Microbes You Inhale on the New York City Subway

The microbes you inhale on the New York City subway by Staff Writers Washington DC (SPX) Apr 29, 2013

File image courtesy AFP.

The microbial population in the air of the New York City subway system is nearly identical to that of ambient air on the city streets. This research, published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, establishes an important baseline, should it become necessary to monitor the subway’s air for dispersal of potentially dangerous microbes.

Also, the combination of new methodologies in the study, including fast collection of aerosols and rapid sequencing technology, provide an efficient means for monitoring which was not previously available.

The results “are strong testimony for the efficiency of the train pumping system for ventilation,” says principal investigator Norman R. Pace of the University of Colorado, Boulder. The wind one feels while walking across a subway grate as the subway clatters beneath also demonstrates just how effective that system is, he says.

The only obvious differences in the subway’s microbial population are the somewhat higher proportion of skin microbiota, and the doubled density of the fungal population, which Pace suggests may be due to rotting wood. “I was impressed by the similarity of [subway] and outdoor air,” he says.

The researchers used a high tech mechanism to collect air at around 300 liters per minute (L/min), a big jump on the previous state of the art, which swallowed 12 L/min. That enabled collecting sufficient volume of air-a couple of cubic meters-to take the bacterial census within 20 minutes, instead of after “hours,” says Pace. And analysis by sequencing is far faster and more thorough then using culture.

Pace notes that until now, the microbial content of subway air was unknown, and that the microbiology of indoor air is an emerging field of scientific inquiry. His research was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, through its Microbiology of the Built Environment program, which has made 64 grants totaling $28 million to date.

“While it is difficult to predict what will be discovered on the frontier of scientific inquiry, the opportunity exists to better understand these complex microbial ecosystems and how they affect health and the environment. We expect that someday this knowledge will influence design and construction practices and other industrial processes,” says Paula Olsiewski, program director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

A copy of the manuscript can be found online here. Formal publication is scheduled for the July 2013 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. (C.E. Robertson, L.K. Baumgartner, J.K. Harris, K.L. Peterson, M.J. Stevens, D.N. Frank, and N.R. Pace, 2013. Culture-independent analysis of aerosol microbiology in a metropolitan subway system. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. Published ahead of print 29 March 2013 ,doi:10.1128/AEM.00331-13)

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• NYC Subway Air is Not as Grody As You Think, Says Study (akandezainab.wordpress.com)
• How Gross Is the Air of the NYC Subway, Really? (theatlanticcities.com)
• The microbes you inhale on the New York City subway (terradaily.com)
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Petition: Stop Killing Our Dogs! Justice for Baby Girl!

Annamaria—                              There’s a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it:

Justice for Baby Girl: NYPD: Stop killing our dogs!                                                                                          By trisha r.                                                                                              statehoward beach, New York                                                                                                Sign Trisha’s Petition                                                Last week, my sweet rescued dog was gunned down by NYPD for no reason. My sister and I were walking our three dogs in a public park when two of them started to scuffle with each other. We easily separated them and everyone was calmed down when an NYPD officer came onto the scene. She opened fire on Baby Girl, who wasn’t even involved in the fight. Baby Girl was running away from the officer when she was hit. NYPD killed my dog. No one was in danger until the officer started shooting. She also could have hit me or my sister, the residents who live near the park, or the kids who were playing basketball just a few feet away. My sister, a retired NYPD cop, identified herself and told the officer it was under control. I pleaded with the officer to stop shooting, but she just kept yelling at us to stay away from our own dogs. When it was over, my sister and I weren’t allowed to leave, even though we didn’t know where Baby Girl was since she’d run away from the gunfire. The cops told us that they didn’t know her whereabouts, but when we asked some neighborhood kids to help us find her, they found my dog lying in puddles of her own blood in a cage in the back of a police vehicle. My brother arrived to rush her to a vet. The police offered to escort him and led him to a facility where there wasn’t even a vet on duty. He had to carry Baby Girl to a different vet’s office where she finally received care more than an hour after she’d been shot. She was unable to recover from her injuries and died five days later. NYPD has not reached out to me. They’ve only told reporters that this is under investigation. That’s not good enough. The officer who open fired in a park needs to be fired from the police force. I do not feel safe with her on the streets. In addition, NYPD needs to take immediate action to make sure this never happens again. They need to adopt a policy that says officers are not allowed to use deadly force on companion animals and they need to train their officers on how to handle dog-related incidents without putting people or pets in danger. Police departments across the country are strengthening their policies and training to stop officers from shooting dogs and putting pet owners at risk. Colorado and Texas are even considering legislation that would require training on dog encounters for officers across the state. How many more pets need to die before NYPD starts protecting us and stops shooting our companions?

