Global Warming and Health
Christina Payne
Concordia University
Dr. Joseph Costa D.H. Sc., PA-C
MPH 525 Health Policy and Management
Table of Contents
Abstract
Page
Introduction……………………………………………………………..2
Global Warming Facts………………………………………………….3
Greenhouse Gases……………………………………………………….3
Health Effects on Climate Change and Communication……………….4
Communication Process and Entities Involved………………………..6
Framing………………………………………………………………..8
Health Implications……………………………………………………..9
Benefits of Informing the Public……………………………………….10
Fundamentals of Good Communication………………………………..11
Conclusion……………………………………………………………..12
Appendix A…………………………………………………………….14
References
Abstract
Scientific evidence supports theory that the earth’s climate is changing every year. There
is a lot of speculation by many climatologists on how and why it is changing and if humans are
to blame. We can see for ourselves that the earth seems to be getting warmer, the weather is
more severe, and we have seasons that are abnormal. Climate change not only affects our
seasons and environment, but it can have a negative health effect on humans as well as other
organisms. Many studies show the public how climate change will directly affect them, and
what the implications are of their actions. Communication needs to be the key component to let
people know what health issues are affecting the United States. There is a lot of skepticism
about global warming and many people do not believe we are changing our climate by our
actions. We have adapted to these changes over the years, so they are not visible to some, but to
scientists the change is dramatic.
Keywords: global warming, negative health effects, climate change, skepticism
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Global Warming and Health
Introduction
Global climate change is likely to have a significant impact on health in America.
Scientific evidence supports the view that the earth’s climate is changing and global warming is
attributing to this change. The United States is experiencing the negative health effects
associated with climate change. Climate change is brought about by contaminated air, mainly
from pollutants and other greenhouse emissions. Changes in the climate include increased
temperatures, reduced or increased rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, and atmospheric
chemical processes. Unfortunately, some demographics of groups are going to be more
vulnerable to the health effects of climate change than others. The pollutants in the air may
cause adverse health effects such as chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as
contaminate our drinking water and food sources. Climate change is anticipated to have a broad
range of effects on the health of Americans. It is the job of public health professionals to know
and understand why climate changes have an effect on our health. Once they know the
implications, they can communicate the issues at hand through a variety of sources and
organizations. Many organizations are preparing for these changes and surveying the potential
harm that could occur. It is up to these organizations to communicate to the American public,
the potential harm they could be exposed to, and to help carry out an action plan to keep
everyone safe.
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Global Warming Facts
In order to be able to inform the public about what are the potential causes of climate
change and health implications, we must know what the main topics encompass. Global
Warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late
19th century, and its projected continuation (Wikipedia, 2012). The Earth’s surface temperature
has increased .8°C (1.4°F) since the beginning of the 20th century, but two-thirds of that has been
within the past 30 years. There is much speculation about the cause of the increase, but scientists
are more than 90% certain that it is from greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gases are caused by
humans; burning fossil fuels and deforestation (Wikipedia, 2012). Greenhouse gases are not the
same concentration in all parts of the world. There are some areas that have a higher
concentration than others, but none-the-less, it is still harmful for all. The rise in temperature,
have caused a rise in sea levels, expansion of subtropical deserts, and a change in the amount and
pattern of precipitation (Fourth Assessment Report, 2007). Global warming is estimated to have
the most effect on the Arctic, due to glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. It is also estimated that
there will be more extreme weather events such as heats waves, droughts, and heavy rainfall.
Greenhouse Gases
The greenhouse effect is a complicated process by which absorption and emission of
infrared radiation of gases in the atmosphere warm a planet’s lower atmosphere and surface
(Wikipedia, 2012). The main components of greenhouse gas are water vapor, carbon dioxide,
and ozone. Naturally occurring amounts of these gases have a warming effect of about 33°C
(59°F). Human activity is the main cause of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Burning of
fossil fuels accounts for three-fourths of the increased carbon dioxide, and the other one-fourth is
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caused by changes in land use, particularly deforestation. Population growth and gross domestic
product are the main increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuels are plentiful, so they
will continue to be burned for fuel, and with rising grain costs, trees will continued to be torn
down to increase farmland. All these “improvements” have a negative effect on our health as we
will see next.
