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Sunday, September 13, 2009

Population and Environment

Population, health, and environment (PHE) programs can play an important role in areas where demographic trends such as growth and migration place pressure on the environment; where degraded natural resources impact the health and livelihoods of local communities; and where a lack of effective health services, including reproductive health, threatens long-term prospects for sustainable development. The key objective of these programs is to simultaneously improve access to health services while helping communities manage their natural resources in ways that improve their health and livelihood even as they protect the environment.

Since 1993, USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health has worked to better understand the synergistic relationship between population, health, and environment. In 2002, the PHE program expanded to include field programming in response to legislative language originally included in the FY02 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill – and repeated in all subsequent bills – stating that under the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund some portion (unspecified) of the funds for family planning/reproductive health {should be allocated} in areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species. These field-based projects, often implemented by conservation organizations, have developed innovative models of integrating population, environment, and health where appropriate in and around areas of high biodiversity in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Wilderness

Wilderness is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. The WILD Foundation goes into more detail, defining wilderness as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet - those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with roads, pipelines or other industrial infrastructure." Wilderness areas and protected parks are considered important for the survival of certain species, ecological studies, conservation, solitude, and recreation. Wilderness is deeply valued for cultural, spiritual, moral, and aesthetic reasons. Some nature writers believe wilderness areas are vital for the human spirit and creativity.

The word, "wilderness", derives from the notion of wildness; in other words that which is not controllable by humans. The word's etymology is from the Old English wildeornes, which in turn derives from wildeor meaning wild beast (wild + deor = beast, deer). From this point of view, it is the wildness of a place that makes it a wilderness. The mere presence or activity of people does not disqualify an area from being "wilderness." Many ecosystems that are, or have been, inhabited or influenced by activities of people may still be considered "wild." This way of looking at wilderness includes areas within which natural processes operate without very noticeable human interference.

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment.

Central to the ecosystem concept is the idea that living organisms are continually engaged in a highly interrelated set of relationships with every other element constituting the environment in which they exist. Eugene Odum, one of the founders of the science of ecology, stated: "Any unit that includes all of the organisms (ie: the "community") in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity, and material cycles (ie: exchange of materials between living and nonliving parts) within the system is an ecosystem." The human ecosystem concept is then grounded in the deconstruction of the human/nature dichotomy, and the emergent premise that all species are ecologically integrated with each other, as well as with the abiotic constituents of their biotope.

A greater degree of species or biological diversity - popularly referred to as Biodiversity - of an ecosystem may contribute to greater resilience of an ecosystem, because there are more species present at a location to respond to change and thus "absorb" or reduce its effects. This reduces the effect before the ecosystem's structure is fundamentally changed to a different state. This is not universally the case and there is no proven relationship between the species diversity of an ecosystem and its ability to provide goods and services on a sustainable level: Humid tropical forests produce very few goods and direct services and are extremely vulnerable to change, while many temperate forests readily grow back to their previous state of development within a lifetime after felling or a forest fire. Some grasslands have been sustainably exploited for thousands of years (Mongolia, Africa, European peat and mooreland communities).

The term ecosystem can also pertain to human-made environments, such as human ecosystems and human-influenced ecosystems, and can describe any situation where there is relationship between living organisms and their environment. Fewer areas on the surface of the earth today exist free from human contact, although some genuine wilderness areas continue to exist without any forms of human intervention.

Life

Although there is no universal agreement on the definition of life, scientists generally accept that the biological manifestation of life is characterized by organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli and reproduction. Life may also be said to be simply the characteristic state of organisms.

Properties common to terrestrial organisms (plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea and bacteria) are that they are cellular, carbon-and-water-based with complex organization, having a metabolism, a capacity to grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. An entity with these properties is generally considered life. However, not every definition of life considers all of these properties to be essential. Human-made analogs of life may also be considered to be life.

The biosphere is the part of Earth's outer shell — including air, land, surface rocks and water — within which life occurs, and which biotic processes in turn alter or transform. From the broadest geophysiological point of view, the biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (rocks), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). Currently the entire Earth contains over 75 billion tons (150 trillion pounds or about 6.8 x 1013 kilograms) of biomass (life), which lives within various environments within the biosphere.

Effects of global warming


The potential dangers of global warming are being increasingly studied by a wide global consortium of scientists, who are increasingly concerned about the potential long-term effects of global warming on our natural environment and on the planet. Of particular concern is how climate change and global warming caused by anthropogenic, or human-made releases of greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, can act interactively, and have adverse effects upon the planet, its natural environment and humans' existence. Efforts have been increasingly focused on the mitigation of greenhouse gases that are causing climatic changes, on developing adaptative strategies to global warming, to assist humans, animal and plant species, ecosystems, regions and nations in adjusting to the effects of global warming. Some examples of recent collaboration to address climate change and global warming include:

* The United Nations Framework Convention Treaty and convention on Climate Change, to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

* The Kyoto Protocol, which is the protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change treaty, again with the objective of reducing greenhouse gases in an effort to prevent anthropogenic climate change.

