County, Georgia. https://t.co/fzdidaAABM</div> — 🇯🇲Black🇭🇹Aziz🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹 (@🇯🇲Black🇭🇹Aziz🇳🇬aNANsi🇹🇹)<a href="https://twitter.com/Freeyourmindkid/statuses/1290626349426671617">1596544275.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The photos of hallway crowding at North Paulding High School have emerged as a symbol for the difficulties of safely reopening schools, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/north-paulding-high-school-coronavirus-georgia.html" target="_blank"><u>The New York Times pointed out</u></a>. Schools that have reopened for in-person instruction in Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Indiana have had to impose quarantines and sometimes close classrooms or whole schools in response to new cases. In another Georgia school, for example, an entire second-grade class had to quarantine for two weeks after one of its students tested positive for COVID-19 on the second day, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-georgia-second-grader-covid-19-positive-test/" target="_blank"><u>CBS News reported</u></a>.</p><p>Paulding County School District superintendent Brian Otott defended the district's decision to reopen in a <a href="https://dam.tmz.com/document/a6/o/2020/08/04/a64748a740a84d25abbaf08e5be5e9be.pdf" target="_blank"><u>letter</u></a> and said the photos were taken out of context. He said they were taken during the "brief" period when high school students change classes and he noted that the Department of Public Health said people catch COVID-19 after being within six feet of an infected person for 15 minutes.</p><p>"Class changes at the high school level are a challenge when maintaining a specific schedule. It is an area we are continuing to work on in this new environment to find practicable ways to further limit students from congregating," he wrote.</p><p>The district has also come under fire for its mask policy. Instead of requiring their use, it considers mask-wearing a "personal choice," BuzzFeed News reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends mask use, however.</p><p>Watters also took a tally of how many students in her classes wore masks each day.</p>
<div id="f9c6f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ef4bc65f296bdccb05e99b0c6b04abcb"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1291132959131611137" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">https://t.co/UvJoLjpq5N</div> — hannah (@hannah)<a href="https://twitter.com/ihateiceman/statuses/1291132959131611137">1596665060.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>In every class, a majority of students chose not to wear masks. </p>
From Your Site Articles
- The South Isn't Prepared for a COVID-19 Surge - EcoWatch ›
- Until Teachers Feel Safe, Widespread In-Person K-12 Schooling ... ›
- Teens and Tweens Are Fastest COVID-19 Spreaders, New Study ... ›
- How Other Countries Reopened Schools During the Pandemic ... ›
- Young Children May Have Higher Coronavirus Levels, Raising ... ›
- COVID-19: What Experts Think About Reopening Schools - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
President Trump signs an executive order regulating social media on May 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. Doug Mills-Pool / Getty Images
Facebook and Twitter removed posts by President Donald Trump and his campaign Wednesday for violating their policies against spreading false information about COVID-19.
<p>The offending posts both shared a link to a video in which Trump claimed that children are "almost immune" to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-trump/facebook-twitter-pull-trump-posts-over-coronavirus-misinformation-idUSKCN25136Y?fbclid=IwAR3irRfp4TbdXzi9QJPwT2zlOTR1RbPybVaYok0gNYGKamR_7jMgLkTW-q0&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. Facebook said it was the first time it had removed a post by the president for sharing coronavirus misinformation.</p><p>"This video includes false claims that a group of people is immune from COVID-19 which is a violation of our policies around harmful COVID misinformation," Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/05/899558311/facebook-removes-trump-post-over-false-claim-about-children-and-covid-19?utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3fI3uSsERYZnMc02kZg6EyEv43sCbTSHLz65rabasUg1LG1P2P_AhY7sc" target="_blank">NPR</a> of the social media giant's decision.</p><p>Facebook removed the post from the President's own page, while Twitter removed a post of the video shared from the Trump campaign account @TeamTrump.</p><p>"The @TeamTrump Tweet you referenced is in violation of the Twitter Rules on <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/An-update-on-our-continuity-strategy-during-COVID-19.html__;!!Iwwt!DYFZLtq_zq5IqF-xREGa5P1jGVOACsXYLdUrMDtAvCQvBg3zVAWyR3hkJME%24" target="_blank">COVID-19 misinformation</a>. The account owner will be required to<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/enforcement-options__;!!Iwwt!DYFZLtq_zq5IqF-xREGa5P1jGVOACsXYLdUrMDtAvCQvBg3zVAWyGr9epH8%24" target="_blank"> remove the Tweet</a> before they can Tweet again," Twitter spokesperson Trenton Kennedy told NPR.</p>
