The cost of preventing further pandemics over the next decade by protecting wildlife and forests would equate to just 2% of the estimated financial damage caused by Covid-19, according to a new analysis.
Cretins. They’re placing the direct costs against the consequential losses. So, how much does it cost to have game rangers protecting the wee animals etc, as against the losses to the economy of having another pandemic.
When what we actually want to know is what are the consequential losses of protecting the wee animals – what economic development don’t we do because no one is allowed to cut down a tree – as against the consequential losses of having another pandemic.
Given that we’ve been cutting down forests for some 8,000 years now and the economy is larger than ever a rough pencil sketch on an answer is damn les animaux…..
Development and Plague, cutesy animals and a promised land. basically the plot to Watership Down.
Re the value of being able to chop down virgin rainforest or whatever, the very fact we’ve already been doing it for 8000 years might change the calculation a bit, no? If you locked the world’s natural resources in the state they were in 6000 BC and said “humanity shalt not cut another tree nor hunt another fluffy animal” then pretty clearly we wouldn’t have got to where we are now. But we have now transformed a substantial part of the Earth’s land surface, and presumably most of the highest value stuff got transformed earlier? The marginal value of the next chunk of forest in terms of our economic development might not be all that great – certainly I can’t see that cost of not lopping down the rest of the Amazon would be for us to all have to return to cave-dwelling, or that it will be the difference between us being frozen in our current lifestyles versus being able to progress to some space age techno-utopia. In fact we generally seem to have got better at getting richer without having to trash the planet as much as we used to. Not saying there’s no economic cost to “protecting nature” or whatever greenie types would have us do, just that the pencil sketch answer based on the last 8000 years may no longer be so relevant.
How does farting about in the Forest prevent plague–even bogus plagues like the CCP virus?
OT–But does anyone have any recommendations for a small camera –I don’t like smartphones–that I could use to record any mask aggro that might head in my maskless direction. Not a film or tech guy.
They are assuming that the disease comes from cutting down forests. In reality forests across the world are increasing – largely driven in the last few years by forest cover increasing in India and China. As hard as it is to believe.
Forest cover in the West has been increasing for a long time.
This pandemic was not caused by the Chinese cutting down forests. Because they are not. I don’t even have to read the rest of the article to know what they will claim – industrial farming blah, blah, expanding agriculture yada yada.
The reality is that like most people, the Chinese are growing more food off less land because they are more scientific and industrialised. That means they are abandoning marginal lands which are becoming forest.
The last thing we want to do is reverse that
. . . any recommendations for a small camera –I don’t like smartphones–that I could use to record any mask aggro that might head in my maskless direction. Not a film or tech guy.
You being recorded on someone else’s smartphone and appearing on MailOnline for shaming is the most likely outcome of mask dispute interactions.
You probably need something like an action cam. They tend to be small and pocketable, weatherproof, and quick and easy to activate. It’ll be difficult to make practical use of the video without becoming slightly more of a tech guy.
Some stores are refusing to enforce da rulez, so shop in those.
The manager of my local M&S told me yesterday that they had no plans to enforce mask wearing, “but that may change with any new government announcement”.
I would think most big stores would do a risk assessment and conclude challenging someone for not wearing a mask leads to confrontation and potential for harm if questioned as to non/enforcement. Sometimes Health and Safety can be useful when you don’t want to do something.
I’ve ordered a badge exempting me. If challenged I intend to say that wearing a mask will cause me extreme distress.
But honestly, I think I know how those Greek chaps at Thermopalyae must have felt when the be-thonged hordes hoved into view.
Mr Lud, how about the soldiers at Rorke’s Drift?
Ecksy, look at the Apeman and the GoPro ranges. You want something you can charge via USB and with loop recording which will record x minutes of video and then record over it unless you stop it.
The stores won’t be challenging the maskless but your local busy bodies will.
Lud
+1
I’m going to type one and print it off, and then put it in the wallet (transparent bit). I guess just flash that at anyone who’s really bothered? It might be tempting to swap the prominent words “Face Covering Exemption” for “Face Nappy Exemption”, for one or two places where I know them well…
And make it up as I go at this stage. First off, maybe when it’s less busy, so that the staff may anyway be more relaxed?
If ultimately the “Boris Diaper Exemption” fails (change of regs?), then maybe a ski snood (with nose holes) or Jim’s net curtain with an Arab wreath (from my misappropriating days) on top to hold it in place (bee keeper style?).
