2. Identify a broad range of current environmental health problems likely to be exacerbated by climate change. How might existing public health practices be altered to anticipate these effects of climate change? What other key sectors (beyond health) should be engaged?
Current environmental health problems that will likely exacerbate due to climate change include changes in air and water quality, and increase in parasite growth and chemical pollutants.
• General climate change: cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, hypertensive heart disease, and cancer will raise mortality rates.
• Heat stress: most effected are the elderly population
• Air pollution: Photochemical oxidants have adverse effects on human health. Inflammatory eye disease, acute upper respiratory disease, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive ventilator disease, pulmonary emphysema, and bronchial asthma all fall under this category.
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4. What are the potential co-benefits and the potential unintended consequences of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions?
Co-benefits of planting trees to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions include reducing urban heat island effect, reducing local energy demand, improving air quality, and providing an attractive area for physical and social activities. Reducing fossil fuel use in power plants, reduces air pollution. Sustainable community design which includes active transport and transit use, reduces vehicular traffic, and increases physical activity, lessens air pollution, and reduces risk of vehicular injuries and death.
Potential unintended consequences include diversion of foods (corn and sugar cane) from human consumption, by creating scarcity and increasing food prices. Humanitarian food aid could dwindle. Conversion of forests to croplands can increase carbon dioxide levels, and threaten
Global climate change is more than just raising the concentration of GHG’s in the atmosphere, it’s a serious health threat. Dr. Howard Koh, of the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, has stated that global warming is a threat to human health because of an increase in respiratory and allergy aggravation,
Climate change will create a number of health problems in the near future and become a top social issue. Climate will create more smog which will lead to higher rates of and other heat related illness.” Montreal currently has approximately 70 annual heat related deaths, while Toronto has 20. According to the (World health organization,2015). The statistic shows why this has become a social issue because people are dying every year affecting our society. Climate change also affects our world economy. The country is spending a lot of money trying to combat the issue as the country is losing natural resources as well as expected natural disasters are taking place. In 2013 there was an increase in floodings in the Toronto and Vancouver area due to unexpected weather. The clean-up bill came to $1.9 billion — the single most costly disaster in Canadian history — and 90 per cent of it was on the federal tab because Canadians cannot buy flood insurance”(Moore,2015.) As you can see the impacts of climate change leave the government with having to pay massive amounts money when it could be used for other things like creating jobs but that money is often now lost. Climate change has an effect on the environment. The glaciers in the Antarctic are melting as a result of increased amounts of heat now we are losing a part of
The earth’s climate has been changing and will continue to do so in the future. It is only going to keep on getting worse and it is getting to the point where humans will most likely end up in a situation of life threatening diseases and even death. Contagious diseases are spreading menacingly due to weather extremes as heat wave, droughts, cyclones, floods, and tornados (Dhaka). That is just the start of the effect of climate change and its consequences. Many scientists have already warned that millions of people would die in this century because of climate change unless the major reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is made (Dhaka). However, there are more than just reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help solve for climate change.
And with the earth warming up the ice caps melt this can lead to flooding which means less land. Less land means fewer animals and places to grow crops. This means less food for us and over all has a domino affect.
Many doctors have noticed over the past few years that with the warmer climate came more sick patients. According to Document F, seven out of ten members of The American Thoracic Society have reported that climate change has affected their patients. Also, 88 percent of the members said the climate change was relevant to their direct patient care. Many of these patients are thought to have pollen allergies, since pollen season is longer because of the climate change. Also, the frequent forest fires release lots of smoke, which can cause lung problems, including asthma, bronchitis, and chronic lung disease, when we breathe it in. This shows that the climate change is now not only affecting animals and the earth, but it is hurting humans, too.
Another problem is transportation; cars, planes, trucks, and other vehicles emit various greenhouse gases when in use, or when idling. I would create more solar-powered cars, and if possible, wind-cars, or other cars that run using renewable sources. I would also increase the prices of gas, to discourage people from buying it. However, this would be very, very expensive, and the fuel companies would not agree with the
(WHO 2015) It is now generally acknowledged that the global climate is changing as the earth becomes warmer, in particular due to the burning of fossil fuels. Human health may be impacted by shifting the geographic range and seasonality of infectious diseases, possibly increasing vector borne disease rates, disturbance of food-producing ecosystems, and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts, cyclones, floods and bush
First, as I explained above, Earth's water systems will be thrown off balance, that would then alter natural habitats, which will then add various burdens on people and society. Climate change is also a major threat to agriculture; the price that climate change takes on agriculture is nearly infinite and unpredictable, and as a result, our food security is at risk. All over the globe, farmers are struggling to keep up with the constantly changing weather and increasingly unstable water supplies. Along with agricultural loss, warmer and polluted air affects our health and increases smog – a commonly known lung irritant and a main cause of asthma attacks. Severe summer heat will also mean more deaths during heat waves. Infrastructure and transportation are also at risk; because intense weather damages: infrastructure, puts heavy burdens on electrical supplies, and disrupts how we travel and commute.
The most significant global health issue in the United States (U.S.) and one that poses the most danger is climate change. Climate change is a major global health issue that many of us do not understand, do not take seriously, nor do not consider to be a major health concern. The link between global health and climate change has been confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a risk to the health of the population and is now classified as one of the greatest health risks of the 21st century (WHO, 2016). Climate change is not just a danger to the environment, but a global threat to our health and it must be recognized as an emergent issue as our climate is becoming altered progressively faster than expected.
function of reducing greenhouse gas as well as its extensive economic impacts on a range
May, S. (Ed.). (2011, October 26). What Are Climate and Climate Change? Retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-58.html
The influences of weather and climate on human health are significant and varied. Exposure to health hazards related to climate change affects different
In this 21-century climate change is becoming worse and worse. There is water levels are rising, animals in cold areas are starting to die because of the rises temperatures, and humans' health is being at risk, why because of human activities. The activities that humans mostly do is burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
Climate change is a challenge facing our planet right now. Long-term effects may develop as a result, causing threats to natural resources, human health, and the economy. The concern is rising with the amount of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases in our delicate atmosphere.
Rettner, Rachael. "5 Ways Climate Change Will Affect Your Health." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 22 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 July 2015. Rettner has posted in a website five different ways climate change will affect your health. He explains the different health issues that have affected human beings due to the climate changes. Rettner elaborates on the health issues by providing the science behind it. Diseases are increasing and deserts are being extended every year.