You just gotta love the phrase “unprecedented shift in temperature”, as if somehow people aren’t able to handle climate shifts say, like the difference in average annual temperature between New York and Miami (which is far greater than that caused by climate change), or the fact that humans simultaneously inhabit Antarctica and Death Valley, CA. No, they simply can’t handle such shifts in temperature. The only conclusion here is that for their health, we must stop people from moving to different climates in order to save their health.
Experts assess the impact of climate change on public health
New Issue of the Annals of Global Health explores the health consequences of climate change and doctors urge action to help mitigate risks and prepare for new challenges
New York, NY, March 1, 2016 – Climate change is already having a noticeable impact on the environment and global health. Around the world extreme weather events, increased temperatures, drought, and rising sea levels are all adversely affecting our ability to grow food, access clean water, and work safely outdoors. Soon in some areas, the transformation will be so drastic and devastating that native populations will be displaced and forced to find new homes as environmental refugees. In a review published in the Annals of Global Health, doctors warn of the impending public health crisis brought on by climate change and call for action to help prepare the world for what is ahead.
As we begin to experience an unprecedented shift in temperature, we are starting to see the immense impact climate change will have on people around the world, especially those living in low-income countries. Bearing the brunt of the damage caused by climate change, low-income nations are especially susceptible because their economies often rely solely on agriculture and most do not possess the resources to ease the risks posed by climate events.
Low-income countries contribute just a tiny fraction of greenhouse gases (GHG), yet, they stand to lose the most if something is not done to curb emissions. In 2004, the United States, Canada, and Australia approached 6 metric tons (mt) of GHG per capita, while per-capita GHG emissions in low-income countries was only 0.6 mt overall.
“As global temperature increases, rich countries’ economies continue to prosper, but the economic growth of poor countries is seriously impaired,” explained co-author Barry S. Levy, MD, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine. “The consequences for economic growth in poor countries will be substantial if we continue on a ‘business-as-usual’ path of increasing carbon dioxide concentrations and rapid climate change, with poor countries’ mean annual growth rate decreasing from 3.2% to 2.6%.”
The adverse health effects of climate change will be broad and will tax public health resources globally. Vector-borne diseases, foodborne and waterborne illnesses, malnutrition, respiratory and allergic disorders, heat-related disorders, collective violence, and mental health problems will all likely increase due to climate change. Already vulnerable populations including the poor, minority groups, women, children, and older people will face the greatest challenges brought on by climate-caused illness. Malaria, Rift Valley fever, tick-borne encephalitis, and West Nile virus disease are spreading due to climate change.
Along with minority populations and poor people, women are more vulnerable to the health consequences of climate change. Co-author investigator Jonathan A. Patz, MD, MPH, Director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison explained, “There are many ways in which climate change disproportionately affects women, including and especially adolescent girls. In low-income countries, women and adolescent girls generally assume primary responsibility for gathering water, food, and fuel for their households. Climate change-induced droughts make this work much more difficult.”
Because the challenges presented by climate change disproportionately affect already vulnerable groups, investigators warn that caution must be exercised when trying to manage the effects of climate change. “International organizations and governments at the national, state/provincial, and local levels should ensure that human rights are considered in developing and implementing mitigation and adaptation measures,” noted Dr. Levy. “Nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations need to hold governments accountable in protecting and promoting these human rights.”
Positive progress on this front emerged last December in Paris from the UN Conference of the Parties (COP21) on climate change. World leaders gathered there agreed to establish a $100 billion fund to pay for both energy development as well as damages already incurred by poorer nations. “The agreement, which included the concept of ‘damages,’ clearly shows a recognition of the imbalance between industrialized nations that have caused climate change and those countries already bearing the brunt of extreme weather impacts,” said Dr. Patz, who attended the Paris meeting.
