Essay Instructions: Write an analysis of the Case-In-Point below. In your analysis, include the following:
1) Identify any unintended consequences of humankind's activities that have led to environmental problems.
2) Describe how scientific or technological activities are exacerbating or improving the existing situation.
3) Discuss how a proper application of the scientific method could have helped the problem.
4) Address any alternative solutions beyond the scientific method.
Case in Point
INFLUENZA PANDEMICS PAST AND FUTURE
The influenza virus has been a threat to human health for centuries. Every year, one or more new strains of the virus appear and quickly spread around the globe during the flu season, which usually runs from late fall through the winter. In a typical year, anywhere from 5% to 20% of the U.S. population contracts the flu, with symptoms ranging from mild headaches to severe muscle aches, digestive and breathing problems, and high fever. Typically, about 36,000 people in the United States die from the flu each year.
In contrast, a particularly virulent strain during the 1918?1919 flu season may have killed more than 850,000 in the United States, or nearly 1% of the population of 100 million people. The 1918?1919 flu season corresponded with the end of World War I, a time already characterized by hardships, including hunger and a lack of medicines, as well as a time of unprecedented international travel. The 1918 flu was unusual in that, unlike most strains, it was at least as lethal to young healthy people as to the very young, elderly, and infirm.
While individuals can be vaccinated against the flu, successful vaccination requires that researchers predict which influenza strains will appear, successfully prepare enough vaccine for everyone who needs it, and then distribute the vaccine to all those people. In recent years, an increasing fraction of those 65 or older are getting the vaccine (65% in 2003, the latest year on record). However, less than 20% of those 18 to 49 years old were vaccinated each year from 1989 through 2003, which means that a strain similar to that of the 1918?1919 season could be devastating. In addition, such a strain could easily spread around the world via air travel?a scenario envisioned by Paul Ehrlich in his 1968 book The Population Bomb.
Another recent concern is that of a pandemic of influenza, passing from birds, pigs, or other species to humans. A pandemic is a disease that reaches nearly every part of the world, and has the potential to infect almost every person. Avian influenza, a strain that appears commonly in birds (Figure 7.3), tends to be very difficult for humans to contract, since it usually is transferred from bird to human, but not from human to human. It is, however, extremely potent once contracted, with a very high fatality rate. A major concern for epidemiologists is the possible evolution of a strain that is easily transferred from human to human?a change that might involve a single genetic mutation. An avian flu pandemic could kill millions, or even billions, of people within a single year.
A swine flu outbreak first observed in Mexico in early 2009 indicates how quickly such a disease can move around the world. The virus was first identified in April 2009; by early May 2009, it had spread to several dozen countries. The 2009 swine flu strain (referred to as an H1N1 flu because of its characteristic proteins) has a mixture of human, bird, and swine flu genetic material, and can be transferred from human to human and between pigs and humans. It has the potential to become highly virulent, even if early cases were not particularly severe. See www.pandemicflu.gov for information on how to be prepared for a flu pandemic.
Raven, P. H., Berg, L. R., & Hassenzahl, D. M. (2010). Environment (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