<p>The campaign complied and is now tweeting again.</p><p>The video contained a clip from a Fox News interview Trump gave Wednesday morning, in which he argued for schools to reopen.</p><p>"If you look at children, children are almost — and I would almost say definitely — but almost immune from this disease," Trump told "Fox & Friends," according to a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/politics/fact-check-trump-fox-friends-pandemic-biden-protests/index.html" target="_blank">CNN fact check of the interview</a>. "They don't have a problem. They just don't have a problem."</p><p>But CNN's Daniel Dale explained why that wasn't true.</p>
<p>"While children are, on the whole, less likely to get seriously ill or die from the coronavirus than adults are, they are certainly not 'immune,'" he wrote. "Children get infected, transmit the virus, and do sometimes get seriously ill or die."</p><p>The World Health Organization found that children aged five to 14 years old made up 4.6 percent of 6 million infections between Feb. 24 and July 12, according to Reuters. A large study out of South Korea last month found that younger children were less likely to spread the virus than adults, but children aged 10 to 19 could spread it just as much, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/health/coronavirus-children-schools.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</p><p>White House deputy national press secretary Courtney Parella defended Trump's statement in the removed video.</p><p>"The president was stating a fact that children are less susceptible to the coronavirus. Another day, another display of Silicon Valley's flagrant bias against this president, where the rules are only enforced in one direction," she said in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/technology/trump-facebook-coronavirus-video.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR0NldbBP1YYL71utJ9dYyuuiwvPEKfPL62ZoyZVj2VKLshwLD18sT4g5Ic" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "Social media companies are not the arbiters of truth."</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/06/media/facebook-twitter-trump-reliable-sources/index.html" target="_blank">CNN's Oliver Darcy</a> argued that Trump's statement in the Fox interview went much further than Parella's summary. At one point in the interview, Trump said it was a fact that children were "virtually immune" from the disease, and Facebook confirmed to Darcy that this quote was featured in the removed video.</p><p>Darcy further criticized Fox News for allowing Trump's claims to air unchallenged in the first place:</p><blockquote>What is noteworthy is that the action means that — on this issue — the two tech giants have enforced higher standards on their platforms than the Murdoch family has enforced on Fox News. Whereas Twitter and Facebook removed the clip, the hosts of "Fox & Friends" didn't challenge Trump when he made the false claim on the network's air. And, Fox News — which didn't provide me a comment — played Trump's remarks to its large audience later in the day without a fact-check.</blockquote><p>The video was on Facebook for around four hours and seen almost half a million times before it was removed, The New York Times reported.</p>YouTube also told Reuters it had removed the video, but the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOWHlKM1U6E" target="_blank">full interview</a> is still available on the Fox News channel.
From Your Site Articles
- Rare Inflammatory Disease Linked to More Than 100 Childhood ... ›
- COVID-19: What Experts Think About Reopening Schools - EcoWatch ›
- Teens and Tweens Are Fastest COVID-19 Spreaders, New Study ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Black Lives Depend on the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Don’t Water Them Down
06 August
Health + Wellness
Black Americans are dying from Covid-19 at more than twice the rate of white Americans, and at younger ages, partly due to poor diets that make bodies less resistant to the coronavirus. Mireya Acierto / Getty Images
By Michelle D. Holmes
Most Americans know about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans primarily through their colorful representations: the original food pyramid, which a few years ago morphed into MyPlate. The guidelines represent the government mothering us to choose the healthiest vegetables, grains, sources of protein, and desserts, and to eat them in the healthiest portions.
As innocuous as the food pyramid and MyPlate seem, they are actually a matter of life and death.
