Health Repercussions from Climate Change: What We Can Do
Climate change not only damages the natural environment, but also leads to negative repercussions for your health, according to a review of data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Sept. 22, 2014.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin (UW) predicted that if current weather trends continue, health problems related to the environment could become more severe. The results derived from the team’s analysis of more than 250 abstracts and government reports related to climate change and health from 2009 to 2014.
“Climate change already affects global health,” says Jonathan Patz, MD, director of the UW-Madison Global Health Institute and lead author of the study. “The good news is that clear health remedies are immediately available.”
Heat-related problems. The UW team predicted that by 2050, many U.S. cities east of the Rocky Mountains would have double, or even triple, the current number of days when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees. New York City alone is expected to see an increase from 13 to 39 days. This would lead to a rise in heat-related health problems, such as depression and dementia from heat stress, more cases of kidney stones caused by dehydration, and a spike in heat-related fatalities.
Warmer weather also means more moisture in the air, which leads to heavier-than-normal rainfall and subsequent regional flooding. These events inevitably lead to negative health impacts and disease from contaminated water supplies. Vector-borne diseases, such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease, and dengue, which are transmitted by mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks, also tend to worsen when the weather warms.
Industrial fallout. Unchecked chemical emissions from cars and heavy industry would mean more days when fine particulate matter in the air exceeds Environment Protection Agency (EPA) health standards. This can inevitably lead to an increased number of cases, and severity, of asthma and other breathing-related disorders, says the study.
What we can do together. The news is not all gloom and doom. The researchers noted that adopting new environmental practices, and continuing existing ones can help hold the global thermostat in check. Such practices include:
- Designing more environmentally sustainable cities
- Consuming less meat
- Promoting walking or biking to work to reduce carbon emissions and lower incidence of obesity and diabetes
The researchers estimated that if cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Phoenix invested in more square acres of tree canopy and reduced their use of heat-absorbing surfaces, like asphalt and concrete, heat-related mortalities could decline by 40 to 99 percent.
Stronger emission standards for cars and factories can further reduce exposure to environmental pollutants, as well as lower the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere that contributes to higher temperatures.
Individual action. But individuals can take action on their own, by adopting habits that can help both the climate and their health at the same time.
For instance, following a more vegetarian and vegan-based diet can help lower mean greenhouse gases because meat and dairy production have a carbon-heavy footprint. In fact, greenhouse gases emitted in support of a red meat diet are nearly twice that of vegetarian diets. If personal consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs were cut in half, greenhouse gas emissions could decrease by 25 to 40 percent, according to the report. This also equates to 40 percent less saturated fat intake, which reduces the risk of heart disease.
The post Health Repercussions from Climate Change: What We Can Do appeared first on University Health News.
Read Original Article: Health Repercussions from Climate Change: What We Can Do »
Powered by WPeMatico
