Managing Ticks

One potential risk that is good to keep in mind throughout the summer is ticks. After doing a bit of research mainly for when one is camping or gallivanting in the woods, several other points came up that are more preventative and proactive than "remove it as quickly as possible".

Please keep in mind this is not a medical article or intended to replace medical care or advice. If seriously searching "Do I have Lyme disease" brought you here or you believe a tick may have transmitted an illness to you, please promptly seek medical attention.

The main source for most of the research below was the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), though there were also a few others that had good tips (see Sources at the bottom of the post). Here is a summary of some of the practical measures that came up for the daily outdoors person or (person who is exposed to outdoors against their will):

Managing them at home:
- minimize cluttered bunches such as piles of fallen leaves, tall grass, garbage and other places where they may hide
- arrange your property so it is less attractive/accessible to wild animals that might be carrying ticks
- keep outdoor furniture away from trees, shrubs, and other tall plants
- use pesticide

Preventing tick bites when gallivanting, adventuring, or otherwise exploring outdoors:
- Cover and seal with clothing. Wear long sleeves and tuck your pant legs into your socks to prevent them from crawing into your clothes.
- Talk in the middle of the trail to avoid touching piles of leaf litter or thickets of plants where there may be ticks
- The CDC specifically recommends using using insect repellent with at least 20% DEET, picaridin*, or IR535 on exposed skin. Other sources mentioned that mosquito repellent is included in that list.
>> 30% DEET can give 4-6 hours of protection.
>> *The toxicity of DEET is yet to be determined, but studies suggest that picaridin is equally effective to DEET and has fewer negative effects.

- Bathe within 2 hours of getting home, check your clothes for hitchhikers, and all over your skin for any rashes. The sooner ticks are found and removed the better, and removing them within 24 hours can make a big difference in preventing disease transmission.

Check your pupper: Your dog or cat is also vulnerable to ticks, so to prevent ticks try to keep them away from dense thickets like fallen leaf piles and regularly check their fur and skin for ticks too, especially after they have been outside.

Signs you may have been bit:
- A rash, which would redden and swell very slowly long after exposure (up to months)
- Cold or flulike symptoms

You may not feel it if you are bit because ticks secrete a painkiller in their saliva to help them remain attached and feeding without being noticed, so perform a careful check.

What to do if you are bit by a tick:
If you are bit, remember these things:
1. Remove it asap
2. Seek medical attention if you believe you are experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease or feeling ill
3. Either dispose of the tick after submerging it in rubbing alcohol/putting it in a sealed bag/flushing it down the toilet, or consider sending it as sample to a lab that tests them. This way they will identify whether or not you have been exposed to an infected tick, and it also helps them map the spread of tick-related diseases.

Removing a tick:
You may choose to remove it with a pair of pointed tweezers, pulling upwards with steady, even force (don't try to rip it out, it can leave the teeth still inside you). Thoroughly clean/disinfect the area and your hands.

A tick will still be attached to you, but even if it seems to be under your skin its body will not be completely embedded inside you. Don't panic if the head is still inside after you remove the body; proceed to disinfect the area with rubbing alcohol.

MYTHS: Cover it with paint, nail polish, Vaseline or touch it with a hot match. Do not do any of these, instead use tweezers to remove it; swift removal is key to preventing transmission of disease, not waiting for it to fall out.

Prepped with these points in mind, happy gallivanting!

Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/in_the_yard.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html
https://www.outsideonline.com/1915061/9-tips-avoiding-and-treating-tick-bites
http://healthcenter.indiana.edu/answers/insect-precautions.shtml
http://www.tickencounter.org/faq/tick_bites

Note: This was published August 31, 2017. It was listed as August 30th for ideal sequence relating to the post also published August 31, "Lunar-ticks for the Eclipse".

What's Up With Palm Oil? Part 1: History

Click here for the continuation of this series, Part 2: The Problem With Palm

What do ice cream, instant noodles, margarine, lipstick, and soap have in common?

A lot of us have probably used some in the last two weeks, and they also may contain palm oil.

Everything we consume has some sort of impact on the environment and many concerned citizens are eager to find new ways to make more sustainable choices, but honestly my strawberry ice cream cone was not at the top of my list of changes to make for a better world.

Palm oil is a widely-used vegetable oil , but is often produced unsustainable ways and is linked to environmental and social issues.

So what's up with Palm oil?

A (Brief) History of Palm Oil

(To read the full report, see "History of Palm Oil" from The Cambridge World History of Food 2 Volume Boxed Set by Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas at http://coconutoil.com/palm_oil_history/) 

Elaeis guineensis, or the oil palm, is a tree native to West Africa. It was likely a food source for indigenous people in unrecorded history, found in ancient Egyptian tombs, and its use in cooking was written about in the journals of some European travelers from the mid 15th century. Today it remains an ingredient in cherished dishes in cultures around the world; trans fat-free, nutritious, containing antioxidants, and used in making many tasty foods.

Upon expansion trade of the red palm oil got its hands dirty, supplying vessels of the transatlantic slave trade. It was used for candlemaking and as a lubricant for machinery, and the demand for palm oil in Europe increased during the British Industrial Revolution it became a modest exporting trade for farmers in Western Africa while also farming for local usage. It is believed that often oil palm trees were self-seeded, ground about by their own natural processes, even possibly after the 1900s European plantations were established in Southeast Asia and Central Africa.

The demand continued to grow ever larger as palm oil slipped its way into Western foods, especially because of non-hydrogenated margarine. Today a lot of us have been warned about the health risks associated with the process of hydrogenation because of trans fats, and this has been a key point in the common butter vs. margarine debate. However, eventually  it was found that palm oil could be processed in a way that allowed it to be used in margarine without undergoing hydrogenation as other vegetable oils may. 