<p>The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are, by law, updated every five years. They are <a href="https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/activities/criticisms-2015-2020-dietary-guidelines" target="_blank">often criticized</a> for not clearly and directly condemning red and processed meat and sugar-sweetened beverages, not noting the environmental impact of those foods, and for being heavily influenced by food companies. But the recently released 835-page <a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/ScientificReport_of_the_2020DietaryGuidelinesAdvisoryCommittee_first-print.pdf" target="_blank">final draft</a> from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, the independent group of nutrition experts charged with the 2020 update, actually represents an important advance for Black Americans.<br></p><p>Poor diets kill <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2608221" target="_blank">nearly 320,000 Americans a year</a>, from heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic conditions. That exceeds the <a href="https://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf" target="_blank">combat death toll</a> of 291,000 U.S. soldiers in World War II. In a nation where 42% of Americans are obese, this is of particular gravity to Black Americans, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html" target="_blank">half of whom are obese</a>.</p><p>Sugar added to prepared foods and beverages contribute to weight gain. The average American consumes <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/added-sugar-in-the-diet/" target="_blank">22 teaspoons</a> of added sugar a day. That's 350 calories, or more than 17% of the recommended 2,000-calorie daily diet. The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4135498/" target="_blank">most common sources</a> of added sugar in the American diet are sugar-sweetened beverages, cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream.</p>
<p>This year's Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended nearly halving daily sugar intake, from less than 10% of daily calories, as recommended in <a href="https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/2015-2020-dietary-guidelines" target="_blank">the 2015 guidelines</a>, to less than 6%. The committee also advises that children under age 2 not be given juice or other sugar-sweetened beverages.</p><p>In a daily diet of 2,000 calories, 10% of added sugar represents 200 calories; 6% would be 120 calories. A bowl of <a href="https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000199349" target="_blank">Frosted Flakes</a> and a <a href="https://smartlabel.kelloggs.com/Product/Index/00038000551321" target="_blank">strawberry Pop-Tart</a>, each at 56 calories of added sugar, would put an individual's breakfast close to the new limit. One 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola is 140 calories of sugar; a 12-ounce can of Pepsi is 150 calories. Both exceed the new recommendation.</p><p>While all Americans eat too much sugar, Black Americans consume about <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Dietary-intake-of-sugar-in-African-Americans-versus-whites_tbl3_264502021" target="_blank">20% more</a> than white Americans. I want to be clear here that I am not blaming Black Americans. Their disproportionate poor health is a direct <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/25/opinion/coronavirus-race-obesity.html" target="_blank">legacy of slavery</a>, legally enforced housing discrimination, and unattended disparities. Many Black Americans do not have access — financially or geographically — to the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5726305/" target="_blank">healthy food</a> or modes of exercise that white Americans do.</p><p>This disparity is brought into even sharper focus by Black Americans dying from Covid-19 at <a href="https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race" target="_blank">more than twice</a> the rate of white Americans, and <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/07/10/covid-19-disparity-black-hispanic-americans-deaths-under-65/" target="_blank">at younger ages</a>, partly due to poor diets that make bodies less resistant to the coronavirus. And along with other people of color, they are also overrepresented in so-called essential jobs, in which social distancing is very difficult.</p>
<p>Black Americans need science-based dietary guidelines in an acute way as they disproportionately benefit from federal nutrition programs that are mandated to follow the guidelines, such as school breakfast and lunch programs. For example, 74% of Black children are eligible for <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015/indicator2_7.asp#1" target="_blank">school lunch programs</a>, compared to 29% of white children. Other guideline-following programs include Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/wic-racial-ethnic-group-enrollment-data-2016" target="_blank">WIC</a>); the <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF10633.pdf" target="_blank">Nutrition Services Program</a>, mandated under the Older Americans Act; and nutrition programs administered by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.</p><p>If the recommendations by the advisory committee are approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and become part of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, they will ultimately be reflected in healthier offerings in federal programs. These could go a small way toward righting America's wrongs by offering African Americans healthier diet options.</p><p>That would be particularly remarkable because these recommendations are happening under the aegis of the otherwise anti-science Trump administration. Given the toxic political atmosphere, the Union of Concerned Scientists <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/sarah-reinhardt/new-dietary-guidelines-report-is-a-science-success-story" target="_blank">called these recommendations</a> "a science success story."</p><p>But to make this success stand up, people need to make sure that the USDA and HHS hear their voices. The public can <a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/work-under-way/get-involved/submit-comment" target="_blank">comment on the draft report</a> until Aug. 13.</p>
<p>The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's report then goes into what in the past has been an almost invisible process where corporate food lobbyists and members of Congress who receive heavy food industry contributions often push back hard against the committee's science-based recommendations. As my colleague and nutrition expert Walter Willett once wrote, the advisory committee's report is "yanked this way and that by competing powerful interests, few of which have your health as a central goal."</p><p>The 2015 advisory committee, for example, directly said that Americans should eat less processed red meat, replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water, and that the environmental sustainability of food production should be factored into the guidelines. The language around those issues was either <a href="https://prospect.org/power/junk-food-president-aims-ruin-american-nutrition/" target="_blank">watered down or deleted</a>.</p><p>Americans, and particularly Black Americans, cannot afford another watering down of the recommendations. While we are understandably consumed with the horrific death toll of Covid-19, we cannot forget that so many of the deaths are compounded by a poor diet.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/03/black-lives-depend-on-u-s-dietary-guidelines-dont-water-them-down/" target="_blank">STAT</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- 6 Powerful Ways to Improve Mental Health - EcoWatch ›
- New, Improved Vegetarian and Vegan Food Pyramid - EcoWatch ›
- Dr. Mark Hyman: Here's How the Food Pyramid Should Look ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Recycled paper at the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority's recycling site piles up in Edinburgh, Australia, on April 17, 2019. Brenton Edwards / AFP / Getty Images
By Alex Thornton
The Australian government has announced a A$190 million (US$130 million) investment in the nation's first Recycling Modernization Fund, with the aim of transforming the country's waste and recycling industry. The hope is that as many as 10,000 jobs can be created in what is being called a "once in a generation" opportunity to remodel the way Australia deals with its waste.
