Joining host, Dennis McCuistion, to discuss the growing dangers and spread of West Nile and Zika and the issues associated with them are:

• Tara Smith, PhD – Associate Professor, Kent State University College of Public Health,
• Christopher Perkins, M.D. – Medical Director/ Health Authority- Dallas County Health and Human Services,
• Zachary Thompson – Director, Dallas County Health and Human Services,
• Seema Yasmin, MD – Staff writer at the Dallas Morning News and Professor of Public Health at the University of Texas at Dallas, and
• James (Jim) H. Kennedy, PhD – Regents Professor of Biological Science at the University of North Texas

West Nile virus (WNV) and Zika are infectious diseases which are primarily transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Zika can also be sexually transmitted. Contracting the Zika virus during pregnancy is becoming more problematic as it can cause congenital brain abnormalities in the fetus which we may not be aware of until the child is born.

Its symptoms are similar to other arbovirus infections such as dengue, and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, flu like symptoms, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headache. In 2016, World Health Organization officials declared the virus and its associated birth defects an international health emergency.

Most people (70-80%) who become infected with West Nile virus do not develop any symptoms; although about 1 in 5 people may develop a fever with other symptoms, such as headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. While most recover completely, fatigue and weakness can last for weeks or months. Less than 1% of those infected develop serious (fatal) neurologic illness (CDC).

There are no medications to treat either virus or vaccines to prevent either infection. And the issue is growing as more people travel to countries where they can be infected and become the natural hosts and spread the virus.

So how do you protect yourself? Our experts counsel mosquito repellent all day every day as not all mosquitoes die in winter. We need to minimize breeding and their incubation as there is always a danger. Get rid of standing water, keep windows secure with screens, and be alert to bites. Even a flu shot can help. A key is public buy-in and building awareness. Surveillance and prevention need to go hand in hand.

Tune in to get advice and wisdom about this growing concern from experts in the field who understand and deal with the issues on a daily basis.

Join us as we talk about things that matter… with people who care. And please don’t forget that for the last 27 years it is you, our viewer, who keeps us on the air.

The McCuistion Program, a 501 ( C ) ( 3 ) tax exempt organization does not receive any KERA pledge dollars, PBS funds or government grants, so thank you for your continued support.

Thanks for joining us,

Niki McCuistion
Co-Founder, Executive Producer, Producer
Business Consultant / Executive Coach, specializing in Organizational Culture Change, Governance and Strategic Planning
214-750-5157
www.nikimccuistion.com
nikin@nikimccuistion.com

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01.31.17 – 2321

[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”#middleeast #refugees” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Millions of Middle East refugees are fleeing or have fled Middle Eastern countries because of wars, ISIS and terrorism and economic crisis.[/clickandtweet] The countries they’ve turned to are torn between compassion and fear that some of the refuges may in fact be undercover terrorists. And so the borders are closing.

The outcome: Middle East refugees are having a difficult time whether they are in refugee camps in Turkey, Jordan or elsewhere. Their sheer numbers have caused some European leaders to limit the number of Middle East refugees who enter their countries. In some cases doors have completely shut. While the refugee problem is not as acute in America, the refugee situation nevertheless raises concerns about national security, terrorism, health issues, disease, finances and assimilation. Concerns over fraud and welfare costs and terrorism are also very real.

Joining host, Dennis McCuistion, to discuss Middle East refugees are:

• Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker: Dean, The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University; Ambassador to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Iraq. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Hind Jarrah, PhD.: Executive Director, Texas Muslim Women’s Foundation.
• Donna Duvin: Executive Director, U.S. Programs, Dallas; International Rescue Committee.
• A.J. Irwin: Former Federal Agent, ICE Homeland Operations, Central Region.

This is a particularly difficult issue as most Americans are by nature compassionate towards their fellow man and woman regardless of their country of origin or other unique characteristics. On this program we attempt to weigh humanitarian concerns against those of terrorism.

Join us as we talk about things that matter… with people who care. And please don’t forget that for the last 25 years it is you, our viewer, who keeps us on the air.

The McCuistion Program, a 501 ( C ) ( 3 ) tax exempt organization does not receive any KERA pledge dollars, PBS funds or government grants, so thank you for your continued support.

Thanks for joining us,

Niki McCuistion
Co-Founder, Executive Producer, Producer
Business Consultant / Executive Coach, specializing in Organizational Culture Change, Governance and Strategic Planning
214-750-5157
www.nikimccuistion.com
nikin@nikimccuistion.com

The economics of climate change is becoming an increasingly critical issue and divisive issue.

President- elect Donald Trump’s pick for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , the Hon. Scott Pruitt, Attorney –General, State of Oklahoma, is a major change away from the previous administration’s position on climate change.

Historically, EPA chiefs have been climate change advocates. Mr. Pruitt appears not to be.

In an article for the National Review, co-authored with a fellow attorney-general rich Luther Strange of Alabama, he said, “Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind,” he wrote. “That debate should be encouraged—in classrooms, public forums and the halls of Congress.”

Mr. Trump once tweeted that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive.” Mr. Trump followed up during the campaign with his “America First Energy Plan,” which would rescind the present (soon past) administration’s actions on climate change.

President Trump has stated he wants to dismantle the Paris Agreement.

So what is the future of climate change and the economics involved? Isglobal warming/ climate change responsible for everything that is wrong with our world as some advocates claim?

Joining host, Dennis McCuistion, to discuss the issues from an economic perspective are:

• Bruce Bullock – Director of the Maguire Energy Institute, Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business,
• Charlene Heydinger – President of Texas Pace Authority
• Kelly Mitchell – Energy Campaign Director, Greenpeace
• Tom “Smitty” Smith – Texas Director of Public Citizen
• A clip from Prager University with Richard Lindzen, PhD – a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Science at the Cato Institute outlines the politicians, media and environmentalists points of view on energy and climate change. Global warming alarmism- according to Lindzen provides these groups with what they most want.

Renewable energy advocates believe that clean energy for the future means shutting down coal plants, building our natural gas reserves and increasing wind and solar technology and use. The panelists agree, markets make better decisions than man does.

Various alternatives are discussed. One program, headed by the Texas Pace Authority, grants loans to business which allows them to make energy –saving infrastructure improvements, e.g., a new roof, insulation, an air conditioning system, etc… The loan is tied to the property, so risk to the lender is reduced, the company saves on utility bills, and the end result, cost savings overall.

Fossil fuel fracking, which some are against at least, have made for new deposits and less expensive natural gas reserves.

Solar energy is discussed as a more cost effective solution. India and China are starting to investigate these technologies. While China is reducing coal consumptions, one billion Chinese do not yet have access to electricity, so innovations will take a long time. Coal is still growing faster than any other energy choice, especially outside the U.S.

All energy is subsidized to a degree. The panelists discuss corporate tax deductions which could help.

Joining in by a previous interview is Robert” Bob” Durden Inglis, Sr., Executive Director, Energy and Enterprise Institute. Their goal is to catalyze a movement among ‘conservatives’ to find answers, a free market one that is eco right and eco left, for more energy for less.

With 1000 people moving into Texas each day, finding a way a way to economically look at what is happening in our own backyards is critical.

P.S.

In response to a question about his views on climate change on Science Debate, Trump implied that the US shouldn’t waste “financial resources” on climate change and should instead use them to ensure the world has clean water, eliminate diseases like malaria, increase food production, or develop alternative energy sources.

“There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of ‘climate change,'” he said. “We must decide on how best to proceed so that we can make lives better, safer and more prosperous.”

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2317 – 01.15.2017