New report reveals climate change is the world's worst public health crisis – Mother Jones

In San Francisco, pollution from recent wildfires forced San Francisco residents to wear a face mask outdoors. Eric Risberg / AP

A Report Released Wednesday by Lancet Countdown Calls Climate Change "The World's Largest Health Threat" of the 21st century, "And warns that if left unaddressed, disease, poor air quality and food insecurity will threaten millions of people.

The report, written by a team of international researchers, focuses on several climate-related impacts, including extreme heat and its effects on labor productivity and the spread of disease. In 2017, 153 billion hours of work were lost due to heat, an increase of more than 62 billion hours since 2000. This phenomenon is correlated with an increase in exposure to heat waves and extreme weather events such as hurricanes and fires that have already claimed thousands of lives. climate refugees and should create millions more

A large number of these refugees, noted one of the authors of the report, are Americans. In a press conference on Tuesday, Renee Salas, a physician in emergency medicine at Mbadachusetts General Hospital and lead author of the Lancet Countdown US Brief, described a recent experience close to home. "One of my patients, who came from Puerto Rico, came with a bag of baggage, a bag of medicine that she had not taken for days. She was really a climate refugee who was in my emergency department, "said Salas. "I can not think of a population more at risk of health effects than a displaced individual."

Even small changes in temperature and precipitation can result in great changes in disease transmission vector – borne and water – borne diseases, report notes. In 2016, the transmission capacity of bacteria and viruses transmitted by insects, particularly those that cause dengue fever, cholera and malaria, has increased significantly. (This finding was echoed in last week's climate badessment by the federal government that climate change would alter the "geographic extent and distribution of insects and disease-causing pests" to United States.)

At the same time, the global capacity to produce food also appears to be under threat. A review of crop yields shows declines in all regions; Thirty countries have produced less food in recent years.

The Lancet Countdown report contains reasons for hope. In 2017, more electric vehicles were on the road than ever before, and investments in renewable energy have increased significantly, while coal consumption continues to decline. China is responsible for many of these changes. It boasts over 40% of all electric cars sold and is at the forefront of installing renewable energy sources.

Yet spending on climate change adaptation remains well below the amount set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, which President Donald Trump has announced will not be respected by the United States. . And only 3.8% of these expenditures are devoted to human health. Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, currently Director of the Center for Climate, Global Health and Environment at Harvard University, believes it is crucial to recognize the effects of climate change on health. She describes her visit to California in the midst of a recent forest fire that spread smoke throughout the state. "It was so obvious to see masked people literally walking the streets of San Francisco and downtown Palo Alto," says McCarthy. "It did not look like the United States of America."

According to the report, nearly 3 million premature deaths were designed to mask the masks that Californians wore were masked. Pollution has actually been exacerbated in nearly three quarters of the world's cities since 2010. Road fuel consumption has increased by 2% between 2013 and 2015, and cycling – a major alternative to driving in the city – accounted for less than 10% of daily trips. [19659005] The report, which is aimed at health professionals, says they need to do more to educate the public about climate change. The authors of the report write that the consequences of inaction can not be overestimated. As McCarthy notes, "I do not think people are questioning a diagnosis made by their doctor simply because the president decides he might not believe in something. It's not a belief system. It's about science and facts. "