Global warming, the health problem
An article in the Sydney Morning Herald has reported claims from ecology experts that link global warming to public health. Changes to the delicate balance of climates around the world, experts say, could spawn a rise in “diseases transmitted by insects and those borne by water supplies”.
Aside from the potential spread of diseases, health is at risk from a number of different effects expected from global warming, clearly. It is being suggested that the US and other industrialised nations should prioritise global warming as a public health issue. They should also bear responsibility for the negative effects on public health in many of the developing countries that have not contributed to global warming as much and will not have the resources to solve health crises.
“The US and other rich countries bear special responsibility because their climate-warming emissions will have a disproportionate impact on poor countries that emit the least and have the fewest resources to deal with public health problems, said Jonathan Patz of the University of Wisconsin.
“There is … an issue of disproportional vulnerability,” Patz said at a news conference. “But … in the industrialised world, because we live in a globalised economy, an increase in disease anywhere in the world really puts everyone at risk.”
Health hazards related to climate change include severe heat waves and droughts, which can affect the food and water supply; more severe storms; and more ground-level ozone, also known as smog, which is sensitive to temperature and can affect people with breathing problems such as asthma.
“Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing our nation,” said Dr Georges Benjamin, the association’s executive director. “Yet few Americans are aware of the very real consequences of climate change on the health of our communities, our families and our children.”
…
Patz and Benjamin stressed that rising awareness of climate change can be seen as an opportunity to improve public health.
To that end, Benjamin announced a six-month plan to develop recommendations to help public health professionals deal with the situation.
Public health professionals include doctors, nurses, lawyers and health educators. The recommendations are expected to be released in April, Benjamin said.”