Conservation health.It's called "conservation medicine," but perhaps a better name would be conservation health," implying a preventive approach that embraces the precautionary principle The precautionary principle is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate . The basic idea is simple, but it's seldom observed: "When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically." This principle would lead us to fully test drugs and chemicals before allowing them on the market, and would ensure that we'd proceed very cautiously in our contact with natural ecosystems. Conservation medicine is beginning to make clear the consequences of upsetting nature's balance, in terms of human, animal and planetary health. Conservation medicine embraces many fields and disciplines. The science is complex, but most people would find the theory intuitive: Human health is fragile, and dependent on the larger world around it. Yes, it is about AIDS, SARS, mad cow, West Nile West Nile may refer to:
This emerging science describes the myriad ways in which climate change brings new viruses to the fore, through rising waters and heat shocks. It describes how sea turtle tumors result from the human-caused agricultural runoff that pollutes coastal areas, and how diseases in land animals and marine creatures can leap to the human population. It notes that increasing human populations are forcing closer human-animal contact, resulting in diseases whose origins can be hard to track. Conservation medicine analyzes deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. , the bush meat trade, global traffic in endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. and other factors that are causing us to lose control of public health. And it details the way our fast-paced global transportation system moves people, animals--and diseases--around the world. Every action has a reaction, and some of our activities as lords of the Earth Lords of the Earth (LOTE) is a play-by-email strategy game, first developed by Thomas Harlan in 1983 to entertain and confound his friends. Most LOTE campaigns, of which there are many, are set on Earth and in a historical context, or scenario. have lately exhibited a vicious kickback The seller's return of part of the purchase price of an item to a buyer or buyer's representative for the purpose of inducing a purchase or improperly influencing future purchases. . Among other things, our cover story on conservation medicine is a primer on the consequences of our horrendous relationship with the other animals on this planet, from the ones we crowd together, feed to one another, shoot up with drugs and then eat to those in the wild that we arrogantly displace through reckless actions and unchecked population growth. Will we learn a lesson from the new diseases stalking our planet, what author Laurie Garrett Laurie Garrett (born in Los Angeles, California) is a science journalist and a writer, and a winner of Pulitzer prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1996. She graduated with honors in biology from the University of California in Santa Cruz. calls "the coming plagues"? Maybe. But for conservation medicine to work effectively, we need to thoroughly revamp the approach that keeps doctors, veterinarians Veterinarians and veterinary surgeons (vets) are medical professionals who operate exclusively on animals. Well-known and notable veterinarians include:
Conservation medicine is a vitally important issue but I'm doubtful it will get a fair hearing in our sound bite sound bite n. A brief statement, as by a politician, taken from an audiotape or videotape and broadcast especially during a news report: "The box has been spitting forth maddening nine-second sound bites" , shout 'em down media world--that is, not unless the environmental movement makes a concerted effort to see that it does. Here's an issue that the green community can rally around, and put its best minds to work translating what can be impenetrable scientific jargon into real, graspable issues. Nothing less than the health of our planet--and of our own species--is at stake. |
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