In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change
I recently read an article on the new Zika virus that discussed the effects it had on the climate change. The article, “In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change,” by Justin Gillis claims that the fact that 2015 was “the hottest year in the historical record, with an outbreak in Brazil of a disease transmitted by heat-loving mosquitos” should be taken as a warning. Gillis claims that “global warming is likely to increase the range and speed of the life cycle of the particular mosquitoes carrying these viruses, encouraging their spread deeper into temperate countries like the United States.” He backs his claim by quoting various experts on the matter, including Andrew Monaghan, who claimed, “As we get continued warming, it’s going to become more difficult to control mosquitoes…. The warmer it is, the faster they can develop from egg to adult, and the faster they can incubate viruses.” In the article, Gillis also recognizes the counter argument, which is that there are countless possible confounding variables. Overall, the article goes over a few reasons why we should be more cautious when handling issues like global warming, since they can lead to epidemics like the Zika virus.
This article could not apply more to our everyday lives. I recently went to Puerto Rico, a country which is susceptible to the virus, and my entire group risked getting the disease. As the temperature gets hotter, diseases like this Zika virus will spring up more and more often, so we need to be careful that we take pre-emptive measures to stop global warming from becoming a reality. We are faced with a problem that will actually have an immediate effect on us. Additionally, we are constantly exposed to mosquitos, which makes this entire situation even more dire, for there is no running from this problem--we can only try to prevent it. The article states that it won’t be long before a virus like this one will make its way into the United States, so we should prepare ourselves for that if temperatures don’t stop rising. In short, the connections that can be made from this article to our own lives are quite important, for our own lives are in danger if this trend between global warming and these diseases continues.
This article had its ups and downs, but it was overall a pleasure to read. Its strengths included its acknowledgement of the counter argument, in which Gillis quoted a few people who disagreed with his stance. Another positive aspect of this article was that Gillis expanded his observation to other diseases, not just the Zika virus, which included malaria, Lyme disease, dengue disease, etc. This article was quite nice in these two aspects, but there was one major problem I had with it: it repeated itself. I found that I was reading the same thing over and over again, just said by different people. Overall, if I were to improve this article, I would have made it more concise and compact, cutting out some quotes in the process.
Hyperlink:
MLA:
Gillis, Justin. "In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
I really enjoyed reading Tommy’s review of In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change. Tommy did a very good job at taking a very large and broad topic and condensing it into an easily readable, concise summary. This made his article very easy to read while still very educational. Tommy also did a very good job at seamlessly weaving in quotes from the article to aid in his explanation of the material. Finally, my favorite part of his review was his critique of the article itself. Tommy did a very good job of summarizing the highs and lows of the article and explaining to the reader what else the article contained so that the reader would have an easier time looking further into this topic.
ReplyDeleteThis review was very well done, however, there are a couple areas where it could have been improved. The first way Tommy could have improved his review is by elaborating on the actual effects of the ZIKA virus. Being a relatively new virus, it would have been nice if Tommy would have quickly summarized the effects of this new ZIKA and how exactly it is spread. I would have liked it if Tommy could have said what actions could be taken to stop the spread of this disease and how to protect one’s self.
I was in Puerto Rico just this last week, with Tommy, where apparently the ZIKA virus has spread. This review has sparked a new interest into this virus and I’m now inspired to look into the effects of and how to treat ZIKA in case I, or one of the people I was traveling with, somehow contracted the virus.
Tommy’s review of the article “In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change,” by Justin Gillis was very interesting and informative. He did a great job summarizing the article and explaining the Zika Epidemic, which is something I was confused about at first but now I understand. Another good aspect of the review is the use of quotes from the article, to support certain ideas or pieces of information. A third aspect that makes the review really strong is Tommy talked about his trip to Puerto Rico, which is susceptible to the virus.
ReplyDeleteThis review was very well done, and flows very nicely. However one way to further improve this review, is Tommy could include any questions he still has about the epidemic or the article itself. In order to strengthen the critique paragraph. Another way to improve this review could be use outside information about the effects of the Zika virus on people. In other words the symptoms of the virus.
I chose this review to do my comment on because I have heard of the Zika Epidemic, because I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. So, when I read the title I was eager to read and learn more. I had no idea that “global warming is likely to increase the range and speed of the life cycle of the particular mosquitoes carrying these viruses, encouraging their spread deeper into temperate countries like the United States” (Gillis). Overall, I really enjoyed reading this review.
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Tommy’s article review was interesting to read and was very relevant to the health issues that the global community is facing today. Instead of only focusing on the article’s main argument, he also acknowledged the counterargument in the summary, which helped me understand the article better. I also really appreciated how he connected his personal experiences in Puerto Rico to the article to give context on how he felt about the article. It helped me understand his analysis of the content that he was given. Lastly, his summary was effective in that his writing was concise and his use of quotes added credibility. He incorporated quotes from scientists to clearly show the scientific information in the article.
Although most of the review was great, some improvements could be made. Hearing more about how scientists changed their approach to the Zika virus because of its relations with climate change would have helped my understanding. By adding this information, Tommy would have provided more understanding to how this knowledge is being applied. Another improvement that could be made is if he expanded upon a few more problems that are indirectly caused by climate change. He briefly mentions that Gillis provides observations about other diseases, but adding a few more sentences about this part of the article would have deepened my understanding of the unknown dangers of climate change.
This article review helped me learn a lot about a virus that has been talked about extensively in the news. It was helpful because it gave me more of a deeper scientific knowledge about the problem. I chose this article review primarily because I wanted to be better informed about how climate change is related to the Zika virus, which is impacting a significant part of the global population and could be a problem for the United States soon as well. It changed my perception of the Zika virus in that I now realize it is closely related to other anthropological problems. I know now that to fight against the virus, scientists should consider the effect of climate change as well.
Hyperlink:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/world/americas/in-zika-epidemic-a-warning-on-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
MLA:
Gillis, Justin. "In Zika Epidemic, a Warning on Climate Change." The New York Times. The New York Times, 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.