Climate Change

Quite often, the scope of coverage about climate change focuses solely on environmental changes. Truth is, the changes are just as detrimental to humans as they are to nature. For this week’s blog assignment, we were asked to address the health effects of climate change. Reading the American Journal of Public Health’s “Climate Change: The Public Health Response” offered insight into the topic. Two health affects that may influence the health of my family and friends would be “winter weather anomalies” and “increased ozone and pollen formation” because these changes could impede on our everyday lives. Slips and falls, as well as motor vehicle accidents, due to ice, snow, and rain affect any population group. And, increased pollination would increase allergy and asthma prevalence, which is something may people I know suffer from. Of the health effects on the list, the one that particularly surprised me was the increase in pollen production. The others are extreme weather changes and have been stressed before by many agencies, but I had yet to hear about the effect that climate change will have on allergies and asthma. Now that I think about it, it makes sense, but I had not previously considered it as a risk.

Primary prevention, attempting to lessen the change at hand, involves mitigation. In the case of climate change, the word includes efforts that have been made to reduce our GHG emissions and resource consumption. This will hopefully help prevent, or at least lessen, some effects that climate change will have on populations because the environmental changes will be reduced. Meanwhile, adaptation falls under the secondary and tertiary prevention efforts. It involves efforts to respond to and prepare for the health burdens associated with climate change. This is the response and treatment side rather than the preventative side, incorporating “public health preparedness”.

Public health professionals are an integral part of helping populations adapt to climate change. One specific example of providing a public health service related to the environmental and climate changes going on as a result of human impact would be working with media outlets to dispel any rumors or doubts about climate change, advertising possible effects, and suggesting behavior changes to both lessen environmental impact and health risks. This would be a part of both mitigation and adaptation techniques associated with “informing, educating, and empowering people about health issues.”

My hometown, Princeton, New Jersey, is home to a world-renowned university that is conducting research on climate change and its effect on the human population. Unfortunately, it does not disseminate into the town. I feel as though there is a general sentiment that the effects as so gradual – what does one or two degrees matter? – that they do not need to be addressed. Any small changes have potentially extreme results, while it may not be directly noticeable in my own town. Meanwhile, while Princeton is not necessarily preparing for climate change, they are prepared for emergency response, as should any town that runs smoothly. However, the underlying cause – climate change – still needs to be addressed so that its effects may be turned around. I could spectate a town hall meeting and work to get the issue on the council’s agenda or rally through more of a grass-roots advocacy approach. However, I remain pessimistic that the public will view climate change’s effect on health as a time-sensitive and urgent topic.