It's too easy to just blame the cantaloupe.
We can't be concerned about one problem without acknowledging that it's linked to 10 more problems. It's easy to point fingers at the culprit of a food-borne illness (cantaloupe, anyone?), parasitic disease, or contagious virus, but how often do we take a step back and realize that there are other factors involved in its spread? Lynne Peeples will examine what other components, from livestock waste and monocultures to widespread deforestation and climate change, could be playing a role in the prevalence of illness and disease.
I'm excited to announce the launch of Lynne's series, The Infection Loop, which, along the lines of the growing movement "One Health," will examine the link between humans, animals, and the environment.
Since 2008, HuffPost Green has provided relentless environmental news coverage. Earlier this year, Tom Zeller Jr. launched All Terrain, a weekly column exploring the challenges facing our planet, from the natural gas "revolution" to the Solyndra scandal to the Keystone pipeline fight.
Our new HuffPost Green video series has featured guests including Al Gore, Alec Baldwin, and Bill McKibben, all sitting down with us to discuss their views on the most pressing environmental issues facing us today.
The issues are plentiful. We experienced the second-hottest summer nationwide in the U.S. this year, Texas continues to suffer from its worst drought in decades, rising sea levels have forced at least one nation to consider a floating island, Somalia is struggling with a severe famine, the Gulf Coast is still suffering from the BP oil spill even as a pipeline is being proposed to run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Not to mention recent actions in Washington denying the importance of keeping our air clean and our children healthy.
We will continue to question the status quo, dig a little deeper, and make the connections. So join us as we connect the dots with The Infection Loop.
This Week On The Infection Loop:
How Links Among Humans, Animals and the Environment May Be Spawning a New Class of Infectious Diseases