KENNEDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE AS A CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
In recent years, the public awareness and concern about climate change have reached unprecedented levels. We’re learning what climate change means for the earth, with melting ice caps and the rising sea levels. But important as that is, the issue is about much more than that. It’s also about us and our children and our grandchildren. People in all countries will be affected by changes in the earth’s climate, and one of the principal consequences will be for our personal health. We’re holding this hearing today because climate change will have a direct impact on health, and it’s time to pay attention to this problem.
In recent years, the world’s leading scientists came together to create the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to provide an objective source of information on this issue, and the importance of their work was recognized when they shared the Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore last year.
These experts tell us that our health is at risk because of the extreme weather events that will become more common and more severe in the future because of climate change. Heat waves will lead to heat stroke and even death in vulnerable populations like the elderly. The heat wave in Europe in 2003 was responsible for 30,000 deaths. Extreme heat will also raise ozone levels in places that already have high pollution, causing problems for people with allergies, asthma and chronic lung diseases. Disease spread by mosquitoes, such as West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, and Lyme Disease will increase, and affect parts of the country that have not experienced these problems before. Heavy rains and hurricanes will become more frequent, leading to more frequent flooding, contaminated food and water, and growth of dangerous mold.
That’s why public health must be a central part of the debate on climate change. We know that vulnerable populations such as the elderly, the young, the poor, and the chronically ill will suffer disproportionately because they are the least likely to have the care and resources to deal with these changes.
That’s why the public health community needs to be involved in discussions about climate change. This week is National Public Health Week, and across the nation public health officials and communities are holding events to draw attention to climate change as a major public health challenge.
It’s important for the public to begin to making the connection between climate change and health, so that we start preparing now, when we have a better opportunity to do so.
Public health professionals have a central role in responding to this problem and protecting our health. They are already leaders in spreading the message of prevention, and tracking and responding to emerging health threats. Hopefully, this hearing will draw greater attention to the issue, assess how prepared we really are and suggest where we should focus our efforts. Obviously, we can’t ignore the problem.