Waste Mountain
<p>The need for a dramatic increase in Australia's recycling capacity pre-dates the COVID-19 pandemic. <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-27/where-does-all-australias-waste-go/11755424" target="_blank">Australians create approximately 67 million tons of waste a year</a>, and like in many wealthy countries, much of that was sent overseas. That all changed when China announced it was <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/china-has-banned-foreign-waste-so-whats-the-future-of-world-recycling" target="_blank">banning the import of a huge range of foreign waste</a> and recyclables. Soon <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/malaysia-flooded-with-plastic-waste-to-send-back-some-scrap-to-source" target="_blank">other countries followed suit</a>, and Australia was forced to look for alternative solutions.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDc4NjgwNH0.kcj4RYDc0cQERhMB5duEBzcdA9A0eJ5qad1OyIyIH98/img.png?width=980" id="37769" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2546d96e25cd54902ceb66a326743b4c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Biggest exporters of plastic. Statista
Waste Export Ban
<p>Australia has adopted a strategy of taking responsibility for its own waste. Starting in January 2021, it is phasing in <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/waste-export-ban" target="_blank">bans on the export of different forms of waste</a>. By mid 2024, Australia's home-grown recycling industry will have to deal with an extra 650,000 tons of waste plastic, paper, glass and tires.</p><p>"As we cease shipping our waste overseas, the waste and recycling transformation will reshape our domestic waste industry, driving job creation and putting valuable materials back into the economy," federal environment minister Sussan Ley said in a <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">statement to Reuters</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUzNjY4OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDU2NzA0M30.5pHIN6g44hCE4tNeeiJebL9KkNEb8Awnr3mOzRYWUDE/img.jpg?width=980" id="0aad3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="927fc17a933d0287cf67f633a3e745b9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Timeline for Australia's waste export ban. Australian Government
Trash Into Treasure
<p>The benefits to the environment of boosting recycling rates are well known – less landfill, less plastic in our ocean, reduced need for virgin materials, and lower carbon emissions. The Recycling Modernization Fund initiative aims to divert more than 10 million tons of waste from landfill, part of an <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/publications/national-waste-policy-action-plan" target="_blank">overall strategy to reduce the total waste generated per person by 10%</a>, and push <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7381c1de-31d0-429b-912c-91a6dbc83af7/files/national-waste-report-2018.pdf" target="_blank">Australia's total resource recovery rate from 58% in 2017</a> to 80% by 2030.</p><p>But like many countries, Australia is focusing on the economic benefits of better waste management as well.</p><p>"This will mean Australia converts more waste into higher valued resources ready for reuse locally by manufacturers and brands in their packaging and products," Rose Read, CEO of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-australia-waste/australia-to-set-up-132-million-fund-to-boost-recycling-following-export-curbs-idUKKBN247060" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>.</p>Green Jobs
<p>The great potential of the circular economy to create green jobs is being recognized across the world.</p><p>In the UK, the Waste and Resources Action Program has launched a <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/buildbackbetter" target="_blank">six-point plan which it claims could add $90 billion to the economy, and create 500,000 new jobs</a>. Investment in the circular economy forms a significant part of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/us/politics/biden-climate-plan.html" target="_blank">$2 trillion climate plan that Democratic candidate Joe Biden</a> is taking into November's US presidential election. And the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_940" target="_blank">European Union has put its Green New Deal at the heart of its plans for recovery</a> from the economic shock of COVID-19.</p><p>The World Economic Forum's <a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_Future_Of_Nature_And_Business_2020.pdf" target="_blank">Future of Nature and Business</a> report identifies 15 systemic transitions with annual business opportunities worth $10 billion a year that could create 395 million jobs by 2030.</p><p>As is the case with Australia's Recycling Modernization Fund, a combination of private enterprise and government investment can offer ways to get people back to work by building a more environmentally sustainable economy.</p>From Your Site Articles
- The Complex and Frustrating Reality of Recycling Plastic - EcoWatch ›
- U.S. Products Labeled Recyclable Really Aren't, Greenpeace ... ›
- Mutant Enzyme Recycles Plastic in Hours, Could Revolutionize ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
The Food and Drug Administration is now warning against more than 100 potentially dangerous hand sanitizers.
Antonio_Diaz / Getty Images
Antonio_Diaz / Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now warning against more than 100 potentially dangerous hand sanitizers.
