Free spread of COVID-19 in Sweden didn't lead to 'herd immunity'
People stroll, sunbathe and swim at a bathing jetty in Malmo, Sweden, in June. The country attempted to achieve COVID-19 "herd immunity" by skipping lockdowns and other measures most countries around the world are using to limit spread of the disease. 

Photo by EPA-EFE/Johan Nilsson/TT

Diverging from much of the world, Sweden let COVID-19 spread in hopes the population would develop "herd immunity." But the risky strategy failed, a new report finds.

Rather than imposing a hard lockdown in March as other countries did, the Scandinavian nation relied on individual responsibility to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus. This is the idea of "folkvett" -- common sense of the people -- and the approach made headlines at the time.

Gyms, stores and restaurants remained open schools were open for kids up to age 16 while gatherings of more than 50 people were banned.

Authorities predicted that 40% of the people in Stockholm would get the disease and develop protective antibodies by May. The actual prevalence, however, was around 15%, according to the study published Aug. 11 in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

"It is clear that not only are the rates of viral infection, hospitalization and mortality [per million population] much higher than those seen in neighboring Scandinavian countries, but also that the time-course of the epidemic in Sweden is different, with continued persistence of higher infection and mortality well beyond the few critical weeks period seen in Denmark, Finland and Norway," said researcher Dr. David Goldsmith, a retired physician in London.

Experience suggests that severely infected COVID-19 patients acquire antibodies immediately and during early recovery, but antibodies are much less common in only mildly ill or asymptomatic patients.

This means they are likely not immune, and can't prevent the spread of the virus, the study noted. This is central to the concept of herd immunity.

In the other Scandinavian countries, rapid lockdown appeared more successful in stopping the spread of infection, Goldsmith said.

The findings are a cautionary tale for the world, and for the United Kingdom in particular, he indicated.

"We in the U.K. would do well to remember we nearly trod the same path as Sweden, as herd immunity was often discussed here in early March. Right now, despite strict [but tardy] lockdown in the U.K., and the more measured Swedish response, both countries have seen high seven-day averaged COVID-19 death rates compared to other Scandinavian and European countries," Goldsmith said in a journal news release.

Only a year or two after the pandemic, however, can experts fairly judge what was done correctly, the authors said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19.

RELATED CDC: U.S. COVID-19 case count 6 to 24 times higher than reported

Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Shinzo Abe under fire for coronavirus response, survey shows

A recent survey indicates the Japanese public may not be satisfied with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) and his handling of the coronavirus. 

File Photo by Kezio Mori/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the lowest approval rating in a recent survey covering six countries and their response to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The poll shows Abe is under fire for his handling of the health crisis as speculation grows in Japan that Abe could leave office before the end of his term in September 2021.

According to U.S.-German communications consultancy Kekst CNC, Abe's ratings are lower than that of U.S. President Donald Trump or British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the Tokyo Shimbun reported Thursday. Both the United States and Britain have confirmed higher numbers of COVID-19 cases than Japan.

The survey, which polled 1,000 respondents from the United States, Britain, Germany, Sweden, France and Japan, shows Abe scoring minus 34 points. Trump scored minus 21 points and Johnson received minus 12 points, according to Kekst.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the highest score, or 42 points, for her response to the virus, the poll shows.

Respondents in Japan also voiced concerns about losing their jobs amid COVID-19. More than one-third of the respondents said they are worried their companies could go bankrupt, the survey shows.

Jochen Legewie, the Japan head of the consultancy, said the results show extremely strong dissatisfaction among Japanese with the government's business policies. Abe's popularity has plummeted because of policies that have not worked to turn around the economy, according to the analyst.

Japan's daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 exceeded 1,000 on Thursday. More than 1,000 people have died from the virus, and the country has reported a total of 53,287 cases.

Abe's cabinet is also suffering from diminished support, in the 30% range, according to Japan-based analyst William Pesek.

According to Pesek, Abe has "largely withdrawn from day-to-day decision-making," and raising questions whether "his days are numbered," he said.

Abe has refused to declare another state of emergency for Japan despite the rising number of coronavirus cases.

