Prognosis Disaster: The Environment, Climate Change, Human Influences, Vectors, Disease and the Possible End of Humanity?

By David Arieti

PROGNOSIS DISASTER is a book about human induced environmental change and disease. Climate change, global warming and deforestation threaten human, animal and plant populations with disease more virulent than previously known. The majority of this book deals with how human influence the creation and spread of diseases old and new. This book will be useful as a reference on disease and environmental science, and as a call to action. Unless we take active measures now to stem pollution and greed, all life on the planet is doomed. The choice is yours.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456731496

David Arieti

David Arieti has been involved in environmental issues for almost forty years. He went to the University of Denver for his BA degree in Science Area Major. He worked on The Sea of Galilee where he did algal research. He returned to the US where he earned his MS degree in Marine Science from Long Island University. He worked studying the effects of chlorine produced oxidants on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. He then worked at consulting firms in Washington D.C. where he worked on projects that dealt with the fate of pesticides in the soil; health effects on people working with the dyeing and finishing of textiles, and food additives. He then worked at the Baltimore Environmental Center as research director where he worked on hazardous waste issues. He also worked on the Hudson River studying the fish that were prevented from entering the waterways used to cool the condensers from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York. David also began teaching Environmental Science and Biology as an adjunct professor at various colleges in Maryland and Illinois, where he is today. He has been the recipient of three best Teacher-of-the-Year awards at three different colleges. In 1996 he won at Columbia College, in 2002 he won at Oakton Community College, and in 2005 he won at Daley College; all three colleges are in the Chicago vicinity.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Waning Mother

Brilliant Statements

Introduction

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Section 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Dedication

FROM DAVID

I would like to dedicate this book to all the Earth’s organisms, especially to all those organisms, especially the copepods, fish, crabs and birds that were killed because of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which started on 20 April 2010. I would also like to dedicate it to my children Aviva and Amiel, to my parents Jane and Silvano Arieti, and to Maggie. To my friends and relatives who have passed away: Elde, Lorie and my Aunt Mary. I also would like to dedicate this book to my mother’s cat Rusty and my uncle’s cat who died prematurely.

FROM JACOB

I dedicate this book to the millions of people who perished from diseases brought about by humans. Their deaths were not in vain. Their deaths served as a wake-up call for us, users of the earth resources, to take good care of the environment. I also dedicate this book to my children, Christian, Marianne, and Jeffrey, who are the precious jewels of my life. Lastly, I dedicate this book to my special someone, Evelyn.

FROM RANDY

This book is dedicated to my loving wife, Tena, who encouraged me, my children, Rebecca, Steven, and Jeremy, and my granddaughter McKenzie. I also dedicate this to the memory of my late parents, Dr. A. Irving Swiller and Dr. Helen E. Swiller, who would have also guided me along. May this earth be a better place in which to grow and live.

FROM KEVIN

Kevin would like to dedicate this book to the students of not only Columbia, but the world. May you keep yourselves not simply attuned to environmental changes occurring about you, but ones that occur later as a result. Think, learn, and spur change.

Acknowledgements

When one writes a book of this magnitude it is virtually impossible to do it alone. The authors wish to thank the following people who helped make this book possible. Jordan Buck for suggesting the eye-catching title of the book. Christine Pfeiffer for adding wonderful eloquence and ideas to the manuscript as well as editing the manuscript. Steve Bithos who helped me write some parts of the book. We would like to thank the wonderful librarians at Oakton Community College (Skokie Campus); they are Tricia Collins, Ted Ramus, Rose Novil, Gretchen Snyder and Kevin Purtell who helped us get needed articles, books and journals as references; Caryl Danguilan for checking the manuscript; Gary Newhouse, Dean of Library and Media Services at Oakton Community College; Amiel Arieti for the cover design; Duane Gubler, one of the world’s experts on Dengue fever who took time from his busy schedule to discuss with me (David Arieti) certain aspects of Dengue fever. A giant thanks to Ismir Softic who made sure that the computers used to write this book were all working. A hearty thanks goes to Sam Pudi, head of the computer center at Oakton’s Skokie Campus. A special thanks to John J. Murray and Clara Carr of the Science and Math Department of Columbia College Chicago, and to Byron Bell for his support.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Waning Mother

Brilliant Statements

Introduction

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Section 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Waning Mother

Progress

Advancement of the human race

Technology

Science

Make use of all resources

The land is ours

The plants are ours

The beasts are ours

The very oceans that spawned life are ours

Or so we’d like to think.

