the eric conspiracy - Slashdot User

Submission + - 35000 Walrus Come Ashore In Alaska (weather.com)

Submitted by the eric conspiracy on Wednesday October 01, 2014 @09:42PM

the eric conspiracy writes: Lack of sea ice in the Arctic has forced record numbers of walrus to come ashore in Alaska. The walrus, looking for a place to rest have come ashore in Point Lay Alaska. The walrus normally rest on floating ice.

'We are witnessing a slow-motion catastrophe in the Arctic,' Lou Leonard, vice president for climate change at the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement that was reported by CNN. 'As this ice dwindles, the Arctic will experience some of the most dramatic changes our generation has ever witnessed. This loss will impact the annual migration of wildlife through the region, threaten the long-term health of walrus and polar bear populations, and change the lives of those who rely on the Arctic ecosystem for their way of life.'

Submission + - Measles outbreak tied to Texas megachurch (nbcnews.com)

Submitted by the eric conspiracy on Tuesday August 27, 2013 @04:35PM

the eric conspiracy writes: An outbreak of measles tied to a Texas megachurch where ministers have questioned vaccination has sickened at least 21 people, including a 4-month-old infant — and it’s expected to spread further, state and federal health officials said.

There’s likely a lot more susceptible people,” said Dr. Jane Seward, the deputy director for the viral diseases division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seward stated that in this community, these cases so far are all in people who refused some or all vaccination for themselves and their children.

All of the cases are linked to the Eagle Mountain International Church in Newark, Texas, where a visitor who’d traveled to Indonesia became infected with measles – and then returned to the U.S., spreading it to the largely unvaccinated church community, said Russell Jones, the Texas state epidemiologist.

The disease that once killed 500 people a year in the U.S. and hospitalized 48,000 had been considered virtually eradicated after a vaccine introduced in 1963. Cases now show up typically when an unvaccinated person contracts the disease abroad and spreads it upon return to the U.S.

Terri Pearsons, a senior pastor of Eagle Mountain International said she has had concerns about possible ties between early childhood vaccines and autism. In the wake of the measles outbreak, however, Pearsons has urged followers to get vaccinated and the church has held several vaccination clinics.

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