Study reveals how coronavirus travels indoors

Researchers found that good ventilation can filter out some of the virus, but can leave it on surfaces. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

A new study explains how the coronavirus hitches a ride on droplets released when you cough, sneeze or speak, and travels around a room.

The University of Minnesota scientists hope their work will help schools and businesses take steps to reduce the chance of COVID-19 transmission as they reopen.

For the study, they created a model of how these aerosols travel in indoor spaces such rooms, elevators and supermarkets. They also compared how the virus did in various types of ventilation and with different spacing of people within a room.

"You see a lot of people talking about what the risks are of staying in confined spaces, but nobody gives a quantitative number," said co-author Jiarong Hong, an associate professor of mechanical engineering. "I think the major contribution we've made is combining very accurate measurements and computational fluid dynamics simulation to provide a very quantitative estimate of the risks," he said in a university news release.

RELATED Masks can mitigate risk of COVID-19 'super spreaders' in rooms

Researchers found that good ventilation can filter out some of the virus, but can leave it on surfaces.

In a classroom setting, they ran a simulation in which an asymptomatic teacher talked for 50 minutes straight. It found that only 10% of aerosols were filtered out. Most of the particles remained on the walls.

"Because this is very strong ventilation, we thought it would ventilate out a lot of aerosols. But 10% is really a small number," said co-author Suo Yang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. He noted that the ventilation forms vortexes -- expelled aerosols rotate within those vortexes rather than exiting, he said. "When they collide with the wall, they attach to the wall," Yang added. "But, because they are basically trapped in this vortex, and it's very hard for them to reach the vent and actually go out."

THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY ARE TOO GENEROUS WITH THE CONSPIRACY NUTS
RELATED CDC: Three of four Americans wear masks to prevent COVID-19 spread

The researchers followed the airflow to find virus hot spots where the aerosols congregated in the room. They also found, for example, that the aerosols spread significantly less throughout the space when the teacher was placed directly under an air vent.

They said the hope is that the right combination of ventilation and interior design could decrease the spread of the virus and avoid these hot zones.

"After our work goes out, I think more people will ask for help because I think many businesses reopening will have this need -- movie theaters, drama theaters, any place with large gatherings," Yang said. "If you do a good job, if you have good ventilation at the right location, and if you scatter the seating of the audience properly, it could be much safer."
RELATED WHO reviewing evidence that indicates COVID-19 is airborne



The report was published online July 28 on the website arXiv, and was not yet peer-reviewed.

More information

For more about COVID-19, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

World's most pristine tropical forests remain vulnerable to deforestation

Researchers say that the best of the last tropical forests are exceedingly vulnerable. Pictured, a view of the Amazon basin forest north of Manaus, Brazil. Photo by Phil P. Harris/Wikimedia

Aug. 10 (UPI) -- An analysis of the planet's healthiest, most-intact tropical forests suggests an overwhelming majority remain vulnerable to deforestation.

According to the new study, published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, just 6.5 percent of the "best of the last" tropical forests enjoy formal protections.

For the study, an international team of researchers, including scientists with NASA and the United Nations, used high-resolution satellite images to map the presence of high-quality forests across the tropics. Researchers focused on finding the most intact forests, and those with the high ecological value, not necessarily the largest.

"Every year, research reveals new ways that old, structurally complex forests contribute to biodiversity, carbon storage, water resources, and many other ecosystem services," study author Patrick Jantz said in a news release.

RELATED Scientists move to create single, comprehensive list of Earth's living species

"That we can now map such forests in great detail is an important step forward in efforts to conserve them," said Jantz, a research professor at Northern Arizona University.

When researchers compared maps of currently protected tropical forests with their maps of intact, high quality forests, they found very little overlap. Historically, protection efforts have favored quantity over quality, according to the authors of the new paper.

The study determined just half of the Earth's humid tropical forests boast high ecological integrity, the majority of which are located within the the Amazon and Congo basins.

Researchers also looked at deforestation rates and the human pressures currently threatening the tropic's healthiest forests. Their findings suggest the best of the last tropical forests are exceedingly vulnerable.