Health Effects of Climate Change and Communication
Now that we know what factors cause these adverse health effects, we can begin to look
at the health effects of climate change before we can even begin to educate the public. Effective
communication to the public is essential so that pandemonium does not over rule common sense
in the case of an event. We will talk about communication in greater detail in the next section.
Public health officials must first do their homework so they know how to answer questions and
give guidance to those who need it. Education is a key component before communication can be
effective. If public health officials have done their homework, they would be able to look and
see that there are various effects of climate change; direct and indirect as well as immediate and
delayed. A summary of the effects that one must know are listed on Table 1 (Haines &
McMichael):
Table 1
Mediating processes and direct and indirect potential effects on
health of changes in temperature and weather
Mediating Process
Direct Effects
Exposure to thermal extremes
Changed frequency or intensity of
Health Outcome
Changed rates of illness and death
related to heat and cold
Deaths, injuries, psychological
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other extreme weather events
disorders; damage to public health
infrastructure
Indirect Effects
Disturbances of ecological systems:
Effect on range and activity of
vectors and infective parasites
Changes in geographical ranges
and incidence of vector borne disease
Changed local ecology of
water
borne and food borne infective agents
Changed incidence of diarrheal
and other infectious diseases
Change in food productivity (crops)
through changes in climate and
associated pests and disease
Sea level rise with population
displacement and damage to
infrastructure
Biological impact of air
pollution
changes (including pollen and spores)
Social, economic, and demographic
dislocation through effects on
economy, infrastructure, and
resource supply
Malnutrition and hunger, and consequent
impairment of child growth and
development
Increased risk of infectious disease,
psychological disorders
Asthma and allergies; other acute and
chronic respiratory disorders and deaths
Wide range of public health consequences:
mental health and nutritional impairment,
infectious diseases, civil strife
This has been added to show it is much easier to look at a chart than to read the information in
paragraph style. If you make a brochure or pamphlet for the public to use, you are more likely to
get the information across. See Appendix A. In order to educate the public on health effects due
to climate change, you must be simple, but also give the highlights of the problem at hand. If
you give the public too much information or it is too complicated, they will not be able to
understand what it is you are trying to portray. The public health professional would have to
know the above chart plus the following in order to help the public understand the implications.
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For example, the direct effects of climate change would include changes in mortality and
morbidity from heat waves to thermal stress. Climatologists are forecasting an increase in the
frequency of heat waves because of the rising temperature due to climate change (Haines &
McMichael, 1997). We do not know to what capacity humans can adapt physiologically to this
temperature increase, so we would not tell the public this information. The above information
would be too confusing and all the facts are not known. Other direct effects would include
respiratory conditions due to allergens and molds in the air. This is an example of information
you could tell the public because they can understand it and it allows those who have lung
conditions to limit outdoor exposure. We would not go into the facts that tell us some air
pollutants are produced by photochemical reactions and that many other health implications can
arise from this reaction. We would leave this information to the public health professionals. I
think this provides a better understanding on what type of information we need to communicate,
and what information should stay disclosed to the professionals. The next section will go into
the communication process as well as whom we should communicate with.
Communication Process and Entities Involved
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has an action plan that has proven to work in
public health preparedness for climate change. The CDC is ready to lead efforts to anticipate
and respond to the health effects that may arise (Climate Change and Public Health, 2008). The
CDC works closely with other Federal Agencies such as:
a). Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
b). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
c). National Academy of Sciences
d). United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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f). Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
g). National Institute of Health (NIH)
They also work with County and City Health Officials, State and Territorial Health Officials, and
the state and local veterinary officials. As a public health official, there are many federal, state,
and local health authorities that are involved in making decisions before the general public can
be notified about health threats. Once the issue is ready to be communicated to the public, there
are a series of groups that can also help you get the message out. Health care professionals
would be the first line of communication because they are the ones that will be treating patients.
Once they know what they are up against, and how they will be treating patients, community
leaders and decision makers will be the next in line. Effective communication is the key to
keeping these relationships positive and ensuring the information needed to be communicated
will flow up and down the communication line. Each relationship in this particular network of
organizations has its own way of communicating, so that is why it is important to start with the
ones that will be most affected; health care professionals for example. The community leaders
and decision makers can take pertinent information and come up with an action plan prior to
communicating with the public. Building relationships through communication such as this,
allows managers and leaders to stay involved with the most important aspects of public health
infrastructure. This will also build positive relationships among leaders and with the public
(Burke & Parrish, 2011). Public leaders and decision makers use their collective knowledge and
experience to maintain an action plan once a health disaster happens. The next step is to inform
the public; most times this is through the media and journalists. This is where information can
be turned around and “opinions” can become “facts.” The media and journalists can be very
useful in spreading information, but most times there is a degree of bias that goes along with this.
