Does climate change - or the climate crisis - affect health?
When the topic of climate change emerged on the national and global scene in the 1980s, people referred to it as "global warming." Climate scientists, environmentalists, politicians, businesses, and others were concerned with greehouse gas emissions and eforts to limit or reduce them. There was little discussion of links between increases in global temperatures and individual and public health. This article in The Guardian addresses this issue. Should we be concerned about the connection between climate changes and health? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/28/doctors-from-around-the-world-unite-to-call-for-urgent-climate-action
I think global warming and its link to public health should be something we should be more concerned about. Personally, before reading this article I realized that increasing global temperatures would cause more natural disasters but hadn't considered its effect of public health. Increasing awareness about this topic, especially with people who have been fortunate enough to avoid the effects the natural disasters is a great place to start.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that climate change is causing more natural disasters to occur. Unfortunately, the natural disasters that occur do affect the health of people, they are known to cause many injuries and deaths. According to an article by PRB.org(https://www.prb.org/resources/which-types-of-disasters-are-the-deadliest-in-the-u-s-the-answer-is-surprising/), the deadliest natural disaster from 1970-2004 is heat or drought. This type of disaster has taken 3,906 lives between 1970 and 2004. Climate change is causing this type of disaster. One of the most recent events where heat took lives was this last summer in Portland Oregon. At least 3 lives were taken. Fortunately, many people are prepared for the heat but are we really ready to face it more often? As far as we know, the Earth is only getting warmer. Past events has shown that the results are no good.
DeleteI have always believed global warming is directly connected to individual and public health. The consequences of global warming pose risks to public health, especially in recent years. One of these risks includes an increased duration of wildfire seasons and other extreme weather events such as floods and hurricanes. I can also say I have personally experienced the negative health consequences of wildfires throughout the summers from inhaling the smoke from these fires. If I was able to notice these effects, I can only imagine how much worse it would have been for groups that are more sensitive to smoke inhalation (senior citizens, people with asthma, etc.) Wildfires were not as prevalent several years ago as they have been throughout the past few summers, and it has demonstrated the progression of global warming.
ReplyDeleteThe connection of climate change and health is often underestimated. The Guardian article confirms that climate change does indeed affect health. With the recent release of the 2023 National Climate Report, the facts are further indisputable. There has been an increase in natural climate related disasters, such as forest fires. I am from Northern Minnesota and this summer the 2023 Canadian wildfires would prevent me from going outside for literal days on end. Aside from natural disasters, according to the 2023 National Climate Report, the higher global temperatures have led to an increased spread of infected diseases. If the public health concerns were more widely discussed, perhaps there would be increased interest in solving it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a travesty that so few even know about the connection between climate change and health. Many people hear about climate change, and they think that it will never effect them so they need not worry, but this is simply not the case. We are all effected by climate change, and those effects are often much more significant than we think. I am also from a rather flammable place, and in California we have entire fire reasons. In recent years they have lasted much longer and featured far more fires, and it is extremally scary. I also hope that the significant effect that climate change has on health will become common knowledge.
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I totally think that climate change impacts people's health. Not only physical health, but also mental health. With climate change effecting thinks like weather so drastically, it definitely can throw many things out of whack. The unexpected 40 degree weather that has been happening this week after a week of solid 50-60 degree weather was a huge change. I have even felt myself staying inside more and feeling inside my own head. I read this CDC article, as well as the linked sources and I found it very informative. https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/default.htm
ReplyDeleteThere is a medically proven link between health and climate change, one that should be researched thoroughly. One of the relevant results of climate change relating to wellbeing is that more people will be exposed to disease carried by ticks. Lyme disease is just one of the illnesses that these ticks carry, and by far the most dangerous. This Time article illustrates how higher temperatures are causing the ticks to spread faster and infect more people. https://time.com/6262408/climate-change-lyme-disease-ticks/#:~:text=The%20warming%20world%20can,and%20wetter%2C%20the%20better).
ReplyDeleteWhile it's progressive to have the technology to track the ticks, more focused research on the link between health and climate change could serve as a preventative measure that helps us and future generations adapt to our changing planet.