Scientists say they hope their findings will help policy makers and forest managers better prioritize forest protection and restoration efforts. Of the 4.6 million acres of the humid tropical forests found around the globe, the authors of the new study suggest 41 percent be granted new protections.

The researchers suggest forest managers work reduce human pressures across another 19 percent. The study calls also calls for active restoration efforts in 7 percent of tropical forests.

Trade benefits developed countries environmentally, but hurts developing countries

IMPERIALISM, POST MODERN RECOLONIALISATION AKA GLOBALIZATION


A ship is shown as it moves goods through the Panama Canal. Photo by Sue Nichols/MSU

July 13 (UPI) -- Researchers said Monday that international trade bodes well for developed countries' environmental sustainability, but has the opposite effect on developing countries.

Their new study, titled "Impacts of international trade on global sustainable development," was published Monday in Nature Sustainability. It analyzed this issue by looking at sustainable development goals (SDG) with environment-related targets that the United Nations has adopted.

The study showed that international trade helped developed countries like the United States, Canada and Europe, but harmed Russia and part of East Asia, a Michigan State University statement said.

International trade improved the SDG target scores of most -- 65 percent -- of the developed countries analyzed, but reduced the SDG target scores of 60 percent of developing countries, scientists from the United States and China said in the study.

Scientists analyzed the impact of international trade starting in 1995 on nine SDG targets related to goals to address the following environmental issues: sustainable water use, energy, economic growth, industrialization, consumption and production, and combating climate change.

Trade can help save local environmental resources, but transfers production burdens to exporters, according to researchers. For instance, if the United States buys wooden furniture from southeast Asia that could help U.S. forests, but harm southeast Asia through deforestation and biodiversity loss.

Another example researchers noted was related to carbon emissions.

From 1990-2008, international trade displaced 16 Gt of carbon dioxide from developed to developing counties, the research paper noted. This stabilized carbon emissions for the most part in developed countries, but caused carbon emissions in developing countries to double.

The study is the first to examine international trade's impact on the United Nations SDG, said co-lead author Zhenci Xu, a University of Michigan research associate and former PhD student at MSU's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability in the MSU statement.

"As the countries connected with each other more in the globalization area, understanding how trade shapes progress toward national and global sustainable development can provide useful information for policy making aiming at achieving SDGs together," Xu added.

upi.com/7021687

Coconut oil may be worse than palm oil for the environment
IT'S CAPITALISM STUPID THAT'S WORSE THAN BOTH

The Sangihe Tarsier, a primate living on the Indonesian island of Sangihe, is one of several vulnerable species threatened by deforestation caused by coconut production. Photo by Stenly Pontolawokang

July 6 (UPI) -- Many scientific studies have highlighted environmental harm caused by palm oil production, but new research suggests the production of coconut oil threatens more species per liter than other vegetable oils.

The findings, published Monday in the journal Current Biology, highlight the challenges consumers face when trying to make conscientious purchasing decisions without sufficient information.

"The outcome of our study came as a surprise," lead study author Erik Meijaard said in a news release. "Many consumers in the West think of coconut products as both healthy and their production relatively harmless for the environment."

"As it turns out, we need to think again about the impacts of coconut," said Meijaard, who heads the Borneo Futures initiative in Brunei Darussalam and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland.

Researchers suggest that consumers rely on information provided by the media when making purchasing decisions. The media, authors of the new study contend, is heavily influenced by vested interests.

"When making decisions about what we buy, we need to be aware of our cultural biases and examine the problem from a lens that is not only based on Western perspectives to avoid dangerous double standards," said study co-author Jesse F. Abrams, of the Global Systems Institute and a researcher at the University of Exeter.

When researchers surveyed the available scientific literature on the ecological threats posed by different vegetable oils, they determined the production of coconut oil affects 20 threatened species per 1 million liters of oil produced. Palm oil production threatens 3.8 species per 1 million liters.

Coconut production is most relegated to tropical islands with rich biodiversity and unique species. Deforestation on such islands is more likely to disrupt the habitat of rare and vulnerable plants and animals.

