Cholera outbreak feared in Peru as climate changes
The climate change is apparently having a greater ecological effect on the Earth than rising ocean levels. In 1991, Il Nino caused the ocean temperature to increase near Peru and resulted in a cholera outbreak that killed thousands along the coast. Today scientists prepare for another possible outbreak as global warming raises the ocean temperature once again.The bacteria that carries cholera can often be found living on plankton. Plankton grows in abundance with higher temperatures. The organisms are consumed by sea life which is then eaten raw by humans. From there the disease can spread through unsanitary conditions.
What does this mean for the U.S.? The Yellow Fever epidemic in Memphis in 1878 was caused by unusually hot spring that bred an unprecedented number of mosquitoes who spread the disease. Though we are unlikely to see another Yellow Fever outbreak, some scientists believe that the proliferation of the West Nile Virus is due to global warming. West Nile Virus is also spread by mosquitoes who happen to love warm weather. I have a feeling that that's only the tip of the [melting] iceberg.
[via: Disease Ecology]
The race for the world's first "green" island
Tommy Lee's green makeover_thumbnail.jpg)
Transportation Alternatives: Designing a "post-automobile" street
_thumbnail.jpg "Green superheroes")