<p><br>Since June, the agency has been <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fda-hand-sanitizers-list-2646412872.html" target="_self">expanding</a> its list of hand sanitizers that may be contaminated with deadly methanol alcohol. But on Friday, the FDA announced a new problem. While some hand sanitizers contain the wrong kind of alcohol, others don't have enough of the right kind.</p><p>"FDA test results show certain hand sanitizers have concerningly low levels of ethyl alcohol or isopropyl alcohol, which are active ingredients in hand sanitizer products," the FDA <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "The agency urges consumers not to use these subpotent products."</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html" target="_blank">recommends</a> washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds as the best hand hygiene method to prevent the spread of disease. Soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer at killing certain germs, and some people do not use hand sanitizer correctly, either wiping it off too early or not using enough.</p><p>However, if soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent ethanol alcohol.</p><p>"Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers," the CDC explained. "Hand sanitizers without 60-95% alcohol 1) may not work equally well for many types of germs; and 2) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright."</p><p>The rise in hand sanitizer demand has been driven by attempts to stop the spread of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, so it is important that products actually work.</p>
<p>The FDA flagged the following hand sanitizers for being less effective:</p><ol><li>dgreen Advanced Sanitizer Alcohol Free</li><li>dgreen Advanced Hand Sanitizer Antibacterial Gel</li><li>Biokaab Inc. Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Biokaab Inc. Hand Sanitizer Gel</li><li>Clean Humans Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Medicare Alcohol Antiseptic Topical Solution</li><li>NeoNatural</li><li>Datsen Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Alcohol Antiseptic 62% Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Bernal Hand Sanitizer</li><li>Inflatables LLC Alcohol Antiseptic 65% Hand Sanitizer and Alcohol Antiseptic 70% Hand Sanitizer</li></ol>
<p>In addition to the subpotent hand sanitizers, the FDA continues to warn against hand sanitizers that contain methanol, or wood alcohol, which is toxic when absorbed through the skin and can be deadly when swallowed. There have been reports of people going blind, damaging their hearts or nervous systems, being hospitalized and even dying because of exposure to these toxic hand sanitizers, the agency <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-reiterates-warning-about-dangerous-alcohol-based-hand-sanitizers" target="_blank">said in a news release</a>. One of the deaths was associated with Blumen Hand Sanitizer, which is distributed by 4e North America and manufactured by 4E Global in Mexico. The company has recalled an expanded list of products.</p><p>"Practicing good hand hygiene, which includes using alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available, is an important public health tool for all Americans to employ. Consumers must also be vigilant about which hand sanitizers they use, and for their health and safety we urge consumers to immediately stop using all hand sanitizers on the FDA's <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use" target="_blank">list</a> of dangerous hand sanitizer products," FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn said in the press release. "We remain extremely concerned about the potential serious risks of alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing methanol. Producing, importing and distributing toxic hand sanitizers poses a serious threat to the public and will not be tolerated. The FDA will take additional action as necessary and will continue to provide the latest information on this issue for the health and safety of consumers."</p><p>There are now 115 hand sanitizers on the agency's "do-not-use list," mostly manufactured in Mexico, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/03/health/fda-hand-sanitizers-list-expands-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. As such, the FDA has issued import alerts to stop the products from entering the U.S.</p><p>It also sent a warning letter to one of the companies involved, Eskbiochem S.A. de C.V., for poor manufacturing practices, distributing hand sanitizers made at a facility that has undeclared methanol and falsely claiming its products are FDA approved.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- What to Do if There's a Disinfectant Shortage in Your Area - EcoWatch ›
- FDA Expands List of Potentially Deadly Hand Sanitizers - EcoWatch ›
- FDA Recalls Dozens of Toxic Hand Sanitizers - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Trending
Cuomo Blasts Trump's COVID-19 Response as 'Worst Government Blunder in Modern History'
04 August
Politics
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference on July 1, 2020 in New York City. Byron Smith / Getty Images
While the nation overall struggles with rising COVID cases, New York State is seeing the opposite. After peaking in March and April and implementing strict shutdowns of businesses, the state has seen its number of positive cases steadily decline as it slowly reopens. From coast-to-coast, Governor Andrew Cuomo's response to the crisis has been hailed as an exemplar of how to handle a public health crisis.
