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Stuff YOU Should Know

Posted by on Dec 12, 2019 in Stuff You Should Know

A Complete Count?

Last week, btw took a look at the 2020 Census, why it is so important, and why some populations – particularly undocumented immigrants – may be reluctant to respond to it. But this is not the only group that is historically undercounted: for example, the Census Bureau estimates that more than 1.5 million black and Latino residents were not counted during the last census, which took place ten years ago.

One major barrier to a full count is reaching people in remote, rural areas. Next year, for the first time, the majority of the count will take place online, with only a small percentage of the population receiving a paper census to fill out and return. But the problem with this model is that people who don’t have Internet access or a computer will be difficult or impossible to reach.

Remember Stacey Abrams, who ran for the Georgia governor seat last year? To address the problem of lack of access, Abrams has started a nonprofit organization called Fair Count. Based out of Atlanta, the group’s mission is to make sure that even people in the most remote and rural areas are able to respond to the 2020 Census. To this end, they are providing free Wi-Fi routers, portable hot spots, and laptops to churches, barbershops, and anywhere else people tend to congregate. But lack of access is only one reason why people don’t respond to the census: the other is lack of trust. So Fair Count is also recruiting volunteers to go out into the communities and talk to people about why the census is so important. That way, when the count officially begins in a few months, there’s a better chance that historically undercounted groups will be fully counted for the first time.

What Do You Think? Imagine that you are a Fair Count volunteer. Write a short paragraph in which you explain to someone why participating in the 2020 Census is so important.

Banking on Seeds

You’ve heard about animal species going extinct. But did you know that it can happen with plant species, too? A combination of climate change and growing urban development is a continual threat to wild species. And this is particularly problematic because the human population continues to grow exponentially, which means that there is an ever-increasing demand for plants for food.

However, for the past six years, an international group of 100 scientists from 25 countries has been working hard to combat this process. These researchers travel to remote places around the globe to collect samples of wild relatives of critical domesticated crops such as lentils and rice. They then place the seeds into a global seed bank. This is so that if the everyday crops people rely on face disease or even extinction, seeds from wild relatives still exist to preserve the biodiversity of that species. So far, scientists have collected 4,600 seed samples of 371 wild relatives of vital domesticated crops.

But why is it so important to bank seeds from wild species? Take bananas, for example. The bananas you eat today are very different from the ones people ate 50 years ago. But in 1965, that species of banana (which tasted better and lasted longer) was declared officially extinct because of a fungal disease called the Panama disease, which wiped out the crop worldwide.  So a new (and inferior) species was developed, called the Cavendish cultivar. That’s what you’re eating today. But now, today’s bananas are being threatened by a similar, rapidly-spreading fungal disease. Though emergency measures are currently in place to contain the spread of the disease, it’s possible that bananas as we know them could become extinct and that a new strain will need to be developed.

Dig Deeper Use Internet resources to learn more about the fungal disease affecting banana plantations right now. Is it possible to stop the disease from spreading? How?

Measles Outbreak Shuts Down Samoan Government

Imagine a measles outbreak so severe that it shuts down an entire government. That happened last week in Samoa, a Pacific island nation. A particularly devastating measles outbreak there has affected 4,693 people, and killed 70 (61 of them young children). In fact, over a 24-hour period last weekend, 112 new cases were diagnosed. As a result, the Prime Minister announced a two-day government shutdown so that civil servants can focus on a nationwide vaccination campaign. So far, about 90 percent of the total population of just under 200,000 has been vaccinated. As an additional preventative measure, the government has also declared a state of emergency, closing down all schools and prohibiting all public gatherings.

This image of American Samoa was generated with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
Credit: NASA/JPL/NGA

Measles was able to spread rampantly throughout Samoa for a few reasons. People there don’t always trust vaccines: only 31 percent of the population was vaccinated before the outbreak began. This is largely because last year, two infants were killed after ingesting improperly-prepared vaccines. This allowed the “anti-vax” movement to gather steam, and people turned to healers and alternative treatments instead. Similar measles outbreaks are occurring in other Pacific nations–such as Fiji and Tonga and American Samoa–but those have been easier to contain because of the higher rate of vaccination there.

Despite the fact that the majority of the population is now vaccinated, medical professionals warn that the vaccine requires up to 14 days to take effect. So it’s possible that the disease hasn’t peaked yet. At the moment, 229 Samoans are hospitalized for the disease, including 16 critically ill children.

Dig Deeper How many people in the United States have been diagnosed with measles this year? How many cases must there be for an outbreak to qualify as an epidemic?

Saying Goodbye to Pearl Harbor Survivor

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,143 more, prompting the official U.S. entry into World War II. On the battleship USS Arizona alone, 1,177 crew members were killed. Today, you can visit the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. The memorial itself can only be reached by boat, with the wreckage of the ship visible beneath it. For the handful of people who survived the attack, the memorial is an especially sacred place. Those who were on board at the time of the bombing can even choose to have their remains laid to rest inside the ship.

Lauren Bruner was one of those survivors. He passed away in September, just months shy of his 99th birthday. Seventy-eight years ago, Bruner was on the sky control deck at the time of the bombing. He jumped ship and swam across 70 feet of burning water to reach another ship. In the process, he was burned over nearly 80 percent of his body and was also shot by the Japanese. But he eventually recovered and fought in eight more battles against the Japanese. Bruner is also the last remaining USS Arizona survivor to have his remains interred inside the ship. The recent ceremony included a rifle salute and the presentation of a flag and plaque to Bruner’s family. His urn was taken down to the wreckage of the ship by divers, who placed it inside one of the gun turrets.

Three other survivors of the USS Arizona remain, but they have elected to be buried with their families instead.

Dig Deeper What were the other two battleships that were bombed during the attack on Pearl Harbor? What was the death toll from each?