While EnviroWackos are not my favorite breed of human, I'll give them kudos on this one. ;)
All W had to do to get the left to sign on to action in Iraq was to mention the wetlands destruction.
If it takes them out of wisconsin and the country for awhile, it's a good thing.
I agree with the environmentalists on this one
Correct URL:
http://www.edenagain.org/
good news bump!!!
Aside from the fact that he is a homicidal maniac, what did Saddam have against the Marsh Arabs? Anyone know? Were they closet Kurds or something?
As much as I know about my own wet diapers which is exactly zilch.
Constructed Wetlands
'Artificial' wetlands are being increasingly constructed to control and treat stormwater and wastewater. They can be similar to natural wetlands at various stages of their development, and can provide permanent habitat for vertebrate reservoirs and mosquito vectors of disease similar in scope and scale to natural wetlands of equivalent size. This issue can be of greater concern in otherwise dry areas where such opportunities have not existed previously, appear only seasonally, or have been eliminated with development.
Compared with natural wetlands, constructed wetlands offer various opportunities to manage the mosquito populations they produce. Overall mosquito management is best achieved with a composite approach, integrating various complementary methods. The wetlands can be designed to make them less favourable for mosquito colonisation, the water and vegetation components can be manipulated to regulate mosquito development, and chemical and biological agents can be used to reduce otherwise uncontrollable populations.
Although mosquito management principles are often incompatible with objectives and operations of constructed wetlands, the health issues are not insignificant. Engineers and other professionals associated with wetland construction should be aware of the various requirements and opportunities for mosquito management within the framework of their objectives for water control and treatment.
2020 Focus 5 (Health and Nutrition Emerging and Reemerging Issues in Developing Countries), Brief 4 of
11, February 2001
MALARIA
Andrea Egan
As many as 2 billion people--40 percent of the world's population--live in areas of the world where malaria is endemic. The disease, which is mainly rural, is found between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Although malaria is a major health problem in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the Pacific, Africa faces the brunt of the disease (see table).
THE DEVASTATING IMPACT OF MALARIA
Each year, 300 to 500 million people develop malaria and 1.5 to 2.7 million die--a rate of 200 to 300 deaths worldwide each hour. Ninety percent of this mortality is in Africa, among children under age five. Pregnant women also are severely affected, as are their fetuses and infants. The health and economic burdens of malaria are wide reaching:
Economic Development.
Malaria creates a huge economic burden, because of hospital admissions, national malaria control programs and protection from mosquitoes, the cost to individuals of antimalarial drugs, treatment, and lost wages, and other expenses. Many malaria sufferers cannot afford or have no access to medical treatment. Children lose time from school and suffer throughout life from effects on cognitive development and education levels attained. Malaria also impedes economic development by limiting foreign investment, tourism, transport systems, internal movement of labor, and commerce. Attracting educated people to malarious regions is difficult, limiting the viability of areas with development potential and rich natural resources, such as the frontiers of the Amazon and the mines of South America and Africa. Because malaria strikes during the rainy harvest season, when worker productivity needs to be at its highest, the disease can harm food security and agricultural production
Enviro wackos seldom see beyond their own little world of preconceived notions. The fantasy of the "romance" of the third world and of life before the industrial revolution appeals to morons who have the IQ of a second grader. The real natural world is far most hostile than these idiots would have us believe. I will bet that those who champion this wetlands restoration know nothing of insect-borne disease. Because of that they will not bother to try to plan for some sort of mosquito control - and if we were to even mention - (Horrors!)- DDT - why, they will scream to no end. But those scum don't have to live in the mess they will have created.
Med Parazitol (Mosk). 2001 Jan-Mar;(1):46-7. (abstract)
[Malaria in Iraq] [Article in Russian]
Shamo FJ.
Malaria control campaign started in Iraq in 1957. This made the country largely free of the disease. Since 1991, following the recent war, Iraq has been affected by serious epidemic of P. vivax malaria that started in 3 autonomous governorates and soon involved other parts of the country. There were 49,840 malaria cases in the country in 1995. The national malaria programme personnel did their best to contain and control the epidemic. Active and passive case detection and treatment were introduced. Free of charge drugs are provided at all levels in the endemic area. Vector control includes environmental management, distribution of Gambusia fish, larviciding, indoor residual spraying with pyrithroids. A total of 4134 malaria cases were recorded in the country in 1999."