One more cold spell

Apr-08-2021 20:8

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temperatures look to be on an upswing until next Shabbat.  After that, no real cold weather is in sight, but the global forecast remains uncertain: temperatures just may continue into more summerlike temperatures, or revert back to a more mild spring.  

The mild spring like temperatures are the ones where people stop me to tell me what a good job I am doing this spring with the weather: a strong sun, with temperatures warm enough to be comfortable, but not warm enough to break a sweat.  

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog.  True, the weather didn't stop, but I've been unusually busy.  I had to spend a couple weeks in the US helping out at the old homestead, and then Passover arrived.  Quite frankly, we had a terrible time identifying and finding all the unleavened products in our home ("Chametz"), and eventually gave up and just sold the house for the holiday. Fortunately, the contract was cancelled shortly after the holiday ended, and we were able to once again inhabit the premises. 

In our world of constant news, constant opinion, and even constant opinion pretending to be news, it can be difficult to know the difference between truth and falsehood.

During the last year, there's been both intentional and unintentional statements that turned out to be false.

1) The Coronavirus first wave will pass -- like all waves -- and that will be its end.  It wasn't (there are at least 4 distinct waves). 

2) The Coronavirus will end this (last summer).  It didn't.

3) By late September, the Coronavirus will be a past memory.  It is still quite in our memory.

4) Since flu vaccinations do not protect more than 50% of the population that receives them, the Coronavirus will not be any better.  The efficacy rate for the Coronavirus vaccine is above 90%.

5) The virus can mutate to protect itself from the vaccine.  In fact, the virus can mutate, but only incidentally -- and such mutations might render the vaccine less effective.  More importantly, ff a person was vaccinated, the virus was killed by the immune system, it is very unlikely to spread a dangerous mutation.

6) Young and healthy people are not affected by the Coronavirus.  In fact, while younger people are much less likely to die from the disease, a noticeable proportion have continuing long term symptoms. 

7) Women  of childbearing years should not get the vaccine.  Except that new coronavirus variants were especially dangerous, if not deadly to pregnant women.

8) Taking Zinc and other "antiviral" medicines will stave off the Coronavirus.  While "strengthening" the immune system through exercise, diet, etc, is a good idea, the novelty of the coronavirus means that the immune system is not prepared to fight the virus until (in too many) it has the upperhand and causes serious illness. 

On another subject. 

1) The unusually cold and snowy February in the United States means that global warming is a falsehood.  In fact, cold air intrusions far south of the poles appear to have become more frequent as the world warms, and the arctic warms even more.  The added energy to the arctic circulation has destabilized the polar vortex, making periods of unusually cold weather not a thing of the past. On average, though, the world is warmer than it was.

8) The Texas blackouts were caused by the use of renewable energy sources.  In fact, the main cause of the Texas blackouts was poor infrastructure maintenance and the fact that Texas is no longer part of the National grid. Renewables, actually, make up only a small part of the power supply in Texas.

9) The United States should re-enter the Iran nuclear deal says a 100 or so ex Israeli generals, security officials.  But what if 20 times that say we shouldn't?  They do.

So, where do these false or even silly ideas come from?  They usually come people who have a more radical political agenda or strong belief that they are being lied to for ulterior and nefarious motives.  There are also people who seek publicity and followers simply by being contrary.  

On the other hand, there is a lack of trust in news sources, which creates fertile ground for the conspiracists.  To limit the future damaging impact of conspiracists, newspaper and other news sources need to stop substituting opinion for news, and edit out those opinions based on made up facts.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn