Climate Change Related Health Issues

• After the flooding in England last summer, veterinarians have seen a DRAMATIC SURGE IN THE INCIDENCE OF DEADLY DISEASES affecting pets and wildlife. They indicate that humans are also at risk, as some of these diseases can jump the species barrier.
• Doctors from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario report that the habitat range of DISEASE CARRIERS like ticks and mosquitoes will soon EXPAND THROUGHOUT THE HEAVILY POPULATED AREAS OF CANADA BECAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING.
• A report issued by Stanford University in California, USA has confirmed a DIRECT LINK BETWEEN RISING LEVELS OF CO2 IN THE AIR AND INCREASED HUMAN MORTALITY.
• A new World Health Organization report says that severe weather and natural disasters can lead to a variety of stress-related mental problems and even suicides.
• Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari stated that 150,000 people die every year in the country due to climate change-induced illness.
• Dr. Jeffrey Demain of the University of Alaska explained that climate change was beginning to affect public health in the northern-most US state with more vector-borne illnesses.
• A recent report from doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) states that GLOBAL WARMING COULD INTRODUCE DISEASES SUCH AS MALARIA to the United Kingdom as well as disorders such as skin cancer and sunstroke resulting from increased heat waves.
• Doctors for the Environment Australia have released a report explaining the serious effects of climate change on human health, from heat-related and extreme weather illnesses, to increased allergies and diseases carried by mosquitoes.

Climate Change - Part I

Glacier melts in the Antarctic, which the scientists did not expect to experience the effects of climate change, experienced ice melts as dramatic as the Arctic in this past summer, shocking scientists and researchers across the globe.

After visiting Antarctica’s melting ice sheets in January 2008, Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg states “Alarm bells are ringing. It is irresponsible for decision-makers to ignore these signals.”

Australian marine scientist John Church comments on temperature and sea level gains, saying “observations are in the very upper edge of projections.”

Across the globe, countries are realizing their coasts and cities are being threatened, including Spain, Greece, US Washington state, China and Britian:
"Our winters are getting wetter and warmer, sea levels are rising and coastal erosion is increasing. These are happening now and we must take action." Richard Lochhead, Secretary of Rural Affairs, United Kingdom

With rapid ice melts, Australian oceanographer Steve Rintoul estimates 100 million people living within 1 meter of sea level “will need to go somewhere” to escape rising sea levels.

With warmer weather, diseases currently limited to the tropics are expected to spread to formerly colder areas: Charles Sturt University professor Kevin Parton finds climate change will effect rural Australian populations, stating, “As ‘vectors’ that support and carry diseases, such as air, water, and organic movement, shift in response to climate change, so too will health problems.”

Scientists are also finding that forests and seas are reaching overload, unable to absorb more emissions, which means even more rapid temperature rises.
A British Antarctic Survey study finds that the Antarctic Ocean carbon sink, which has sequestered 15% of global emissions, is saturated. Lead author of the study, Corinne Le Quéré states, “This is the first time that we've been able to say that climate change itself is responsible for the saturation of the Southern Ocean sink. This is serious.” A 20 year long study led by the University of Helsinki finds shorter winters is weakening the ability of northern forests to soak up greenhouse gas emissions. Researcher Timo Vesala who led the study commented, “This means a bigger warming effect.”

Wildlife across the globe are being effected.
US Fish and Wildlife Service states that thousands of sea walruses perished in stampedes as the disappearance of sea ice caused them to fight for limited space on crowded shores. US Fish and Game Walrus Expert Joel Garlach-Miller stated, “It was a pretty sobering year – tough on walruses.” A quarter of US birds are facing extinction due to global warming, and 75% of European birds are expected to see their ranges shrink.

Climate change is already causing increased food prices:
In Australia, University of Queensland researcher John Quiggin found the recent drought had increased fruit and vegetable prices by 40%. He stated “If, as projected, climate change exacerbates the frequency and severity of droughts and other extreme weather events in Australia, the result will be an increase in average food prices and in the frequency and severity of price spikes.”

The last massive extinction took place 250 million years ago. Sarda Sahney at the University of Bristol is part of a team which found it took the earth 30 million years to fully recover. She stated, “Our research shows that after a major ecological crisis, recovery takes a very long time. So although we have not yet witnessed anything like the level of the extinction that occurred at the end of the Permian, we should nevertheless bear in mind that ecosystems take a very long time to fully recover.”

So we must act now! There are plenty of things we can do!

Governments are realizing the time to act is now. A handful of governments are setting highly aggressive goals for carbon neutrality and fossil fuel independence, including Costa Rica, Sweden, New Zealand and Norway.

Below this line are the sources:

More than one-quarter of all U.S. bird species are vulnerable to extinction, according to a comprehensive list compiled by two conservation groups released on Wednesday. Global warming may be partly to blame.

The new WatchList 2007, compiled by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy, found 178 species in the continental United States and 39 in Hawaii in danger.

Of those, 98 are on the "red list" of greatest concern, and 119 in the "yellow" category, indicating their numbers are seriously declining or the species is rare.

Global warming, the loss of habitat to urban and suburban sprawl and the current U.S. administration's policies on endangered species are all to blame, a co-author of the list said in a telephone interview. More Than Quarter of U.S. Birds In Danger

LONDON (AFP) — Global warming could be "catastrophic" for European birds by wrecking their habitat, British conservationists warned Tuesday.

Three-quarters of Europe's nesting birds are likely to see their ranges shrink by the end of the century, the Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds showed.

Rising temperatures could push their distribution an average of 550 kilometres (340 miles) northeastwards, the atlas said. 'Catastrophic' Climate Change Looms For EuropeanBbirds

Alarm bells are ringing about risks of a quickening thaw of Antarctica that would drive up world sea levels, Norway's Prime Minister said on Sunday after a visit to the icy continent. Alarm bells ringing about Antarctic thaw - Norway PM

A study co-authored by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientist warns that climate change could have far-reaching negative impacts on the health of rural Australians. Professor Kevin Parton, Professor of Business (Strategic) at CSU’s Orange Campus, says that the population of rural Australia may be subjected to new or intensified diseases because climate change will alter the distribution of some diseases. This is an opportune time to research this issue. “As ‘vectors’ that support and carry diseases, such as air, water, and organic movement, shift in response to climate change, so too will health problems,” Professor Parton said. Global warming spreads disease

March 23, 2007
A United Nations report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in February projected sea level gains of 18-59 centimeters (7-23 inches) this century from temperature rises of 1.8-4.0 Celsius (3.2-7.8 Farenheit). “Observations are in the very upper edge of the projections,” leading Australian marine scientist John Church told Reuters. Antarctic Melting May be Speeding Up

December 27, 2007
A chunk of ice the size of Ontario melted away in Canada's attic this year and that stunning development in the high Arctic was selected as Environment Canada's top weather story of 2007. On Sept. 12, scientists were stunned by satellite images revealing that Arctic sea ice had shrunk to about four million square kilometres - a 23 per cent reduction from the previous record of 5.3 million square kilometres in 2005. "You can imagine the kind of emotion and shock when climatologists and scientists examined the ice imagery ... and they could see the ice absolutely disappearing before their eyes," said senior climatologist David Phillips.Melting Arctic ice cap top weather story

About 100 million people around the world live within a meter of the present-day sea level, CSIRO Marine Research senior principal research scientist Steve Rintoul said. “Those 100 million people will need to go somewhere,” he said. Antarctic Melting May be Speeding Up

May 17, 2007
Climate change has weakened one the Earth's largest natural carbon 'sinks' raising the possibility that increased warming could reduce the capacity of some systems to absorb carbon dioxide, reports a study published this week in the journal Science. The four-year study by scientists from the University of East Anglia, British Antarctic Survey and the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry found that an increase in winds over the Southern Ocean has "led to a release of stored CO2 into the atmosphere and is preventing further absorption of the greenhouse gas." The researchers say the increase in winds has been triggered by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases and ozone depletion. "This is the first time that we've been able to say that climate change itself is responsible for the saturation of the Southern Ocean sink," said lead author Dr Corinne Le Quéré of University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey. "This is serious." Giant carbon sink is saturated