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For example, if you wanted the public to be aware of the risks of heatstroke due to the rising
temperatures, the media might turn that around to say that everyone must stay inside because
they will get heatstroke. These two sentences sound like they are trying to tell you the same
thing, but in fact the first is a suggestion and the second is a statement. Unfortunately this
happens a lot in communication. The media and journalists can inform a lot of people in a small
amount of time, so we have to be very careful of the facts. This is why they are last on the
communication list. Once we have the chain of communication determined, we must make sure
the correct information is given and that it is in such a manner that there are no questions it is
fact and not fiction.
Framing
Climate change strategies are primarily framed by mitigation and adaption (Frumkin,
2008). Mitigation encompasses efforts to reduce climate change, while adaptation encompasses
activities to manage those effects of climate change that are inevitable. This framing aligns very
closely with the public health principles of prevention and preparedness because mitigation seeks
to prevent negative outcomes similar to prevention. Adaption is similar to preparedness because
not all negative outcomes can be prevented, but they can be minimized. The CDC has a current
Public Health Preparedness plan for climate change. They are poised to lead the efforts when
needed, and they work closely with federal and state agencies to reduce complications of climate
change. Along with federal and state agencies, the CDC also follows the framing concept of
adaptation by identifying potential negative health outcomes of other mitigation strategies.
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Health Implications
As we have seen, there are many direct and indirect health implications related to climate
change in the U.S. Climate changes have and will continue to affect our air quality and health
status. Studies have shown that higher temperatures will encourage the formation of groundlevel ozone, which can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung function, aggravate asthma,
and inflame and damage cells that line the lungs (Frumkin, 2008). Altered weather patterns such
as the ones we are currently seeing, could also affect the incidence of food-and-water-borne
diseases. We have already seen a change in precipitation, temperature, humidity, and water
salinity. These factors will only get worse as time goes on and it will affect the quality of water
used for drinking, recreation, and commercial use. Heavy rainfall has also been known to cause
contamination of drinking water treatment systems. This can lead to illness from certain
organisms and bacteria in the water. Fecal bacteria can also increase with larger amounts of
rainfall. Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases have been shown to be weather sensitive. These
diseases include:
a). Lyme disease
b).West Nile virus
c). malaria
d). plague
e). Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
f). dengue fever
The sensitivities of the vectors and animal hosts are due to climatic factors such as variations in
rainfall and temperature, and can also change the seasonality and incidence of diseases.
Although more studies are required to understand all the implications to predict climate changes
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on zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, it is unlikely that climate change will have a major impact
on tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever in the United States. These two diseases
are more prevalent in wetter climates. This is one health benefit of the United States and it
decreases our list of possible zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Unfortunately, new diseases
may be facilitated from these weather and climate changes.
Benefits of Informing the Public
It has been thought that climate change in the United States will only affect our climate.
The reality is that it will not only affect the climate, but it will affect our population. Some
demographic groups are more vulnerable than others, including children, the elderly, and those
with respiratory and certain infectious diseases. Heat waves and extreme weather events are
more likely to cause the most trouble in those with chronic diseases. People with lower
economic status are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events because they are less
likely to have air conditioning (Frumkin, 2008). The home-bound, elderly, poor, minority,
migrant, and those who live in urban areas are also at a higher risk for complications from heat
related and extreme weather conditions. There is such a great potential for certain health
conditions that public health officials need to be proactive in emphasizing the benefits of
communicating these issues to the public. The CDC has a surveillance program to monitor
water-borne, food-borne, vector-borne, and zoonotic diseases. They work closely with state and
local partners to keep these issues at bay and to help protect Americans from these potential
health implications. The CDC, along with federal, state and local authorities put an emphasis on
protecting Americans. They may not be able to change the climate, but their preparedness
programs are put in place to decrease potential diseases and infections that can be caused by
climate changes. We have already seen some of the present day climate changes such as
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hurricane Katrina, hurricane Sandy and many fires that have burned throughout the United States
this year due to the extreme heat and dry conditions. In 1948 at Donora, Pennsylvania, a five
day period of air pollution caused 19 deaths (Bernard, et. al., 2001).