New Yorkers brace for post-Hurricane Sandy ‘ratpocalypse’ | The Raw Story

New Yorkers brace for post-Hurricane Sandy ‘ratpocalypse’ | The Raw Story.

New Yorkers brace for post-Hurricane Sandy ‘ratpocalypse’

By Agence France-Presse
Thursday, November 1, 2012 3:07 EDT

Share on facebookShare on redditShare on diggShare on twitterShare on farkShare on stumbleupon39No one knows just how many rats there are in the city, with experts at odds over the accuracy of one common estimate suggesting there is at least one rat for each of New York City’s eight million human residents.

And Rick Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, said it was similarly difficult to predict what had happened to the rodents.

“Rats tend to inhabit very low-lying areas that are most subject to this intense flooding. So some rats will be killed, they’ll be drowned in the water,” he told AFP.In the short term, Ostfeld predicted, survivor rats will be looking for new homes, trying to get by in a new environment and reestablish a social order.

“But once these new social structures are maintained, are formed, I would expect the rats to begin breeding again,” he said.

“And if there’s a massive amount of new food as a result of the storm… that could constitute a new food resource for rats and we could see a population increase.”

But Bora Zivkovic, a behavioral biologist and editor at Scientific American, predicted the storm might well have drowned a portion of the city’s rodent dwellers.

“Rats, especially the pups, in the areas most quickly flooded or without good easy exits to the surface would have drowned,” he said in an email.

Still, those that did make it overground would be feasting.

“Much more food will be thrown away, at all hours of day and night, and I assume that trash pickup will be temporarily erratic, thus leaving plenty of food sitting in plastic bags on sidewalks for a while,” Zikovic said.

Despite the abundant food available to them, life won’t just be a walk in the park for the new overground arrivals.

“Displaced rats will interact with local rat groups, probably in quite aggressive encounters. Those encounters will decide who is dominant, who stays and who leaves,” Zivkovic said.

And for those terrified by the prospect of street corners overrun by aggressive rodents, he had calming words.

“Most rats would try to go back home once the water subsides. They are very loyal to their home territories and groups and can find their way home from quite far away,” Zivkovic said.

He added that while breeding would quickly bring the rat population back up to pre-storm size, there was “no reason to expect it will get bigger.”

Sam Miller, assistant commissioner for public affairs at New York City’s Health and Mental Hygiene Department sounded a similarly optimistic note.

“We haven’t seen an increase in rats above ground caused by Hurricane Sandy,” he said, echoing Zivkovic’s theory that the flooding could reduce the rodent population by drowning young rats in burrows.

“We believe the flooding could reduce the rat population overall,” he said.

Robert Corrigan, a rodent specialist based in Indiana, noted that in previous major storms, including Hurricane Katrina of 2005, “massive disease outbreaks did not occur.”

“No reason to assume they will occur with Sandy. But that doesn’t mean city health officials can, or will, let their guard down,” said Corrigan.

[Little decorative rat isolated on white background via Shutterstock.com.]