The earth is not our property. She is our mother.

Giver of life

Provider

We are her children

She cares for us

Yet we conspire against her

In the most heinous of matricides

For we are doing our best to kill her.

We fill her oceans with sludge

And the hazardous byproducts of human progress.

We bury the same deep in her fertile soil.

Her beautiful landscapes are ravaged

To slake our thirst for power.

Her forests and plains and hills and even deserts

We feel are better suited to become factories and refineries and stripmalls and skyscrapers. From these buildings we pour toxic and harmful smoke into the air which supports all life.

We spray cfc’s and other chemicals which deteriorate the shield

She has made to protect us from the strong rays of the mighty sun.

We stockpile weapons and wage war destroying our brothers, unbalancing entire ecosystems though she supports us unconditionally. We, her selfish children, only seek to take advantage of her; when will we realize the sheer folly of this incestuous rape?

One day, we will exhaust her infinite generosity.

Then we will suffer for our crimes against nature.

We will then miss our life-giving mother and what use will this technology be then?

This is progress?

In killing the earth, we are in the end killing ourselves, stabbing the breast that feeds us.

Brent Finnel--1994

Brilliant Statements

Homo sapiens, the only deliberate fool that ever evolved, is back tending shop in the good old way!1

Microbes pursue every possible avenue to escape from the barriers that are erected to contain them, and we must be forever on our guard. They will seek undercurrents of opportunity and reemerge.2

Nature is emitting signals saying that we cannot continue our attempts to ruthlessly dominate her and if we persist, disaster is in the offing….3

There is reason to believe that, sooner or later, one or more known or unknown pathogens will cause devastating epidemic disease. 4

…for although our destiny is not entirely in our hands, we ourselves are among the important forces in its creation.5

1 Robert Van den Bosch, The Pesticide Conspiracy. New York: Doubleday, 1978, p.35.

2 Emerging infections: biomedical research reports

Krause, Richard, editor. Academic Press, 1998. Introduction to infectious diseases: stemming the tide, p. 2.

3 Op. cit. Bosch.

4 In Understanding the Environmental, Human Health and Ecological Concerns. Workshop Summary. Stanley M. Lemon et al. The National Academies press. Washington D.C., p.62. Vector-borne diseases. 2008.

5 Silvano Arieti, in D. Arieti The Earth is my Patient, Authorhouse Books, 2005, p. iii.

Introduction

Why We Wrote This Book

There is a complex relationship between land use, climate phenomena, species diversity (biodiversity), disease transmission and human involvement in the environment. This book is intended to educate people as to how human activities help disrupt the balance of nature and how nature fights back, one aspect of which is the increase in disease levels. Environmental changes such as climate change are occurring at a much faster pace than they used to. Over the past 20 years the number of recorded natural disasters increased from 200 a year to over 400 a year. Seventy percent (70%) of these disasters are climate related. 1 Over 211 million people are directly affected each year.

Something that should be pointed out and which is not stressed in the mainstream media is that the majority of the world’s emissions since 1850 have come from a minority of the world population. The world now contains over 6.8 billion people with the richest half billion, or roughly 7% of the world’s population, being responsible for 50% of the world’s CO2 emissions while the poorest 50% of the population are responsible for 7% of CO2 emissions. According to Mary Robinson, who is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, The poorest have the least role in causing climate change yet they are being hit first, hardest, and worst.2 This is especially true in poor countries.

Harlan Ellison (an award winning author of short stories, screenplays and essays) said the two most abundant elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. This is why we wrote this book.

The following Table lists the current problems facing the world at the present time. However, the main premise of this book deals with diseases caused by climate change.