Previously, scientists have mostly measured the environmental impact of oil production by tallying the number of species affected per square hectare of land used. By this metric, palm oil is the least eco-friendly of the vegetable oils.

According to the new study, coconut oil production has already contributed to the disappearance of several species, including Marianne white-eye in the Seychelles and the Solomon Islands' Ontong Java flying fox.

Other species, like the Balabac mouse-deer, found in the Philippines, and the Sangihe tarsier, a primate native to the Indonesian island of Sangihe, are quickly running out of habitat as a result of coconut oil production.

Researchers claim their intention isn't to badmouth coconut oil, but to point out the environmental harm done by all vegetable oils. Even the production of olive oil and soybean oil has a negative effect on vulnerable plant and animal species.

"Consumers need to realize that all our agricultural commodities, and not just tropical crops, have negative environmental impacts," said study co-author Douglas Sheil, professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. "We need to provide consumers with sound information to guide their choices."

Increasing indigenous property rights could help save the rainforest

Researchers say that giving full property rights in the Brazilian rainforest to indigenous tribes lowers deforestation rates and increases carbon sequestration. Photo by sdblack0/Pixabay

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- To protect the Amazonian rainforest, new research suggests full property rights for tribal lands be extended to Brazil's indigenous communities.

For the study, researchers at the University California, San Diego, used satellite data of vegetation coverage in the Amazon rainforest to study deforestation patterns between 1982 and 2016. Scientists compared the results of their mapping efforts with Brazilian government records of indigenous property rights.

The analysis, detailed Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed land owned fully and collectively by local tribes featured a 66 percent reduction in deforestation rates.

"Indigenous traditional land use, based on collective ownership, has been associated with the preservation of a land's biodiversity," researcher Kathryn Baragwanath, postdoctoral candidate in the political science department at UCSD, told UPI.

RELATED World's most pristine tropical forests remain vulnerable to deforestation

One study published earlier this year showed land stewardship by indigenous communities was associated with greater levels of carbon sequestration.

Baragwanath said these positive ecological impacts are strengthened when indigenous communities have the full scope of property rights and legal tools to defend tribal lands from commercial interests.

"These legal rights ensure that the boundaries can no longer be contested, the territory is registered in the national land registry, the government is constitutionally responsible for protecting the territories and the territorial resources are considered to belong to indigenous peoples," she said.

RELATED Trade benefits developed countries environmentally, but hurts developing countries

When conducting their analysis, Baragwanath and researchers accounted for variables besides indigenous property rites -- including proximity to roads, mining projects and rivers, elevation, population density and rainfall.

In Brazil, the process of gaining full property rights, called homologation, is complex -- at least partially because government agencies there have been slow to review applications, researchers said.

Often, as the process plays out at a snail's pace, commercial interests will start illegal mining or logging, so they can later argue that they've established "productive use of land," researchers said.

To protect the Amazon and the region's remaining forests, Baragwanath suggests Brazil's government strengthen their environmental agencies.

"Public policy should focus on granting full property rights to the indigenous peoples who have not yet received their rights," she said.

SCIENCE NEWS
JUNE 29, 2020
Gold mining stunts Amazon rainforest recovery

Illegal mining severely hinders the recovery abilities of the Amazon rainforest. Photo by Planet Labs/Wikimedia Commons

June 29 (UPI) -- The effects of gold mining on forest health are long lasting. According to new research, gold mining stunts the regrowth of Amazon forests, limiting their ability to store carbon.

"Historically gold mining was often overlooked in deforestation analysis as it occupies relatively small areas when compared to pastures or large-scale agriculture," lead study author Michelle Kalamandeen told UPI in an email.

Kalamandeen started the research as a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leeds but is now a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University.

"Yet, given recent proliferation in mining activities since 2007-2008 and again in 2012, the potential areas may be underestimated and the impact on biodiversity and forest recovery unquantified," she said.

RELATED Major land sales fueling tropical forest losses

For the study, Kalamandeen and her colleagues sampled soil and measured trees at 18 test plots in two main gold mining areas in Guyana. Researchers also established two control sites in old-growth forests.