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• The Ratpocalypse Has Been Canceled (nymag.com)
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• New Yorkers brace for post-Hurricane Sandy ‘ratpocalypse’ (rawstory.com)
• Post-Sandy: New York’s ‘ratpocalypse’ (nzherald.co.nz)
• POSTED 10.31.12 | Raw Story is back online! (womensphilanthropy.typepad.com)

Where When and If: Town Can Ban Fracking | Common Dreams

Where When and If: Town Can Ban Fracking | Common Dreams.

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Where When and If: Town Can Ban Fracking

A judge has ruled that Dryden, a town in upstate New York, can in fact bar fracking through its zoning laws. More legal battles ahead, but a start.

Schon wieder Tote durch Jagdunfaelle und Familientragoedien mit Jagdwaffen

Image via Wikipedia

 

Schluss mit der Hobbyjagd:

 

Schon wieder Tote durch Jagdunfälle und Familientragödien mit Jägerwaffen

 

 

 

Am 2. November 2011 erschoss ein 77-jähriger Jäger vor einer Jagdhütte im Teutoburger Wald seine Ehefrau, zwei Jagdhunde und sich selbst. (Rheinische Post online, 2.11.2011) - Diese Tragödie ist kein Einzelfall: Wer weiß schon, dass Hunderte Menschen in den letzten zehn Jahren in Deutschland durch Jäger und Jägerwaffen starben?

 

 

 

Offizielle Statistiken gibt es darüber nicht – Jäger zählen nur die Anzahl der Tiere, die sie erschießen. Seit zehn Jahren dokumentiert die Initiative zur Abschaffung der Jagd Jagdunfälle und Straftaten mit Jägerwaffen: Jährlich sind es allein in Deutschland bis zu 40 Tote durch Jäger – Menschen, die ohne die Jagd heute noch leben könnten.

 

http://www.abschaffung-der-jagd.de/opfer/menschenalsjaegeropfer/jagdunfaelleundstraftaten2011/index.html

 

 

 

In den letzten Monaten häufen sich Meldungen von Familientragödien mit tödlichem Ausgang. Häufig sind es Jäger, die ihre Ehefrau, die Ex-Geliebte oder einen Nebenbuhler erschießen:

 

 

 

Ein Jäger geht morgens kurz vor 7 Uhr mit seinem Gewehr zur Polizei, legt die Jagdbüchse auf den Tresen und teilt den Polizeibeamten mit: »Ich habe gerade meine Frau erschossen.« »Für die 49-jährige Ehefrau kam jede Hilfe zu spät«, melden die Staatsanwaltschaft und die Polizei Münster in einer gemeinsamen Pressemitteilung der Staatsanwaltschaft am 11.10.2011.

 

 

 

Ein 40-jähriger Mann steht wegen Mordes an seiner Mutter vor dem Landgericht Osnabrück. »Er gab zu, seine Mutter mit dem Jagdgewehr des verstorbenen Vaters erschossen zu haben«, meldet der NDR am 2.11.2011.

 

 

 

Die Thüringer Allgemeine berichtet am 8.10.2011 von dem Prozess um die »Bluttat von Wiehe«: Im April hatte ein 63-jähriger Jäger nach einem Streit seine 61-jährige Ex-Frau mit einem Revolver zunächst in die Schulter und dann aus kurzer Distanz in den Kopf geschossen. »Ich denke, dass ich wie ein Jäger gehandelt habe«, sagte der Angeklagte vor Gericht aus.

 

 

 

»Lebensgefährtin mit Jagdgewehr erschossen«, titelte BILD am 1.8.2011. Laut Polizei habe ein  Jäger am 29.7.2011 in Lauffen (Kreis Heilbronn) seine 46-jährige Frau mit seinem Jagdgewehr in die Brust geschossen – wohl, weil sie sich von ihm trennen wollte.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studie: Jährlich 100 Tote bei Familiendramen – Schusswaffe im Haus erhöht Risiko

 

 

 

Laut einer Studie des Max-Planck-Instituts, die sich über einen Zeitraum von 10 Jahren erstreckt, kommt es zu 100 Toten jährlich bei Familiendramen in Deutschland – meist mit legalen Waffen. Wer weiß, wie viele Jäger dabei sind?