TABLE I-1

Some major problems caused by Humans

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is being released in incredible amounts. This increase is believed to cause Global Warming. Despite the scientific evidence that seems to prove that global warming is real, many members of the US Congress (mainly Republicans) and leaders of corporations are denying that it even exists, and calling it one of the biggest hoaxes perpetrated on humanity. This book assumes that global warming is real and discusses the consequences, especially on human health.

Much of this information on global warming is not making its way to the mainstream media because of distractions such as the Tiger Woods affairs, the sex lives of American politicians, whether movie stars are divorcing, and other nonsense that has absolutely nothing to do with the reality that we are all facing: Disaster if we don’t act now.

Why the concern? I have come to the conclusion that if we don’t do something now, and I mean now, it will all be over. No more people; yes, no more people. Why??? Because they will all be dead due to new devastating diseases influenced by globalization and global warming.

We feel that now is the time to really be serious about what humanity is doing to the planet as well for their OWN future, even though it should have been done many years ago. We humans have wasted precious time by concerning ourselves with profits (the money kind) without regard for anything else.

The majority of this book is about diseases which affect people, yes, Homo sapiens, but it should be pointed out that many genera (plural of genus) discussed in this book also affect animals. Viruses, fungi, nematodes, insects, protists and other disease-causing organisms also affect plants, but this book is mainly concerned with the animal kingdom to which we humans belong.

Why call the book, Prognosis: Disaster? Simple. Because of humanity’s pursuit of resources fueled by greed (where the rich want more and more at the expense of the world’s poor), stupidity, warfare, ignoring poverty, etc. the ecosystems of the world are deteriorating. This deterioration is leading to outbreaks of deadly diseases that didn’t have to infect the millions of the world’s citizens as they have in the past and continue to do.

As you, the reader keeps on reading, especially Chapter 3, you will understand what humanity has done to ecosystems kept in balance by Mother Nature and destroyed by Human Nature. Homo sapiens are currently destroying their very own home (the Earth’s ecosystems).

The subtitle, The Environment, Climate Change, Human Influences, Vectors, Disease and the Possible End of Humanity? explains how human intervention is mainly responsible for the possibility that humanity may destroy itself as well as the planet’s other organisms.

• The Environment--without it there is no life. Damage done may be unsustainable.

• Climate Change--the earth’s climate is changing in a negative way. Heat waves, floods, and storms are on the rise with the potential of displacing millions of people, thus making them environmental refugees.

• Human Influences--People are destroying most of the world’s ecosystems as well as globalizing the planet, which is the process where countries interact with each other in positive ways and negative ways. The positive aspects are trading and cooperating on treaties, and the negative aspects are the exploitation of people and natural resources, and war.

• Vectors-- These are organisms, the majority of which are arthropods such as mosquitoes, flies and ticks, that spread disease.

• Disease--The threat of disease is magnified by climate change. The largest section in this book, Section 2, deals with diseases that are most likely to increase due to climate change.

• The Possible End of Humanity?--If we only care about money without regard for the biota on the planet (All Life) we are all doomed, because all of us depend on life to sustain ourselves. There are things that we can and must change IMMEDIATELY.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

DAVID ARIETI

David Arieti.jpg

David Arieti has been involved in environmental issues for almost forty years. He went to the University of Denver for his BA degree in Science Area Major. He worked on The Sea of Galilee where he did algal research. He returned to the US where he earned his MS degree in Marine Science from Long Island University. He worked studying the effects of chlorine produced oxidants on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. He then worked at consulting firms in Washington D.C. where he worked on projects that dealt with the fate of pesticides in the soil; health effects on people working with the dyeing and finishing of textiles, and food additives. He then worked at the Baltimore Environmental Center as research director where he worked on hazardous waste issues. He also worked on the Hudson River studying the fish that were prevented from entering the waterways used to cool the condensers from the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York.

