Climate change has a much bigger effect on our health than we realize, and it’s possibly the greatest public health threat of the coming century. This is the opinion of pediatrician Aaron Bernstein, quoted in a recent issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Consider infectious diseases. As the climate changes, birds, insects and other “disease vectors” are forced to move into new habitats. The incidence of Lyme disease, for example, increases as deer ticks change where they live and become more abundant. “Lyme disease is a disease of ecology,” says Dr. Bernstein. “We tend to think that we get infectious diseases from other people, but it turns out that the majority of infectious diseases are diseases that we share with other species.” As infected species move into our neighborhood, we can expect an increase in the diseases they transmit.
The habitats of disease-carrying insects continuously shift to where the climate is most favorable to survival. Malaria, for example, has increased in New York, Toronto, and the former Soviet Union – a new development. This increase is especially significant for children under age five who have little immunity to malaria.
Warmer temperatures produce more air pollution – another example of the impact of climate change on health. Air pollution is bad for everyone, but is particularly hard on children. Children breathe more rapidly, spend more time outdoors, have narrower airways, and breathe through their mouths more often than adults. As a result, children suffer from exposure to air pollution more than adults.
One more example: Extreme weather patterns can produce heavy rains, floods, drought, and cyclones. Any of these can disrupt sanitation systems, elevating the risk of waterborne diseases. Pound for pound, children drink more water than adults, so their exposure to contaminated water is greater.
According to pediatrician Katherine Shea, “We have to move quickly because our window of opportunity to prevent serious, chronic changes [from warming temperatures] is closing pretty quickly.”
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Climate crisis. Health crisis. Same difference.
Have fun. Help the environment. Sell cars.
Sources:
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Rebecca Voelker, Climate Change Puts Children in Jeopardy,The Journal of the American Medical Association, June 3, 2009, Vol. 301 No. 21, p. 2197-2199.
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