"We measured trees/saplings/seedlings within each plot and took soil samples from abandoned gold mining sites, active sites and control 'old-growth' sites," Kalamandeen said.

The data -- published Monday in the Journal of Applied Ecology -- showed trees in forests damaged by gold mining activity struggled to reestablish themselves. Where as forest harmed by other kinds of activities, such as logging and agriculture, were able to rebound, the negative effects of mining on growth and carbon storage persisted.

RELATED Humans a more immediate threat to large river systems than climate change

"Our analysis showed that the lack of nitrogen was the primary driving force for the lack of recovery occurring on the tailing ponds and mining pits," Kalamandeen said. "On the overburden, where there was an abundance of nitrogen, regrowth of trees were similar to other Neotropical secondary, recovery forests."

Researchers were surprised to find that a lack of nitrogen, instead of an excess of mercury, was to blame for the stunted regrowth.

"Our research showed that active mines had on average 250 times more mercury than abandoned mining sites, suggesting that this mercury leaches into neighboring forests and rivers," Kalamandeen said.

RELATED Gold mining with mercury threatens health of communities miles downstream

Researchers found that in the few mining sites where topsoil was replaced and fertilized with nitrogen -- an often mandated, but rarely enforced, restoration step -- regrowth was comparable to plots where trees were cleared for other types of activity.

Scientists hope their findings will inspire politicians and policy makers in the Amazon to strengthen environmental regulations for gold mining.

"It's important the current environmental policies are enforced. Most Amazonian countries have reasonable monitoring and enforcement policies but weakening of such policies or reduced funding to regulatory agencies as we've seen in Brazil and Venezuela, means that enforcement isn't occurring," Kalamandeen said.

RELATED Abandoned mines in the West pose safety, environmental hazards

"Addressing corruption in mining agencies is also another issue that needs addressing at the national scale," Kalamandeen said. "For restoration, many Amazonian countries don't have a forest restoration policy when it comes to gold mining and this needs to be tested and developed for tropical forests at the landscape-scale."

Gold prices often rise in the wake of economic crises, and when they do, small-scale gold mining activity ramps up in the Amazon.

Though under new leadership, Brazil has recently been weakening environmental regulations. But in the years that followed the financial crisis, strong rainforest protections forced miners to pursue gold in neighboring countries, especially the dense forests of Guyana and the French Guiana.

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a significant dent in global economic growth, researchers worry gold mining activity will once again proliferate across a large stretch of forest known as the Guiana Shield. In the future, scientists hope to test new technologies designed to curb the threat of gold mining.

"We hope to use remote sensing to help detect gold mining especially illegal mining within the Amazon," Kalamandeen said.

Mauritian prime minister seeks compensation for oil spill

The oil leak from the MV Wakashio leaves streaks of black across the previously pristine turquoise waters of the island nation. Photo courtesy of the French General Staff Army/EPA-EFE

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth told Parliament he expects compensation from a Japanese shipping company behind an oil spill off the coast of the Indian Ocean island nation.

The MV Wakashio ran aground near Pointe d'Esny on July 25 and began leaking oil into the island's previously pristine, turquoise water. An estimated 2,500 tons of oil turned the waters black, threatening protected coral reefs and lagoons.

The spill has prompted scores of volunteers to race to the region to build sugarcane booms and clean up oil along the coast. A crack in the ship has widened, threatening to spill even more oil into the ocean.

Last week, Jugnauth said his country was in an "environmental crisis."

RELATED Mauritius declares state of emergency as wrecked ship leaks oil into ocean

On Tuesday, he told Parliament he'll "ensure that the insurance company of MV Wakashio compensates the state and any other entity or person affected by the calamity."

The ship is owned by Nagashiki Shipping, which said Sunday that it was working with Mauritian authorities to clean up the spill. Because of the crack, the 984-foot-long ship can no longer navigate under its own power, so a tug boat was being deployed to the scene.

"We deeply apologize to everyone in Mauritius and do our best to protect the environment and minimize the effects of pollution," the company said in a statement.

Jugnauth defended himself against criticism that the government was too slow to work to remove oil still stored on the ship.

