The Medical Prognosis

AMA and the climate health consensus

If you search “NASA climate consensus” you will, at least last night and for the last five years, be able to find the climate consensus of the top US and International Science organizations.  Here is what one organizations says:

American Medical Association

"Our AMA ... supports the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fourth assessment report and concurs with the scientific consensus that the Earth is undergoing adverse global climate change and that anthropogenic contributions are significant." (2013)6

Note by column author: “Anthropogenic” means human caused.

Citizens Climate Lobby is lucky to have many doctors who are actively trying to make a difference, so we can, as citizens, “grab the bull by the horns” regarding climate change. Here is one of our members and medical doctor:

Climate Change will bring Costly Challenges

Mark Cannon, MD. PhD.

The science showing the negative impacts of human-induced climate change is thankfully becoming more and more accepted.  However, the effects of a changing climate on human health are not discussed often enough. If current trends continue, we in Michigan stand to see the emergence of infectious diseases never before considered native to this part of the world.

As the climate warms, the home range for the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus is moving north, and with them we can expect to see more of the untreatable viral diseases they transmit. Dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, and zika cause untold human suffering throughout the tropical world and the societal costs in lost revenue and healthcare are staggering. Indeed, these and other “tropical” diseases are largely responsible for the dire financial situation in many developing countries. Currently, our northern climate is not very conducive to the life cycle of these viral pathogens. However, even slightly warmer winters and an earlier spring foster increases in mosquito numbers, expand their geographic range, and accelerate the development of infectious organisms within the host mosquitoes. Furthermore, modern transportation means people and foodstuffs can travel hundreds of miles in a day.  These factors also accelerate the spread of infectious agents and the vectors that transmit them. If we fail to curb climate change, the new normal in Michigan will include viral diseases that our local physicians never had to consider when evaluating a patient with fevers, muscle and joint pains or strange rashes. As a community we will all suffer from these new health burdens and the financial strain they will put on our local economy.

Aside from warmer average temperatures, climate change means an increase in severe weather events. Flooded sewage systems and overcrowding due to home and infrastructure damage lead to emergence of food and water borne illnesses: Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, Leptospirosis and typhus to name a few. These pathogens cause prolonged illness and even death in vulnerable populations like the very young, old, or immunocompromised. A recent case in point is an outbreak of Leptospirosis in Puerto Rico; but virtually any major flooding event has been associated with upticks in these food- and water-borne illnesses. Severe weather events also put undue stress on those with chronic pulmonary, cardiac or mental health issues.

To protect our health, our peace, and our economy we need to work furiously hard now with the rest of the world on new technologies, strategies and attitudes to minimize our dependence on carbon-based fuels. The good news is that more politicians, policy makers and leaders of industry are signing on to make a difference. You can too by speaking to Representative Bergman, by joining your local chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and by supporting carbon-pricing legislation designed to let renewable energy fulfill its potential as a job-creating economic driver and climate change solution.

Mark Cannon MD, PhD is an infectious diseases physician in Traverse City who has studied and worked at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The University of Michigan, Cornell University, and the University of Minnesota.

Another famous Doctor who served with the Intergovernmental Panel on climate change is Jonathan Patz.  Dr Jonathan Patz was an IPCC lead author for 15 years. He covered the medical aspects of climate change. He heads the University of Wisconsin’s Global Health Institute. I had the good fortune to listen to him speak at Northland College in Ashland.  If this issue is of interest to you simply search “Jonathan Patz” or type in this address: http://ghi.wisc.edu/person/jonathan-patz/ . 

New purchasable or free downloadable book from the National Academies of Science: http://nap.edu/24846

“Protecting the Health and Well-Being of Communities in a Changing Climate”

And in the interest of science and the pursuit of truth learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

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