Climate Change Affects Public Health

Climate change. Years ago, it sounded like a sci-fi concept. Not a real thing. Even today, some people, including some of our representatives in Congress, continue to discount the scientific evidence that climate change is real.

Unprecedented weather conditions around the world underscore this reality. Nightly news broadcasts pepper us with alarming images of weather events once described as “extreme.” Now they are part of daily life for too many of us: roiling rivers of water that wash away towns, neighborhoods dissected by deep crevices in streets where kids ride their bikes, and young athletes who succumb to heat strokes on high school playing fields.

Respected organizations such as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) now recognize climate change is a public health issue. According to WHO, climate change affects social and environmental determinants of health—clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food, and secure shelter.

Thankfully, courageous health care professionals around the world are speaking up, reframing climate change as an immediate, pressing public health issue. In the October 2017 issue of The Lancet, a highly regarded medical journal, a team of health care professionals described the human symptoms of climate change as “unequivocal and potentially irreversible.” They further stated that since 2000, an additional 14.5 million people have been exposed to heat waves every year. In addition, CDC launched a Climate-Ready States and Cities Initiative, designed to help local health departments prepare for everything from hazardous air quality associated with the rise in forest fires to the spread of vector-borne diseases such as Zika and West Nile, fueled by an increase in mosquitoes and ticks. Stop and let that sink in for a minute.

Now that we know climate change is a public health issue, who is at risk? Those most affected by climate change include people with low incomes, some communities of color, children, pregnant women, older adults, people with disabilities, and people with preexisting and/or chronic medical conditions (e.g., asthma and cardiovascular disease). Unfortunately, many of these same people also are underserved, underrepresented, and too often forgotten.

So, what do we do? We can start by checking the voting records of our representatives to find out where they stand on this important public health issue. Research their public statements about climate change. After all, we voted them in and we can vote them out.

That’s my take. What’s yours?