January 3, 2008
The ability of forests to soak up man-made carbon dioxide is weakening, according to an analysis of two decades of data from more than 30 sites in the frozen north. The finding published today is crucial, because it means that more of the CO2 we release will end up affecting the climate in the atmosphere rather than being safely locked away in trees or soil. The results may partly explain recent studies suggesting that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing faster than expected. If higher temperatures mean less carbon is soaked up by plants and microbes, global warming will accelerate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel peace prize with Al Gore, has concluded that humanity has eight years left to prevent the worst effects of global warming. "This means potentially a bigger warming effect," said Timo Vesala at the University of Helsinki, who led the study. Trees absorbing less CO2 as world warms

"It was a pretty sobering year -- tough on walruses," said Joel Garlach-Miller, a walrus expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In what some scientists see as another alarming consequence of global warming, thousands of Pacific walruses above the Arctic Circle were killed in stampedes earlier this year after the disappearance of sea ice caused them to crowd onto the shoreline in extraordinary numbers. Global warming's latest victims: Pacific walruses

In an ACF-commissioned report, John Quiggin from the University of Queensland says the current drought has led to price rises in fruit and vegetables as high as 40 per cent.
"If, as projected, climate change exacerbates the frequency and severity of droughts and other extreme weather events in Australia, the result will be an increase in average food prices and in the frequency and severity of price spikes," he said. Climate change to serve up higher fruit, vegetable costs

The full recovery of ecological systems, following the most devastating extinction event of all time, took at least 30 million years, according to new research from the University of Bristol. Recovering from a mass extinction

Warning on rising Med Sea levels. The level of the Mediterranean Sea is rising rapidly and could increase by up to half a metre in the next 50 years, scientists in Spain have warned. Warning on rising Med Sea levels

Climate Change - Part II

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead, 1901–1978

If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.
- Betty Reese

In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins. Not through strength but by perseverance.
- H. Jackson Brown

30 % of emissions come from the home in Britain, and 40% in the US. 18% from animal agriculture according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Carbon offset. Visit www.ClimateFriendly.com to purchase carbon credits to off-set your carbon footprint.

Contact your electric utility company and request you be switched to a green provider alternative, for an estimated savings of 7.7 tons of CO2 per family per year.

Host a party with a letter writing campaign to write and post letters to your local, regional and government representatives and newspapers requesting more aggressive action for the environment.

Plant a garden full of native plants, and set aside room to grow food.

Educate yourself.

Reduce Electricity Use In The Home:

• Switching to Compact Fluorescent bulbs or LED’s can save up to 50% of the average lighting costs used by a home each year.
• Unplug un-used electronics to save 11% on your electrical bill.
• Heat only the rooms you use.
• Get an energy audit to find energy leaks.
• Switch to a solar hot water heating system to reduce 3.5 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
• A new energy saving refrigerator will consume 40% less energy than a 10 year old model.
• Insulate your house.
• Put in caulking and window stripping.
• Install double-glazed windows.
• Turn down your thermostat, install a programmable thermostat, and use zone heating and cooling.

Reduce:

• Walk, bike or take public transportation at least once a week.
• Eliminate junk mail and catalogues. In the US, 100 million trees-worth of bulk mail is shipped each year, which is the equivalent of deforesting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every four months.
• Reduce “food miles” by purchasing predominantly in-season, locally grown food. A British government study found food miles account for 30% of commercial transportation.
• Shop frugally and repair shoes, clothes and household items.
• Buy minimally packaged items.
• Reduce Foot Print
• “Please eat less meat -- meat is a very carbon intensive commodity,” says Rajendra Pachauri, Chief of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• Producing a kilogram of meat generates 36.4 kilograms of CO2.
• A plant-based diet reduces energy consumption by 75%.
• Eating less meat would save emissions, like driving a Prius
• Lifestyle changes can curb climate change: IPCC chief

Reuse:

• Buy recycled paper and other products.
• Use rechargeable batteries and refillable containers.
• Use cloth bags instead of plastic ones, which can take 400 years to decompose.

Recycle! Britian’s Recycle Guide states that recycling:

• one tin can would save enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
• one glass bottle to save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
• one plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60 Watt bulb for 3 hours.
• recycle paper reduces energy needed for paper by 70%.
• Recycling Guide