A New York Times wrapup in my email ran an interesting item, entitled “Bring Back the Parasol”.
It essays what people, previously untroubled by heat, can do by learning from ways adapted by those from areas who have faced extreme heat for a long time so that they can beat the soaring temperature brought about by climate change.
The writer highlighted that the umbrella is good not only for the rain but also as protection from the searing sun brought about by climate change.
Measures suggested also include hydration not only with water but also with fruits and vegetables, a healthier option.
Also recommended are, among others, making homes cooler by opening windows as well as an option for a smarter work schedule, starting early in the morning, or choosing to stay early in the evening to avoid high midday temperatures.
Riding on the current climate situation, global entrepreneurs have channeled their creative resources to respond to the call of the season by introducing more creative and visually appealing designs to umbrellas.
One of the firms venturing into the revival of sun umbrellas is Japarra, which, according to its website, offers a parasol collection of “100 percent high density cotton sun umbrellas for protection from damaging UV rays that cause aging and burning.”
The response appears encouraging for the umbrellas tagged at $90.
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Writing about climate change and its effects on people’s health, I am reminded of a global event on Aug. 20 that is of intercontinental concern.
Climate change, along with globalization and urbanization, experts say, has hastened the speed in which mosquito-borne diseases move across regions.
“It’s more important than ever for people to be aware of the risks and take action,” said the World Mosquito Program in its online message to promote World Mosquito Day.
The annual observance commemorates Sir Ronald Ross, a British doctor who demonstrated the link between mosquitoes and malaria transmission in 1897.
His discovery helped revolutionize collective understanding of malaria.
World Mosquito Day “helps raise awareness about the ongoing threat of malaria and other diseases transmitted by one of the world’s
deadliest killers – the mosquito.”
“Today, more than 125 years later, mosquito-borne diseases kill more than one million people and infect up to 700 million each year – almost one in 10 people,” records further show.
Health reports indicate that this year, more than three million dengue cases and over 1,500 dengue-related deaths have been recorded globally.
On World Mosquito Day, “local and global communities gather around to raise awareness about the increasing populations of mosquitoes, the factors enhancing them, the diseases they contract, along with means to thwart them.”
In the country, dengue fever is endemic, with transmission risk peaking during and right after the rainy season, particularly between June and August.
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Scorching heat has been cited as among the reasons for many forest fires and, in the past few days, global attention has been focused on Maui, Hawaii, where more than 100 were reported dead and also in the popular vacation island of Tenerife in the northwestern coast of Africa.
As of this writing, thousands of residents are also scrambling to flee from their homes in Yellowknife in the Canadian northwest because of a spreading forest blaze. The British only recently when New Yorkers were affected by plumes of unhealthy smoke descending to the Big Apple and
neighboring states caused by an outbreak of wildfires in Western Canada.
Lessons from a bruised Nature are, indeed, costly.
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Thank you to kin and friends who expressed extended sympathies and prayers to our family following the passing away of our sister-in-law, the former Ruth Gonzalez, who slipped into eternity on Aug. 16 at the age of 73.
She is survived by my brother Eliezer, daughters Pamela, Sasa Lim and husband Ran, and Tisha, with partner Cairo Cervantes.
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For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) – NWI
