Will Global Warming Cause Another Pandemic?

Amidst the already ongoing pandemic, new fears amount of increasing susceptibility toward ancient bacterias previously frozen in rapidly melting ice sheets at the poles. Ancient viruses, bacteria, and fungi from the past have laid dormant for millions of years, frozen under thick layers of ice. Many of these bacteria were not present on Earth’s surface at the same time as humans, and experts are unsure of the effects their reintroduction to the planet entails for humanity’s future. 

These ancient micro bacteria may include unknown species, previously eradicated pathogens, and certain types of robust bacteria able to survive immense amounts of environmental stress. Pathogens, viruses, dust, gas, and particulate matter settled into the glaciers and polar ice caps as they formed gradually over millions of years. Scientists are able to study the preserved microbiomes by sampling cores from deep within the frozen ground and ice. Frozen cores provide a snapshot of the Earth’s surface at various times throughout its history and include an array of vital environmental information. 

Each layer of the ice preserves atmospheric profiles, which scientists use to infer global temperatures, weather, composition, and more about ancient environments. The core samples give scientists a unique look into Earth’s prehistoric microbiomes for use as an indicator of future climate conditions. They study the microbiome’s genomics to understand better how these bacteria and viruses can survive in the extreme ice conditions, potentially useful for finding life on other frozen planets. Most samples are completely harmless and immediately destroyed after analysis to prevent global contamination. Still, there is always a fear of releasing a harmful microorganism if global temperature increases continue to melt the ice. 

Global warming has been a constant topic on the world stage during the 21st century as ice sheets melt, sea levels rise, and industrial emissions pollute the environment. Countries at the most immediate risk of climate change are low-lying areas impacted by sea-level rise. However, the threat of invading ancient pathogens could impact all of humanity. A child died, and twenty people were hospitalized in 2016 following the release of an ancient anthrax spore after thawing a section of frozen Siberian soil. 

This event ignited international worry that other deadly diseases could be revived, including formerly eradicated diseases like smallpox and the black plague. These human ailments could be potentially reanimated from frozen corpses trapped in the ice, dating back to early humans. Modern humans lack the immune defenses to fend off these deadly pathogens and are at even greater risk to unknown species. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that even if global temperatures are maintained to only 2 degrees Celsius increase by 2100, more than 25 percent of the global permafrost would still melt. Worst-case scenarios where global temperatures exceed 5 degrees Celsius would mean a catastrophic loss of up to 70 percent of the permafrost melted. To ensure minimal contact with potentially deadly ancient viruses, infrastructure, and human development must avoid newly thawed habitats. The released pathogens and viruses leach into the groundwater and saturate topsoil where humans could come into contact with them and transmit them globally. 

Russia Caught Doping Again at the Winter Olympics

Russian ice skating phenomenon Kamilia Valieva, who recently won team gold, failed a doping test raising concerns about the International Olympic Committee’s accountability toward the Russian athletes and the status of the rest of the Beijing games. 

The 15-year-old Valieva has been an up-and-coming skater at the top of her sport, with credentials like the first woman to ever land the quadruple twisting jump extremely popular in men’s skating events. The controversy over her now failed doping tests has put a magnifying glass on how the IOC handled Russia’s lack of punishment from systematic doping scandals uncovered at the Sochi 2014 winter games. 

Documentaries and inside investigations were published leading up to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 summer games that implicated Russian officials swapping urine samples and attempts to cover the doping. Instead of enacting any form of ban or consequence for the Russian assembly, the IOC abdicated any responsibility granting it to the international overseers of the sports. By abdicating their responsibilities, they have allowed the doping to continue unabated, without the consequence of the Russian Olympic athletes. Lack of reprimands has led to multiple doping infractions by Russian athletes at the 2018 Pyeongchang winter games and now in Beijing. 

Athletes caught doping are persecuted by being stripped of their medals and disqualified from future Olympics. The IOC ‘technically’ banned Russia from the last few games, forcing their athletes to enter under the ”Russian Olympic Committee” using substitutes for their national anthem and uniform colors. The representative Russian athletes are accepted from a registered testing pool that was supposed to eliminate any doping complications, allowing the Russians to compete under the neutral Olympic flag. Obviously, the recent events suggest the lack of consequences for Russia has negatively impacted the credibility of the IOC as officials now have to decide the next steps. 