David also began teaching Environmental Science and Biology as an adjunct professor at various colleges in Maryland and Illinois, where he is today. He has been the recipient of three best Teacher-of-the-Year awards at three different colleges. In 1996 he won at Columbia College, in 2002 he won at Oakton Community College, and in 2005 he won at Daley College; all three colleges are in the Chicago vicinity.

He wrote his first book, entitled The Earth is My Patient, in 2005. He has gathered information through newspapers, books, and magazines, as well as the electronic media (radio and TV) and witnessed in real life the havoc that humans have wrought on the planet. In his first book, he lists the real causes of environmental pollution and its effects on the planet, as well as possible solutions. It is due to his witnessing the increasing deterioration of the environment due to humankind’s stupidity that led him to continue writing. Now, together with two doctors and an illustrator, he is putting together a book loaded with the effects of humankind’s slide toward extinction based on its inability to do something extreme and constructive.

By constructive we mean ending the use of fossil fuels to include a permanent moratorium on off shore oil drilling; limiting human overpopulation (this will be a hard one because certain religions encourage many children), investing tremendous amounts of money in solarizing the planet (getting all our electricity from the sun); and demilitarizing the planet by getting rid of weapons such as planes, tanks, missiles, etc. These consume tremendous amounts of money which could be used for building necessary structures like water treatment plants and schools instead of destroying these structures during war. And perhaps doing the most difficult thing possible: GETTING RID OF MONEY AND FINDING A BETTER ECONOMIC SYSTEM so that poor people have a chance at health and a decent life.

JACOB NIEVA

Jacob Nieva.jpg

Jacob O. Nieva, M.D. is a medical doctor who specialized in Internal Medicine in the Philippines. He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 1980. He took five years residency training in Internal Medicine in the Rizal Medical Center, Pasig, Metro Manila, after which he practiced for 18 years before coming to the United States. He has been an adjunct professor at Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Illinois, teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology since 2004.

Being from the Philippines, Jacob knows firsthand about rainforest destruction and its effects on disease transmission. Jacob has written the bulk of the section dealing with diseases in this book as well as a chapter on diseases in David Arieti’s first book, The Earth is My Patient.

RANDOLPH J. SWILLER

Randy swiller.jpg

Randolph Swiller, M.D., FACP has practiced Internal Medicine in the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida for the past 28 years. A native New Yorker, he earned his M.D. degree at Chicago Medical School in 1972. His medical internship was at Long Island Jewish Hospital, in New Hyde Park, N.Y., from 1972-’73. He then took a Psychiatric Residency at SUNY in Brooklyn at Downstate Medical Center from 1973-’76. He was an Attending Psychiatrist from 1976-’78 at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn N.Y. Following this he took his Medical Residency at The Jewish Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. from 1978-’80. He took one year of Hematology Fellowship at Cornell University-North Shore University hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. (1980-’81). Then he and his family moved to Coral Springs, Florida, where he began a solo Internal Medical practice. He has been in medical practice overall for 34 years. Randolph’s further interests include Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Cardiology, Oncology, and overall, preventive medicine, with public health.

Randolph has a great concern over the emotional apathy of our society with regard to the environment. He believes that this is contributing to the eventual destruction of our environment and that materialism dominates over humanitarianism and common sense. If we fail to recognize the seriousness of the decay of our environment, the following generations will end up paying the price for our mistakes. These include more tropical ailments, CO2 accumulation from the combustion of fossil fuels, global warming and a rise in sea levels with concomitant flooding of our coastlines. Large cities in the northeast will cease to exist, and low-lying land such as Florida, southern Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia tidewater country will become submerged, along with New York City and New England. Illnesses such as Malaria, Yellow Fever, and Tuberculosis will spread northwards. He believes that only through careful vigilance and positive actions can our generation put an end to this destructive process. There is only one Earth, and if not dealt with wisely and properly, it will be lost. Where will mankind live with such a catastrophe? Randolph contributed to Section 2 on diseases, as well as to Chapter 3 dealing with how humans influence disease spread. He has a great concern over the emotional apathy of our society with regard to the environment. He believes that this is contributing to the eventual destruction of our environment and that that materialism dominates over humanitarianism and common sense.