* The Western Climate Initiative, to identify, evaluate, and implement collective and cooperative ways to reduce greenhouse gases in the region, focusing on a market-based cap-and-trade system.

A significantly profound challenge is to identify the natural environmental dynamics in contrast to environmental changes not within natural variances. A common solution is to adapt a static view neglecting natural variances to exist. Methodologically, this view could be defended when looking at processes which change slowly and short time series, while the problem arrives when fast processes turns essential in the object of the study.

Oceanic activity

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (an area of some 361 million square kilometers) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas. More than half of this area is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt. Though generally recognized as several 'separate' oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water often referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean. This concept of a global ocean as a continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance to oceanography.

The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria: these divisions are (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean (which is sometimes subsumed as the southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans), and the Arctic Ocean (which is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic). The Pacific and Atlantic may be further subdivided by the equator into northerly and southerly portions. Smaller regions of the oceans are called seas, gulfs, bays and other names. There are also salt lakes, which are smaller bodies of landlocked saltwater that are not interconnected with the World Ocean. Two notable examples of salt lakes are the Aral Sea and the Great Salt Lake.

Geological activity

The Earth's crust, or Continental crust, is the outermost solid land surface of the planet, is chemically and mechanically different from underlying mantles, and has been generated largely by igneous processes in which magma (molten rock) cools and solidifies to form solid land. Plate tectonics, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes are geological phenomena that can be explained in terms of energy transformations in the Earth's crust, and might be thought of as the process by which the earth resurfaces itself. Beneath the Earth's crust lies the mantle which is heated by the radioactive decay of heavy elements. The mantle is not quite solid and consists of magma which is in a state of semi-perpetual convection. This convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics. Volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material. Crust material that is forced into the Asthenosphere melts, and some portion of the melted material becomes light enough to rise to the surface, giving birth to volcanoes!

Composition of environment

Earth science generally recognizes 4 spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere as correspondent to rocks, water, air, and life. Some scientiests include, as part of the spheres of the Earth, the cryosphere (corresponding to ice) as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the pedosphere (corresponding to soil) as an active and intermixed sphere. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. There are four major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography, geology, geophysics and geodesy. These major disciplines use physics, chemistry, biology, chronology and mathematics to build a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the principal areas or spheres of the Earth system.

Natural environment

The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof.

The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by components:

* Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation, animals, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere and natural phenomena that occur within their boundaries.

* Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity.

The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment (with an indefinite article), if the human impact on it is kept under a certain limited level.

Alcohol Advertising Ban Urged by British Medical Association to Cut Youth Drinking

All alcohol advertising, including sport and music sponsorship, should be banned to discourage young people from taking advantage of cheap drinks promotions, the British Medical Association said today.

The organisation called for a radical rethink of public health policy, including introducing prohibitions at pubs and bars on deals such as happy hour, two-for-one purchases and "ladies' nights" when women drink for free.

Minimum prices for a unit of alcohol and higher rates of taxation should also be introduced, said the BMA, which represents most doctors.

Its report, Under the Influence, describes Britain as a society "awash with pro-alcohol messaging, marketing and behaviour".

The impact of £800m of advertising a year in the UK has been to "exaggerate pro-alcohol norms", said Prof Gerard Hastings, one of the authors. Young people no longer asked themselves: "Shall I have a drink or not?", but "am I going to get smashed or totally out of my brain?", he added.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the head of the BMA's science and ethics division, said alcohol was now the country's favourite drug. "The government must get away from this cosy relationship with the industry. It's leading to an expansion of marketing which is targeting young people."

Higher prices, she said, would make it particularly difficult for young people to drink so much.

"One of the most invidious things is designer drinks," she added, "things like toffee vodka – so that the sweetness overcomes the sharpness and [youngsters'] dislike of alcohol."

Household expenditure on alcohol grew by 81% between 1992 and 2006, said the BMA. "Given that the alcohol industry spends £800m a year in promoting alcohol in the UK," said Hastings, "it is no surprise that children and young people see it everywhere – on TV, in magazines, on billboards, as part of music festivals or sport sponsorship deals, on internet pop-ups and on social networking sites."

Rather than imposing antisocial behaviour orders on teenagers, they should be "slapped on those responsible for marketing alcohol", he added.

The government's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, this year called for a 50p minimum price for a unit of alcohol. The proposal was dismissed by the government, although the Scottish government is considering a similar scheme.

