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As a researcher, I’m interested in the political, ecological, and cultural debates around mosquito-borne diseases and the solutions proposed to mitigate them.

When we received the task, my first impulse was to investigate about the contemporary effects of anthropogenic climate change in mosquito-borne diseases in New Orleans. But I was afraid to make the same mistake that I did in my PhD research. I wrote my PhD proposal while based in the US, more specifically in New England, during the Zika epidemic, and proposed to understand how scientists were studying ecological climate change and mosquitoes in Brazil. However, once I arrived in the country the political climate was a much more pressing issue, with the dismantling of health and scientific institutions.

Thus, after our meeting yesterday, and Jason Ludwig’s reminder that the theme of our Field Campus is the plantation, I decided to focus on how it related to mosquitoes in New Orleans.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito and the yellow fever virus it can transmit are imbricated in the violent histories of settler-colonialism and slavery that define the plantation economy. The mosquito and the virus arrived in the Americas in the same ships that brought enslaved peoples from Africa. The city of New Orleans had its first yellow fever epidemic in 1796, with frequent epidemics happening between 1817 and 1905. What caused New Orleans to be the “City of the Dead,” as Kristin Gupta has indicated, was yellow fever. However, as historian Urmi Engineer Willoughby points out, the slave trade cannot explain alone the spread and persistance of the disease in the region: "Alterations to the landscape, combined with demographic changes resulting from the rise of sugar production, slavery, and urban growth all contributed to the region’s development as a yellow fever zone." For example, sugar cultivation created ideal conditions for mosquito proliferation because of the extensive landscape alteration and ecological instabilities, including heavy deforestation and the construction of drainage ditches and canals.

Historian Kathryn Olivarius examines how for whites "acclimatization" to the disease played a role in hierarchies with “acclimated” (immune) people at the top and a great mass of “unacclimated” (non-immune) people and how for black enslaved people "who were embodied capital, immunity enhanced the value and safety of that capital for their white owners, strengthening the set of racialized assumptions about the black body bolstering racial slavery."

As I continue to think through these topics, I wonder how both the historical materialities of the plantation and the contemporary anthropogenic changes might be influencing mosquito-borne diseases in New Orleans nowadays? And more, how the regions’ histories of race and class might still be shaping the effects of these diseases and how debates about them are framed?

The data primarily manifests in visual prompts. The web platform begins by engaging the viewer with clips, pictorals, gifs, and interviews discussing the hurricanes from start to finish.

The article includes multiple in-person interviews, including with Canadian officials (such as the Nunavut Premier), a professor of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan, and several prominent figures in the Native community.

The article centers on how social and political factors effected access to care for citizens in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Additionally, the author discusses how "at-risk" populations emerge; far too often, these populations are only noted after a disaster occurs, and are often ignored until that point. This creates a dependence on healthcare and illness for these populations, something that can be highly effected based on economic and social status. The author also discusses how technologies and government involvement dictated the situation post-disaster, and includes extensive information from resettled families and workers exposed to radiation

The bibliography is not included in the PDF uploaded, most likely because this a chapter excerpt from a larger work. However, there are several citations within the article, most of which are elaborated on. These descriptions indicate the works follow similar lines of thought and provide similar information to supplement Dr. Good's assertions. This includes his description of Dr. Evelyn A. Early's works (discussed earlier--ha), and several other prominent medical anthropologists. 

1) MSF policy on neutrality: One of the main aspects of humanitarian aid is to remain removed in the conflict at hand, thus assuring unbiased help towards all individuals involved. This comes from neutrality, a tenant stating that MSF and other humanitarian agencies working under MSF will not "pick" or join one side of the conflict nor will they grant a side an advantage. 

2)MSF operations head arrest: At the time of the Sudanese conflict, the Dutch branch of MSF released a report decrying the severe sexual violence perpetrated during fighting. This, in turn, led to the imprisonment and charging of MSF head of mission, Paul Foreman. The MSF report was read in the 2005 Annual International General Assembly, entailing the ongoing violence against women in the Darfur conflict in an attempt to raise awareness about the continued issue. 

3) Darfur Conflict: An major armed conflict started in 2003 with the rebellion of several liberation movements (SLM & JEM) against the Sudanese government. The violence reached a cease fire in 2010 where talks began, propagated by Doha mediators, but an agreement was never met. Thus, violence has continued through 2016, including a chemical weapon attack in September.

The article discusses why, despite overwhelming amounts of foreign aid money and five years, Haiti still mimcs a disaster zone. Thousands of Haitians still live in tents and temporary housing, cholera is still raging, and rebuilding projects have stalled. The article questions why Haiti is just barely staggering back to "normal" after being given such tremendous resources. It goes on to discuss how several factors curb Haitian progress, including political turmoil and economic discord. Generally, the consensus remains (internationally) that the Haitian government cannot be entrusted money to fix these issues and must be led through the process by outside agencies. Additionally, malpractices by UN peackeeping troops have only addded to the list of problems (aka reintroducing cholera) and soured relations between Haiti and the UN.

Emergency response itself is not discussed in this article; this report mostly focuses on nuances of emergency/aid worker experiences. Particularly, it centers on the sheer, inexplicable lack of information surrounding attacks, harm, obstructions, and threats experienced by health care workers.

The policy applies to New York state citizens, health care workers, EMS personnel, and leadership within health care centers. Additionally, the policy has parts that effect transportation agencies and their employees. In many ways, due to Ebola's nature and the nature of New York as a major metropolitan area, these policies will also have a global effect.

The article debriefs a ruling by Federal District Court Judge Deborah A. Batts on a class action lawsuit against the EPA. It details the claims made by the plantiffs' surrounding EPA officials' misconduct after 9/11. Specifically cited are Christie Whitman, who chaired the EPA  during the attacks, and several other EPA officials.