<p>Seeing the numbers go the wrong way in other parts of the country has prompted Cuomo to rail against the federal response to the crisis, and, in particular, the dearth of leadership from the White House. On Monday, Cuomo called President <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="_self">Trump</a>'s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic "the worst government blunder in modern history," as <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-Trump-COVID-19-response-worst-government-15454992.php" target="_blank">The Times-Union</a> in Albany reported.</p><p>During a press briefing in New York City, Cuomo passionately listed off a list of false statements and poor decisions that Trump and various White House officials made over the course of the crisis that underplayed the severity of the disease and resulted in many downplaying the risks and underpreparing for an outbreak.</p><p>"It was a mistake to say, 'It's just the flu,'" he said, as <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/coronavirus-updates-us-hits-monthly-high-new-cases-dr-birx-says-some-americans-should-wear-masks-home" target="_blank">Gothamist</a> reported.</p>
<p>In a video that Cuomo posted to <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1290363480277688320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1290363480277688320%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fgothamist.com%2Fnews%2Fcoronavirus-updates-us-hits-monthly-high-new-cases-dr-birx-says-some-americans-should-wear-masks-home" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, he asked the president to tell the truth and reiterated his list of grievances, writing, "The president has to tell the American people the truth. It was a mistake to downplay COVID. It was a mistake to say it would be gone by Easter. It was a mistake to say it will magically disappear. And it was a mistake to not set up a national testing program."</p><p>In his press conference, Cuomo said the nation should have learned the lessons New York did earlier and prepared better in the spring. He compared the deaths due to the virus to the loss of life in the Vietnam War.</p><p>"This was a colossal blunder, how COVID was handled by this federal government," Cuomo said, as <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/08/coronavirus-in-ny-hospitalizations-down-federal-response-a-colossal-blunder-cuomo-says.html" target="_blank">Syracuse.com</a> reported. "Shame on all of you."</p>
<p>He noted that states that opened too soon like Texas and Florida followed the federal government's lead in downplaying the pandemic.</p><p>"The reason they didn't (believe the gravity of the crisis) is because they were listening to the president," Cuomo said, as the Times-Union reported. "COVID kills Republicans and COVID affects red states. It is deadly serious."</p><p>According to Gothamist, he added: "This was not a political issue and it shouldn't have been politicized. This is public health, that's what this was, and it should have never been turned into a political symbol which is what this president did."</p><p>Cuomo also noted that medical experts were saying that the country needs to again "reset" by shutting down. And yet, he questioned if that would be effective if Trump did not change what he was saying about the seriousness of the infectious disease tearing through the country.</p><p>"If we don't tell the truth on the reset, COVID will never end," Cuomo said, according to the Times-Union. "And it will just bounce across the country."</p><p>The percentage of people testing positive in New York is around 1 percent. Hospitalizations reached a new low on Sunday after a peak of 18,000 in April. As Syracuse.com reported, 136 people were in intensive care units on Sunday and 62 people were intubated due to the virus, the lowest numbers since March.</p>
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
More Than Half of COVID-19 Survivors in Study Reported Psychiatric Disorders
04 August
Health + Wellness
Healthcare workers admit a coronavirus patient to a special intensive care unit set up outside Milan's San Raffaele hospital, where 55 percent of patients surveyed developed mental health symptoms after recovering from the new coronavirus. MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP via Getty Images
A study from a hospital in Milan, Italy has uncovered another complication to the process of recovering from the new coronavirus. More than half of patients surveyed one month after their treatment had developed a psychiatric disorder.
<p>The study, published in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159120316068" target="_blank">Brain, Behavior, and Immunity</a> on Thursday, found that 55 percent of former patients surveyed experienced either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, insomnia or obsessive compulsive (OC) symptoms.</p><p>"After three weeks of treatments, I was healing from COVID, at home, had no fever, and just a little cough," one of the patients surveyed for the study said. "But sometimes at night, my breath could go away all of a sudden, making me feel as if I was to die. I knew what it was because I had suffered from panic attacks in the past. I stayed there out on the balcony, for hours, trying to put fresh air into my lungs. It was terrible. Panic made me suffer more than COVID."</p>
<p>To obtain their results, researchers surveyed 402 patients who were treated at Milan's San Raffaele Hospital between April 6 and June 9: 265 men and 137 women. The patients were all initially assessed at the emergency room and then either admitted to the hospital or treated at home.</p><p>A month after treatment, the patients were interviewed and given questionnaires to assess their <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mental-health" target="_self">mental health</a>. They reported psychiatric symptoms at the following rates:</p><ul><li>Anxiety: 42 percent</li><li>Depression, 31 percent</li><li>Insomnia: 40 percent</li><li>PTSD: 28 percent</li><li>OC Symptoms: 20 percent</li></ul>