The BMA warned that alcohol consumption has been linked to 60 different medical conditions and premature deaths. "Binge drinking is particularly harmful ... and significantly increases the risk of alcohol dependence," it said.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association condemned the report, saying the measures it recommended would "threaten the livelihoods of thousands of people working in the media, advertising, television, not to mention the drinks industry".

Australia: Health Watchdog Unleashed

AUSTRALIANS will be told to drink and smoke less and eat less junk food by a new preventative health watchdog that will begin monitoring the health system within months.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said legislation for a National Preventative Health Agency would be introduced into Parliament within the next fortnight, forming a key part of the Government's plan to reduce preventable illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

The independent but publicly funded agency will be responsible for a major preventative health advertising push, policy advice, health surveillance, consultation and research. It will begin in January, staffed by government-appointed population health experts.

But it is also likely that some of the more extreme policy interventions recommended by the high-profile Preventative Health Taskforce will not be adopted.

Ms Roxon said the Government's strategy would be to take a leadership role, without ''necessarily always having to regulate and tax''.

Although declining to comment on specific proposals, Ms Roxon said: ''I am absolutely focused on how Government action can leverage change within the community rather than pretending that a regulatory approach on its own will solve these quite complex social problems.''

Her comments follow the release last week of the taskforce's 300-page blueprint for preventive health, with a raft of policy prescriptions, including the possibility of higher taxes for unhealthy foods, higher cigarette and alcohol taxes, phasing out television advertising of junk food to children, a ban on all tobacco advertising and phasing out alcohol advertising during sports events.

Ms Roxon said the Government's approach would be to ''engage the whole community'' and ''push, cajole and lead'' families, schools, workplaces, industries, clubs and community organisations to encourage healthier living.

The report said about 32 per cent of Australia's total burden of disease was linked to smoking, drinking, obesity and other preventable risks.

Taskforce chairman Rob Moodie said the preventative health community had been waiting for more than 20 years for such an agency, but it would need to be independent and well-funded to make a difference.

Professor Moodie said that while he did not think Ms Roxon's comments were out of step with the taskforce's recommendations, regulation and higher taxes would have to be an important part of the strategy.

''The point to be made is that in many of the regulatory issues, there is extremely high community support,'' he said. ''I mean, if you look at the work around licensing of alcohol outlets or promotion of junk food to kids, then you've got landslide victories in support of greater government regulation.''

Ms Roxon said a recommendation that the average price of a packet of 30 cigarettes be lifted to $20 within three years would be considered as part of the Government's review of the taxation system being conducted by Treasury secretary Ken Henry. An overhaul of the alcohol excise regime will also be considered by the Henry review.

VicHealth chief executive Todd Harper said it was correct that the ''whole-of-community approach'' favoured by Ms Roxon would be needed to tackle obesity and excessive alcohol and cigarette consumption.

The new agency will initially be given $17.6 million of federal funding to cover operating costs over four years, although that does not include any additional cash set aside for specific advertising campaigns and other programs.

Health Care in Japan: Low-Cost, for Now

"Half a world away from the U.S. health-care debate, Japan has a system that costs half as much and often achieves better medical outcomes than its American counterpart. It does so by banning insurance company profits, limiting doctor fees and accepting shortcomings in care that many well-insured Americans would find intolerable…

But many health-care economists say Japan's low-cost system is probably not sustainable without significant change. Japan already has the world's oldest population; by 2050, 40 percent will be 65 or older. The disease mix is becoming more expensive to treat, as rates of cancer, stroke and Alzheimer's disease steadily increase. Demand for medical care will triple in the next 25 years, according to a recent analysis by McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm."

Japan has a stagnant economy, with a shortage of young people that hobbles prospects for growth and strangles the capacity of the debt-strapped government to increase health-care spending. Without reform, costs are projected to double, reaching current U.S. levels in a decade, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

For generations, Japan has achieved its successes by maintaining a vise-like grip on costs. After hard bargaining with medical providers every two years, the government sets a price for treatment and drugs -- and tolerates no fudging.

As a result, most Japanese doctors make far less money than their U.S. counterparts. Administrative costs are four times lower than they are in the United States, in part because insurance companies do not set rates for treatment or deny claims. By law, they cannot make profits or advertise to attract low-risk, high-profit clients.

To keep costs down, Japan has made tradeoffs in other areas -- sometimes to the detriment of patients. Some are merely irritating, such as routine hour-long waits before doctor appointments. But others involve worrisome questions about quality control and gaps in treatment for urgent care.

Japanese hospitals experience a "crowding out" effect, with space for emergency care and serious medical conditions sometimes overwhelmed by a flood of patients seeking routine treatment, said Naohiro Yashiro, a professor of economics and health-care expert at International Christian University in Tokyo.

"Patients are treated too equally," he said. "Beds are occupied by less-urgent cases, and there are no penalties for those who over-use the system."

