Pandemics

what is pandemic?

A pandemic is an epidemic of disease that has                  spread across a large region, for instance multiple            continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial                  number of people. A widespread endemic disease                   with a stable number of infected people is not a pandemic

Throughout history, there have been a number of pandemics of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis.One of the most devastating pandemics was the Black Death (also known as The Plague), which killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. Other notable pandemics include the 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) and the 2009 influenza pandemic (H1N1). Current pandemics include HIV/AIDS and the COVID-19 pandemic.        

World Health Organization Declares COVID-19 a 'Pandemic.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic, pointing to the over 118,000 cases of the coronavirus illness in over 110 countries and territories around the world and the sustained risk of further global spread.

“This is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, at a media briefing. “So every sector and every individual must be involved in the fights.”

What Is COVID-19?             

A coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in your nose, sinuses, or upper throat. Most coronaviruses aren't dangerous.

COVID-19 is a disease that can cause what doctors call a respiratory tract infection. It can affect your upper respiratory tract  (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs).

It spreads the same way other coronaviruses do, mainly through person-to-person contact. Infections range from mild to serious.

How long will the coronavirus last?

It’s too soon to tell how long the pandemic will continue. It depends on many things, including researchers’ work to learn more about the virus, their search for a treatment, and the public’s efforts to slow the spread.

Symptoms of COVID-19

Early symptoms include:

• Fever
• Dry cough
• Fatigue

The virus can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure,septic shock, and death. Many COVID-19 complications may be caused by a condition known as cytokine release syndrome or a cytokine storm. This is when an infection triggers your immune system to flood your bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They can kill tissue and damage your organs.

If you notice the following severe symptoms in yourself or a loved one, get medical help right away:

• Trouble breathing or shortness of breath
• Ongoing chest pain or pressure
• New confusion
• Can’t wake up fully
• Bluish lips or face

If you’re infected, symptoms can show up in as few as 2 days or as many as 14. It varies from person to person.

What to do if you think you have it

If you live in or have traveled to an area where COVID-19 is spreading:

• If you don’t feel well, stay home. Even if you have mild symptoms like a headache  and runny nose, stay in until you’re better
• Call the doctor if you have a fever, cough, and trouble breathing
• Follow your doctor’s advice and keep up with the news on COVID-19.

Coronavirus Transmission

How does the coronavirus spread?

SARS-CoV-2, the virus, mainly spreads from person to person.

Most of the time, it spreads when a sick person coughs or sneezes. They can spray droplets as far as 6 feet away. If you breathe them in or swallow them, the virus can get into your body. Some people who have the virus don't have symptoms, but they can still spread the virus.

You can also get the virus from touching a surface or object the virus is on, then touching your mouth, nose, or possibly your eyes. Most viruses can live for several hours on a surface that they land on. A study shows that it can last for several hours on various types of surfaces:

• Copper: 4 hours
• Cardboard: up to 24 hours
• Plastic or stainless steel: 2 to 3 days

That’s why it’s important to disinfect surfaces to get rid of the virus.

Coronavirus Prevention

Take these steps:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or clean them with an alcohol-based sanitizer. This kills viruses on your hands.
• Practice social distancing.
• Cover your nose and mouth in public.
• Don’t touch your face.
• Clean and disinfect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic

https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus

Earth Day - April 22

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection, First celebrated in 1970.  April 22, 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day.

Happy 50th anniversary to The Earth

https://padlet.com/maysun016/fi0oy795f7o61nvw

Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030

The World's Largest Lesson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBxN9E5f7pc&t=2s

Think Global, Act Local, and Start Where You Are..

Every ACTION, big and small, can have a transformative impact in making the Goals a reality!

An end to poverty, a better environment, gender equality – could we achieve all these things in just 10 years?
Sustainable Development Goals is ‘a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity’.
In other words, it’s what we need to get done to make the world a liveable place for everyone.
There are 17 overall goals, with smaller targets within them – and they cover everything from gender equality to climate change and clean sanitation.

the cover of booklet about SDG's

Climate Change

Climate Change: How Do We Know?

Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.

 Global Temperature Rise
    

The planet's average surface temperature has risen about  (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years



 Warming Oceans

• 

  The oceans have absorbed much of increased heat, with the top 700 meters  of ocean showing warming of more than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
• 
  
• Shrinking Ice Sheets
• The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2016, while Antarctica lost about 127 billion tons of ice per year during the same time period. The rate of Antarctica ice mass loss has tripled in the last decade.

• Sea Level Rise                                        

• 
  Global sea level rose about 8 inches in the last century. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and is accelerating slightly every year

Extreme Events

• 
  The number of record high temperature events in the United States has been increasing, while the number of record low temperature events has been decreasing, since 1950. The U.S. has also witnessed increasing numbers of intense rainfall events.

Ocean Acidification

•  
  Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30 percent.This increase is the result of humans emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and hence more being absorbed into the oceans. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year