Now is the time to address these issues and determine proper plans of action. In this issue ofAnnals of Global Health, “Climate Change, Global Health, and Human Rights,” guest editor Holly G. Atkinson, MD, Program Director of Human Rights, Arnhold Institute for Global Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explained, “In many places around the globe where upheavals are occurring, public health systems have broken down. As a consequence, for example, we have witnessed the resurgence of polio–an ancient disease almost eradicated in 2012. Despite the evidence, many people remain substantially uninformed about the link between climate change and global health.”
Public health problems resulting from climate change continue to increase, and yet, we are slow to react. With the most vulnerable populations among us set to sustain the most damage, this review in the Annals of Global Health urges swift and decisive action to protect poor people, women, children, older people, and other vulnerable populations from the health consequences of climate change now and in the future.
“The global climate crisis threatens most people and their human rights,” concluded Dr. Patz. “The adverse consequences of climate change will worsen. Addressing climate change is a health and human rights priority, and action cannot be delayed. Mitigation and adaptation measures must be equitable, respecting, protecting and promoting human rights.”
###
Good Greif.
The little ice age was at worst 0.8°C cooler than the 1950-1980 reference period according to wiki.
During this period you suggest that famine occurred people died by the million. It’s only -0.8°C.!!
You now suggest that +2°C is nothing to fear! I’s sure that during the LIA the temperatures still changed by 25C+ during the year. This does not mean the 0.8C was OK
What about the increased precipitation. What about the increased energy available for storms. What about those countries struggling with high temperatures now???
Just because the UK Canada Greenland etc will become nicely warm does not mean that others will not suffer!!
Yes, we do say so, because temperatures have been that warm in the past and life flourished. Also look at this mythical “Global Warming” that really is more accurately termed “subarctic to arctic warming”. There are not any real changes to the tropics because the water cycle keeps temperatures regulated to somewhere in the low 30s C. Most of the effect noted in this is the sub-arctic winter night time lows being -30C instead of -35C.
It is only scary when you intentionally and incorrectly (avoiding the “f” word to prevent sin binning the comment) smear those changes across the entire planet and imply that everywhere is going to fry when the data actually says that some frozen and near frozen places won’t be quite as brutally cold.
And your belief that +2C increase is even possible is based on what?
Sergei, your -0.8C implies that outside the LIA climate is rock steady with no variation at all (or no more than 0.8C). It also implies that all recovery from the depths of the LIA has amounted to no more than 0.8C. If that’s the whole of it, where are the panicking alarmists getting 2C from? Why are they panicking at all? What is the doom and gloom all about? (Rhetorical question, that one.)
Perhaps check sources outside of wiki?
Oops! I should say rhetorical questions all of them! 🙂
Climate Alarmism on steroids, we are in a “global climate crisis”
This is true. The greens and other liars have pushed this issue to the point that millions of people have been adversely effected by the idiots “cure” for a non-existent problem.
The “global climate crisis” is the attempted dismantling of industrial society to reduce man’s tiny contribution to a trace gas that has nothing or almost nothing to do with climate anyway.
Liars all.
“women are more vulnerable to the health consequences of climate change.”
Do they really want to go there?
I thought liberals abandoned the “women are delicate creatures who must be protected” line, decades ago?
The biggest problem that we face in the modern era, is that it is now clear to everyone with a degree in a technical or scientific area that there is big money available to anyone willing to spout endless horseshit about a fantastical and delusional apocalyptic transformation of the world.
The money is there for anyone willing to lie with a straight face, or to sign their name to a few very dodgy “scientific” papers. Or to anyone willing to pretend that they have created a new “breakthrough” renewable power source, even though they obviously haven’t.
Governments have total gullibility and near infinite ability to print more money.
Governments want this apocalypse to be real. And they want to appear to be saving us from it.
Any crook who wants the money and is happy to lie for a living can run a sc&m of this sort and consequently get the big house and adoring friends.
It’s getting harder and harder for people to resist this path to riches.
Where in the world is any of this happening? Answer: it isn’t, not at any levels different from the past, and arguably less. So how can anyone make such patently false claims with a straight face? Do they assume that the ignorant rube taxpayers will take pronouncements for truth, even if they contradict their own experience? Clearly it is just the Big Lie once again:
/Mr Lynn
“Where in the world is any of this happening? Answer: it isn’t, not at any levels different from the past, and arguably less. So how can anyone make such patently false claims with a straight face?”