The government has largely been unable to reduce the length of hospital stays, which are four times as long in Japan as in the United States. Hospital doctors are often overworked and cannot hone specialized life-saving skills, according to recent reports by McKinsey. Statistics show that the Japanese are much less likely to have heart attacks than people in the United States, but that when they do, their chance of dying is twice as high.

There are shortages of obstetricians, anesthesiologists and emergency room specialists because of relatively low pay, long hours and high stress at many hospitals, doctors and health-care analysts said. Emergency room service is often spotty, as ER beds in many hospitals are limited and diagnostic expertise is sometimes lacking. In a highly publicized but not unprecedented incident, a pregnant woman complaining of a severe headache was refused admission last year to seven Tokyo hospitals. She died of an undiagnosed brain hemorrhage after giving birth.

South Africa Launches Child Vaccination Campaign

"The doctor praised for re-energizing South Africa's Health Ministry launched a major campaign Monday to get vaccinations and immunity-boosting vitamins to 3 million children across the country over the next two weeks. Temporary clinics were set up and health workers were going door-to-door for two weeks starting Monday in the campaign aimed at reducing deaths from diarrhea, pneumonia and measles. Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi joined teams of medical workers in a northeastern area, saying 'It is of concern to us that our under-5 children are still dying from preventable diseases' in Africa's most developed country. Motsoaledi, appointed in May, has earned praise for his willingness to listen, acknowledge the mistakes of the past and offer new ideas after taking over a ministry accused of failing -- on AIDS in particular."

Child Mortality Rate Declines Globally

(The New York Times, September 9, 2009)
"The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays each year has fallen below nine million for the first time on record, a significant milestone in the global effort to improve children’s chances of survival, particularly in the developing world, according to data that Unicef will release on Thursday. The child mortality rate has declined by more than a quarter in the last two decades -- to 65 per 1,000 live births last year from 90 in 1990 -- in large part because of the widening distribution of relatively inexpensive technologies, like measles vaccines and anti-malaria mosquito nets. Other simple practices have helped, public health experts say, including a rise in breast-feeding alone for the first six months of life, which protects children from diarrhea caused by dirty water."

FDA Requires Faster Food Safety Reporting

"Food makers must alert government officials of potentially contaminated products within 24 hours under a new rule designed to help federal regulators spot food safety issues sooner. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday unveiled a new electronic database where manufacturers must notify the government if they believe one of their products is likely to cause sickness or death in people or animals. Regulators said the database will help the FDA prevent widespread illness from contaminated products and direct inspectors to plants that pose a high safety concern. 'There's been a lag time; we learn about problems after people get sick,' said Michael Taylor, senior adviser to the FDA's commissioner. 'This is intended to inform us of contamination problems before people get sick.' The law creating the database was passed in 2007, after Congress criticized the FDA for its handling of safety problems with a range of foods and drugs."

Swine Flu Vaccine Works With One Shot

"The swine flu vaccine appears to work for adults with just one shot and within 10 days, a major boost to the widespread immunization campaign that officials are planning to protect people against the first influenza pandemic in 41 years, researchers reported Thursday. Preliminary data from an Australian study found that a single standard dose could produce an immune response in more than 96 percent of recipients, and U.S. studies indicate that the protection occurs in eight to 10 days, scientists reported. The vaccine also appeared safe. The eagerly awaited findings mark the first results from a flurry of studies that scientists have been rushing to conduct to develop a swine flu vaccine.

Driver Texting Now an Issue in Back Seat

"For all the conversations about distracted driving playing out in statehouses and on talk shows, the most heated discussions, and the ones with the most lasting impact, may be happening between family members and friends. Such disputes are an extension of a longstanding source of tension -- sometimes light, other times more antagonistic -- between drivers and their self-appointed watchdogs. It’s just that now, the back-seat driver is going after the BlackBerry. These critics say such devices not only put lives at risk, but also steal attention from passengers hoping for some quality catch-up time. The multitaskers counter with the view that they must, and like, to tend to social and work demands. Safety advocates who favor outlawing multitasking behind the wheel say the new generation of back-seat hawks may be playing a crucial role in changing the culture -- much as they did in helping enforce seat belt laws -- in a way these advocates say laws alone may not be able to."

Young Troublemakers Set on the Road to Antisocial Adulthood

"The idea a person's character is formed in the first few years of life is not new...But the theory that badly behaved children are more likely to grow into troubled adults has been given extra weight by one of the world's most famous and long-running studies of children. The study has found children who persistently lie, steal, are physically aggressive or cruel are at high risk of turning into antisocial and troubled adults. Yet governments are ignoring proven ways of fixing the problem. The study's director, David Fergusson, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, said serious conduct problems that develop by age seven can have far-reaching consequences…The study found that with increasing numbers of early conduct problems, there were increases in rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal behaviour in the young adults. Almost 20 per cent of the children with serious behaviour problems had become parents before they were 20, compared with less than 5 per cent of the low-problem group."