KEVIN BLEY

Kevin Bley.jpg

Kevin Bley is a graduate of Columbia College in Chicago. He graduated with a degree in Film & Video, with a concentration in Computer Animation, in 2010. Though he’s only worked professionally in the art field for roughly four years, Kevin’s been drawing since before he could talk, and to this day, still draws on a daily basis. He met David Arieti through his Animal Behavior class at Columbia, and when David mentioned needing an illustrator for his new book, Kevin readily accepted. Though this is Kevin’s first time illustrating for a book, he hopes it won’t be the last. Despite not being actively involved with environmental matters, with the exception of this book, he’s been exposed to plenty of information and issues presented at Columbia, and believes it doesn’t take a genius to understand that something must be done about them.

1 UNFPA. State Of the World Population 2009: Facing a changing world: women, population and climate, p.30.

2 International Organization for Migration (IOM) Policy Brief. Migration, Climate Change and the Environment. Geneva: May 2009, pp.1-9.

Section 1

Chapter 1

The Environment

Chapter 2

Biology

Chapter 3

How Human Activities Cause Disease

Chapter 4

Vectors

Chapter 1

The Environment

(This chapter was written by David Arieti)

It is important to realize that the Earth and its life support systems are in balance, or should I say were in balance before humans placed their footprints on it by destroying many of its systems. Picture the earth just like a human, with all of its 11 or so systems. Humans have a respiratory system, circulatory system, urinary system, reproductive system, lymphatic system, and many others. If just one of these systems fails, humans will be in trouble and perhaps die. Well, think of the earth as a human. When a human is well, all is OK. When the human gets sick he/she is uncomfortable and may die.

The planet Earth is the same way. All of its systems, whether they are the atmosphere or the land and oceans with their plants, must be healthy all the time or trouble may ensue.

When I first went to college in the 1960s, there were very few environmental and ecology courses. Now, almost 50 years later, there are many more books on the subject, and many more environmental science courses taught at colleges and universities throughout the United States and in other countries.

Why are there so many courses being taught about the environment? Because these colleges realize that the environment is in peril and if people are educated about the environment then they can do something to protect it. By protecting the environment they are protecting their own HOME. That’s right, the environment is our home! And don’t you forget it.

THE ENVIRONMENT

In order to study diseases caused by human involvement in the environment, it is best to define the earth’s environment and discuss how it works. What exactly is the environment composed of? How does it function? Why is it so fragile and open to destruction by humankind’s lack of understanding? I will try to answer these questions in the next few pages.

Once the reader understands what a normal environment looks like, then he/she can understand what is happening to it. The best way to do this is to start with the Biosphere, also known as the Ecosphere.

THE BIOSPHERE-ECOSPHERE

What exactly is the Biosphere? The Biosphere is also known as the Ecosphere. The Biosphere is the area of the planet that has life. It is divided into three parts: the Atmosphere (the air portion), The Lithosphere (the land mass), and the Hydrosphere (the water-containing part). Each part of the Biosphere is unique in its components. All three areas have life as well as non-living components. The living components, which include animals, plants, protists, fungi and bacteria, are called the biota or biotic factors. Non-living components are called the abiota or abiotic factors. See Table 1-1 for biotic and abiotic factors.

ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystems are areas on the planet that contain living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. Ecosystems can be aquatic, terrestrial, on tops of trees, in a person’s intestinal tract, inside a cave, or just about anywhere where life exists. A good example of a unique ecosystem is the Arctic. We know it is cold up there, at least for now, but maybe not much longer because of global warming. This unique ecosystem has a tremendous amount of aquatic life as well as land life.

TABLE 1-1

BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS

Let’s begin with the ATMOSPHERE. This is the part of the biosphere that contains the air. Almost all (99%) of the atmosphere is up to thirty miles from the Earth’s surface. The atmosphere consists of many gases, the first four being Nitrogen (N2), Oxygen (O2), Argon (Ar) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Nitrogen and Oxygen make up about 99% of all the gases and the rest make up less than 1% of an unpolluted atmosphere. See Table 1-2 for a more complete list of atmospheric gases. Notice that Carbon Dioxide is rising, which means that percentages of the other gases are falling.

