M12.9 Blog: Climate Change
Climate Change
The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines it as a change
of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity,
altering the composition of the global atmosphere. Human activity includes the
pollution that arises from industrial activity and other sources that produce
greenhouse gases. These gases, such as carbon dioxide, have the ability to
absorb the spectrum of infrared light and contribute to the warming of our
atmosphere.
The
climate change brings many public health challenges including (increase sea
level, increased storm activities, critical changes in agriculture/food
security, increased drought/fires, increase heat waves, decreased access to
water, climate change refugees, and increased morbidity and mortality).
1) What do you
personally find most troubling about climate change?
Personally, I
think that all the public health challenges are integrated with each other in
one way or another but the most troubling about the climate change is the increased
in the morbidity and mortality. As we are witnessing the change of the climate
and this change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of these
events, including floods, heat waves. All of these events can lead to severe
damages and high rates of morbidity (illness) and mortality (death), climate
change has significant impact on the health issues in which the principal concerns include injuries and
fatalities related to severe weather events and heat waves; infectious diseases
related to changes in vector biology, water, and food contamination; allergic
symptoms related to increased allergen production; respiratory and
cardiovascular disease related to worsening air pollution. As the change is related to the events
of hurricanes and storms resulting in death and injury, infrastructure damage,
and increase in stress and anxiety especially in vulnerable population.
2) As a public
health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right
now?
As a public health professional,
we need to respond to the climate change by two ways. First, by decreasing the
effect of humans on the climate change like reducing waste, reduce pollution,
energy saving, use clean energy, be water wise, and reduce the gas emission.
Second, by preventing the injuries and illnesses by having a program to
identify the impact of the climate change on the health and identify the most vulnerable
population. Finally, we need to increase the awareness level among the
communities to take an action and respond to climate change.
3) If you were visiting with a long-lost relative who had
never heard about climate change, how would you describe it and its attendant
human health and ecological threats?
First, I will start with describing how the weather is changed
in the last few decades comparing to the weather before, then I will explain how
the world development and technologies are affecting the environments, then
describing the pollutions from different aspects and how the humans are the
main cause for that, then I will describe the effect of these changes on the
world (environment and humans). Finally, I will mention how the world will be
in the future if we don’t respond or stop our behaviors and impact on the world.
Recourses:
https://health2016.globalchange.gov/temperature-related-death-and-illness
Ali, great information. I think your explanation to your relative is great. It allows them to see the evidence behind climate change.
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