<p>Women fared worse psychologically than men, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/03/survivors-of-covid-19-show-increased-rate-of-psychiatric-disorders-study-finds" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. People who had previously been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder also were more likely to develop mental health symptoms after recovering from COVID-19.</p><p>The researchers were not surprised by their results, because previous studies of other coronaviruses had turned up increased mental health problems in survivors. For example, 10 to 35 percent of those who recovered from SARS have experienced psychiatric symptoms.</p><p>The reason COVID-19 survivors develop these symptoms could be down to two main reasons, the researchers think: the immune system's response to the disease and the stress of illness, such as fear, stigma and social isolation.</p>
<p>Research suggests a link between immune-triggered inflammation and mental illness. In addition, the study found that outpatients had worse mental health outcomes than people treated in the hospital, suggesting isolation played a role.</p><p>"Also considering the worse severity of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, this observation suggests that less healthcare support could have increased the social isolation and loneliness typical of COVID-19 pandemics, thus inducing more psychopathology after remission," the researchers wrote.</p><p>They said their findings warranted more investigation into the link between the pandemic and mental health issues.</p><p>"PTSD, major depression, and anxiety, are all high-burden non-communicable conditions associated with years of life lived with disability," they wrote. "Considering the alarming impact of COVID-19 infection on mental health, the current insights on inflammation in psychiatry, and the present observation of worse inflammation leading to worse depression, we recommend to assess psychopathology of COVID-19 survivors and to deepen research on inflammatory biomarkers, in order to diagnose and treat emergent psychiatric conditions."</p><p>The impact of the pandemic on mental health isn't limited to disease survivors, however, as <a href="https://www.techtimes.com/articles/251558/20200804/covid-19-psychiatric-disorders-like-ptsd-and-depression-prevalent-in-survivors.htm" target="_blank">Tech Times pointed out</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" target="_self">Public health</a> experts have already warned about a second pandemic of psychological disorders even among those who do not contract the disease. The fear of illness and the stress of losing employment or simply following current events could all take a toll.</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Anxiety Medication Prescriptions up 34% Since Coronavirus ... ›
- 75,000 American Deaths Predicted From Overdose and Suicide ... ›
- Should 'Eco-Anxiety' Be Classified as a Mental Illness? - EcoWatch ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less
Coronavirus Shines Light on Zoos as Danger Zones for Deadly Disease Transmission Between Humans and Animals
03 August
Insights + Opinion
An elephant at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. In Defense of Animals
By Marilyn Kroplick
The term "zoonotic disease" wasn't a hot topic of conversation before the novel coronavirus started spreading across the globe and upending lives. Now, people are discovering how devastating viruses that transfer from animals to humans can be. But the threat can go both ways — animals can also get sick from humans. There is no better time to reconsider the repercussions of keeping animals captive at zoos, for the sake of everyone's health.
<p>COVID-19, the illness that's caused by the novel coronavirus, is the result of human contact with animals, though the exact source remains a subject of debate. The risk of such zoonotic disease transmission drastically increases in any setting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/human-impact-on-wildlife-to-blame-for-spread-of-viruses-says-study-aoe" target="_blank">where wild animals are confined</a><a href="http://theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/human-impact-on-wildlife-to-blame-for-spread-of-viruses-says-study-aoe" target="_blank"> in close proximity to humans</a>, including public display facilities like zoos. Unfortunately, the risks posed by zoonotic transmission go beyond COVID-19. A recent <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/uoc-asa041320.php" target="_blank">study</a> found that more than 40 percent of zoo animals in Spain were infected with a parasite that can be passed to humans and causes a disease known as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxoplasmosis/gen_info/faqs.html" target="_blank">toxoplasmosis</a>, which can lead to damage to the brain, eyes and other organs in human beings. Across the U.S., another dangerous zoonotic disease has long been lurking in our midst at zoos: <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/basics/default.htm" target="_blank">tuberculosis</a> (TB).</p>
<p>TB is a deadly, highly infectious disease that has long existed in captive populations of African and Asian <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elephants">elephants</a> in zoos and circuses across the U.S. According to the World Health Organization, TB is one of the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis" target="_blank">top ten </a>causes of death worldwide, killing millions of people each year. Although TB rates have been on the decline for decades in the U.S., captive elephants represent a persistent <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2015/03/elephant-tuberculosis-epidemic-zoo-and-circus-animals-passing-tb-to-humans-and-one-another.html" target="_blank">reservoir</a> of the virus. Incredibly, "licensees and registrants who own elephants" are <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa_2015/sa_10/ct_elephant_tb_policy" target="_blank">not required</a> to test elephants for the virus. Even if they were, these tests, known as "trunk washes," are difficult to conduct and can be unreliable. This means that zoos may be bringing the unsuspecting public into contact with infected elephants. Because TB is no longer common in the U.S., children are not vaccinated against it, making them particularly susceptible.</p>
