wombat library's List: Climate Change - Health

chapter 9 - Health impacts

This chapter addresses the societal and the environmental impacts of climate change related to increasing surface temperatures on air quality and forest health. Increasing temperatures at and near the earth’s surface, due to both a warming climate and urban heat island effects, have been shown to increase ground-level ozone concentrations in cities across the U.S. In terms of forest health, elevated surface air temperatures and increased water stress are raising the possibility that forests world-wide are increasingly responding to warming climate conditions, which may lead to widespread tree mortality. The importance of climate datasets is also addressed, specifically as it relates to understanding the observed and predicted changes in surface temperatures at the global, regional and local scale.

Heatwaves are becoming longer and more intense
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2
1.1 The nature of changing heatwaves
3
In Detail 1: Variability in heatwave characteristics
10
1.2 Severe heatwaves in other parts of the world
15
1.3 The influence of climate change on heatwaves
17
2.
Impacts of heatwaves
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20
2.1 Human health
Direct impacts on health
21
Indirect impacts
27
Workplace safety and productivity
29
2.2 Infrastructure
32
2.3 Agriculture
34
2.4 Natural Ecosystems
36
3.
Interaction of heatwaves with other extreme
events and environmental stresses
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38
3.1 Droughts
39
3.2 Bushfires
40
3.3 Multiple interacting stresses on coral reefs
42
In Detail 2: Multiple interacting stresses on coral reefs
43
4.
Heatwaves in the future
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45
4.1 Projections for extreme heat globally
46
4.2 Projections of future hot weather for Australia
49
4.3 Implications of more severe heatwaves and hot weather
51
4.4 This is the critical decade

...According to a recent study, framing global warming as a public health issue rather than as an environmental or national security one produces the most emotionally compelling response among people, since it focuses on the immediate implications a warmer climate could have on people's lives. This strategy also has the benefit of providing a sense of hope that the problems can be addressed and avoided, if people take action early enough. Matthew Nisbet, co-author of the study and an associate professor at American University, says such positive actions are critical for communicating the importance of climate change to a broader and more diverse proportion of Americans who may not care about environmental issues. "It's easy to become fatalistic about the problem," he says. "You have to give them a sense of hope that they can become part of something that addresses the problem."

For example, tying the frequency of extreme weather events, such as last year's devastating Hurricane Sandy, widespread wildfires or the recent summer heat waves to global climate change can help people to appreciate the immediacy of the problem. As people deal with the public health consequences of such events - from floods to contaminated water to heat-related illnesses - the impact that environmental events have on health starts to hit home.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/08/rebranding-climate-change-as-a-public-health-issue/#ixzz2bio7wjZd
...

The Climate and Health Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals from the health sector, and includes health care professionals, health care service providers, institutions, academics, researchers, and health care consumers.

Climate change has been widely recognised by leading public health organisations and prestigious peer reviewed journals as the the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.

A recently released report, commissioned by 20 of the most vulnerable countries, highlights the size of the threat: climate change is already responsible for 400,000 deaths annually, mostly from hunger and communicable disease. And our carbon-intensive energy system causes another 4.5 million deaths annually, largely due to air pollution.

Along with the old and disadvantaged, children are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change. Children suffer around 90% of the disease burden from climate change.

What can our children expect if we continue the way we're going?

Even if current international carbon reduction commitments are honoured, the global temperature rise is predicted to be more than double the internationally agreed target of 2°C. Humanity continues to pour record amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. It has been argued that, if this continues, reasonable hope of avoiding dangerous climate change will have passed us by in a mere 16 years.

The impact climate change has on children born today may well be decided before they can vote on it....

...177 - Our research findings with respect to psychological concern and distress in the
context of climate change reflected the increasing salience of this health and well being issue
and psychosocial impact considerations, and at the same time a dramatic dearth of evidencebased
findings. (Reser & Morrissey, 2008). Australia has received considerable global
attention in this regard as various framings of psychological distress in the context of
environmental change and degradation have been developed here, in a variety of contexts
(Albrecht, 2005, 2011) and have recently been applied to the threat and impacts of climate
change (e.g., Fritz et al., 2008; Searle & Gow, 2009; Higginbotham, Connor, & Baker, 2012;
Reser et al., 2011). A challenge and distinguishing feature of our own research in this
context of distress has been that our immediate focus has been less diagnostic, treatment, or

Australian society is reliant on fossil fuels
and it's costing us billions annually. For
example:
* Coal-fired power in Australia burdens
the community with a human health
cost-from lung, heart, and nervous
system diseases-estimated at $2.6
billion annually. 2,3
* The annual health cost of pollution
from cars, trucks and other modes of
fossil-fuelled transport is estimated
at around $3.3 billion.4 In Australia,
air pollution is estimated to kill more
people every year than the road toll....The development of a national strategy
for health in relation to climate change is
needed to help manage the risks to people's
health and to promote health through
emissions reductions.The public policy
response should include the development
of integrated strategies to reduce emissions
and improve health across the energy,
transport, housing, and food and agriculture
and land use sectors....Energy efficiency offers the cheapest
emissions abatement opportunities, and
reductions can be achieved quickly using
existing technology.96 Changes to building
and urban design can reduce health risks
by mitigating against the urban heat island
effect (i.e. higher relative temperatures in
metropolitan areas due to heat absorption by
building materials), and help accrue financial
savings over time.97
Many emissions reduction strategies in
homes and buildings that also provide
good household ventilation can improve
health and wellbeing98,99 and reduce health
risks, particularly among elderly people and
very young children.100 Through minimising
fluctuations in temperature, improving
the energy efficiency of buildings can
lead to reductions in premature deaths
as well as reduce the incidence of heart
disease, asthma, respiratory diseases and
strokes.101,102
The enhanced housing comfort that comes
from being consistently warmer or cooler
due to energy efficiency measures such
as insulation is also associated with better
mental health.103,104
Introducing or expanding parks, gardens,
and other green spaces around homes
and buildings can
reduce energy
use (cutting
emissions
as well as
costs)
and air
pollution,
as well as
provide
important
physical and
mental health
benefits.105
Research shows people living
in urban areas have a more
positive outlook on life and higher life
satisfaction when they have access to natural
environments.106 Exposure to nature is also
associated with an ability to cope with and
recover from stress, and recover from illness
and injury....Exposure to natural environments is
demonstrated to have important physical
and mental human health benefits.127
Contact with nature can reduce the risk
of disease, improve general wellbeing
(including mental health and emotional
resilience), and increase longevity.

Background

Climate change is taking a toll on human health, and some leaders in the public health community have urged their colleagues to give voice to its health implications. Previous research has shown that Americans are only dimly aware of the health implications of climate change, yet the literature on issue framing suggests that providing a novel frame - such as human health - may be potentially useful in enhancing public engagement. We conducted an exploratory study in the United States of people's reactions to a public health-framed short essay on climate change.

p. 119 Impact of heatwaves...people in heatwaves