Monogamy as Protection? Think Again

"A large number of unmarried, sexually active Canadian adults aren't using condoms because they think monogamy is as reliable a form of protection, an attitude that puts them at high risk of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections -- many of which have no discernible symptoms. The findings emerge from an article released yesterday by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada and Statistics Canada…The main reasons for going without protection pivot around a false sense of security, he said. 'Canadians young and old, including well-educated adult Canadians, haven't got a clue how common STIs are. They also haven't got a clue that most cases of STI have no symptoms. You don't know if you're infected and you don't know if your partner is infected.'"
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New Malaria 'Poses Human Threat'

"An emerging new form of malaria poses a deadly threat to humans, research has shown. It had been thought the parasite Plasmodium knowlesi infected only monkeys. But it has recently been found to be widespread in humans in Malaysia, and the latest study confirms that it can kill if not treated quickly. The work, by an international team, appears in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Although the new form of the disease has so far been concentrated in South East Asia, the researchers warn that tourism to the region could soon see cases appearing in Western countries too. Malaria kills more than a million people each year. It is caused by malaria parasites, which are injected into the bloodstream by infected mosquitoes."

Canada: More Kids Show Poor Eating, Exercise and Lifestyle Habits

"A growing number of children are adopting unhealthy eating, exercise and other lifestyle habits, according to a new report, fuelling fears young Canadians will have a shorter average lifespan than their parents. The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario released a report yesterday that compares the heart health of children across the province to those of a similar national survey conducted more than 10 years ago. It found that fewer children are eating an adequate amount of fresh produce or maintaining physical activity during the winter months compared with the previous report. About three-quarters of children are consuming junk food as much as twice a week, and about 25 per cent of kids eat it more than three times a week, rates that have not improved since the last report was published in 1998. 'This is extremely disturbing given the rising tide of [being] overweight and obesity among Canadian children,' said Marco Di Buono, director of research for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario."

German AIDS Charity in Bed With Hitler, Stalin

"A provocative television ad ready to air next week in Germany suggests that when you have unprotected sex, you could be in bed with the devil himself -- Adolph Hitler…The steamy ad opens in a darkened bedroom with a man and woman in bed, climaxing with a look-a-like of the German dictator's face and tag-line, 'AIDS is a mass murderer -- Protect yourself!' The initiative came from the German charity, Regenbogen…European charities -- including the National AIDS Trust, which coordinates World AIDS Day in Britain -- have distanced themselves from the commercial, saying it further stigmatizes those who suffer from the disease…This controversy comes as the Kaiser Foundation finds that the number of Americans who list AIDS as the 'most urgent health problem' is at its lowest level ever -- only 6 percent, compared with 44 percent in 1995. The April report coincides with one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found the number of Americans newly infected with HIV/AIDS is 40 percent higher than previously reported -- 56,300…the ad targets heterosexuals, particularly women, who, with African Americans, are one of the fastest growing groups afflicted with HIV/AIDS."

Tech Companies Push to Digitize Patients’ Records

"On one proposal for health care reform at least, there is a rare bipartisan consensus: the push to computerize patient records…So even as the Obama administration and Congress struggle with broad health policy legislation, the technology industry is pursuing the opportunity in digital health records as never before. Although most of the government money will not start flowing until next year, the companies hoping to get their share include technology giants…big telecommunications…[and] smaller health technology specialists…To proponents, electronic health records, when thoughtfully set up and deployed, are a modern tool to improve care and help curb costs. They hold a patient’s health history, medications, lab tests and, when connected to databases, treatment guidelines. The potential benefits include fewer unnecessary tests, reduced medical errors and better care so patients are less likely to require costly treatment in hospitals. But doctors in small offices have not moved to digital records, mainly because today’s technology is costly and complex."

With His Top Priority on the Line, President Reframes Critical Debate

"After a month of angry town hall meetings and dire predictions about the state of his top domestic priority, President Obama moved forcefully Wednesday night to take the initiative on health care -- and in the process rejuvenate his presidency and unite his fractious Democratic Party…It is rare for a presidency so young to have so much on the line. No single speech can create consensus on health-care legislation, and in that sense this was not the make-or-break moment described by some commentators. But Obama has staked his presidency on this issue, and his advisers knew it was long past time for him to assert himself in a more demonstrable way or risk seeing the entire enterprise slip away."

