Melting ice caps, warmer oceans, intense storms,
heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires — all these well-documented effects
of climate change may seem too remote to many people to prompt them to adopt
behaviors that can slow the warming of the planet. Unless your neighborhood was
destroyed by a severe hurricane or raging wildfire, you might think such
disasters happen only to other people.
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But what if I told you that no matter where you live or how
high your socioeconomic status, climate change can endanger your health, both
physical and mental, now and in the future? Not only your health, but also the
health of your children and grandchildren? Might you consider making changes to
help mitigate the threat?
Relatively few Americans associate climate change with
possible harms to their health, and most have given little thought to this
possibility. Even though I read widely about medical issues, like most
Americans, I too was unaware of how many health hazards can accompany climate
change.
Studies in the United States and Britain have shown that
“people have a strong tendency to see climate change as less threatening to their
health and to their family’s health than to other people’s health,” according
to Julia Hathaway and Edward W. Maibach at the Center for Climate Change
Communication at
George Mason University.
Two recently published reports set me straight. One, by two public
health experts, called for the creation within the National Institutes of
Health of a “National Institute of Climate Change and Health” to better inform
the medical community, public officials and ordinary citizens about ways to
stanch looming threats to human health from further increases in global
warming.
The experts, Dr Howard Frumkin and Dr Richard J. Jackson,
both former directors of the National Center for Environmental Health at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that recent climate-related
disasters, including devastating wildfires and a record-breaking hurricane
season, demonstrate that our failure to take climate change seriously is
resulting in needless suffering and death.
The second report appeared just as I began investigating the
evidence supporting their proposal: a full-page article in The New York Times
on November 29 with the headline “Wildfire Smoke in California Is Poisoning
Children.” It described lung damage along with lifelong threats to the health
of youngsters forced to breathe smoke-laden air from wildfires that began
raging in August and fouled the air throughout the fall.
Children are not the only ones endangered. Anyone with
asthma can experience life-threatening attacks when pollution levels soar. The risks
of heart disease and stroke rise. And a recent study in JAMA Neurology of more
than 18,000 Americans with cognitive impairment found a strong link between
high levels of air pollution and an increased risk of developing dementia.
“Our changing climate
will have much more of an impact on people’s health over time,” Jackson said.
People of all ages will develop respiratory allergies, and those who already
have allergies can expect them to get worse, as plants and trees respond to a
warmer climate and release their allergens in more places and for longer
periods.
Infectious diseases carried by ticks, mosquitoes and other
vectors also rise with a warming climate. Even small increases in temperature
in temperate zones raise the potential for epidemics of Lyme disease, Rocky
Mountain spotted fever, encephalitis and other tick-borne infections, as well
as mosquito-borne West Nile disease, dengue fever and even malaria.
Climate change endangers the safety of foods and water
supplies by fostering organisms that cause food poisoning and microbial
contamination of drinking water. Extreme flooding and hurricanes can spawn
epidemics of leptospirosis; just walking through floodwaters can increase the
risk of this bacterial blood infection 15-fold.
These are just a smattering of the health risks linked to
global warming. They are extensive and require both societal and individual
efforts to minimize. Yes, society is changing, albeit slowly. The Biden
administration has rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. General Motors, the
nation’s largest car manufacturer, announced it would dedicate itself to
electric vehicles and other green energy initiatives, and Ford, Volkswagen and
others are doing the same.
Lest you feel you can’t make a difference, let me suggest
some steps many of us can take to help assure a healthier future for everyone.
I assume you’ve already changed your light bulbs to more
efficient LEDs. But have you checked the source of your electricity to see that
it relies primarily on nonpolluting renewable energy sources? Can you install
solar panels where you live? If you can afford to, replace old energy-guzzling
appliances with new efficient ones. And don’t waste electricity or water.
Now tackle transportation. Drive less and use people power
more. Wherever possible, commute and run errands by cycling, walking or
scootering, which can also directly enhance your health. Or take public
transportation. If you must drive, consider getting an electric car, which can
save fuel costs as well as protect the environment.
How about a dietary inventory, one that can enhance your
health both directly and indirectly? Cutting back on or cutting out red meat to
reduce greenhouse gases, relying instead on plant-based foods, is the perfect
start to a healthier planet and its human inhabitants.
Reduce waste. Currently, Jackson said, 30 percent of our
food is wasted. Buy only what you need and use it before it spoils. Support
organizations like City Harvest, which distributes unsold food from stores and
unused food from restaurants to those in need.
Reuse or recycle materials instead of throwing out
everything you no longer want nor need.
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