The drug Valieva tested positive for is called trimetazidine, used as a heart medicine to decrease chest pain. The IOC bans it because it can increase blood flow efficiency and an athlete's endurance, acting like a stimulant and metabolic modulator. The controversy gets even more complicated because Valieva is only 15 and is protected by the World Anti-Doping Code. This means she is treated as a minor with less associated reprimands from testing positive for doping, like only a maximum ban of 2 years. Critics of the IOC suggest the accusations of the 15-year-old intentionally taking the banned substance to improve her performance are laughable, and the actual blame should be placed on the entire Russian system. 

Investigations are underway into the situation, including her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who has a history of poorly treating her athletes known for putting an immense amount of pressure on the young skaters. The medal ceremony for the team skating event has been postponed indefinitely as the IOC officials and overseers decide how to proceed. The second-place United States and Japan in third were given no reason for the medal ceremony delay until headlines highlighted the positive tests. The decision leading up to the individual skating event Valieva was favored to win, and pending the disqualification, nobody knows how the competitions will go.

The distrust in the process and other ROC athletes will now shroud the competitive ice event with two other Russian skaters planning to make history also attempting quads in their routines.  If the IOC decides to treat Valieva according to the WADC, Russia may keep their team gold, but these games are now tarnished with deceit and doping regardless of the decision. 

Correlation Between Marijuana Legalization and Increased DUIs

Marijuana and the use of Cannabis have long been touted to offer certain health benefits for the immunocompromised and chronically ill, except it is still illegal in most of the world. Countries like the Netherlands, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Spain, and a few others have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana among rising public popularity. The main psychoactive component of cannabis is THC which produces the high sensation and can be inhaled or ingested. Users exposed to THC experience relaxing effects, including heightened sensory perception, euphoria, and an altered perception of time. THC can also be directly ingested, delaying the effects by more than 30 minutes. The effects of cannabis usually last up to 3 hours, although evidence of THC can remain in the body for days after initial use. 

Each person reacts differently to THC ingestion, but increased popularity and legalization around the world have contributed to concerns about its impact on driver safety. In the United States, more than 1.5 million people are arrested for driving under the influence each year. Studies in Colorado suggest an increase of marijuana-related DUIs by more than 48% last year, with an increasing trend over the last five years. The rising frequency DUIs is concerning because a large percentage may correlate with areas that have legalized marijuana. In recent years, the same study also identified increased frequency in marijuana-impaired drivers’ roles in deadly car accidents. 

Assessing impairment from a marijuana user is much harder than in individuals under the influence of alcohol. Despite recent increases in legalization and recreational use of marijuana, law enforcement has yet to identify an accurate and reliable test to determine a driver’s level of intoxication. The equivalent test for alcohol impairment is the breathalyzer test used to determine the blood alcohol content as it corresponds to legal limits. There are blood tests used for THC identification, but they do not provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s level of impairment because of the chemical’s varying effects with each person. New developments in law enforcement have focussed on creating behavioral tests to assess individual impairment, similar to methods used to confirm alcohol intoxication. 

Developing accurate tests is vital for driver’s safety and the ability of law enforcement to assess impaired individuals. Regular marijuana users have produced blood profiles that indicate stores of THC can remain detectable in the blood for 30 days in some cases. These THC levels are often higher than local DUI limits, even though the individual has not recently ingested marijuana. 

Factors impacting DUI statistics include regional THC blood limits, driving laws, past offenses, and law enforcement discretion. The consequences of driving under the influence are also different depending on the region but can implicate an individual up to a year in jail. 

Understanding the use of marijuana as it impacts drivers’ abilities and law enforcement methods for impairment detection are quickly becoming an increasingly vital area of research. Investments will continue to increase as recreational use becomes legalized in other parts of the world.

Massive Tongan Eruption Sends Tsunamis Across the Pacific

A massive underwater volcano erupted Saturday, January, 15th near the remote Tonga nation in the south Pacific. The eruption generated immediate buzz across the internet from dramatic satellite imagery and tsunami warnings spread as far as the west coast of the United States. The massive Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano is particularly active, and smaller hydromagnetic eruptions like this event are commonly observed. The violent eruption is generated from a flash vaporization chemical reaction between extruded magma and seawater, causing an explosion. The United States Geological Survey measured the resulting shockwaves as a 5.8 magnitude earthquake. 

