Deaths from Heat Waves, etc.
Some 9 Ways Climate Change Is Making Us Sick, Part 2
From an Article by Reynard Loki, AlterNet, April 16, 2016
5. Increased Risks of Water-Related Illnesses
The nation’s waterways will be increasingly compromised as more frequent and intense precipitation leads to runoff from human and animal waste and agricultural activities, including the use of fertilizers. This increased runoff will contaminate more water, thereby increasing human and animal exposure to water-related illnesses through contaminated drinking water and recreational water, as well as fish and shellfish harvested in contaminated water.
Photo: Precipitation and temperature changes affect fresh and marine water quantity and quality primarily through urban, rural and agricultural runoff.
6. Increased Exposure to Contaminated Food
Rising temperature and increased flooding, toxic runoff and drought will lead to increases in both the occurrence and transport of pathogens in agricultural environments, which in turn will increase food contamination risk and human exposure to certain pathogens and toxins.
The report specifically highlights an increased risk of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), a food-borne illness caused by eating fish contaminated with toxins produced by dinoflagellates, a type of aquatic microorganism. “There is a well-established link between warm sea surface temperatures and increased occurrence of CFP,” the report states, “and thus concern that global ocean warming will affect the risk of illness.”
There is also the issue of lowered nutritional value for some foods, as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide can lower the nutritional value of most food crops. A 2014 study in the journal Nature found that increased C02 levels led to significant reductions in zinc, iron and protein in rice, wheat, soybeans and field peas.
7. The Largest Health Impact Will Be on Vulnerable Populations
The report warns that climate change will have the largest health impact on vulnerable populations, including “those with low incomes, some communities of color, limited English proficiency and immigrant groups, Indigenous peoples, children, pregnant women, older adults, vulnerable occupational groups, persons with disabilities and persons with preexisting or chronic medical conditions.”
The report underscores the increased lack of potable water for certain vulnerable populations:
Lack of consistent access to potable drinking water and inequities in exposure to contaminated water disproportionately affects the following populations: tribes and Alaska Natives, especially those in remote reservations or villages; residents of low-income rural subdivisions known as colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border; migrant farm workers; the homeless; and low-income communities not served by public water utilities—which can be urban, suburban or rural and some of which are predominately Hispanic or Latino and black or African American communities in certain regions of the country. In general, the heightened vulnerability of these populations primarily results from unequal access to adequate water and sewer infrastructure and various environmental, political, economic and social factors jointly create these disparities.
8. Increased Risk to Health-Related Services Infrastructure
The report points out that extreme weather and other events related to climate change will impact health by “disrupting infrastructure, including power, water, transportation and communication systems, that are essential to maintaining access to health care and emergency response services and safeguarding human health.”
Challenges to public health infrastructure and health care could include inadequate resources for monitoring and surveillance systems, research on health risks of climate change, management approaches, training of health care professionals and practitioners and technology development and deployment.
9. Increased Mental Health Impacts
The physical health impacts caused by climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. But climate change has mental health impacts as well. While experiencing extreme weather events like hurricanes and floods can be highly traumatizing, the existential threat and perception of climate change is also a trigger for a host of psychological stressors. The report states:
The effects of global climate change on mental health and well-being are integral parts of the overall climate-related human health impacts. Mental health consequences of climate change range from minimal stress and distress symptoms to clinical disorders, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and suicidal thoughts. Other consequences include effects on the everyday life, perceptions and experiences of individuals and communities attempting to understand and respond appropriately to climate change and its implications.
The threat of climate change is a key psychological and emotional stressor. Individuals and communities are affected both by direct experience of local events attributed to climate change and by exposure to information regarding climate change and its effects. For example, public communication and media messages about climate change and its projected consequences can affect perceptions of physical and societal risks and consequently affect mental health and well-being. The interactive and cumulative nature of climate change effects on health, mental health and well-being are critical factors in understanding the overall consequences of climate change on human health.
Estimated Deaths and Billion-Dollar Losses from Extreme Events in the U.S. 2004-2013
Photo: This figure provides 10-year estimates of fatalities related to extreme events from 2004 to 2013, as well as estimated economic damages from 58 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion. These statistics are indicative of the human and economic costs of extreme weather events over this time period. Climate change will alter the frequency, intensity and geographic distribution of some of these extremes, which has consequences for exposure to health risks from extreme events. Photo credit: GlobalChange.gov
Preparation for the Future Are in the Works, but Will It Be Enough?
While the report paints a bleak picture of the future health of American citizens, it also provides an opportunity and impetus to combat the threats posed by climate change. The Obama administration announced the following actions that respond to the challenges outlined by the Climate and Health Assessment:
- Expanding the scope of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children to focus on the impacts of climate change on children’s health
- Developing K-12 educational materials on climate change and health
- A Climate-Ready Tribes and Territories Initiative, which will provide awards for tribal and territorial health departments to investigate, prepare for and adapt to the health effects of climate change
- An update to the Sustainable and Climate Resilient Health Care Facilities Toolkit, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services
- Designating May 23-27, as Extreme Heat Week, during which federal agencies will take a number of actions to work with community planners and public-health officials to enhance community preparedness for extreme heat events
While these are important initiatives, Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington’s public health school, who wasn’t part of the report, said the government isn’t doing enough. “The report clearly establishes that climate change is a major threat to public health in the United States,” he said, but “there is a vast disconnect between the magnitude of the problem, as outlined by this report and the response of government health agencies.”
Read the entire report. Read page 1.
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