The first DDP Edward Teller Award for an outstanding Defender of Freedom was conferred posthumously on Petr Beckmann at the 11th annual meeting, held August 13-15, 1993, in Oakland, California.

Petr Beckmann died on August 3, 1993, shortly after completing the last issue of the 20th volume of Access to Energy, the Pro-Science, Pro-Technology, Pro-Free Enterprise Monthly Newsletter that unflinchingly exposed the scientific frauds of our day to the searing light of truth.

Dr. Teller's banquet address is printed in the October, 1993, issue of Access to Energy (P.O. Box 1279, Cave Junction, OR 97523).

This summer's devastating floods, combined with the recent mania for ``wetlands'' protection and pesticide restrictions, raises the specter of renewed threats due to arthropod-borne diseases.

According to William Hazeltine, who spoke at the 11th annual meeting, encephalitis is one potential (and potent) threat.

Many types of encephalitis are carried by mosquitoes. These diseases are usually named for the location where the virus was first isolated or the disease diagnosed. Examples are Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE), St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE), Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), California Encephalitis (CE), LaCrosse Encephalitis (LaC) and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE).

Accurate diagnosis is a problem because confirmation depends on an increase in antibodies for specific antigens and is thus not possible until 4 to 6 weeks after the onset of symptoms. Veterinarians can usually make a quicker diagnosis in horses infected with WEE or EEE. Death frequently occurs in horses which are not vaccinated. Before the availability of a vaccine, horse deaths were used as an index of viral prevalence. Human vaccines are available only for laboratory workers, as an experimental drug.

To overcome the problem of delayed confirmation of human disease, control workers examine collections of mosquitoes and blood samples from domestic and native birds. When virus is found, physicians can be alerted. After humans recover from the acute phase of infection, there is no incentive for the physician to take another blood sample, so diagnoses are seldom confirmed. Since the Bean Counters want numbers of confirmed diagnoses before supporting preventive measures, warning and prevention may be unduly delayed.

Mild cases may be diagnosed as ``aseptic meningitis'' or passed off as ``influenza.'' Some persons may have few symptoms. There may be as many as 100 cases of infection for every one that is accurately diagnosed and confirmed. Severe nonlethal cases may result in irreversible neurologic damage (mental retardation, paralysis, and seizures), especially in children. Mortality due to EEE approaches 80% if overt encephalitis occurs. There is no specific treatment.

The Midwest is at risk in the wake of the floods. In addition, there is a potentially disastrous level of risk of WEE in Northern California. In Butte County, every sentinel flock has one or more birds with antibodies, and in some flocks, every bird is positive. The high-risk area extends from Sacramento to Redding. Yet in some affected counties, the Health Officer is unwilling to push for the work required to confirm human cases.

RESOLUTION PASSED AT THE 11TH ANNUAL MEETING OF DOCTORS FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, AUGUST 15, 1993

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: Doctors for Disaster Preparedness urges that threats to human life and health be considered an environmental problem and given the highest priority in programs intended to mitigate environmental problems.

During the brief revival of interest in attack preparedness under the Reagan Administration, the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. App. 2251 et seq.) was frequently cited by FEMA officials as the statutory authority. The use of civil defense funds to prepare for other contingencies was permitted by law, but only in so far as it did not detract from attack preparedness.

In spite of the law, former FEMA Director Julius Becton noted a tendency to emphasize ``all hazards but one.'' Aside from ``Continuity of Government Programs,'' FEMA invested very little in attack preparedness. We are aware of the following efforts: the support of five (5) mobile civil defense shelter displays; design of a new dosimeter (years in the planning stage and as far as we know never actually produced); distribution of Civil Defense Speakers Kits; printing of some pamphlets on food storage as part of family preparedness; the use of Cresson Kearny's book Nuclear War Survival Skills in some courses at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC); and a few training courses that promoted civil defense. DDP supported all of these efforts. Our Directors made a number of trips to NETC at Emmitsburg to participate in strategic planning sessions or to serve as instructors (debating PSR or conducting mobile shelter tours on the rare occasion when the latter were permitted). All of these programs either died, became dormant, or regressed even before the 1992 election.

Senator John Glenn is now sponsoring S. 995, which would repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1950 and officially shift the mission of FEMA to an ``all-hazards approach,... with strong leadership and coordination directly from the White House.'' It would also consolidate FEMA's 17 separate grant programs into one. Hearings will be held in late September.

Senator Glenn's vision is still very narrow compared with that of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. A leaked description of President Clinton's Health Care Reform Plan, the American Health Security Act of 1993, lists emergency preparedness as a public health function to be emphasized in the new health system, along with the control of ``indoor air pollution,'' food handling, violence, ``comprehensive health education'' in schools, tobacco use, stress, and teenaged pregnancy. Conceivably, FEMA could be consolidated with the EPA, OSHA, BATF, CDC, HHS, the Dept. of Education, and all other federal agencies into one comprehensive Health Security Agency under the jurisdiction of the independent National Health Board appointed by the President (see analysis of the Act by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, available on request).