Although in the 1940's the use of palm oil in Western cultures slowed when there were interruptions in trade with Asia, when butter was in short supply during the war people were often encouraged to use margarine.

From there a grading system was developed and made standard by The Produce Control Board and later Nigerian Oil Palm Produce Marketing Board, which motivated producers to develop better processing techniques.

... Today & the RSPO

Today we are at a point in history where sellers of palm oil have been faced with a new challenge; a challenge ensure it is farmed and produced sustainably. Palm oil has a speckled past, but the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (or RSPO) is now challenging traders of palm oil to make a clean slate, and clean up the act for the future.

This is the RSPO's Mission and Vision statement taken directly from their website:

• "Advance the production, procurement, finance and use of sustainable palm oil products
• Develop, implement, verify, assure and periodically review credible global standards for the entire supply chain of sustainable palm oil
• Monitor and evaluate the economic, environmental and social impacts of the uptake of sustainable palm oil in the market
• Engage and commit all stakeholders throughout the supply chain, including governments and consumers." - rspo.org

Basically an RSPO certification compares the means a trader or palm oil with a certain standard so as to minimize negative impacts on the environment, animals, and people.

The oil used in ramen noodles may seem arbitrary, but sustainable or unsustainable farming of it is linked with larger environmental issues that are getting closer to home for people.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of "What's Up With Palm Oil?" to read more about the issues surrounding palm oil, the significance of RSPO, and what each one of us can do to help clean up the act.

In the meantime...

WWF created a satirical trailer, "Unseen" for the drama that is gradually unfolding around unsustainable palm oil. On the surface it may sound far less important and glamorous than the fight against mass deforestation and habitat loss, climate change, or indigenous rights, but the sustainable palm oil is an ingredient affecting all of the above.

Sources

http://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil 

http://coconutoil.com/palm_oil_history/

http://www.soyatech.com/Palm_Oil_Facts.htm

http://www.rspo.org/about/sustainable-palm-oil

http://www.rspo.org/about

Small Adventures: Algonquin Park 2014, Pog Lake

     As indicated by the 40 degree Celsius with humidity weather of last week this summer seems to be running a little late and it's giving me some time to catch up a bit on what has come to pass this season.

     In all truth this is going to be a bit of an experimental balancing act for me. While this blog has been primarily centered around science, I also have a passion for creative writing that has temporarily been forsaken for the sake of reason and rational thinking that the environmental movement must rightfully demand. However, over the summer I have spent quite some time sitting on a rock scribbling non-factual thoughts, lines, and story segments down by the lake to my hearts content which admittedly has been a distraction, though one that has a re-inspiring recharge.

Algonquin Park 2014

     This year I stayed at Pog Lake for the weekend of July 12 with a close group of family and friends. Although my own stay was short I still got a chance to see many beautiful sights and get some photos and we shared a few mini adventures within the two-day span. Here are a few of the 'landmarks'.

A killdeer at the drive-through.

     Already eager to look for wildlife, we had our first spotting of the day long before we even arrived at the park when we saw a killdeer running along the side of a drive-through restaurant we went to for breakfast. The picture was crude through scratched, violet-tinted windows, but set a precedent for the rest of our journey.

Product placement not intended.

     The moment we arrived at the park my sister Stella and I hopped out of the car to search for wildlife. Stella has a fetish for mushrooms and was pleased to have an immediate spotting. 
     We wandered around the grassy areas by the washroom facility (as Dad jokingly called a hidden temple) watching crows and inhaling fresh air and sucking up the forest atmosphere both literally and mentally.

     The Saturday night had moderately cool moist air. As a mini pack from our camping group a few of us walked around the beach While we were walking through the campsite looking for walking sticks my friend called me over from where she was by the shore and said, "you have to see this!"

     I was still in 'fetch-a-stick' mode and went to pick up a few more, but the sight immediately commandeered my train of thought. There was a slight cool breeze but the lake in front of us shone like glass with layers of fog draped over it and across the trees. As usual pictures couldn't fully capture all the intricate details, but the feeling in the moment was incredible. 

A blue damselfly perched daintily on a leaf at our campsite.

Lichen...

... lichen...

This one could use a bit of explaining. A friend who was there brought a green laser pointer and this is the product of waving it over a smoky fire after dark.

We were fortunate enough to wtiness an Algonquin Park supermoon on July 12. No werewolves were spotted.

... and more lichen. Lichen holds a special place in my heart because it seems to have a magical ability to endow feelings of otherworliness, as if by peering into a patch of lichen you are peering into an enchanted,natural city.

     We accidentally went down instead of the actual hiking trail, but made a new winged friend. (S)he was found lying on his/her back on the pathway and at first we thought (s)he was dead, so I took a stick and brought it up to the legs. Sure enough, the dragonfly grabbed on, and then was brought over to some greenery at the side, making about a dozen human friends on the way.

This is one of many wildlife spottings I must get to uploading to Project Noah.

These were just a few snippets of the kinds of small adventures that can help reinspire us every day. If ever you find yourself feeling drained, numb, or muted here are 3 steps to get you started towards a closer connection with nature:

1. Go outside.

2. Feel the air, regardless of the temperature, and savor the sensation on your skin.

3. Look or hear up or down, and peer into every detail of the clouds or the sky or the texture of life underfoot you can see or hear. 

Whether it is through a picture, piece of writing, or simply memory, take in the experience and let it take you away to another world, a place of shelter within our world.