Loosely speaking (very loosely), it's all Rachel Carson's fault that we're going to die from avian flu. She wrote The Silent Spring and got everybody hysterical about how birds were going to become extinct if we didn't stop using DDT.

Many consequences down the road -- many -- based on the efforts of politicians and environmentalists and conservationists and a zillion other "-ists," the US and Canada and Mexico entered into a Migratory Bird Treaty. Migrating birds are now highly protected over North America. (To the extent that if you "possess" the frozen carcass of a Merganser hen who merely died in your vicinity--you didn't kill the bird--you are liable to a huge fine and a jail term. And yes this is a real case and yes, I'll give you a link to the opinion if you want it.)

And now we get to the problem: migratory birds are the vector through which avian influenza viruses are passed to humans. The viruses mutate in chickens and other birds resident in central and western China. The mutated strains incubate in bird guts and are passed from bird to bird. Migratory birds pick up the mutated viruses, and the new strains of virus are disseminated all along the bird migration routes in the form of bird feces. This has been known for many years. It's no secret. Look in just about any epidemiology data base you like. (Books. Not the internet. Sorry.)

Our efforts at bird conservation have created a situation in which hordes of protected species fly over head spraying the air with horror-show pathogens. Nice.

CNN recently published an article on the subject. Here's the URL: CDC: Bird flu could cause pandemic.

I am, however, repeating the text of the article below, as CNN is not going to keep that article up forever. So, here you go:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A bird flu virus may mutate to a human form that becomes as deadly as the ones that killed millions during three influenza pandemics of the 20th century.

Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday that scientists believe it is highly likely that the virus that has swept through bird populations in Asia will evolve into a pathogen deadly for humans.

"We are expecting more human cases over the next few weeks because this is high season for avian influenza in that part of the world," Gerberding said in remarks at the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Although cases of human-to-human transmission have been rare, "our assessment is that this is a very high threat" based on the known history of the flu virus, she said.

In Asia, there have already been a number of deaths among people who caught the flu from chickens or ducks. The mortality rate is very high -- about 72 percent of identified patients, said Gerberding. There also have been documented cases of this strain of flu being transferred from person-to-person, but the outbreak was not sustained, she said.

The avian flu now spreading in Asia is part of what is called the H1 family of flu viruses. It is a pathogen that is notorious in human history.

"Each time we see a new H1 antigen emerge, we experience a pandemic of influenza," said Gerberding. In 1918, H1 appeared and millions died worldwide. In 1957, the Asian flu was an H2, and the Hong Kong flu in 1968 was a H3.

There had been small appearances of the H1-type of avian viruses in other years, but nothing like the H5 now rampaging through the birds of Asia.

"We are seeing a highly pathogenic strain of influenza virus emerge to an extraordinary proportion across the entire western component of Asia," she said. "The reason this is so ominous is because of the evolution of flu. ... You may see the emergence of a new strain to which the human population has no immunity."

Study already has shown that the virus can infect cats who can then infect other cats, which Gerberding said was "another harbinger" of the possibility of a human pandemic.

"The science here is all alerting us that we have a great deal to be concerned about," she said.

The CDC chief said her agency is getting ready for a possible pandemic next year.

A special flu team, organized last year, continues to monitor the spread of the avian flu and to analyze the strains as they appear.

The government has ordered 2 million doses of vaccine that would protect against the known strains of avian flu. Gerberding said this would give manufacturers a head start on making the shots that would be needed to combat a full-blown epidemic of an H1-type of flu in this country.

CDC is also plugged into an international communication and monitoring system that, it is hoped, will give an early warning of the emergence of a deadly new flu.

The universe exists as a system. No part of it exists in isolation. And yet... so-called "scientists" appear to never have heard of the concept of "system." Oh, they use the word. But they have no true understanding of the meaning of the term. They don't get the fact that with a system, closed or not, when you push one place... you get a response in a different place. The reponse itself is not always predictable and is not always readily identifiable. But it is always there.

Here's a trivial example.

Burning garbage is a bad thing. Isn't it? It creates smoke and contributes to smog. It releases so-called "green house gases" into the air. Yes, burning trash is very, very bad. And so we closed the incinerators and made it illegal to burn trash at home.

We created huge land fills in which to store all the garbage that used to be burned. Only... landfills are bad too. They are repositories for bacteria and viruses which, when disturbed, have the capacity to cause disease. They fill up the land and are unsightly and they smell bad. They have become uncotrolled dumping grounds for toxic waste of all sorts. From dirty baby diapers to radioactive hospital waste to appliances with fluoro carbons.

And so we enacted stringent controls on landfills. People cannot put toxic substances in an ordinary landfill anymore. Especially, they are not permitted to put hospital waste, used tires and paint cans and old refrigerators there.

Only... people accumulate used tires and paint cans and old refrigerators.

What can they DO with these things? They can't burn them. NO no no. (Actually, refrigerators don't burn very well.) And it is costly to dispose of them in the legally proper places.

The upshot of this is that the backroads of America, and the relatively isolated woodland slopes, and the fields that are out of sight of the farmhouses have become dumping grounds for all the trash that has become a tad difficult and/or costly to get rid of otherwise.

I live in a state that mandates recycling. If you throw recyclables into the regular trash, you are liable for a hefty fine. Hefty enough that it's worth while for the borough or township to track you down. It's lucrative. But using the recycling service is bothersome, and costs money. And so... people throw their recyclable cans and bottles out of their car windows in isolated locations. They dump their used appliances over the hillside on somebody's farm. They do things so piggish that if I described them here, the reader wouldn't believe me.

The result of the seemingly good recycling laws... the laws that forbid burning leaves and yard debris... has been to turn the entire state into one huge uncontrolled and unsightly trash dump. Our backroads are now littered -- and I do mean LITTERED -- with glass bottles, aluminum cans, bi-metal cans, refrigerators, old tires and yard debris.

It's illegal. If you are stupid enough to do it right in front of a state trooper no doubt he will take action. But the police are NOT going to go after litterers with any degree of enthusiasm. And, in fairness, they are responsible for solving murders, rapes, kidnappings.... dealing with traffic fatalities... drug dealers. They dont' have the time or the resources to become garbage cops.

Incinerators are looking better to me every day. And backyard leaf burning.