chris_gerrib (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chris_gerrib) wrote2009-04-30 08:40 pm
chris_gerrib) wrote2009-04-30 08:40 pm
Thoughts While Driving to Fontana, WI
I'm in lovely Fontana, WI attending the Rotary 6450 District Conference at The Abbey Resort. It's not a bad drive from Chicago, although Mapquest sent me via a series of two-lane highways. I actually kind of like driving - it's a quiet time to think. While on this road trip, my mind went to swine flu, science fiction and Mars. ("Hi, my name is Chris and I'm obsessed with Mars." All: "Hi, Chris!") Bear with me.
One of the questions that's been puzzling the 24/7 news channels (and more serious thinkers) is why is this flu apparently more lethal than the average bear. Well, the Occam's Razor answer is "Mexico is only reporting flu cases that result in hospitalization" which will skew the results. But some folks have floated a hypothesis that Mexico City's high altitude (and thus low air pressure) withpoor horrible air quality was making folks less able to fend off the flu.
Now, you ask, how does this relate to Mars? Well, I've spoken before of Bob Zubrin and his optimistic view on the ease of colonizing Mars. Part of Zubrin's thesis is that everybody would live and breathe air at 5 PSI (1/3 of Earth sea level) at 40% oxygen. Apollo and Soyuz both ran at that pressure mix, and they worked fine.
Of course, Apollo and Soyuz were inhabited for relatively short periods of time by impressively healthy people. So the obvious question is, "would lower air pressures increase respiratory infections?"
But it gets even worse. Zubrin advocates that even early visitors raise their own food, both green and on the hoof. In truth, if you're going to live on Mars as opposed to just visit, sooner or later you have to become at least marginally self-sufficient, so it's not a bad idea.
At any rate, humans and animals in tight quarters leads to cross-species diseases. It's actually probably worse for subsistence farmers than factory farms, because a subsistence guy will have a mix of animals running around swapping germs.
Like I said, I think about weird things. But deciding on little details like this make the difference between cardboard stories and three-dimensional ones.
One of the questions that's been puzzling the 24/7 news channels (and more serious thinkers) is why is this flu apparently more lethal than the average bear. Well, the Occam's Razor answer is "Mexico is only reporting flu cases that result in hospitalization" which will skew the results. But some folks have floated a hypothesis that Mexico City's high altitude (and thus low air pressure) with
Now, you ask, how does this relate to Mars? Well, I've spoken before of Bob Zubrin and his optimistic view on the ease of colonizing Mars. Part of Zubrin's thesis is that everybody would live and breathe air at 5 PSI (1/3 of Earth sea level) at 40% oxygen. Apollo and Soyuz both ran at that pressure mix, and they worked fine.
Of course, Apollo and Soyuz were inhabited for relatively short periods of time by impressively healthy people. So the obvious question is, "would lower air pressures increase respiratory infections?"
But it gets even worse. Zubrin advocates that even early visitors raise their own food, both green and on the hoof. In truth, if you're going to live on Mars as opposed to just visit, sooner or later you have to become at least marginally self-sufficient, so it's not a bad idea.
At any rate, humans and animals in tight quarters leads to cross-species diseases. It's actually probably worse for subsistence farmers than factory farms, because a subsistence guy will have a mix of animals running around swapping germs.
Like I said, I think about weird things. But deciding on little details like this make the difference between cardboard stories and three-dimensional ones.
no subject
And, alas, the "Mexico conundrum" probably has multiple, poorly quantifiable causes. I live at 6600 feet, and the only time I get colds is when I come back here to Chicago. People living stressful lives with poor nutrition are probably more vulnerable generally; add a polluted environment and it can only get worse.
The acid test will come this winter. The flu virus has a protective outer coat that begins to disintegrate at room temperature, which is why cold weather is flu season--and yet another reason why the Mexico outbreak is so peculiar.
no subject
Why bring animals? Way too expensive and troublesome to get off the surface, let alone to Mars. Even sending the animals as little vials of genetic material will still require a working lab at the destination and the time to grow enough stock before they are of any use. Much easier to stick to a vegetarian diet if you're colonizing space, because animals are an extraordinarily inefficient source of food, especially since they will be competing with life support resources.
no subject