The Policy Process I : Background Briefing Essay

Climate change is the most serious issue humankind is facing in the 21th century. Future generations depend on our ability to make the necessary social changes, before reaching the tipping point of irreversibility, which will lead the planet into a catastrophe incompatible with life.

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.

From the shores of Easter Island all the way to the catastrophic world environmental events like Hurricane Katrina and extreme drought, the world and the environment has been facing unparalleled effects from climate change that have only continued to reach further extences. Climate change is rising up to be one of the key security threats in the 21st century for not only America but also all across the globe. Climate change threatens to go against

With the rise of calamitous news regarding extremists groups taking over certain states, countries threatening to go to war, and viruses spreading throughout the world; the outlook of humanity does not look good. In addition to these dire headlines is the matter of climate change, which, unfortunately, is not as alarming to the public eye. Nonetheless, climate change is a pressing matter as it will impact every facet of society from economy to even human survival. Perhaps the general public find climate change as a vapid subject because of its nature to react belatedly to human activity, and how it is often represented with numbers, graphs, and projections; things that are not compelling to those that do not understand its importance. Even

One of the most unique aspects of climate change is its ability to impact every person in every nation across the world. Its omnipotent presence calls for, what I predict will be, the largest global initiative and

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.

In these three articles, it is said that the “The introduction of public health-related policies may be a few years off, as most efforts are currently focused on research, planning, and communication between federal and state agencies” (The Baffling Nexus of Climate Change and Health). This shows that we need to take into account that things are changing and we may not have any control over but we need to look out for the well-being of people in today's society. For example, infectious diseases, waterborne and foodborne pathogens are all public health concerns and can be affected by climate change. We can do anything about climate change it’s essentially out of our hands and nevertheless, it is something that we need to focus on because it is causing detrimental results to all of us globally. The West Nile virus is a good example because it refers to a particular region in Uganda and is now

*Today, we as human beings are witnessing problematic issues throughout the world that are effecting mankind. Everything from racism, to world poverty, and even radicalize terrorism just to name a few. But outside of the scientific world, many of us fail to understand the long-term effects that global warming and climate change could have on us throughout the world. After observing the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, I truly did not take into account personally, how important this whole concept is. But after taking this class and researching further and further into the topic, I now understand the severity of it all. There are various reasons that exists that are pertinent towards why this topic is highly important to all of humanity. Two of these evidences lie in the severity of hurricanes, and the potential increase droughts and heat waves.

It is also about the significant and costly effects on our communities, our health, and our climate. According to the introduction about this article, the word "climate change" is a change that persists over a sustained period of time in the climate. If this climate change will not be lessened then many expectation about the natural effects will spread each day. Climate change is a hot issue in our society because due to my research about it many countries especially Antarctica is suffering about the temperature caused by the global warming which is the effects of human

The weather and climate change play a detrimental role in society’s health. A lot of people have argued back and forth about the affects that climate change has on society. Some people have thought it has affected us negatively while others thought differently.

Global climate change transcends the future of the entire generation. Yunjing Wang mentions that the world is expecting warming that could be dangerous throughout the century (Wang et al., 2015). Not only effecting species of animals but also determining the presence of human existence. New diseases prevail on a daily basis specifically vector borne. These vector borne illnesses adapt to climate change due to temperature fluctuations, constant precipitation, and population adjustments. Although diseases such as Malaria and Zika are being researched on a daily basis, preventative measures for diseases caused by climate change are being acted upon by many organizations. If a steady climate can arise in the near future, virulence of many climate-related diseases will eventually decline.

Furthermore, the people mostly affected by the climate change are the ones that are most vulnerable due to their socio-economic status. As a result, the poorest and most under-privileged populations are not only most susceptible to being at risk for climate change-related diseases but they also often contribute to the environmental decline by unknowingly participating in activities that result in the destruction of the planet. Therefore, I felt that focusing on the health/environment issues would be a viable solution to address many of the global health crises. Another strength of my proposal is one of the actions that I would take to address the climate change-related issues, an education of the people affected. I believe that while fighting the effects of the climate change, it is crucial to involve and educate the local communities about the importance of maintaining a healthy environment. While it is beneficial for outside agencies to heat-related in repairing the consequences of the environmental destruction, it seems equally important to educate the locals on how to support their own communities in efforts to lead healthier and more sustainable lives.

A strong argument among scientists exists that anthropogenic climate change is the greatest contemporary global threat to sustainable development in the 21st Century, and that, the risks associated with climate change will become more severe affecting all aspects of human livelihoods (IPPCC 2014, FAO 2013, Shiferaw et al 2014, UN 2015. The ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 signified the importance of the issue to the international community. The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes’ (IPCCs 2007 a,) fourth assessment further focused the worlds’ attention on the imminent dangers of climate change. It particularly highlighted the risks it

According to the World Health Organization, between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress. The increase in global temperature, rising sea levels, and the destruction of ecosystems have threatened

Climate change has a disastrous effect on poor families around the world. For example, children and their parents in Africa who can least afford to cope with natural disasters are facing increased flooding and droughts. And scientists predict that this will only worsen unless steps are taken to stop global warming.