The volcano lies 40 miles away from Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu, and its eruption was heard in New Zealand as far as 1,400 miles away. The violent eruption generated a volcanic plume of ash, gas, and steam extending more than 12 miles into the atmosphere, where satellite images were able to reveal their expanse over the event duration and indicate the presence of tsunamis. 

A four-foot tsunami wave crashed into the Tongan capital on its northernmost island, Nuku'alofa, where boats and debris washed ashore. Videos across social media captured the powerful wave easily overcoming seawalls, roads, and fences inundating people’s properties. The impending threat left many Tongan residents rushing to higher ground as tsunamis can often increase with each generated wave. The eruption impacted undersea cable networks leaving many areas of Tonga in a blackout, impacting the island nation’s telecommunications. 

Tsunamis spread rapidly across the Pacific, extending warnings to Japan, Hawai’i, American Samoa, Chile, and the west coast of the USA. Waves up to 5 feet arrived Sunday morning in Chile, Japan, and California ports. Witnesses described the incoming tsunamis as water surges instead of the giant waves depicted in popular films like San Andreas (2015). 

New Zealand has committed an initial aid of more than $300,000 in supplies, technical support, and defense assistance. The eruption is one of the biggest to occur within the last decade, according to the volcanic explosivity index (VEI), used by volcanologists to categorize eruption scale. The VEI measures the plume height and quantity of ejected materials like ash, gas, and magma following an eruption. A VEI closer to 6 would indicate one of the rarest and largest eruptions, capable of sending materials high into the atmosphere generating global cooling effects as sunlight is reflected away from Earth’s surface. Scientists previously estimated this volcano to be capable of only producing eruptions up to a maximum of 2 VEI, but the recent event has not yet been measured. 

Drastic Changes to India’s Air Pollution During the Pandemic

While the world faced unprecedented lockdowns amidst the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, many environmental scientists observed significant beneficial impacts the lack of human activities caused on Earth’s natural systems. Urban areas were inhabited by local wildlife species that had not been seen in decades, water resources began to purify and significantly reduce air pollution. India’s large cities are well known for their environmental pollution, and the lockdowns created the opportunity for numerous improvements for India’s atmospheric status. 

Air pollution is rampant across India because of its enormous population size and concentrated city infrastructure. Air pollution results from too many greenhouse gases like aerosols, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide collecting in the atmosphere. These gases lead to increased temperatures as they capture and hold solar radiation. They also increase cloud retention of particulate matter that can be detrimental to surface resources and human health. 

The World Health Organization’s study of global air pollution indicates it poses a significant health risk, responsible for killing 7 million people a year and impacting many more. The COVID-19 outbreak is only responsible for 2.5 million deaths per year to place that statistic into context. In India, contributing sources of atmospheric pollution include vehicle byproducts, industrial power generation, material kilns, and suspended particulate dust contaminants. A report by IQAir identified the top 10 most polluted cities globally, and 9 of them were in India. 

India’s urban areas previously blanketed in smog and pollution experienced substantial reductions, extending views to the horizon in many places. Indians in Punjab could see the Himalayas more than 100 miles away! India’s Central Pollution Control Board found more than 85 cities across India with significantly reduced air pollution in only the first week of the pandemic. The report also measured New Delhi, the capital of India, with a more than a 44% reduction in only the first day of restrictions! It is estimated that more than 90 percent of road and transportation activities across the country were halted at the start of the pandemic.

Restrictions were lifted as the early pandemic lockdowns concluded, and life in India seemed to go back to the levels of pollution it created before. This is incredibly worrying because high levels of pollution in the air can highly damage a person’s health. If pollution levels do not rescind, ailments like headaches, respiratory issues, and virus susceptibility will become rampant. Toxic pollution also increases susceptibility to contracting COVID-19 because of its involvement in damaging respiratory cells, severely impacting at-risk demographics. 
Parents are forced to keep children home from school many days throughout the year because the overlying smog is too dangerous to breathe in. This saw many schools respond with waning attendance rates even after restrictions were lifted.