Oh, I don’t know.
But – just a guess.
Maybe they go out and do research on things.
For you to rubbish.
Because “it isn’t”
Oh, if you say so – and that’ll make a good paper for a journal.
Not very long and short on evidence overall but decisive at least.
Seen for yourself have we.
Sat in your basement.
Here you go:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/climatic-phenomena-pages/extreme-weather-page/
/Mr Lynn
From minus 35 degrees Centigrade in the winter to plus 42 degrees in the summer is a typical annual change where I live. Two degrees Centigrade by 2100 does not alarm me, at all! I’m much more worried about the cooling than the warming.
2″C is an average my friend – it’ll be upwards of 7C in the Arctic, were the ice floats- if there’s any there in late summer by then, and so greatly decreasing albedo.
Why is it so hard for US citizens (apologies if you aren’t) to think globally.
I love it when warmistas demonstrate just how ignorant they are.
First off melting ice has very little impact on albedo, since ice and water have similar reflectivity at such low angles. Beyond that, it’s been shown that melting the ice in the summer results in increased clouds, reducing the albedo difference even more.
Finally ice is an insulator. Melting the ice just means that the oceans are able to vent even more heat space.
TA Says: “What noticable impact is it having? What extreme weather events? What increased temperatures? What drought? Where is the sea level rising so high as to interfere with human endeavors?”
1. The drought in Syria which is at least partially responsible for the refugee crisis in Europe.
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241
2. Massive floods in Pakistan leading to displacement of millions of people and huge impacts of the infrastructure of the country.
“Devastating flooding that has swamped one-fifth of Pakistan and left millions homeless is likely the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change, U.N. officials and climatologists are now openly saying.”
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-flooding-in-pakist/
3. Concurrent droughts and heat waves in the US.
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/37/11484.full.pdf
It isn’t hard to find evidence for the link between climate change and natural disasters.
It isn’t hard to get it backwards either. North Syria and Turkey drought increases with negative NAO, that’s the wrong sign to associate with increased CO2.
Luke, If you looked at the many accurate charts and graphs that are available that will tell you the the climate is not changing beyond normal weather cycles, rather that take what you hear hook line and sinker, you might learn a little and avoid making yourself look so stupid.
Oh really? Please show them to me. The scientific data that I have reviewed all show rapid warming (geologically speaking) over the past 46 years. Even Dr. Roy Spencer acknowledges the magnitude of the recent warming “it was so hot last month that Dr. Roy Spencer of the UAH reports, “Incredibly, land areas outside the tropics in the Northern Hemisphere were a ‘whopping’ 1.46 degrees C above average, 0.5 degrees above any previous monthly anomaly.” This is a 2.6°F warming above the 1981-2010 average — topping the previous anomaly by 0.9°F.”
Here is the url to the article:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/02/3755715/satellites-hottest-february-global-warming/
Try any historical data base, plus the paleological record.
Today’s temps are well within the historical record, even the rate of change.
Not climate change related, but explains what is going on in Syria.
Moscow and Syria ‘weaponizing’ refugee crisis in order to ‘overwhelm’ and ‘break’ Europe, NATO chief says
Vladimir Putin is purposefully creating a refugee crisis in order to “overwhelm” and “break” Europe, NATO’s military commander in Europe warned yesterday.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/moscow-and-syria-weaponizing-refugee-crisis-in-order-to-overwhelm-and-break-europe-nato-chief-says
“Around the world extreme weather events, increased temperatures, drought..”
Of course there’s increased drought in a warm AMO mode, though the increase in negative NAO that drove the warm AMO has nothing to do with CO2 increases, it’s the reverse sign:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-3-5-6.html
It all makes sense now…..it was so hot in February that the pine tree limbs hanging over my house froze, broke off and did $3200 worth of damage to my roof. I finally get it!!!