Interconnecting global threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious diseases

The concurrent pressures of rising global temperatures, rates and incidence of species decline, and emergence of infectious diseases represent an unprecedented planetary crisis. Intergovernmental reports have drawn focus to the escalating climate and biodiversity crises and the connections between them, but interactions among all three pressures have been largely overlooked. Non-linearities and dampening and reinforcing interactions among pressures make considering interconnections essential to anticipating planetary challenges. In this Review, we define and exemplify the causal pathways that link the three global pressures of climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious disease. A literature assessment and case studies show that the mechanisms between certain pairs of pressures are better understood than others and that the full triad of interactions is rarely considered. Although challenges to evaluating these interactions—including a mismatch in scales, data availability, and methods—are substantial, current approaches would benefit from expanding scientific cultures to embrace interdisciplinarity and from integrating animal, human, and environmental perspectives. Considering the full suite of connections would be transformative for planetary health by identifying potential for co-benefits and mutually beneficial scenarios, and highlighting where a narrow focus on solutions to one pressure might aggravate another

The Role of Vector Trait Variation in Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics

Many important endemic and emerging diseases are transmitted by vectors that are biting arthropods. The functional traits of vectors can affect pathogen transmission rates directly and also through their effect on vector population dynamics. Increasing empirical evidence shows that vector traits vary significantly across individuals, populations, and environmental conditions, and at time scales relevant to disease transmission dynamics. Here, we review empirical evidence for variation in vector traits and how this trait variation is currently incorporated into mathematical models of vector-borne disease transmission. We argue that mechanistically incorporating trait variation into these models, by explicitly capturing its effects on vector fitness and abundance, can improve the reliability of their predictions in a changing world. We provide a conceptual framework for incorporating trait variation into vector-borne disease transmission models, and highlight key empirical and theoretical challenges. This framework provides a means to conceptualize how traits can be incorporated in vector borne disease systems, and identifies key areas in which trait variation can be explored. Determining when and to what extent it is important to incorporate trait variation into vector borne disease models remains an important, outstanding question

Weather and our food supply

The steep rate of increase in yield of grain crops in the United States since the mid-1950\u27s has resulted in the use of the term explosion in technology. Surplus grains piled up to such proportions after the 1960 · harvest that acreage control appeared. to be in order. But despite substantial reductions in acreages after 1960 the increased output per acre has just about compensated for acreage reductions. During this period of rapid increase in output per acre there has been a growing tendency to believe that technology has reduced the influence of weather on grain production so that we no longer need to fear shortages due to unfavorable weather. There is also a popular belief that acreage control$ fail to achieve the objective of production control, and that public funds are being wasted in storing surplus grains which we don\u27t need. There is increasing evidence, however, that a period of favorable weather interacted with technology to produce our recent high yields, and that perhaps half of the increase in yield per acre since 1950 has been due to a change to more favorable weather for grain crops. These findings have important implications in continued support for research in production technology and in the way in which we look at our surplus stocks of feed and food grains. If a period of favorable weather has been responsible for half of the increase in yields since 19501 then what can we expect if the weather trend reverses itself for a few years? Do we have periodicity in weather, and have we just passed through a run of favorable years that might be followed by a run of unfavorable years? Should we treat our surplus grains as reserves? How does our rate of growth in grain output compare with the needs of a growing world population? And of course I in the background of these questions is one big question -- how much of our recent high yields is really due to weather? To answer these important questions the Center for Agriculture and Economic Development invited outstanding authorities to present their ideas under three main headings: (1) Techniques for Evaluation of Weather Variables in Agricultural Production I (2) Periodicity in Weather Patterns: Implications in Agriculture I and (3) Weather Considerations in Agricultural Policy. The papers have been assembled in the order of their presentation under the general outline above.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1021/thumbnail.jp

Weather and our food supply

The steep rate of increase in yield of grain crops in the United States since the mid-1950's has resulted in the use of the term "explosion in technology." Surplus grains piled up to such proportions after the 1960 · harvest that acreage control appeared. to be in order. But despite substantial reductions in acreages after 1960 the increased output per acre has just about compensated for acreage reductions. During this period of rapid increase in output per acre there has been a growing tendency to believe that technology has reduced the influence of weather on grain production so that we no longer need to fear shortages due to unfavorable weather. There is also a popular belief that acreage control$ fail to achieve the objective of production control, and that public funds are being wasted in storing surplus grains which we don't need. There is increasing evidence, however, that a period of favorable weather interacted with technology to produce our recent high yields, and that perhaps half of the increase in yield per acre since 1950 has been due to a change to more favorable weather for grain crops. These findings have important implications in continued support for research in production technology and in the way in which we look at our surplus stocks of feed and food grains. If a period of favorable weather has been responsible for half of the increase in yields since 19501 then what can we expect if the weather trend reverses itself for a few years? Do we have periodicity in weather, and have we just passed through a run of favorable years that might be followed by a run of unfavorable years? Should we treat our surplus grains as reserves? How does our rate of growth in grain output compare with the needs of a growing world population? And of course I in the background of these questions is one big question -- how much of our recent high yields is really due to weather? To answer these important questions the Center for Agriculture and Economic Development invited outstanding authorities to present their ideas under three main headings: (1) Techniques for Evaluation of Weather Variables in Agricultural Production I (2) Periodicity in Weather Patterns: Implications in Agriculture I and (3) Weather Considerations in Agricultural Policy. The papers have been assembled in the order of their presentation under the general outline above.</p

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339: Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico IPRO 339 MidTerm Presentation Su08

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339: Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico IPRO 339 Brochure2 Su08

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339: Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico IPRO 339 Project Plan Su08

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339: Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico IPRO 339 Poster Su08

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable

Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois (Semester Unknown) IPRO 339: Designing Affordable Housing out of Shipping Containers for Ciudad Juarez, Mexico IPRO 339 Abstract Su08

Currently there are several countries throughout the world that have a large need for affordable housing. Our IPRO is currently dealing with solutions for Juarez, Mexico and Chicago, Illinois. These two places are very different in climate, culture, as well as economy. Our IPRO this semester will focus on applying the prototype from last semester to these two regions, while making adjustments as needed. We will continue the research into systems which will be advantageous to each situation and develop them accordingly. Once we get a better understanding as to how we can apply our prototype to these situations we will be better able to apply the prototype to various other countries throughout the world.Deliverable