<p>The risk of elephants transmitting TB to humans is generally greater among those who work closely with elephants, though it is thought that TB can spread from elephants to humans <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166032/" target="_blank">through air</a> also. The risk of wider contagion, especially to zoo guests, is therefore a possibility. Many zoo exhibits bring people through indoor barns where elephants spend much of their time, separated only by bars and a few feet of space. Even more intimate encounters, such as rides or feedings that enable people to come into direct physical contact with elephants, are particularly concerning given their amplified transmission opportunities.</p><p>TB has long been known as a <a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/02/19/dont-think-about-contagious-elephants-whose-job-is-it-to-combat-and-contain-tuberculosis/" target="_blank">potentially serious issue in U.S. zoos</a>. Many people have been infected over the years, including, as recently as 2019. In 2013, seven staff members were <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/health/2016/01/officials_identify_tuberculosi.html" target="_blank">infected</a> at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, following an outbreak among three bull elephants. Elephant infections persisted there into <a href="https://www.wweek.com/news/2019/07/10/pregnant-asian-elephant-at-oregon-zoo-may-have-tuberculosis/#:~:text=The%20Oregon%20Zoo%20announced%20today,Chendra%20as%20potentially%20having%20TB." target="_blank">2019</a>. Also, last year, some staff members <a href="https://www.pdza.org/connect/newsroom/press-releases/staff-test-positive-for-latent-tuberculosis/" target="_blank">tested positive</a> for latent TB at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. Both the Bronx Zoo in New York City and the Saint Louis Zoo in Missouri also have had elephants test positive in recent years.</p>
<p>The threat of deadly disease transmission, however, does not only affect humans. In a process called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3938448/" target="_blank">reverse zoonosis</a>, diseases such as influenza A virus, herpes simplex 1, measles and methicillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (MRSA) have been documented as passing from humans to animals. Regarding TB, <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y9ztj4ls" target="_blank">studies have shown</a> that the causative agent that leads to human infection of TB is also present in elephants, suggesting a reverse zoonosis of the disease from humans to elephants. This opens the possibility that humans could actually be the <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y9ztj4ls" target="_blank">cause</a> of TB infections in captive elephants.</p><p>Another incident of reverse zoonosis occurred at the Bronx Zoo recently. In April 2020 the zoo announced that one of its tigers <a href="https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14010/A-Tiger-at-Bronx-Zoo-Tests-Positive-for-COVID-19-The-Tiger-and-the-Zoos-Other-Cats-Are-Doing-Well-at-This-Time.aspx" target="_blank">tested positive</a> for COVID-19. While no other cats were tested, the tiger's sister, along with two other tigers and three African lions, developed symptoms including a dry cough, suggesting they might have also been infected.</p>
<p>One of the main reasons that zoos can be hotbeds for deadly disease transmission — which threatens elephants, tigers and other captive animals as well as human beings — is that captive animals can suffer from compromised immune systems due to the confines of captivity, rendering them more susceptible to illness. In many facilities, tigers and elephants are often held in cramped enclosures that bear little resemblance to their natural wild habitats. They can be forced to perform or interact with the public on a daily basis or endure living in solitary confinement. The Bronx Zoo, for example, has forced an elephant named Happy to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/nyregion/bronx-zoo-elephant-lawsuit-happy.html" target="_blank">live alone</a> since 2006, a crushing sentence for a highly social species. These types of living conditions can cause a range of physical and psychological ailments, which have been <a href="https://www.idausa.org/campaign/elephants/10-worst-zoos/" target="_blank">well documented</a>. Captive elephants tend to live shortened lifespans in contrast to those in the wild and suffer from diseases and conditions virtually unseen in the wild. The cumulative effect of these factors renders elephants prone to the TB contagion.</p>
<p>The fact that TB has continued to infect captive elephant populations in the U.S. for decades reveals the extent to which zoos are incapable of providing adequate living conditions to prevent the spread of this disease, despite their best efforts. While zoos and their supporters continue to argue that keeping animals captive is necessary to raise awareness and get people to care about them, seeing animals trapped in unnatural environments that prevent them from thriving doesn't do anything to teach us about how they live or how they should be recognized, respected and protected in the wild.</p><p>We can hope that the world will soon return to some semblance of normalcy, but if this pandemic has taught us anything, it's that we can't continue with business as usual when it comes to our relationship with wildlife and the environment — at least not if we want to survive. In the meantime, we can protect captive animals and ourselves by avoiding zoos.</p>
<p><em>Marilyn Kroplick is the president of <a href="https://www.idausa.org/" target="_blank">In Defense of Animals</a></em><em>.</em><br/></p>From Your Site Articles
- Can Your Pets Get and Transmit Coronavirus? - EcoWatch ›
- Jane Goodall: COVID-19 Is Result of Our Unhealthy Relationship ... ›
- North Carolina Pug Tests Positive for Coronavirus, Could Be First ... ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Read More
Show Less