September 29, 2020

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Question 2 The Plague

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Question 2. There have been many epidemics in the past, some of which were so widespread that they could be called pandemics. The plague begin in China in 1331, by 1347 it had affected Europe and the Middle East.  In the first wave of infection in Europe it was thought that half of Europe’s population died. The mortality rate of the infection was as high as 90%. There is no immunity to the plague, and even today the mortality rate is 11%. The plague had some important consequences. The Mongol Empire and Its Silk Road trade suffered enormously and lead to the end of the Mongol Empire. In Europe the loss of the population was so severe that workers demanded higher wages which led to social tension and may have played a role in several peasant revolts. The devastation of the Mongol Empire led to an increase in European sea traffic, trade, and exploration.   Another great epidemic was the Great Dying. When the Spanish conquered MesoAmerica and the great i...
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From The Epic of Gilgamesh

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From  The Epic of Gilgamesh (abbreviated version) In the wildness she created valiant Enkidu , born of Silence, endowed with strength by Ninurta. His whole body was shaggy with hair, he had a full head of hair like a woman, his locks billowed in profusion like Ashnan. He knew neither people nor settled living,. He ate grasses with the gazelles, and jostled at the watering hole with the animals; as with animals, his thirst was slaked with mere water. A  notorious trapper came face-to-face with him opposite the watering hole. 
On seeing him t he trapper's face went stark with fear ,
 and he and his animals drew back home.
  The trapper was rigid with fear;  though stock-still
 his heart pounded and his face drained of color.
 He addressed his father saying:       "Father, a certain fellow has come from the mountains.        He is the mightiest in the land...
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It was surprising to learn....

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It was surprising to learn that ecological destruction by human actions is not something new in our current era of anthropogenic climate change that threatens the very existence of life on earth. Thus, while agriculture saw an enormous advance in ancient Mesopotamia, it came at the cost of the eventual destruction of that very agriculture. Thus, in order to grow crops, deforestation cleared the land for agriculture, but this ultimately led to soil erosion. In addition, the advanced technique of irrigation led to salination   of the land and loss of its fertility. Beeing from Brazil I can relate to this. They burning the Amazon Forest in order to grow crops and to drill for oil and to mine minerals, the Amazon Forest is important to the world as a sink for carbon dioxide. Loss of this sink will make climate change worse.
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