Carbon Blueprints - Human Health Effected?

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GLOBAL WARMING - HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTED?
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DISCLAIMER: As you know, Carbon Blueprints is dedicated to accuracy and truth. This site is allowing this discussion, of which each "fact" must be backed up by research and accurate data, in order make sure we know what is true, what is myth, and what is a lie.

WILL/CAN GLOBAL WARMING EFFECT HUMAN HEALTH :
Global Warming is thought to be attributing to many things, including human health problems. With the additional heat comes exhaustion, added sun rays introduces cancer, but these are only the first of many problems that may come to pass.

Some scientists are raising the alarm that global warming may effect human health. Many diseases, infections, and illnesses of every kind may effect the human race including: foster dangerous outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, and malaria, other "vector-borne" diseases include dengue fever, yellow fever, and

encephalitis, and individual vulnerability (e.g., genetic makeup, nutritional status, emotional well-being, age, gender and economic status). There are other diseases that are carried by mosquitoes, ticks, and other insects and animals that pass on diseases and will flourish in this new climate.

In opposition, other scientists have said there is no way to know if these diseases are caused by Global Warming or if they are just growing diseases that are developing around the world. Each year new diseases form and gain resistance to our medicines and vaccines. To say these are made solely by Global Warming is like saying every sole on every cheap shoe brand is going to crack down the middle, while it is a steriotype and assumed true on many shoes, it can not be recorded true or false but a theory. This is a theory as of now, though it may come out to be true, it can not be proven.

Will these all be spread because of Global Warming? Will they become an international epidemic? Can we overcome these problems? Remember it still depends on the results of this discussion so put in your two cents.

"THEORY" = Prediction for the Future
"MUST CONFIRM WITH DATA" = Data is not in and has not been provided as of yet.

"FACT" = data is in and there is no question.
"CONFLICT" is when both sides have accurate" data but they conflict.

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SIERRA CLUB - Scientists concerned with Human Health during Global Warming

(PARTIAL THEORY, REST MUST CONFIRM WITH DATA)

Doctors and scientists around the world are becoming increasingly alarmed over global warming’s impact on human health. Abnormal and extreme weather, which scientists have long predicted would be an early effect of global warming, have claimed hundreds of lives across the US in recent years. Our warming climate is also creating the ideal conditions for the spread of infectious disease, putting millions of people at risk.

As part of its research the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations sponsored organization made up of over 2500 of the world’s leading scientists, examined the impacts global warming will likely have on human health. They concluded that human induced climate change "is likely to have wide-ranging and mostly adverse impacts on human health, with significant loss of life."

CNN NEWS - Global warming may harm human health

(MUST CONFIRM WITH DATA)

Climatic changes related to global warming could foster dangerous outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever and malaria, according to a report released recently by World Wildlife Fund. Children and the elderly would be particularly vulnerable.

"There are strong indications that a disturbing change in disease patterns has begun and that global warming is contributing to them," said the report's author, Dr. Paul Epstein, Associate Director of the Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment.

ECOBRIDGE - WMO determined that 154,000 people die every year because of Global Warming

(NOT CONFIRMED WITH DATA - The diseases, events, and human health problems were around before there was any talk of Global Warming and cannot be fully attributed to these deaths, some remain though which may have been caused by Global temperature increases)

A study, by scientists at the World Health Organization (WHO) determined that 154,000 people die every year from the effects of global warming, from malaria to malnutrition, children in developing nations seemingly the most vulnerable. These numbers could almost double by 2020.

"We estimate that climate change may already be causing in the region of 154,000 deaths...a year," Professor Andrew Haines of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told a climate change conference in Moscow. Haines said the study suggested climate change could "bring some health benefits, such as lower cold-related mortality and greater crop yields in temperate zones, but these will be greatly outweighed by increased rates of other diseases." Haines mentioned that small shifts in temperatures, for instance, could extend the range of mosquitoes that spread malaria. Water supplies could be contaminated by floods, for instance, which could also wash away crops.

EPA - HUMAN HEALTH

(MUST CONFIRM WITH DATA)

Throughout the world, the prevalence of some diseases and other threats to human health depend largely on local climate. Extreme temperatures can lead directly to loss of life, while climate-related disturbances in ecological systems, such as changes in the range of infective parasites, can indirectly impact the incidence of serious infectious diseases. In addition, warm temperatures can increase air and water pollution, which in turn harm human health.

Human health is strongly affected by social, political, economic, environmental and technological factors, including urbanization, affluence, scientific developments, individual behavior and individual vulnerability (e.g., genetic makeup, nutritional status, emotional well-being, age, gender and economic status). The extent and nature of climate change impacts on human health vary by region, by relative vulnerability of population groups, by the extent and duration of exposure to climate change itself and by society’s ability to adapt to or cope with the change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) concluded:

Human beings are exposed to climate change through changing weather patterns (for example, more intense and frequent extreme events) and indirectly through changes in water, air, food quality and quantity, ecosystems, agriculture, and economy. At this early stage the effects are small but are projected to progressively increase in all countries and regions.

The Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.6 is examining the effects of climate change on human health in the United States. This product is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2008. U.S. EPA, in collaboration with other government agencies, is leading this assessment. The key questions being addressed by this assessment are the following:

What are the potential human health effects of global environmental change, and what climate, socioeconomic, and environmental information is needed to assess the cumulative risk to health in the United States from these effects and to inform adaptations in the provision of public health and health care interventions?

Given the complexity of factors that influence human health, assessing health impacts related to climate change poses a difficult challenge. Furthermore, climate change is expected to bring a few benefits to health, including fewer deaths due to exposure to cold. Nonetheless, the IPCC has concluded that, overall (globally), negative climate-related health impacts are expected to outweigh positive health impacts during this century (IPCC, 2007). At the same time, the quality of medical care and public health systems in the United States may lessen climate impacts on human health within the U.S.

EPA - DIRECT TEMPERATURE EFFECT

Climate change may directly affect human health through increases in average temperature. Such increases may lead to more extreme heat waves during the summer while producing less extreme cold spells during the winter. Rising average temperatures are predicted to increase the incidence of heat waves and hot extremes. In the United States, Chicago is projected to experience 25 percent more frequent heat waves and Los Angeles a four-to-eight-fold increase in heat wave days by the end of the century (IPCC, 2007). Particular segments of the population such as those with heart problems, asthma, the elderly, the very young and the homeless can be especially vulnerable to extreme heat.

EPA - EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS

Extreme weather events can be destructive to human health and well-being. The extent to which climate change may affect the frequency and severity of these events, such as hurricanes and extreme heat and floods, is being investigated by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. An increase in the frequency of extreme events may result in more event-related deaths, injuries, infectious diseases, and stress-related disorders.

EPA - CLIMATE SENSATIVE DISEASES

Climate change may increase the risk of some infectious diseases, particularly those diseases that appear in warm areas and are spread by mosquitoes and other insects. These "vector-borne" diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and encephalitis. Also, algal blooms could occur more frequently as temperatures warm — particularly in areas with polluted waters — in which case diseases (such as cholera) that tend to accompany algal blooms could become more frequent.

Higher temperatures, in combination with favorable rainfall patterns, could prolong disease transmission seasons in some locations where certain diseases already exist. In other locations, climate change will decrease transmission via reductions in rainfall or temperatures that are too high for transmission. For example, temperature and humidity levels must be sufficient for certain disease-carrying vectors, such as ticks that carry Lyme disease, to thrive. And climate change could push temperature and humidity levels either towards or away from optimum conditions for the survival rate of ticks.

Though average U.S. and global temperatures are expected to continue to rise, the potential for an increase in the spread of diseases will depend not only on climatic but also on non-climatic factors, primarily the effectiveness of the public health system (WHO, 2003).

The IPCC has noted that the global population at risk from vector-borne malaria will increase by between 220 million and 400 million in the next century. While most of the increase is predicted to occur in Africa, some increased risk is projected in Britain, Australia, India and Portugal (IPCC, 2007).

Tick-borne Lyme disease also may also expand its range in Canada. However, socioeconomic factors such as public health measures will play a large role in determining the existence or extent of such infections. Water-borne diseases may increase where warmer air and water temperatures combine with heavy runoff from agricultural and urban surfaces, but may be largely contained by standard water-treatment practices.

EPA - AIR QUALITY

Climate change is expected to contribute to some air quality problems (IPCC, 2007). Respiratory disorders may be exacerbated by warming-induced increases in the frequency of smog (ground-level ozone) events and particulate air pollution.

Ground-level ozone can damage lung tissue, and is especially harmful for those with asthma and other chronic lung diseases. Sunlight and high temperatures, combined with other pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, can cause ground-level ozone to increase. Climate change may increase the concentration of ground-level ozone, but the magnitude of the effect is uncertain. For other pollutants, the effects of climate change and/or weather are less well studied and results vary by region (IPCC, 2007).

Another pollutant of concern is "particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM. Particulate matter is a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. When breathed in, these particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Exposure to particle pollution is linked to a variety of significant health problems. Particle pollution also is the main cause of visibility impairment (haze) in the nation’s cities and national parks. Climate change may indirectly affect the concentration of PM pollution in the air by affecting natural or “biogenic” sources of PM such as wildfires and dust from dry soils.

EPA - OTHER HEALTH LINKS

Other, less direct linkages exist between climate change and human health. For example, regional climate change impacts on agricultural yields and production are likely to grow over time, with the most negative effects expected in developing countries. This is expected to increase the number of undernourished people globally and consequently lead to complications in child development (IPCC, 2007).

Climate change may also contribute to social disruption, economic decline, and displacement of populations in certain regions due to effects on agricultural production, already-scarce water resources, and extreme weather events (e.g., Schwartz and Randall, 2003). These issues are likely to be more severe in developing countries, and may worsen human health and well-being in affected regions (IPCC, 2007).