The local corner shop said earlier in the week “if anyone just says they have an exemption…”. The thing with local shops is that they know everyone, they aren’t getting their income from anywhere else, so of course they are going to ignore it. If anything, it could be an opportunity for them if the supermarkets start to play up.
‘Two new viruses a year had spilled from their wildlife hosts into humans over the last century, the researchers said, with the growing destruction of nature meaning the risk today is higher than ever.’
Dumbass. Exactly backwards. To stop the viruses from spreading from wildlife to humans, we must kill all wildlife.
And what is this ‘destruction of nature?’ Nature laughs at us.
Ecksy, look up the BobLov range of body worn video cameras on Amazon. Some tiny unobtrusive ones for about £35 to £200 for a 9-hour recording full size one.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camera-Photo-BOBLOV-Electronics/s?rh=n%3A560834%2Cp_4%3ABOBLOV
Also Escksy, if you want something to tell people to fuck off and mind their own business when you go out and about without a mask, this site has a t-shirt that might be useful.
https://shop.spreadshirt.co.uk/police-abusing-powers-uk/
Thank you PJF/Theo.
4 shops today.
Co-op got milk nobody bothered me. It was early–so note to self visit early–less busybodies.
Petrol from garage–girl @ counter politely said “Can I remind you to wear a mask next time” I said “I wont wear one”. She said” Oh, Alright” in a matter-of -fact tone.
Tesco–Mid afternoon–no one bothered. I was disappointed that only I and 3 others were not wearing masks.
Sandwich at a coastal hut/shop. No problem but only 1 customer allowed in hut at one time already.
Not a bad start.
SadButMadLad–thank you.
Ecks
“Not a bad start.”
Good stuff!
Mr Ecks
The small, bloody good, camera thst I recommend for “I only want one camera and it better fit in my pocket and no the effing iphone is a téléphone not a camera” folk is a Sony RX 100
There’s several models. The most recent is overall the best in my opinion. We have a couple of older models.
Unfortunately they’re not cheap.
But they’re good
The RX100s are great mini marvels but not the sort of thing you want to risk getting trashed in a mask contretemps. SBML’s suggestions look good for this task.
They’re talking about compulsory gloves now. Will help keep the fingerprints off the Molotov cocktails, I guess.
PF/Ecksy
Just say: I can’t wear a mask – it makes my allergic rhinitis/asthma worse.
Very happy to see in Morrison’s this morning that I wasn’t the only one by a long way to ignore the Boris burka rules. I would estimate 60% not wearing, down from I would guess around 90% last week. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if some wearing masks today stopped after seeing so many others not bothering. Even the bouncer on the door was unmasked.
In a small post office a bit later, not one customer or staff member was wearing a mask.
I was not challenged once about wearing a mask.
I saw a manager at the grocery store jump a lady for not having a mask yesterday. I didn’t stick around to see the whole encounter. It was a biggie for me, as it was THE FIRST TIME I’ve seen anyone given a hard time for not wearing a mask.
On some blogs, I see people explode over people not wearing masks. The efficacy of masks is doubtful. The available evidence says they do NOT help. I am astounded by people who know nothing demand others wear masks. To the point of fights.
Camaras, Excy?
I’ve a little camera looks like a pen top in your pocket. Bought it straight from China for 6 quid. They’re on Amazon for under 20 Rechargable & takes a memory card. Remarkably good. Captures over 2 hours video/audio. Wide field of view. I’ve used it in the sort of nightclub would get you thrown out for pointing a fone camera at anyone. But to get good video you need to remember you’re wearing it. Look at things with your body, not your head. Try & turn smoothly. Don’t jig about. And get it set up & running before you go in, when you can see what you’re doing.
Bloke in Wales–Wales isn’t doing the shops nonsense–only 3 layer chokers on transport. Sorry if that bursts your bubble.
Theo–some are saying asthma is not an excuse. But the Equalites/Disabilties Act is not over-ruled by these regs. So if U are refused because u wont wear mask cos of long term disability –then you may have a primae face (sic) case against the shop. Which is seemingly the reason shops are telling their people not to ask/pester.
Of course the “fog of war” means that shops with No Pester policies still may have local jumped up managers who don’t know or care about the HQ decisions.
We shall see.
Live and learn. Surprising, as the twats in Cardiff Bay usually try to throw their weight around by imposing ever more restrictions on top of that coming from Shitehall.
‘The cost of preventing further pandemics over the next decade by protecting wildlife and forests would equate to just 2% of the estimated financial damage caused by Covid-19, according to a new analysis.’
Half measures. The only real solution is to nuke China.
As usual, regardless of the question what I want is the answer.