These disasters have
proven that we must be aware of the health effects that climate change has brought about and has
been bringing about, even if there is much skepticism.
Fundamentals of Good Communication
There are many principles of communication needed to get your point across, especially
when there is skepticism on the topic you are trying to portray. For example, there is much
skepticism regarding the topic of how climate change affects our public’s health. If you follow
the guidelines, you are more likely to get your point across and make yourself credible. The
following are the principles of communication (Principles of Communication):
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Know your audience.
Know your purpose.
Know your topic.
Anticipate objections.
Present a rounded picture.
Achieve credibility with your audience.
Follow through on what you say.
Communicate a little at a time.
Present information in several ways.
Develop a practical, useful way to get feedback.
Use multiple communication techniques
You would use this format if you are communicating the potential harmful consequences of
global climate change to communities across America. For example, your audience would first
be other health professionals, physicians, decision makers and community leaders. Once they
are aware, you can notify the public with the help of journalists and media. We know that we
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want to communicate the public health effects of climate change, and we know that if the public
does not know the implications, you could have an increase in infections, diseases, chronic
conditions and even death. When doing your introduction, start with a startling fact on climate
change and health problems that have already occurred, as well as give credibility so you can
achieve this with your audience. As long as you present the information so it pertains to your
audience, is brief, but practical, you should be able to effectively get your point across. This can
be done with public health forums, brochures (see Appendix A), media or news programs. As
long as the entity that is communicating your topic (news, media) is impartial, you should be
able to effectively get your message across.
Conclusion
Climate change is affecting the health of all Americans. We have seen two examples this
year with Hurricane Sandy and the many fires that have burned large parts of the United States.
These two examples should prove that climate change brings about extreme weather.
Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing, which is attributing to global warming. As public
health professionals, it is our job to keep abreast of the changing climate and the implications it
could have on our population. The CDC, along with federal, state and local agencies, is involved
in emergency preparedness plans when we have an extreme weather incidence. Public health
officials must have effective communication with the public to help them understand the human
implications of climate change. Many Americans believe that climate change only affects the
non-human world, which is part of the skepticism regarding global warming and how it affects
the health of Americans. Once an incident occurs, we must also follow a “chain of command”
on which how we need to get the message out. For example, as a public health professional, we
would need to inform health care professionals first. We would then let public leaders and
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decision makers know so they can develop and action plan. The majority of the public would
then be informed by journalists and the media. It is the public health professional’s job to make
sure the information is accurate and believable. We also need to remember to use good
communication principles when informing the public about potential health issues related to
climate change. You must get the audience’s attention so they listen to what you have to say.
Make sure you portray your credentials so the audience knows that you are educated in what you
are speaking about. You need to be brief, but yet give enough information to get your point
across. You must also give the information in different forms and present in such a way that you
can get feedback. You must also expect resistance, especially since there has been much
skepticism in this area. When it comes down to it, we need to inform the public about potential
health dangers that will be brought about by climate change. As public health professionals, we
must know how to communicate effectively to get the message out to as many people as
possible. If we possess fundamentals of good communication, we will be able to help a lot of
people prevent many health implications.
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Appendix A
File has been uploaded with paper, titled AppendixAbrochureChrisP.
References
Bernard, S., Ebi, K.L., Grambsch, A., Romieu, I., Samet, J.M. (2001, May). The potential
impacts of climate variability and change on air pollution-related health effects in the
United States. Environmental Health Perspectives. Volume 109. 199-209.
Burke, B.E. & Friedman, L.H. (2011). Essentials of Management and Leadership in Public
Health, Sudbury, MA: Burke and Friedman. Chapter 9.
Frumkin, Howard. (2008, April 9). Climate Change and Public Health. Department of Health
and Human Services Testimony.
Haines, Andrew & McMichael, Anthony. (1997, September 27). Global climate change: the
potential effects on health. BMJ, Volume 315. 805-809.
Principles of Communication. Retrieved from http://www4.uwm.edu/cuts/bench/commun.htm
Wikipedia. (2012). Global Warming. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_
warming