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Sunday, February 12. 2012

Penicillin kills millions of animal species: Greenies do not complain

Penicillin, and its deadly poisonous antibiotic cousins, kill billions of life forms yearly. Some near-extinct critters hardly exist, these days, outside the zoos of biologists' labs. The little Anthrax critter, for example, and variola.


These little bugs are just as much a part of the ecosystem as any other living thing.


Photo is of the Pneumococcus, a species which humans attack and kill by the billions every year. Even good old treponema pallidum and yersinia pestis are near extinction.


Where is PETA? This is a serious biodiversity issue. The vast majority of earthly life forms require microscopes to see, but is that any reason to excuse man-made extinction of these critters?


Is it just because they don't look cuddly? Dr. William Osler famously termed pneumoccal pneumonia "the old man's friend" because it provided a peaceful ending.

Posted by The Barrister in Medical, Our Essays, Politics at 18:19 | Comments (14) | Trackbacks (0)

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Except for those of us who are allergic to natural antibotics.

Like me.
#1 Tom Francis on 2011-05-26 16:39 (Reply)
Don't be giving the anti-human envirowackos any ideas of protecting or releasing deadly bacteria back into the environment. They have probably exceeded Hitlers death count by denying the use of DDT in Africa to stop malaria. Blick
#2 JP Blickenstaff on 2011-05-26 17:06 (Reply)
Yup, thanks to that witch Rachel Carson, and Silent Spring, JP. The numbers of people who died needless deaths are roundly decried, so don't look for a piece on this in the NYT or on MSNBC.
#2.1 steve in CT on 2011-05-26 19:33 (Reply)
steve in CT: Yup, thanks to that witch Rachel Carson, and Silent Spring, JP. The numbers of people who died needless deaths are roundly decried, so don't look for a piece on this in the NYT or on MSNBC.

DDT was restricted for agricultural uses, but is still used for vector control. Overuse of DDT not only led to ecological problems, but provoked the evolution of DDT-resistant insects.
#2.1.1 Zachriel on 2012-02-13 20:14 (Reply)
Roger that - don't be inciting them with any more crazy ideas. You have heard about PETA's suit about the orcas at SeaWorld, right?

The judge threw the suit out of court just last Wednesday.
#2.2 jhc on 2012-02-12 19:42 (Reply)
That scenario (enviroweenies deciding to exterminate mankind through biowarfare) has been used many times in fiction, I've no doubt in my mind the idea has crossed the mind of more than one ecoterrorist and they may even now be working on a plan of execution.

Problem (for them, for the rest of the world it's a blessing) is that it's not as easy as it sounds in the novels and movies. to create a truely deadly pathogen that can be spread far and wide before it gets stopped by quarantine, vaccination, etc., and grow enough of it to infect a large enough portion of the population to assure success without major facilities that are impossible to hide.
#2.3 J.T. Wenting on 2012-02-13 01:34 (Reply)
It is impossible to live without killing.
The only question is what you kill and why.
#3 Rick on 2011-05-26 19:40 (Reply)
Cute and cuddly? Of course they are! see http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/main/giantmicrobes-originals/ where they make stuffed toys from microbe shapes.

My 9-year old daughter is a little on the nerdy side. I bought her a well-loved penicillin toy (which she dubbed "Mr. Mold"). Highly recommended. ;)
#4 Nate on 2011-05-27 11:10 (Reply)
Wa-a-ay ahead of ya! Check the link for a short audio sketch on exactly this subject. (If it doesn't work, Google on "inhuman rights" and "ARTC".)

http://www.scifidimensions.com/Dec02/inhumanrights.htm
#5 RNB on 2011-05-27 11:38 (Reply)
The interior of one's body is, at times, a no-prisoners battlefield, with millions of bacteria killed by one's immune system.
Must a war crimes tribunal be convened?
Must our genomes be reprogrammed to switch off our homicidal immune systems?
Must we think of the daughter bacteria?
#6 PacRim Jim (Link) on 2012-02-12 21:17 (Reply)
I've made this point many times. PETCO, whoops, PETA is all for protecting certain animals and not others.
Most people are the same, can't kill & eat a horse but a cow, well okay. What's the difference? Many easily eat chicken but will scamper away from rabbit.
Vegans may be pure but what kind of crazy does it take to not eat milk chocolate?
#7 Rick 9911 on 2012-02-13 01:57 (Reply)
vegans are hardly pure. If they were that animal friendly they'd not eat any vegetables either, as those are grown on land that rightfully (using their own logic) "belongs to nature".
They'd not live in houses, drive cars, indeed do anything at all except run naked through the woods scavenging for scraps.
#7.1 J.T. Wenting on 2012-02-15 03:24 (Reply)
This is nothing compared to the havoc wrought by dihydrous oxide!
#8 Knucklehead (Link) on 2012-02-13 13:37 (Reply)
Penicillin kills millions of animal species

Pedant alert: Technically, most of these pathogens aren't animals. Most of them are bacteria; the rest are protists. Very, very few animals are directly pathogenic to humans.
#9 wolfwalker on 2012-02-13 20:11 (Reply)

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