Massachusetts: Relief in State Health Plan Sought

"President Obama’s vision for overhauling the nation’s health care looks remarkably like the landmark plan Massachusetts launched three years ago, but in one striking difference he would exempt many small businesses from having to contribute to workers’ insurance coverage. For those small businesses that do provide insurance, Obama’s plan would offer tax credits to offset costs and would create an exchange where employers could buy coverage at competitive prices - two key things Massachusetts has not done. The differences underscore a sore spot for many small business owners in Massachusetts, who have been lobbying for relief under the state’s law, saying insurance has become unaffordable."

Population and Environment

Population, health, and environment (PHE) programs can play an important role in areas where demographic trends such as growth and migration place pressure on the environment; where degraded natural resources impact the health and livelihoods of local communities; and where a lack of effective health services, including reproductive health, threatens long-term prospects for sustainable development. The key objective of these programs is to simultaneously improve access to health services while helping communities manage their natural resources in ways that improve their health and livelihood even as they protect the environment.Since 1993, USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health has worked to better understand the synergistic relationship between population, health, and environment. In 2002, the PHE program expanded to include field programming in response to legislative language originally included in the FY02 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill – and repeated in all subsequent bills – stating that under the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund some portion (unspecified) of the funds for family planning/reproductive health {should be allocated} in areas where population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species. These field-based projects, often implemented by conservation organizations, have developed innovative models of integrating population, environment, and health where appropriate in and around areas of high biodiversity in 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Friday, September 04, 2009

World Population Growth.

world population growth
The word "population" usually denotes all the inhabits of a specified geographical area at a given time. The size, age structure and distribution of a population is the result pf the interactions of fertility, mortality and migration.

The world's population has been estimated at about 300 million in the year A.D 1, which increased to about 500-800 million by 1750 A.D. The average annual growth rate of population during period 1 A.D to 1750 A.D was around 5.6 per 1000 per year, while the growth rate for the period 1750 to 1800 was estimated around 4.4 per 1000 per year. In the beggining of the 19th century world population was esimated to be around one billion. By 1850 the population has already increased by 300 million i.e world population in 1850 was estimated to be 1.3 billion. By 1920 the population reached 2 billion, which was estimated to be 3 billion by 1960(coale 1974). the next billion in world's population was added by 1975. World reached a population of 5 billion by 1987. It has been estimated that the population of the world reached six billion in october 12,1999. And it has been projected that the world's population will reach 9.2 billion by 2050.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Population Pyramid

population pyramid
A population pyramid, also called age-sex pyramid and age structure diagram, is a graphical illustration that shows the distribution of various age groups in a population (typically that of a country or region of the world), which normally forms the shape of a pyramid.

It typically consists of two back-to-back bar graphs, with the population plotted on the X-axis and age on the Y-axis, one showing the number of males and one showing females in a particular population in five-year age groups (also called cohorts). Males are conventionally shown on the left and females on the right, and they may be measured by raw number or as a percentage of the total population.

A great deal of information about the population broken down by age and sex can be read from a population pyramid, and this can shed light on the extent of development and other aspects of the population. A population pyramid also tells the council how many people of each age range live in the area. There tends to be more females than males in the older age groups, due to females' longer life expectancy.


Types of population pyramid

Population pyramids for 4 stages of the demographic transition model

While all countries' population pyramids differ, three types have been identified by the fertility and mortality rates of a country.

Stable pyramid - A population pyramid showing an unchanging pattern of fertility and mortality.

Stationary pyramid - A population pyramid typical of countries with low fertility and low mortality, also called a constrictive pyramid.

Expansive pyramid - A population pyramid showing a broad base, indicating a high proportion of children, a rapid rate of population growth, and a low proportion of older people. This wide base indicates a large number of children. A steady upwards narrowing shows that more people die at each higher age band. This type of pyramid indicates a population in which there is a high birth rate, a high death rate and a short life expectancy. This is the typical pattern for less economically developed countries, due to little access to and incentive to use birth control, negative environmental factors (for example, lack of clean water) and poor access to health care.

Constrictive pyramid - A population pyramid showing lower numbers or percentages of younger people. The country will have a greying population which means that people are generally older.


Young and aging populations

Generally a population pyramid that displays a population percentage of ages 1–14 over 30% and ages 75 and above under 6% is considered a "young population" (generally occurring in developing countries, with a high agricultural workforce). A population pyramid that displays a population percentage of ages 1–14 under 30% and ages 75 and above over 6% is considered an "aging population" (that of which generally occurs in developed countries with adequate health services, e.g. Australia). A country that displays all or none of these characteristics is considered neither.

Youth bulge
It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled Youth bulge. (Discuss)
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See also: Baby boom
Median age by country. A youth bulge is evident for Africa, and to a lesser extent for South and Southeast Asia and Central America.

The expansive case was described as youth bulge by Gary Fuller (1995). Gunnar Heinsohn (2003) argues that an excess in especially young adult male population predictably leads to social unrest, war and terrorism, as the "third and fourth sons" that find no prestigious positions in their existing societies rationalize their impetus to compete by religion or political ideology.

