District 5 Diary: Apr 23, 2020

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Jane Goodall on viruses

Jane Goodall and friend

Jane Goodall:

“Viruses spilling over from one species to another, which normally wouldn't (happen), animals pushed into closer contact with people (farming) for example, another opportunity for spillover of viruses — and then of course, the animal trafficking and export and the number of animals that are being sold in these so-called wet markets in Asia, but also the bush meat in Africa.

“These viruses have been predicted for many years, and (written about) in the book “Spillover” by David Quammen. People haven't listened; they haven't learned from the last SARS epidemic.”

Still there is some hope in what people are having to go through now, she said.

“The silver lining is that many people for the first time ever have breathed clean air because with the shutdown of some of the big businesses the air has become cleaner in places like Mumbai and Beijing,” Goodall said...

Labels: Animals, Pandemic, Reading, Science

Anti-carism must continue during the pandemic

Jane Natoli

From the SF Examiner:

Mayor London Breed has nominated bike advocate Jane Natoli to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors, the mayor announced Thursday. Natoli sat on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the politically powerful local bike advocacy organization, from 2018 to 2019, according to the coalition. She is also a board member of the San Francisco LGBT Center and YIMBY Action.

I blogged about Natoli back in January (Jane Natoli and reality).

I was impressed with one of her campaign messages:

For the 3rd time in 4 years, I was hit by someone driving while biking yesterday on the streets of San Francisco. I have a broken metacarpal in my left hand and a badly busted bike. This trip to SF General was better than my last, or at least quicker, but it was still all eerily similar to the last time I was hit while biking.

Natoli is transgender, which presumably helps Mayor Breed fill a multicultural slot on the MTA Board of Directors.

For these appointments City Hall should also consider some kind of IQ test, since Natoli may have a learning disorder:

How many times do we have to repeat this before we have the safe streets we deserve, before we break the thrall of cars? I can tweet and text pithy things this time. What about next time?...I've been hit 4 times! I fight because I know the trauma of getting hit all too well, both as a person walking and a person biking. Help me fight for change so there is no next time.

Riding a bike in San Francisco---or anywhere, for that matter---can't really be made safe. If you continue riding, there will always be a next time!

And that next time will just as likely to be a "solo fall," an accident that has nothing to do with other vehicles, which, according to that UC study ignored by City Hall and the local media, can be just as damaging as being hit by a car.

More from the Examiner story:

“I’m proud to nominate Jane Natoli to the SFMTA Board of Directors,” [Mayor] Breed said in a statement. “She is a leading advocate for safer streets and reliable transit. I am confident that her perspective will benefit the City as we work to achieve our Vision Zero goals and create a more equitable transportation system for all of our residents.”

Natoli is all about bikes and knows nothing about "transit." And Vision Zero is nothing but a slogan, not a safety policy (Vision Zero: Dumb and dishonest).

It's irresponsible of the city to continue encouraging people to ride bikes---even children!

Natoli is like the 40-Year Old Hippie: "200 trips and they've all been bummers! But I ain't givin' up!!