Strong agreement. Minimum safety standards for indoor air are as important as minimum safety standards for water and food.
For those interested: the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate maintains a database of indoor air quality standards worldwide [1]. It lists standards by country, and allows you to filter by pollutant. CO2 is a commonly proxy for ventilation with values <800-1000ppm typically considered to be “good”.
For the US specifically: the recently published ASHRAE 241 standard [2] provides updated guidelines for indoor air quality. This provides stronger guarantees than the weaker ASHRAE 62.1 standard [3], as it specifically focuses on reducing aerosol-based transmission of pathogens such as (but not limited to) Covid-19 and H5N1.
It's even more important if this finding [1] (press release [2]) turns out to be true, namely that the amount of carbon dioxide in the air is not just a proxy for air quality, but that having less of it actually actively destabilizes virus particles.
Also, portable air cleaners seem to work pretty well [3].
Buy some soup and vegetables and fruit in a can. If you are sick for 2 or 4 weeks, you are self-sufficient. Instead of relying on family at your door, potentially making them sick as well.
The problem as I see it is that large-scale farming creates an ideal place for viruses to mutate and possibly become dangerous to us. It's pretty much inevitable that we're going to get new virus strains emerging from livestock - it's just a question of when and also how well different countries deal with it.
A global approach is the only sensible way to deal with pathogens that can spread so easily as it's becoming almost impossible for countries to control borders sufficiently (especially if birds are a vector).
Small scale farming creates a different type of ideal place for viruses to mutate and become dangerous to us because there is much more inter-species mixing. Keeping chickens & pigs in the same barn, for instance.
Yes, but there'd be less chance of mutation due to the smaller scale. By having a large concentration of animals in a smaller space (relatively), it's like hitting the fast forward button on evolution/natural selection for viruses. To counter the extra risk, large scale farms should be testing for pathogen/viruses to at least get an early warning for when there's a nasty mutation.
To achieve its requests in the US, the article needs more “oomph”. Do some mildly valid math to predict death counts, economic impact, etc and then maybe the government could be interested.
Hunan shut itself down. There was video of hundreds of people in makeshift hospitals. Trucks with some kind of disinfectant spray were roaming the streets.
It was real-world impact. It was not theoretical impact.
It took us until March/April 2020 to start getting serious.
I strongly doubt the current federal leadership is inclined to act in a more risk-adverse way than in March of 2020.
This is not optimal. We get one if these every 10 years or so. We should be always prepared, not "prepare now!" boom/bust cycling this stuff. This is new, but it is really not new. Waves of panic followed by apathy is not the way to do public health, but it is how we fund it.
Readit News
For those interested: the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate maintains a database of indoor air quality standards worldwide [1]. It lists standards by country, and allows you to filter by pollutant. CO2 is a commonly proxy for ventilation with values <800-1000ppm typically considered to be “good”.
For the US specifically: the recently published ASHRAE 241 standard [2] provides updated guidelines for indoor air quality. This provides stronger guarantees than the weaker ASHRAE 62.1 standard [3], as it specifically focuses on reducing aerosol-based transmission of pathogens such as (but not limited to) Covid-19 and H5N1.
[1]: https://ieqguidelines.org/table?factor=iaq
[2]: https://www.ashrae.org/about/news/2023/ashrae-publishes-stan...
[3]: https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/bookstore/standar...
Also, portable air cleaners seem to work pretty well [3].
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47777-5
[2] https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/news/2024/virus.html
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295036202...
* Ensure I have a stock of masks, disposable and washable.
* Re-organize and upgrade my home office / workspace.
* Proactively prepare myself mentally by strengthening social bonds, self-care routines, and overall mental health.
* Decide if I'm going to continue baking bread or explore a new hobby.
* have a written will
* collect all login information for your important accounts
* collect any important paperwork
* make sure you have a good idea of the best medical facilities in your area and how to get to them
A global approach is the only sensible way to deal with pathogens that can spread so easily as it's becoming almost impossible for countries to control borders sufficiently (especially if birds are a vector).
Obviously the work of a real genius who understands the power of using very bright lights inside the body to fight COVID.
Remember: COVID spared babies. H1N5 won’t.
Sure, the comment is a bit pointed, but isn’t the GOP the party of “F%#k Your Feelings”?
What part of my comment was false?
Hunan shut itself down. There was video of hundreds of people in makeshift hospitals. Trucks with some kind of disinfectant spray were roaming the streets.
It was real-world impact. It was not theoretical impact.
It took us until March/April 2020 to start getting serious.
I strongly doubt the current federal leadership is inclined to act in a more risk-adverse way than in March of 2020.
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