Commentary by Pearl Rains-Hewett
Posted 1/29/2013
DC INVESTIGATE WETLAND INCREASE AND 2012 WEST NILE VIRUS OUTBREAK Jan. 20, 2012
CDC 2012 West Nile virus final update: November 20The 5,207 cases reported thus far in 2012 is the highest number of West Nile virus disease cases reported to CDC through the third week in November since 2003.
1999-2012 over 30,000 reported cases of West Nile Virus, HOW MANY DEATHS?
The EPA and Corp with some documented scientific understanding since November 2007, connecting WETLANDS, mosquitoes, infected birds, West Nile Virus and other vector borne diseases, continued their reckless endangerment of human lives and public health by mandating and continued to create MILLIONS of acres of WETLANDS.
WEST NILE VIRUS Project Period: November 2007 – October 2010 EPA Grant Number: R833778 $749,296
Project Period: January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010EPA Grant Number: R833777 West Nile Virus $749,994
Expected Results: The results will be applicable to wetland management
2007 The link (MOSQUITOES) between biodiversity (WETLANDS) and this potentially deadly virus in hopes that their findings will help save lives in the near future.
WHEN DID CREATING WETLANDS BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROTECTING HUMAN LIFE?
How many lives could have been saved if there had been a moratorium placed on the creation of WETLANDS in 2007? How many people died of West Nile Virus between Nov. 2007 and Nov. 2012, in the USA?
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HISTORY
On Earth Day 2004, the President George Walker Bush
announced a new initiative to go beyond “no net loss” of wetlands
and attain an overall increase in the quality and quantity of wetlands in America.
Specifically, the Administration has projected that an additional 1.5 million wetland acres
will be created, improved, or protected between Earth Day 2006 and 2007, with
three million acres being obtained by 2009.
ADMINISTRATION PROJECTED 4.8 MILLION ACRES OF WETLANDS BY 2009
These figures are in addition to the 1,797,000 acres of wetlands
How many additional acres of wetlands were created 2009-2012?
Waste water treatment plants create the perfect environment for West Nile Virus
WHAT HAS THE EPA known for five years? and BEEN COVERING UP FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS?
Find the results and make them PUBLIC. (previously sent to Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell)
As of November 20, 2012, 48 states have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes.
A total of 5,207 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 234 deaths, have been reported to CDC. Of these, 2,643 (51%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis) and 2,564 (49%) were classified as non-neuroinvasive disease.
The 5,207 cases reported thus far in 2012 is the highest number of West Nile virus disease cases reported to CDC through the third week in November since 2003. Eighty percent of the cases have been reported from 13 states (Texas, California, Louisiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Michigan, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, and New York) and a third of all cases have been reported from Texas.
Since 1999, more than 30,000 people in the United States have been reported as getting sick with West Nile virus. Infected mosquitoes spread West Nile virus (WNV) that can cause serious, life altering disease.
Where are the “scientific findings” of the $1.5 million EPA granted studies?
This is a 2013 life and death situation. I request that all DC elected officials make this investigation a priority.
Please remember Texas and California.
Pearl Rains Hewett