"Mauritius has no such expertise and required resources," he said. The "government has done its level best to prevent the situation from worsening in the face of very rough seas due to bad weather conditions."

SEE
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https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/update-mauritius-battles-devastating.html

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https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/france-offers-aid-as-mauritius-declares.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/08/mauritius-facing-catastrophe-as-oil.html

Six million mobile phones in use in North Korea, research says

North Korean mobile phone subscription rates are highest in major cities, according to South Korean research published Tuesday. 
SOUTH KOREAN PRETENDING TO BE NORTH KOREAN
IS THAT A MAO PIN?
File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- There are about 6 million mobile phone subscribers in North Korea, where the majority of the population does not have access to the global Internet, according to a state-owned development bank in the South.

Kim Min-gwan, a researcher at Korea Development Bank Future Strategy Research Institute, said in a new report the number of mobile phones in use is rising in North Korea amid marketization and changing trends in consumption among North Koreans in their 20s and 30s, JoongAng Ilbo reported Tuesday.


       THE LITTLE KIM COMES IN PINK

Mobile phone subscription rates are highest in major cities like Pyongyang and Rason, a port situated in a special economic zone. In each city, more than 70% of the residents own mobile phones, according to the South Korean researcher's estimates.

Among North Koreans active in informal marketplaces, the average user owns about two to three mobile phones. In total, 4.5 million North Koreans, 18 percent of the total population, are actively using the phones, including smartphones, Kim said in his research.

North Korea claims it has domestically developed phones like the Arirang 171 smartphone, but it is more likely the phones may have been imported from China, either as finished products or in parts, Kim said.

The researcher also said North Korea maintains a 3G mobile network, which is a joint venture among three providers: Koryolink, Kangsong and Byol. Koryolink is a partnership between Egyptian firm Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding and Pyongyang's state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications Corp.

Mobile phone ownership in North Korea is growing at a time when the economy could be contracting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Market intelligence provider Fitch Solutions said North Korea's annual GDP growth rate for 2020 is expected to be -8.5% by the end of the year, Voice of America's Korean service reported Tuesday.

The growth forecast comes after the firm said in early June the North Korean economy is expected to contract by 6% in 2020.

Parallels in Fandom: Three Finger Salute; The Hunger Games In Real Life

With the recent release of the third installment of The Hunger Games franchise “Mockingjay Part I”, audiences are flocking to theatres to see brutal fight scenes and heartbreaking struggle on the big screen. The Hunger Games franchise is phenomenally successful, although this year’s film didn’t bring as much money in as anticipated ($123 million. How that’s a disappointment, I’m still not sure.) Millions of fans around the world were excited to see the newest film, dressing up as Katniss and other characters. My college even had a Hunger Games costume contest during dinner (ironically) to celebrate the release. And yet, for many viewers, the story’s themes hit a little too close to home.

Economic inequality is rampant in our world. People live paycheck to paycheck. They survive on food stamps that often fail to buy essential items. This Christmas, there will be many families who will have nothing to put under their tree. Graduates struggle to pay off student debt every day. And what may be worse of all, is if you are born in poverty, you’re likely to stay there, much like the citizens of Panem. There is no transferring from district to district. If you live in District Twelve, you will work in District Twelve, you will starve in District Twelve, and you will die in either District Twelve or the Arena. Meanwhile citizens of the Capital live comfortably. Our world, unfortunately, works on a similar system. Those who are born into poor families, are likely to stay poor. Those who are born into financially stable families, aren’t likely to find themselves in economic struggle. While we don’t have a President Snow or a Hunger Games, per se, but 98% of our citizens still live very much like those of Panem while the Capital lives abundantly because of the misfortune of the lower class.

There are little to no government aid programs in Panem. Katniss’ father dies in a mining accident and the family loses a large part of their income. Were there a worker’s union in Panem, this never would have happened. And had it not happened, Katniss’ mother wouldn’t have gone into a deep depression and with no access to mental health care, been unable to work, further cutting the family’s income. Due to neither of her parents able to bring in income, Katniss had to take care of the family herself. This left the family to starve because the Capital provides no food stamps. Not only that, but the justice system is corrupt and feeds on the racial division in the Districts. And all of this is because of the Capital, which controls all twelve districts, and shares none of the wealth.

