There is “a major new report on how manmade global warming is making Americans sicker—and it’s only going to get worse”. The report, released by the Obama administration, involved hundreds of experts in various fields, covering several years. The detached consensus is that “as the climate continues to change, the risks to human health will grow, exacerbating existing health threats and creating new public health challenges, and impacting more people in more places” and “every American is vulnerable”. In typical neoliberal fashion, all sense of urgency seems to have been well contained.
The article linked below from salon.com, by Reynard Loki, lists 9 ways that Climate Change will affect human health. Each area is dealt with in expanded detail along with external links.
- Increased asthma and respiratory illness,
- Worsening allergies,
- Premature deaths from extreme heat,
- More cases of Lyme disease,
- Increased risks of water-related illnesses,
- Increased exposure to contaminated food,
- The largest health impact will be on vulnerable populations,
- Increased risk to health-related services infrastructure,
- Increased mental health impacts.
The overall report is blunt and disturbing, but also provides somewhat of an action plan as “the Obama administration announced … (specific) actions that respond to the challenges outlined by the Climate and Health Assessment”. This is all good, but many are still concerned. Such as “Howard Frumkin, dean of the University of Washington’s public health school, who wasn’t part of the report, (who) said the government isn’t doing enough” and that “there is a vast disconnect between the magnitude of the problem, as outlined by this report, and the response of government health agencies.”
http://www.salon.com/2016/04/16/9_ways_climate_change_is_making_us_sick_partner/?source=newsletter
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