I think that when it comes to climate change, people overlook the idea that it negatively affects the people's health in the long run. Because climate change is a direct result from the burning of fossil fuels, most people do not stop and think about how it could impact them in the future. As stated by the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health#:~:text=Climate%20change%20is%20impacting%20health,diseases%2C%20and%20mental%20health%20issues.), climate change can cause a multitude of problems for humans, including deaths and numerous illnesses. As such, it should be noted that we are only harming ourselves when continuing to use these types of unclean sources of energy. While it may seem beneficial to us to use fossil fuels right now because of cost, the most sound solution to incorporate cleaner energy sources into our society is through slow, methodical efforts. We cannot expect everyone to suddenly give up the fossil fuels they have been using for decades; however, showing individuals the negative impacts and making small little changes will definitely prevent more climate change in the end.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is certainly a connection between climate change and health. As the article mentioned, many organizations from around the world which represent General Practitioners (GPs) have personally seen the link between climate change and health, and urging governments to act on climate change. For us in Oregon, I think we can relate to what the head of a Australian organization representing medical professionals mentioned that this year is predicted to be one of the worst wildfire seasons. In Oregon wildfires have been getting worse and worse, with the worst recently being in 2020.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cdc.gov/nssp/success-stories/Air-Quality-and-Asthma-like-Illness-in-Oregon-During-Wildfires.html
This is a link to a CDC study which analyzed the impact of these wildfires on Oregon's public health. It finds that there was a 25% statewide increase for people seeking help for asthma like symptoms during the wildfires. It also finds that the public health outcomes were disproportionally borne by minority communities, as Hispanic and Latino saw increases of 30%.
I truly believe that the climate crisis has a direct effect on people’s health. Sure, there have noticeably been more natural disasters, causing many harm. But the everyday effects on human health, in my opinion, have been neglected. I am glad there are doctors and researchers noticing this, especially with the heat waves of the past few years. I have lived in Washington and Oregon my entire life, and I have never experienced summers as hot as the ones recently. I frequently listen to the NYT podcast The Daily, and an episode I listened to this summer talked about not only the health effects of these heat waves on people, but the financial effects on the economy. I find it ironic that big corporations are the ones primarily driving up emissions, yet the Daily reporter found that the US has had 100B dollars in economic loss each year due to heat making both indoor and outdoor workers, because things like sluggishness, lack of productivity, and higher chances of making mistakes. When humans are frequently exposed to these heat waves, employers are literally losing money. If companies could not only protect their workers in those heat waves, but also focus on the root of the problem, then things could start to happen. The podcast also discusses the science of extreme heat on the body, and how it actually renders the body’s defenses against heat (sweating, increased blood flow) useless. I would really recommend this episode and the Daily in general.
ReplyDeleteThe episode is called “Lives, Livelihoods, and the High Cost of Heat” from the Daily, August 10, 2023.
I think I was lucky in the way that I learned about the connection between climate change and health. Health is a very broad topic for a reason, and that is because climate change is affecting not only the health of the planet, but also the health of humans. One major way that health is being affected is within the air quality. Pollutants are being released into the atmosphere at such a staggering rate that air quality is suffering. The increase in global climate is also causing a lot of fires such as the one in Maui recently or the fires in California that are happening more and more frequently. These fires are also affecting the air quality which is causing major health issues for all people especially those who have underlying health issues. We need to come up with a solution fast or the planet and all of its inhabitants will continue to suffer from worsening health issues.
ReplyDeleteI think it was fascinating to see how the narrative of climate change an health has changed since the 1980's. I think that shifting the narrative from environmental consequences to the underlying health implications is a necessary step in understanding the complex nature of climate change. I think the health implications of climate change is not only physical but also a deeply mental issue. I think the apocalyptic nature of this issue makes it very easy to feel sad or helpless about the issue but the fact is humans have always faced issues like this. While I think we are only seeing the beginning of the effects of climate change I still have hope that humanity will prevail.
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I completley agree with you, as often I find myself feeling hopless when I think about the issue of climate change. I often feel as though I have no personal power to change the situation, and that my life is left in the hands of politicians. I have to remind myself to maintain hope, and that humanity has gone through issues before, so I must keep my spirits held high.
DeleteWe should be deeply concerned about the connection between climate change and health. It's vital to acknowledge the mental health impacts of climate change, which are often less visible than physical effects. The WHO policy brief from the Stockholm+50 conference illuminates these impacts, revealing that climate change intensifies mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Notably, these effects are more pronounced in groups with specific risk factors like socioeconomic status, gender, and age, emphasizing the unequal distribution of climate change's psychological burden. This highlights a crucial aspect of climate change — it's not just an environmental issue, but a comprehensive health challenge affecting our physical and psychological well-being.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend the WHO's Policy Brief on Climate Change and Mental Health for further reading. It offers insightful discussions on these mental health impacts and suggests strategies for integrating mental health support with climate action, crucial for addressing this facet of the climate crisis.