Seem like fiction? If only. Only 6% of Americans have union protection in the workplace and have met the same fate as Katniss’ father. Millions of Americans can’t afford desperately needed mental health care and lose their jobs like Katniss’ mother. One in six Americans go hungry, and food stamp benefits were slashed in the last year. African-Americans are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white citizens. 2% of the country still controls the majority of the wealth. The Hunger Games may seem like just a franchise, but there is a lot more going on here than just a simple book.

It’s not just our government that’s causing economic inequality. Companies such as McDonald’s and Walmart pay their employees so low that most workers can’t afford to feed their families without a second job or reliance on food stamps.

Walmart pays its associates less than $25,000 a year. That isn’t enough to cover the basics for worker’s kids, let alone pay their bills or support their families. Managers of Walmart are also known for manipulating work schedules so that employees have a hard time working full-time; therefore, these workers don’t receive benefits and usually receive insufficient paychecks that negatively affect families, budgets, and ultimately lives. What’s really upsetting is that Walmart brings in an annual $16 billion in profits and a recent Fortune article stated that Walmart could afford to give workers a 50% raise without hurting its stock prices. There’s no reason Walmart can’t afford to pay their workers better. Not to mention, many workers were unable to spend Thanksgiving with their families this year.

McDonald’s is even worse when it comes to economic inequality. McDonald’s employees make less than $11,000 a year. Managers at McDonalds are also known to manipulate schedules so that employees aren’t eligible for benefits and employees do not have the right to unionize, which keeps them from being able to bargain for better wages and working conditions. The CEO of McDonald’s, Donald Thompson made $9.5 million in 2013. It would take an average McDonald’s worker 864 years to make that.

These companies are just like the greedy Capitol of Panem. Just like the Capitol, they are cashing in on the cheap labor of its people and offering no workers compensation or benefits. Were these companies to raise their wages to $15 an hour (which they could afford to do) employees would experience a significant increase in the ability to take care of themselves and their families. Not only that, but a recent study by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce shows that Walmart pays its workers so low that most employees have to rely on food stamps and other Government programs. This cost taxpayers $900,000 at just one Walmart Supercenter in Wisconsin. They estimate that Walmart costs taxpayers roughly $8 million in subsidized food, living, and healthcare all because they won’t pay their workers enough to get by.

So what can we do about this? We can become the District 13 of our country. In “Mockingjay,” District 13 is an underground militia determined to unite the Districts of Panem and bring the Capitol to justice. They do this in several ways, but waging a full out violent war isn’t going to help our fight against economic inequality. A large part of District 13’s strategy for overthrowing the Capitol is educating the people of Panem of what President Snow was doing; taking the public eye away from the glittering jewels of reality television, fashion, and materialism and focusing it on the real issues. We as activists need to take economic inequality and put it out in the open. We need to show our country how pressing an issue this is. Education is our strongest ally in our fight against inequality.

The Harry Potter Alliance has been fighting for economic equality for over a year now and on Black Friday members visited Walmart and McDonald’s locations, passing out flyers to location managers about the way their workers are treated, informing them of the awful truth of what the companies they work for are doing. The HPA has also been using the hashtag #MyHungerGames and urging people to share their economic inequality stories with the world through everything from short tweets to long blog posts. By doing this, they are showing the real faces of economic inequality; the real faces of the Districts.

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We need to take the public eye off of which guys are hottest in The Hunger Games franchise and reveal the bigger themes going on in the films and in our own country. Who cares if The Hunger Games have hot guys in them!? Suzanne Collins wasn’t thinking about hot guys when she wrote the series. Her concern was bringing these issues to light and inspiring people to do something about it. We can be the District 13 of our world. We need to raise our three finger salute to the skies and overthrow the Capitol of economic inequality.

Photos Courtesy of The Harry Potter Alliance, http://www.fastfoodforward.com, MCT, and Lionsgate

Video Courtesy of The Harry Potter Alliance

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