Heinsohn claims that most historical periods of social unrest lacking external triggers (such as rapid climatic changes or other catastrophic changes of the environment) and most genocides can be readily explained as a result of a built-up youth bulge, including European colonialism, 20th-century fascism, and ongoing conflicts such as that in Darfur and terrorism.[citation needed]

One problem with this line of reasoning is that under conditions prevailing before the introduction of modern medicine, death rates were much higher than they are now, and almost all societies had youth bulges even when their population growth rate was negligible. However, they certainly did not experience such youth bulge as prevails today in some parts of the world or as prevailed in twentieth century Germany or in Africa and the Middle East nowadays.

It is not just that most periods of unrest occurred in societies with youth bulges, but that some of the pre-modern periods of any sort existed in societies with such bulges as well. Nevertheless, since the improvement of medicine and its introduction, the element of youth bulge has become far more salient than before. Therefore, perhaps it cannot explain massacres throughout human history, but it can serve as rather plausible theory to explain the terror, social unrest, and uprisings in today's society.[original research?]

Another problem is that it ignores the social consequences of poverty, corruption and mass unemployment among young males in developing countries, where most of the world's current population growth is occurring. The "youth bulge" is not an accurate predictor of social unrest, war and terrorism, because they are the product of far more complicated and interrelated set of factors ,of which demographics only plays a part. Yet, even when there are other factors and circumstance to enable mass unrest, a youth bulge is likely to be one of them.[original research?]

Youth bulge theory represents one of the most recently developed theories of war and social unrest, and has become highly influential on U.S. foreign policy as two major U.S. proponents of the theory, U.S. political scientist Jack Goldstone[1] and U.S. political scientist Gary Fuller,[2] have acted as consultants to the U.S. government.[original research?]

Afghanistan shows a classical youth bulge.


Angola shows the same, even more pronounced.


China had an extreme youth bulge until the 1960s, when it sharply curbed partly as an effect of the one-child policy.


Compare the population pyramid of the USA which was bulging until the 1960s and has steadily slimmed since.

Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa are currently experiencing a prominent youth bulge. Structural changes in service provision, especially health care, beginning in the 1960’s created the conditions for a population explosion, which has resulted in a population comprised primarily of younger people. It is estimated that around 65% of the regional population is under the age of 30.[3]

The Middle East has invested more in education than most other regions such that education is available to most young people.[4] However, that education has not led to higher levels of employment, and youth unemployment is currently at 25%, the highest of any single region[5]. Of this 25%, over half are first time entrants into the job market.[6]

The youth bulge in the Middle East and North Africa has been favorably compared to that of the Asian Tigers, which harnessed this human capital and saw huge economic growth in recent decades.[7] The youth bulge has been referred to by the Middle East Youth Initiative as a demographic gift, which, if engaged, could fuel regional economic growth and development

Uses of population pyramids


Population pyramids can be used to find the number of economic dependents being supported in a particular population. Economic dependents are defined as those under 15 (children who are in full time education and therefore unable to work) and those over 65 (those who have the option of being retired). In some less developed countries children start work well before the age of 15, and in some developed countries it is common to not start work until 30 (like in the North European countries), and people may work beyond the age of 65, or retire early. Therefore, the definition provides an approximation. In many countries, the government plans the economy in such a way that the working population can support these dependents. This number can be further used to calculate the dependancy ratio in that population.

Population pyramids can be used to observe the natural increase, birth, and death rate.

Biological plausibility

In a recent review in Science, Oeppen and Vaupel (1) documented the steady linear growth in life expectancy over the past 160 years, increasing by approximately 2.5 years for each decade between 1840 and 2000. Oeppen and Vaupel argue that there is no evidence that the rate of increase is slowing down; that is, there are no demographic data on which to estimate a "maximum" human life span achievable at some future date. If these same trends continue, then average life span for both women and men will exceed 100 years later in this century.

A commonly used test of an epidemiologic finding is biological plausibility—does the reported finding "make sense," given our current understanding of how the body works? This is not an infallible test. We can sometimes be misled by its application. But a lack of biological plausibility tends to stimulate a rigorous search for potential biases that might have produced a spurious association. In similar fashion, demographic analyses and projections should have clinical plausibility.

Much of the public discussion about the aging boom proceeds from the unspoken assumption that the old people of tomorrow will be pretty much the same as the old people of today. When projections are made of 4 million United States centenarians in 2050, the discussions seem to assume that those 4 million people will be just like the 80,000 centenarians alive today. To give one example, projections for future prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and other chronic illnesses account for projected increases in life expectancy but assume no change in age-specific incidence of the disease.

