The Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC)

The American Plague was written by Molly C. Crosby, who is as much as a researcher as she is an author. In 1648, a slave ship returning from Africa carried a few mosquitoes infected with a deadly virus know as yellow fever. The ship landed in the New World and thrived in the hot wet climate and on the white settlers. The New World has never come in contact with yellow fever and as a result no immunities have been built up. The virus obtained its name from the way it turns the victim’s skin and eyes a golden yellow. Victims also suffer from very high fevers, external and internal bleeding, and blackish vomit. In America yellow fever killed thousands of peoples, halted trade, and disrupted the government. Although many

In order to preserve the existence of birds in our environment, the government should generally integrate crop management techniques. These methods include; selective pesticides, avoiding spraying in during breeding season and when crops and weeds are in flower, and then minimise spray drift or creation of headlands. When these methods are put into practice, they can help minimize unwanted effects of pesticides on farmland birds.

Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) (Winter 1992). Malathion Insecticide Factsheet. Journal of Pesticide Reform 12(4). Retrieved May 4, 2008, from

    The Bubonic Plague or Black Plague devastated Europe in the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries killing anywhere from twenty to twenty-five million people or about one-third of the continent’s population. At the time, medical knowledge was not competent for understanding why the deadly pathogen was spreading; therefore, the plague radiated like wildfire. The Europeans believed that the plague was a sort of divine punishment for the sins in which they had committed, and they had no idea there was a scientific explanation for the epidemic. Among the masses affected by the calamitous plague, there was a broad spectrum of responses in which the Europeans took part. Three major responses that were most apparent in the

In August of last year, an adult in Pueblo County, Colorado succumbed to the bubonic plague. The Health Department did not specify who it was, just saying that it was an adult. This was the first case of someone contracting the plague in Pueblo County since 2004. It is thought that the person caught the disease from fleas on a dead animal. According to the CDC, about seven people every year contract the plague in the United States.

While reading An American Plague, I noticed an interesting detail that so many people were dying at the beginning of the fever according to Murphy (2003) “ On wednesday twelve more died; thirteen died on Thursday. Others besides the doctors were beginning to notice the illness. “ . I wonder if there was or is any way of preventing the fever from happening . According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) it states that you should beware of mosquitoes peaking hours from dusk to dawn . Also it states to use insect repellent with picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin . Also there is a vaccination from it , but the (CDC) recommends not getting that vaccination only if you are going where risk of the yellow

The locusts visiting the village is one of the lighter and happier moments in the story. The author included this rare joyful event to depict the culture of the Ibo people. Usually locusts are thought of as harmful pests, but the Ibo have welcomed the pests’ visit and see it as a reason for celebration.(1047) The celebration and feast caused by the locusts’ are a high point in Okonkwo’s life before it all falls apart. This event also provides context for a reference made later in the novel to a European man traveling out alone to explore and report back to the other Europeans.

In the early 1940’s, a new technology emerged that was able to successfully combat crop-damaging and disease-carrying insects. A new age of synthetic chemical pesticides use arose. After their impressive success in fighting deadly insect-borne diseases during World War II, pesticides were used widely to combat insect pests for agriculture and public health. Few people challenged the benefits of the new scientific and technological products and many embraced pesticide use with enthusiasm. Despite its success, doubts about pesticide use began to appear a decade later in the 1950’s, when the government began a vigorous pesticide campaign across the country against insect pests. Scientists began reporting heavy losses of avian and

The state health agency reported a resident of Marquette County, Michigan, has contracted the bubonic plague. In one year there have been 14 plague cases in the U.S. one of which came from Michigan; there are normally seven cases a year. Most of these cases are coming from the West of the U.S., The infected Michigan resident had recently returned from a trip to Colorado. There are now 14 plague cases reported nationwide in 2015.

Before doing research I was unaware of these alternatives and all it took was a couple of minutes for me to realize we should be supporting other methods. One in particular is called the integrated pest management (IPM). According to the National Center for Healthy Housing, “IPM is effective, economical, and environmentally sensitive. It uses a combination of common-sense practices, information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment” (Zahm 2008). It represents the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. Therefore, the first step to help reduce this issue would be to educate the public. Many do not understand the risks they are facing by allowing their environment to be contaminated with the chemicals produced in pesticides. Also, it would help to join campaigns to enforce federal agencies to require a stricter law that will suspend pesticides that are linked to causing human health problems. Although, it would be unrealistic to get rid of pesticides completely, the public should be seeking to abolish the most dangerous type of pesticides and that would be a start. I would love to find an organization like this by where I live and recommend people to join and volunteer. So, in regards to pesticides I think the things that this organization is raising public attention and helping resolve this concern. Crops that are

“It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.” –George Carlin. In the novel, the Day of the Locust, Nathanael West is able to depict the falsity behind the American Dream. West sees Hollywood’s version of the phenomenon known as the American Dream as a myth that many people fall victim to, which is shown through the recurring themes of despair in the novel.

Buzzzzzzz! Did you know that Locusts can destroy your life? In the late 1800s the ingalls family got attacked by the locust swarms. In Lauren Tarshis article “Swarms of Terror” she wrote about how the Locusts ruined the ingalls and many others families lives. If you want to find out what the locusts were like and how they affected the people and the ingalls family keep reading.

The American Plague, Molly Caldwell Crosby’s nonfiction novel, accounts the journey of yellow fever from an African virus to the remarkably deadly epidemic that shaped American history in an often overlooked way. Crosby’s novel aims to give insight to the historical impact of yellow fever in the Americas, especially the United States. The novel guides through the history of the titular “American Plague”, yellow fever, in three main parts: its height epidemic in the United States, specifically in Memphis, the Commission to find the cause and vaccine for it, in Cuba, and the effects and presence the epidemic has in the present.

A Journal of the Plague Year is a first person account of what it was like living through the times of the plague. It recollects stories and other accounts of plague times heard by and collected by the Defoe from other involved individuals. Explains many aspects before, during, and after the plague of their ways of life and culture. Tells of tales of survivors of the plague but mostly off different tales of deaths and how they died in many outrageous and tragic ways of people killing their families, themselves, or masses of people. The whole journal is filled with collections of stories, but also with charts showing the deaths in different parishes and how they change as the plague raged on. In the end, it tells how life went back to normal for London and Defoe and his family.

The Daphne is a type shrub that produces a sugary citrus scent that could fill up any room and even a whole garden. Blooming in February, it produces tiny clusters of white to pink flowers containing small berries. Sometimes called the romance plant, it is able to attract anyone that comes across it just by its appearance or scent. However, looks can be deceiving because this plant is extremely poisonous, containing toxins in all parts of the plant’s body like the berries and leaves which if ingested could cause extreme pain, comatose or sudden death. Just like this small shrub, many of the characters in The Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West are not as they appear to be. West uses illusion as a central theme to set the basis of the events regarding the character’s true identity within the novel. Each character being more different from the image they showcase than the last, they all play a role in the overarching dichotomy that is displayed throughout the novel.