[off-topic rant ]
>> To scientists trying to find out why some flu viruses are so much more virulent than others, this is an exciting
discovery. "Now, the tools are beginning to get into place that can work out what makes a virus mild, and what
makes it nasty," Webster said. <<
Unfortunately, there will be some individuals, groups, and/or nations that will attempt to use these tools to create biological weapons.
As (1) societies become more crowded, (2) a growing population is increasingly regarded as a route to power, and (3) travel is facilitated to feed developed economies with brains, hands and backs, humans become vectors as we've never known them. At the same time, pollution and lifestyle issues will weaken given individuals in all societies. It will become so bad that humans will be regarded as risk factors for food stock, instead of vice versa.
The U.S. tries to protect against foot and mouth disease by checking for caked-on mud on shoes? Ha!
Our regulatory agencies, particularly the Department of Agriculture, are just not prepared. We need a proactive and facilitating agency that can bring together Dept. Agriculture, FDA/CDC, and Army/Navy efforts in infectious diseases. We need to provide enough funding to "entrepreneurial enterprises" (sheesh, I'm making myself sick) such that the rapid development and deployment of vaccines can be a reality. Contracts need to be increased in size and scope, such that companies can anchor high-margin projects with stable income. The best and brightest will always end up chasing the biggest rewards, so we need to find a way to get low-margin but "facilitating" projects into their hands. DARPA funding is a step in the correct direction.
At the greater level of nations, a sane body needs to save Earth from humans. For the sake of our children, in every society.
The writing is on the wall. The lesson can be learned before the disaster. And yet we race one another to see who can suck more black goo out of Earth fastest, to fuel the insanity.
Technology will keep up, and there's a "Jetsons" lifestyle ahead for future generations? Ha! But there won't be any glamour ass'd with a Mad Max-like future. It will all be ugly.
Where will we find a leader who can unite all human populations and turn from the inevitable? What personality traits would it take? A Jimmy Carter with forceful charisma?
A serious question....... among today's world leaders, are there any bright spots? Are there any charismatic men or women out there who could at least *help* at this moment? Guidance certainly isn't going to emerge from the current crop of U.S. leaders, as we're weak on leaders at the moment.
We're wandering far too far down the path to insanity, to the point where it is the path of the inevitable. Stop!!
Do your part. Reproduce with reason. Recycle. Don't consume to excess. Educate.
Pick tomatoes with flaws if you source tomatoes in a market. Buy materials that are wrapped in a recycle-friendly fashion. Boycott products that use plastics for packaging where other materials would suffice. Etc., etc., etc.
Help!! |
