7 days ago
Experts Warn Climate Change Is A ‘Health Emergency' In Open Letter
More than 25 leading medical, public health, and environmental health organizations released an open letter highlighting the health impacts of climate change and the pollution driving it.
The open letter warns climate change is a 'health emergency' and is already harming people's health, regardless of where they live.
It adds 'extreme heat is killing people' and has also been linked with a wide range of short-term and long-term illnesses.
The letter also urges leaders at all levels to take action against the pollution driving climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, vehicles and home appliances.
'The nation has strong measures currently on the books that are helping to drive down dangerous emissions,' the letter states.
'Leaders at every level should call for them to be kept in place, not rolled back or weakened.'
The letter says these measures include tighter limits on mercury and air toxics from power plants, an updated national standard for particle pollution and investments in clean transportation.
'We are making progress and there are common sense opportunities for action at every level,' the letter states.
Amongst the signatures are leaders from the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Children's Environmental Health Network.
The American Lung Association's director of nationwide clean air advocacy, Diana Van Vleet said the letter highlights how 'climate change is harming our health in a very real and immediate way' in an interview.
She added beyond what policy at needed at federal level, it also calls on states and local government to step up and 'make sure that they're taking action to reduce climate pollutants and protect people' from the climate impacts already here.
She said it also reflects how certain populations are more at risk from the health impacts of climate change, including children, older adults and communities who live near pollution sources.
'Climate change really is an unprecedented challenge, and we need all hands on deck,' she told me.
'Many federal rules are on the chopping block, but these are popular standards which save lives," she added.
"We cannot afford to go backwards, and it is just so important that we defend these life-saving rules and the EPA, whose mission is to protect health by cleaning up pollutants.'
Ear, nose and throat surgeon Dr. Neelima Tummala said global warming and climate change are impacting patients in a number of ways in an interview.
Dr. Tummala added these impacts include worsening allergies as the pollen season is starting earlier in the spring and lasting longer into the fall.
She said the last 10 years were the hottest 10 years on record and added extreme heat records pose a threat to people who work outdoors, who may struggle to keep hydrated.
'We are living in a new normal, and our bodies are not accustomed to this degree of heat,' she told me.
'If you are working outdoors for an extreme amount of time, you are at risk for not staying well hydrated, which increases kidney disease. There are also mental health impacts with worsening anxiety, stress, and depression in the hotter summer months.
Dr. Tummala said the spread of certain infectious diseases, like Lyme disease in the United States, is also affected as temperatures rise.
'We are also highly concerned about older individuals with underlying health conditions, and how breathing in polluted air impacts them,' she said.
'Ground-level ozone, or smog, is another really significant respiratory concern. It has been shown to cause increased inflammation of the upper and lower respiratory systems and increases breathing complications.'