TABLE 1-2

COMPOSITION OF A NORMAL ATMOSPHERE

It should be pointed out that that since the Industrial Revolution, which started around 1870, the CO2 concentration has been increasing. It is believed that the concentration of CO2 prior to the Industrial Revolution was around 0.0270%. Now it is more than .02954% higher. This amount may not seem like a lot, but it is for the Earth’s systems to function properly. Cities like Los Angeles, California; Bangkok, Thailand; and Mexico City, Mexico are very polluted and I doubt that the mentioned O2 and Nitrogen are as high as is listed in Table 1-2.

The atmosphere itself is divided into five major regions depending on temperature changes. See Fig.1-1 for parts of the atmosphere. The main parts of the atmosphere starting with the parts that we are standing in are as follows:

1. Troposphere

2. Stratosphere

3. Mesosphere

4. Thermosphere

5. Exosphere-Area above the thermosphere. It does not appear in Fig.1-1.

Fig 1-1.png

Fig. 1-1. A chart that shows the divisions of the atmosphere.

(Illustration by Kevin Bley)

TABLE 1-3

THE ATMOSPHERE

Each area is divided up into the specific regions by something called a lapse curve. Lapse curves are areas with temperature differences. The troposphere, the first area, has falling temperatures as we go higher in altitude. From the edge of the troposphere-- called the tropopause-- begins the stratosphere, where temperatures begin to rise. At the edge of the stratosphere-- called the stratopause-- the temperature falls again, leading to the mesosphere. This leads us to the mesopause, where the thermosphere begins, with rising temperatures again. After the thermosphere we can say that the exosphere begins. This extends up to 40,000 Km above the earth.

THE LITHOSPHERE

The Lithosphere is the land portion of the planet. It is approximately 57.5 million square miles. One may divide the land masses into units called Biomes. A biome can be defined as a large geographical area containing similar climate, soil, vegetation and animal life.

A list of the world’s major biomes can be seen in Table 1-4.

TABLE 1-41

BIOME CHARACTERISTICS

In theory, we can also say that the ocean consists of various biomes. There are areas with large reefs, such as the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, or even areas of the Red Sea with its higher salinity than other oceans. These areas of the ocean have their own endemic (found only in one place) aquatic life.

It should be pointed out that Mother Nature (God) in his/her infinite wisdom made all the biomes of the Earth suitable for specific organisms. The Earth was kept in balance until humans came along to disrupt it. These biomes play a significant role in maintaining the Earth’s systems, which to put it bluntly, include the life support systems that we all need to survive.

Later on in this section I will discuss the wide biodiversity found in the biomes.

THE HYDROSPHERE-1.36 billion cubic kms of water on the Earth.

Water makes up about 70% of the Earth’s surface, with oceans being the major aquatic biome, accounting for the wide variety of life as well as supplying oxygen through photosynthesis-- the oxygen that we need to breathe. About 97.6% of all the water on the Earth is saltwater found in oceans. The rest of the water, which is considered freshwater, makes up the rest. See Table 1-5.

TABLE 1-5

WORLD’S WATER RESOURCES2

It should be pointed out that we are losing groundwater due to extensive agriculture usage, which is quite wasteful because much of the water is lost to evaporation and doesn’t make it to the crops. It is also evident that future wars will be fought over this precious resource. Misuse of the world’s water supplies will lead to more disease as is evidenced with increased dams. Stagnant water sitting in the reservoirs has the potential to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes which may carry malaria and other diseases.

As mentioned previously, the biosphere is our life support system of which we humans are all a part. When we destroy various parts of the biosphere, as in warfare or just for profit by taking available trees and making paper and furniture out of them, we are damaging our life support, perhaps forever.