Article Link: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240045125
We should be concerned about the connection between climate changes and health. We should be concerned because doctors have said that they "increasingly see patients suffering from harm caused by climate change." This is alarming because if the doctors are warning us about the harms and effects of climate change on our health we should take them seriously. With the increase in natural disasters. An example is increased duration of wildfire seasons. This is extremely dangerous, not only can people get hurt from the fires and destruction that comes with it but they also can feel it in their lungs with the smoke. This is only the beginning of a big problem and we must try and fix it before it becomes out of control.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think public health is a big factor in advocacy for preventing climate change. Hearing that there are around seven million air pollution related deaths each year is sobering. One part of the article that stuck out was the mention of the Pacific nations signing the letter. It's really sad how beautiful island nations will see their homes physically slip underwater while giant industrialized countries argue about whether or not there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
ReplyDeleteA link to a Time article written by someone from a Pacific nation: https://time.com/6217104/climate-crisis-pacific-islands-uninhabitable/
We should definitely be concerned about the connection between climate change and health. With the growing concern for climate change that also raises concerns about increasing risk to health. If more people knew about this then maybe more people would take climate change seriously. People do not really care until it affects them directly and in the immediate present.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, we should be concerned about the link between climate change and people's individual health. Not only does an increase in average global temperature prompt more severe and common natural disasters, such as wildfires, floods, or storms, it effects our supply chain of food. Take for example, the acidification and rising temperatures of oceans due to elevated carbon content. Acidification and hot temperatures kill essential marine life such as corals, shellfish, etc., which in turn affects the bigger animals and eventually leads to humans having a lesser food source. This shows how effects of climate change that people may not think about will turn around and cause other problems for us personally.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the link between climate change and public health has already become painfully clear. Anecdotally speaking, heatwaves in the mid to high 90s happened about once a year when I was in elementary school and younger, but by high school they happened several times a year. In the fall of my senior year, we even had one heatwave so severe that it hit 115 degrees in San Jose and walking outside felt like stepping into an oven.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the wildfires have become increasingly devastating. Nearly 2 million acres burned in the 2018 fire season, and the smoke that blew south into the Bay Area from the Napa Valley fires that year created such poor air quality that all outdoor sports and activities were canceled and we were urged to remain in classrooms at all times.
Then, the 2020 fire season more than doubled the 2018 record with nearly 4.4 million acres burned, which, for scale, is more land burned than land area of all the Hawaiian islands combined. The SCU Lightning Complex fire hit particularly close to home, burning down the one of my teacher's home and forcing the evacuation of some of my classmates. The smoke from the fires was so bad that for one day in September, it blocked out the sun for most of the Bay Area.
I could go on, but I would be surprised if there were no public health effects from repeated exposure to wildfire smoke. From a personal standpoint, the peak of wildfire season lined up with my cross-country season, which made practice difficult or too dangerous at times and had very noticeable effects on my respiratory system. While we have legislation like the Clean Air Act that has helped to reduce pollution and improve air quality, climate change is exacerbating the issue of wildfires and undoing the progress we have made to cleanup the air and improve public health.
I hadn't given any thought to the personal health effects of climate change until the summer of 2020 when there were a lot of wildfires that then affected the Portland area. As someone with other lung complications, I needed to get an air purifier for my room, and this is when I made the connection to climate change. Climate change causes an increase in natural disasters, especially wildfires, and wildfires can have a negative impact on air pollution (as well as air pollution from burning fossil fuels). This also shows how people in richer countries can afford solutions to the symptoms of climate change. I could afford an air purifier, but not everyone can. Someone else with my same lung complications could not have avoided these effects. This is just one example of a way that climate change affects different countries and different populations differently based on socioeconomic status of that country.
ReplyDeleteWe should most defiantly be concerned about public health and climate change. Climate change is polluting our airs, waters, and foods. Past pollution and looking at physical threats we see increased fire seasons, increased flooding, increased pests and virus spreading. Not only are each of us being put at more of a threat experiencing and being apart of a natural disaster, even this summer I was a part of two back to back in an area that in 18 years of me living there has never had a tornado. You can also look at New York this year who was fully encased in thick smoke for weeks, thank you forest fires. Pollution has been making air quality disastrous, witch effect those with asthma, respiratory issues, or breathing apparatuses. And climate change also helps elongate and worsen forest fires attributing to housing lose and worsening air quality. So yes climate change, every part of it, has been making human health and wellness worse.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should be very concerned about the connection between climate change and health. I was recently discussing the issues climate change and conservation with a peer of mine, and he said, “I think we need to prioritize people first.” I then explained to him how if our world becomes uninhabitable, we won’t be able to live at all. I wish I could have had this article to show him because it proves that climate advocates aren’t just woo-woo “save the turtles” people. Climate change affects us all: it affects plants, animals, humans, microorganisms, and even inorganic cycles as well. Everything on our planet is linked very carefully together, so a change of 1.5 degrees Celsius (which is 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) may not seem like much to us, but for organisms like coral for example, it makes a huge difference. If the cores of our ocean ecosystems die, everything else will soon follow.
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