ThinkProgress - Jeremy Deaton | Mina Lee
From carbon to coffin.
 |
| Click image for larger view. Source Mina Lee |
The dog days of summer were particularly dogged this year. July clocked in as the
hottest month on record, marking the midpoint of what is likely to be the
hottest year on record. With sweltering temperatures came a litany of crummy climate news — floods in
Louisiana, Zika in
Miami, searing heat waves across the
Northeast — with dire implications for human health.
Last year's
Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change
warned that the carbon crisis could undo the last half-century of
progress in public health. And yet, for many, it remains unclear how
climate change could land them in the hospital. Just
one in four Americans can identify the ways that rising temperatures threaten their health.
To clarify that link,
Climate Nexus and the
American Public Health Association
developed a series of infographics that illustrate the connection
between climate change and all manner of life-threatening illness.
[Disclosure: Climate Nexus and
Nexus Media are both sponsored projects of
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.]
Let's
begin with air quality. Climate change is producing shorter winters and
longer summers, extending allergy season. Warmer weather is also
worsening pollution by fueling the formation of ozone. Heat and drought
are setting the stage for wildfires, like the
blaze recently seen in California, which produce smoke, threatening respiratory health.
Rising temperatures are also producing longer and more severe heat waves, like the
scorcher
that just descended on the East Coast. Extreme heat can lead to
dehydration and stroke. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable.
With extreme heat, expect to see more mosquitos. According to an
analysis from
Climate Central,
climate change is extending mosquito season across the United States,
expanding the range of vector-borne diseases, like Zika, which just made
landfall in
Florida.
Finally, severe storms, like the torrent that just hit
Louisiana, are damaging infrastructure, leaving those many of those affected without food, shelter or access to clean water.
The good news is that slashing planet-warming carbon pollution would be a boon for public health. The
Lancet Commission
said that tackling climate change "could be the greatest global health
opportunity of the 21st century." Drastically reducing emissions from
cars, planes, and power plants wouldn't just curb the rise in
temperatures. It would also prevent millions of deaths from air
pollution.
As
the country shifts to clean energy, we can expect big measurable gains
in public health. For Americans currently sweating it out in the summer
heat, that might offer a little consolation.
Links
No comments:
Post a Comment