IMPORTANCE OF BIOTA ON THE ENVIRONMENT

What is biota? Biota is the term used to describe all the living components of the planet. Everybody who is alive at the present time depends on the biota for their well-being. How is this so? Simple!!!!. Everybody eats. All the food we eat comes from living organisms. Yes, that’s right, living organisms. Vegetables are living or once were. Meat, which comes from various animals, also depends on plants for animals’ survival. Even those animals that eat other animals depend on plants, because, like us, meat eaters depend on animals that mainly eat plants. These plant eaters are called herbivores. Those that eat meat are called carnivores. Organisms such as humans eat both plants and animals; these are called omnivores. All this leads us to the next environmental topic: nutrition types and food chains.

Nutrition of organisms falls into the following categories:

1) AUTOTROPHIC

2) HETEROTROPHIC

3) SAPROTROPHIC

4) CHEMOSYNTHETIC

1. AUTOTROPHIC

Autotrophic organisms are generally plants which get their nutrition from inorganic chemicals. These are chemicals that do not contain carbon in covalent linkage. For those of you who don’t know what that means, covalent linkage means that chemicals share electrons. Examples of organic chemicals are sugars, alcohol, proteins, starch etc. All of these contain carbon. Examples of inorganic chemicals include water (H2O), table salt (NaCl) and potassium phosphate (K3PO4), and many others.

Plants utilize the chemicals and make food by the process of photosynthesis, which can be expressed in this simple equation.

6H2O + 6CO2 + sunlight C6H12O6 + 6O2

This process takes place in the chloroplast of a plant cell.

Essentially this equations means that water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) plus sunlight makes glucose (a sugar) and oxygen. Figure 1-2 shows a typical chloroplast where photosynthesis takes place.

Chloroplast.jpg

Fig. 1-2. A diagram of a chloroplast. This is the organelle mainly involved in photosynthesis. (Illustration by Kevin Bley)

2. HETEROTROPHIC

Heterotrophic is the term that refers to those organisms that eat preformed organic chemicals. This includes humans, cockroaches, ants, certain bacteria and fungi. It’s hard to imagine that when someone orders a steak with potatoes in a restaurant he/she is ordering preformed organic chemicals in the form of protein and starch.

For those of us who eat, we know that we eat food containing nutrients in the form of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, all organic.

3. SAPROTROPHIC

Saprotrophic (formerly called saprophytic) is the term that mainly refers to fungi and bacteria which obtain their nutrients from dead organisms. If you have ever been in the woods and seen a log rotting, you have seen that it is rotting primarily by fungus. This is an excellent example of a saprotrophic organism. It is these organisms that break down dead plants and animals. Imagine if this couldn’t happen and a dead cow (for example) would not decompose—soon there would be thousands of dead cows all over the place!

4. CHEMOSYNTHETIC

These are organisms that obtain their energy from the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). This results in the synthesis of carbohydrates such as occur during photosynthesis in the Calvin Cycle.3

6CO2 +6H2O + 3H2SC6H12O6 +SULFUR COMPOUNDS

Examples of organisms that obtain their energy this way are the deep sea tube worms and mussels found on the thermal vents which are located in areas where tectonic plates merge. (Tectonic plates are masses where parts of the planet move.) These vents were discovered by Robert Ballard of Woods Hole. Ballard was also the scientist who discovered the location of the Titanic.

FOOD CHAINS

A food chain is the term used to describe levels of food eaten by all organisms. Put simply, it states who eats whom. A food chain starts with a primary producer, a PLANT, being eaten by a primary consumer, an ANIMAL. This primary consumer is in turn eaten by a secondary consumer, another ANIMAL. The secondary consumer, too, may in turn be eaten by a tertiary consumer, another ANIMAL.

aquatic food chain.png

Fig. 1-3: a tYPICAL aquatic food chain with a human on top.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL ORGANISMS

The importance of all, and I mean all, the organisms and ecosystems on the planet cannot be underestimated. Now let me explain. Let me give you, the reader, an analogy. We have a wood block game called JENGA. The object of this game is to remove as many pieces as possible without the tower falling down. Let’s pretend that each block represents some aspect of the Earth’s biosphere. The blocks could be the air, water, tree species, animal species, grass species, insect species, etc. If we take out each block, the tower gets weaker and weaker until it collapses. Now, if we would say that this tower represents The Planet Earth, we see disaster. In other words, the planet’s life support systems would collapse, thus causing most, if not all, life to disappear.

