Swine flu and a statue to Al Gore

Published 12:00 am Monday, May 11, 2009

BY JOHN H. WALKER
L’Observateur

Like many of you, we went through the drill to do everything possible to ward off swine flu, but it’s not anything real different from what I’ve done over the past few years.

As cold and flu season neared, bottles of alcohol-based hand sanitizers appeared on everyone’s desk and every day began with a thorough spraying of telephones with a Lysol-type disinfectant, which was then sprayed through the HV/AC air intake until you could smell it throughout the building.

We had very few missed days.

With swine flu — oops, H1N1 — we did the hand sanitizers and prepared a memo for everyone and even had one employee stay home a couple of days because of a sick spouse … but for some reason, it seems as if we all overreacted.

Having said that, advisories have already been issued to expect a lull — as the number of cases was dropping — and to expect the count to climb as cold and flu season nears. And since the southern hemisphere is heading into that cycle, we can reasonably expect the numbers to climb there and, later, here.

I understand this particular virus can be more dangerous because it is one we have never been exposed to or vaccinated for … but the hype surrounding its arrival was unprecedented.

That, however, is as much a product of our times — with instant communications of all types — as anything else.

Did you see where the Tennessee Senate’s State and Local Government Committee has approved a measure to support the creation of a privately-funded Al Gore statue to be built on the grounds of the Tennessee Capitol?

Gore’s statue, to be erected in honor of his receiving the Nobel Prize for his work on creating the issue of — oops, making the world aware of global warming — would be one of two erected.The other would be of Tennessean Cordell Hull, who was credited with creating the United Nations.

It wouldn’t be the first statue of Gore … a Fairbanks, Alaska businessman had an 8 1/2-foot ice statue carved of Gore in an effort to get him to debate global warming, which is drawing more and more criticism as political hype.

I wonder if the Alaskan businessman had to buy any carbon credits to offset the energy used to carve the iceman?

(John H. Walker is editor and publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or john.walker@wickcommunications.com.)