Such assumptions are not clinically plausible. Life expectancy increases because people are healthier. What does "healthier" mean? I think most clinicians would assume that a population becomes healthier because the prevalence of acute and chronic diseases decreases, for whatever reasons. This, in turn, produces longer lives. Thus, as life expectancy increases, individuals at any given age—say age 75—will look younger than did 75-year-olds of an earlier era.

Since 1960, life expectancy has increased by approximately 10 years. One should then assume that the average 75-year-old today looks like the average 65-year-old of 1960. Similarly, if we want to picture the 4 million centenarians in 2050, we should think of our current patients in their late 80s, while people in their late 80s in 2050 might resemble those who are 75 today.

Everything I have stated above is a massive oversimplification. While it is an oversimplification, I think it explains at least 80% of the relationship between increasing life expectancy and patterns of health and disability. Robine and Michel have provided the tools to move beyond that oversimplification, and similar oversimplifications by other authors, to try to come to a more complete understanding of how increasing life spans might affect rates of morbidity and disability. What Professors Robine and Michel (2) have done in their thoughtful discussion of population aging is to systematically work through how different clinically plausible theories would affect patterns of disability, and then test those theories against the available evidence. They have identified four elements that affect the disability/mortality relationship. This should assist further discussions. What I found particularly interesting is their emphasis on cultural determinants of health and disability. Both health and disability have a subjective component, and are thus affected by beliefs and expectations. These vary regionally and temporally, as well as by individual characteristics. Thus, "good health" is an interaction of an individual's physiologic state with his or her own expectations of what good health should feel like. Forecasting health and disability then takes on some of the same uncertainties as economic forecasts, which depend so much on individuals' beliefs and behaviors. That subjective component means that, just as in economics, we will always be much better in explaining what has happened than describing what will happen.

Caring for the Earth

This strategy is founded on the conviction that people can alter their behaviour when they see that it will make things better, and can work together when they need to. It is aimed at change because values, economies and societies different from most that prevail today are needed if we are to care for the Earth and build a better quality of life for all.

Over a decade ago our organizations published the World Conservation Strategy. It stated a new message: that conservation is not the opposite of development. It emphasized that conservation includes both protection and the rational use of natural resources, and is essential if people are to achieve a life of dignity and if the welfare of present and future generations is to be assured. It drew attention to the almost limitless capacity of people both to build and destroy. It called for globally coordinated efforts to increase human well-being and halt the destruction of Earth's capacity to support life.

The World Conservation Strategy and its successors

The World Conservation Strategy was published in 1980. It emphasized that humanity, which exists as a part of nature, has no future unless nature and natural resources are conserved. It asserted that conservation cannot be achieved without development to alleviate the poverty and misery of hundreds of millions of people. Stressing the interdependence of conservation and development, the WCS first gave currency to the term "sustainable development".

Sustainable development depends on caring for the Earth. Unless the fertility and productivity of the planet are safeguarded, the human future is at risk. The World Conservation Strategy therefore emphasized three objectives:

* essential ecological processes and life-support systems must be maintained;
* genetic diversity must be preserved;
* any use of species or ecosystems must be sustainable.

Since 1980, the World Conservation Strategy has been tested by the preparation of national and subnational conservation strategies in over 50 countries. In 1987, in its report Our Common Future, the World Commission on Environment and Development advanced our understanding of global interdependence and the relationship between economics and the environment. It contributed significantly to the growing recognition of the need for sustainable development and international equity. Also in 1987, governments adopted an Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond, which defined a broad framework to guide national action and international cooperation for environmentally sound development. In June 1992 they will meet in Rio de Janeiro to agree an agenda for environment and development in the 21st Century.

In the decade since 1980 the complexity of the problems we face has become clearer, and the need to act has become more pressing. In this new document we set out the broad principles, and an array of consequent actions, upon which we believe the future of our societies depends.

We accept that the actions called for in this Strategy will not be taken easily. Inertia is strong within human societies. Governments have to balance the gains of change against the inevitable costs of upheaval, and tend to develop policies through a succession of cautious steps. People cling to what they have, especially if they perceive that change threatens their personal power and wealth. It will be difficult for many communities to switch resources from war to peace, national to global advantage, or immediate gain to future welfare. But the conflicts, famine and strife that persist in an over-stressed world show how essential it is to seek a new approach. This reinforces our conviction that this Strategy must go ahead.

Caring for the Earth has been prepared through a wider process of consultation than was possible when we wrote the World Conservation Strategy a decade ago. It is intended to re-state current thinking about conservation and development in a way that will inform and encourage those who believe that people and nature are worth caring about and that their futures are intertwined. It is also intended to persuade people at all levels that they can do something, or help cause something to be done, that will lead to better care for the Earth.

The actions of our organizations and others will have to be reshaped if we are to ensure speedy and efficient implementation of this Strategy. We urge all governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental groups, and individuals to help achieve that essential goal.