When one is asked, Does every species have a function on the planet? the answer is yes. What if we don’t know the function of a species? Then we can still say that it has an ecological function. That is why we have to make every effort to prevent species from disappearing, no matter how useless or annoying they are to the human race. A good example of this is the mosquito. We know that on a hot summer day if there are plants and water nearby, humans get bitten by mosquitoes. Obviously, many people consider mosquitoes to be pests. True, but they have an ecological function. What is their function?

For one thing, the blood that they get from humans and other organisms that they bite is used to feed their eggs. This creates more mosquitoes. Now, what organisms depend on mosquitoes for their survival?

Simple. Birds, dragonflies and bat species are among the many organisms that use mosquitoes as a food source.

One thing that everyone forgets or doesn’t even notice is the fact we humans think that we own the Earth and that we can do whatever we want to it. If we look at warfare and other activities that damage the Earth, we see the effects. (For a very good discussion of warfare on the Earth’s ecosystems see the book The Ecology of Warfare, by Susan D. Lanier-Graham, 1993.)

Among the major effects of warfare or other destruction of habitat is depletion of certain organisms such as fish or trees. These depletions have serious consequences that warmongers and developers don’t take into account. Depletion of fish stocks, whether by overfishing or warfare, has disastrous consequences that cannot be foreseen, such as animal and human hunger. Hunger is caused by depleting protein, such as killing plants and animals. By doing this, new diseases due to natural selection-- which is a form of evolution-- may occur.

It is evident that without a life-sustaining environment, life as we know it will cease to exist.

NATURE’S SERVICES

One of the most important aspects of our environment is its biodiversity. This is the fact that we have a tremendous variety of organisms (any living thing) on this planet. There are roughly 1.8 million organisms identified thus far which include bacteria, fungi, single celled organisms called protists, animals and plants.4

Biodiversity isn’t just an abstract idea that’s important in biology class. Each and every organism has one or more functions that contribute to the successful operation of Planet Earth. These functions can be called "Natural Services," and include the following:

ECOSYSTEMS SERVICES AND FUNCTIONS

1. Gas regulation

2. Climate regulation

3. Disturbance regulation

4. Water regulation

5. Water supply

6. Erosion control and sediment retention

7. Soil formation

8. Nutrient cycling

9. Waste treatment

10. Pollination

11. Biological control

12. Refugia (refuge for animals)

13. Food production

14. Raw materials

15. Genetic resources

16. Recreation

17. Cultural

According to many investigators the value of the Earth’s natural resources and services amount to approximately $18-54 trillion per year (1997).5

1 Sadava. D, H.C.Heller, G.H. Orians, W.Purves, D.M. Hillis. Life: The Science of Biology, 8th edition. Sinauer Associates and W.H. Freeman and Company 2008. P.1117

2 Cunningham,W, W. Cunningham and B. Saigo, Environmental Science: A Global Concern., McGraw Hill, 2007, p.374.

3 The Calvin cycle takes place in the stroma, the part of the chloroplast where CO2 is converted to sugars.

4 Wilson, E. O. Vanishing before our eyes. Time Magazine April-May 2000, pp. 29-30.

5 R.Costanza, R. d’Arge, R.de Groot, S. Farber, M.Grasso, B. Hannon, K.Limburg, S.Naeem, R.V.O’Neil, J. Paruelo, R. Raskin, P. Sutton and M. van den Belt, The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital, Nature 385 (May 1997): 253-262.

Chapter 2

Biology

(This chapter was written by David Arieti and Randy Swiller)

In order to begin a discussion about diseases it would be best to tell the reader about life and the organisms associated with life. What exactly is life? Life as we know it has many characteristics. Most organisms have at least some of the characteristics below. However, viruses (for example) are not considered life by many scientists because they don’t meet the requirements listed below. I will discuss viruses after we discuss life.

CHARACTERISTICS OF