You know I’m not a big fan of deforestation and clear cutting. But, of course, the Cult of Climastrology is trying to link it to viruses, because Wuhan Virus Bat Soup Virus is flowing around
‘Like Poking a Beehive’: The Worrisome Link Between Deforestation And Disease
In 2013, an 18-month old boy got sick after playing near a hollow tree in his backyard, in a remote West African village. He developed a fever and started vomiting. His stool turned black. Two days later, he died.
Two years and more than 11,000 deaths later, the World Health Organization put out a report saying the Ebola outbreak that likely emanated from that hollow tree may have been caused in part by deforestation, led by “foreign mining and timber operations.”
The tree the boy played near was infested with fruit bats — bats that may have been pushed into the boy’s village because upwards of 80 percent of their natural habitat had been destroyed.
Except, Ebola has been around a lot longer than those trees have been cut down. Notice the use of the words “likely” and “may”. In other words, they do not have proof, they’re just brainstorming and fearmongering.
Scientists have long warned that the reshaping of Earth’s landscapes will have broad ramifications for the climate and biodiversity. A growing body of evidence shows that forest loss and fragmentation can also increase the risk of animal-borne infectious disease, similar to the type that’s currently upending the world.
Health experts say that the novel coronavirus, which has killed nearly half a million people worldwide, originated in an animal. Likely, a bat. And while it’s too soon to know whether deforestation or land-use change played any role in its path to becoming a global pandemic, there are concerns that the economic ruin it’s leaving behind could help set the stage for future pandemics.
Most likely, it originated in a “research” facility in Wuhan province, not from eating a bat (or Pangolin). The area has long been deforested, so, it’s not like they just clear cut it and things got bad. But, hey, the cult always has to link things. Skipping to the end of a long screed
But she (Amy Vittor, an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute) says action is needed because the warming climate and land-use changes are not slowing down. Every time humans alter the landscape, Vittor says, it’s kind of like poking a beehive.
“If we continue to poke the beehive in nature, we will continue to see these kinds of events occur.”
What Ms. Vittor is describing is not anthropogenic climate change from greenhouse gases, but, localized climatic changes caused by land use.
Also, consider that there has been a big uptick in the use of wood for heating and cooking due to the forced use of solar and wind, which are not reliable.