 

 

 

Der Kriminologe Dietrich Oberwittler vom Freiburger Max-Planck-Institut, der ein Projekt zum Thema Familiendramen leitet, wies in der Sendung TV Südbaden aktuell vom 8.7.2011 darauf hin: »Allein die Tatsache, dass man eine Schusswaffe besitzt, kann dazu führen, dass es dann im Konfliktfall eher mal zu so einer Gewalttat kommt, die vielleicht nicht passiert wäre, wenn es eben keine Waffe gegeben hätte.«

 

 

 

 

 

Tote und Verletzte bei Jagdunfällen

 

 

 

Doch der Einsatz von Jagdwaffen bei Familientragödien ist nicht das einzige Problem: Immer wieder schrecken Meldungen über Jagd­unfälle die Öffentlichkeit auf und machen deutlich, dass die Jagd nicht nur für Wildtiere gefährlich ist, sondern auch für Menschen. Universitätsstudien und Landwirtschaftlichen Berufsgenossenschaften zufolge liegt die Zahl der jährlichen Jagdunfälle bei ca. 1600 – wobei diese Zahl sicherlich nur die Spitze des Eisberges ist.

 

 

 

So berichtet die Aachener Zeitung am 2.11.2011 von einem jungen Ehepaar, das am Samstagnachmittag mit seinem Kind im Kinderwagen und Hund spazieren ging. Als sie eine Jagdgesellschaft im Feld bemerkten, war es schon zu spät: Der 29-jährige Mann und seine 27-jährige Frau wurden von Schrotkugeln getroffen.

 

 

 

Der Radiosender oe.24 meldete am 30.10.2011, dass ein Eurocity-Zug in Bayern offenbar durch einen Jagdunfall beschossen wurde: Sechs Fensterscheiben seien zerborsten, insgesamt wurden acht Einschlagstellen gezählt.

 

 

 

Schusswaffen gehören nicht in die Hände von Freizeitjägern, die diese völlig unkontrolliert benutzen können. Es wird Zeit, dass die Hobbyjagd in Deutschland verboten wird!

 

 

 

 

 

Die Natur braucht keine Jäger

 

 

 

Die Jagd ist heute ein Hobby, ein Freizeitvergnügen und in ihren Jagdzeitschriften geben die Jäger ihre Lust am Töten und Freude am Beutemachen inzwischen offen zu. Die Natur braucht keine Jäger. Im Gegenteil: Jagd schädigt das Gleichgewicht in der Natur!

 

So weisen immer mehr Wissenschaftler darauf hin, dass die Jagd auf Wildschweine absolut contraproduktiv ist: Je mehr Jagd auf Wildschweine gemacht wird, umso stärker vermehren sie sich. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt auch eine französische Langzeitstudie: Starke Bejagung führt zu einer deutlich höheren Fortpflanzung und stimuliert die Fruchtbarkeit bei Wildschweinen. (vgl. Servanty et alii, Journal of Animal Ecology, 2009)

 

 

 

Feldstudien von Ökologen ergaben, dass die Tiere über einen inneren Mechanismus zur Regulierung des Populationswachstums verfügen: Die Regulation der Wildtierbestände erfolgt nicht durch die Jagd. Droht Überbevölkerung, wird die Geburtenrate gesenkt.

 

 

 

Die Auffassung, dass sich die richtige Wilddichte ganz von selbst einstellt, vertritt beispielsweise Prof. Dr. Josef Reichholf: Die richtige Wilddichte könnte sich ganz von selbst einstellen, wenn die Tiere, wie z.B. das Reh, nicht durch Bejagung und Wildfütterung in den Wald hineingedrängt würden. (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28.01.2009)

 

Auch dort, wo in Europa die Jagd verboten wurde, wie z.B. in den ausgedehnten italienischen Nationalparks, im Schweizer Nationalpark oder auf der griechischen Insel Tilos, werden keine übermäßigen Wildtierbestände festgestellt. Im Gegenteil: Ohne Jagd stellt sich das natürliche Gleichgewicht wieder ein.

 

 

 

www.abschaffung-der-jagd.de

 

 

Tourists Saw Central Park Carriage Horse Collapse and Die in Manhattan Street

Image via Wikipedia

Shocking moment tourists saw Central Park carriage horse collapse and die in Manhattan street

By Hannah Roberts Last updated at 11:31 PM on 24th October 2011

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2052984/Healthy-horses-drop-dead-The-shocking-moment-Central-Park-carriage-horse-COLLAPSED-street.html

A New York carriage horse collapsed and died in the street, as horrified bystanders looked on. The white horse keeled over as it made the early morning commute, from its stables in western Manhattan to Central Park, to begin its shift yesterday morning. Tragically it died soon afterwards. The latest death will fuel the argument for the horses to be taken off the streets permanently. Tragic: A New York carriage horse collapsed and died in the street as it made the early morning commute from its stables to Central Park to begin its shift yesterday morning The horrific incident happened on West 54th Street near Eighth Avenue at about 9:30 am, according to the ASPCA.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2052984/Healthy-horses-drop-dead-The-shocking-moment-Central-Park-carriage-horse-COLLAPSED-street.html#ixzz1cRnQDeXE

 

POLL RESULTS  - you´ll find this original in Dailymail.co.uk:

Should New York carriage horses be banned?

• Yes72%
• No28%

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2052984/Healthy-horses-drop-dead-The-shocking-moment-Central-Park-carriage-horse-COLLAPSED-street.html#ixzz1cRpcyoFX

Five Reasons Why Environmentalists & Animal Activists Should Occupy Wall Street

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5 Reasons Why Environmentalists and Animal Activists Should Occupy Wall Street
http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/occupy-wall-street-environmentalists/5228/?utm_source=GreenIsTheNewRed+Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=afcf870aa4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2

750,000 $ for an Artist Who Killed a Dog for “Art” ?

Stop San Francisco From Paying $750,000 To “Artist” Who Killed Dog https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacycmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1969

In 1977, Brooklyn resident Tom Otterness went to his local animal shelter, adopted a homeless dog, took him home, chained him to a fence, and shot him. He filmed the act, called it “Shot Dog Film,” and claimed it was art. Now Otterness may receive $750,000 from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to create 59 bronze sculptures for the city’s Moscone Subway Station. He recently lost a contract for the same amount in New York City. This is your taxpayer money. If you don’t want your taxes spent this way, please speak up.

NOT ALL HEROS ARE PEOPLE – MEANING OF SELF LESS LOVE

NOT ALL HEROS ARE PEOPLE – MEANING OF SELF LESS LOVE

 

 

James Crane worked on the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center .. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy. After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an act of love. She darted away into the darkened hallway. Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke James was just waiting to die. About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back along with James’ boss, Who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112     On her first run of the building, she leads James, James’ boss, and about 300 more people out of the doomed building. But she wasn’t through yet, she knew there were others who were trapped. So, highly against James’ wishes she ran back in the building. On her second run, she saved 392 lives. Again she went back in. During this run, the building collapses. James hears about this and falls on his knees into tears. Against all known odds, Daisy makes it out alive, but this time she is carried by a firefighter. “She led us right to the people, before she got injured” the fireman explained. Her final run saved another 273 lives. She suffered acute smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she saved 967 lives. Daisy is the first civilian Canine to win the Medal of Honor of New York City. I hope you enjoyed this story. I thought it was terrific. Pass it on to all animal lovers … Remember love is to be shared to be multiplied.. Thank You, Luree, for sharing this wonderful story!