Stan Slaughter: The Singing Gardener

Stan Slaughter, Education and Garden Specialist with Missouri Organic Recycling, is a former award winning science teacher and has long been a force in the local gardening movement.  Stan, however, is best known for the scores of songs he has written about the environment and about gardening.  He has produced six albums to date. Stan shares his experience on  providing resources for local gardeners and sings three of his songs.  Tune in for a very entertaining 30 minute program.

 

This episode also included an update on the coronavirus pandemic.  Most people doubtless know by now that a state of emergency is now in effect nationwide. The primary official source for information on this seems to be Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which currently suggests visitors follow a link to a page on whitehouse.gov entitled, “15 days to slow the spread”: If you feel sick, stay home. If you have a sick child, keep them home. If someone in your household has tested positive for the coronavirus, your entire household should stay home. If you are older or have a serious underlying heath condition that impairs your lungs, heart, or immune system, stay home.

The primary mode of transmission is via respiratory droplets that people exhale, especially when coughing or sneezing. For that reason, we are asked to stay at least 6 feet from other people. The virus can remain viral for a few days on almost any surface including door knobs. If you touch a doorknob or other surface, you should not touch your face until you’ve washed your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds.

Call before trying to visit a doctor and avoid gatherings of more than 10 people. Do not visit a nursing home or retirement or long-term care facility except to provide critical assistance.

As I’m writing this, a Wikipedia article on the “2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United States” says that the CDC has reported at least 68 confirmed deaths from this disease in the US, and the number of new cases identified each day is still growing;  these numbers will likely change soon.

If more people act now with appropriate caution, it can reduce the number of people who ultimately die of this disease.

A plot of age-adjusted fatality rate for China through mid-February showed that 0.2 percent of people between the ages of 10 and 40 died, with the risk increasing with age over 40. Almost 15 percent (or one in 6) of those over 80 died.

Coronavirus age-adjusted fatility rate in China
Coronavirus age-adjusted fatality rate in China as of February 2020 (from Wikimedia Commons)

This risk is also elevated among people with serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.


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