"According to a new U.N. report, the global warming outlook is much worse than originally predicted. Which is pretty bad when they originally predicted it would destroy the planet" (Jay Leno). For most people, the phrases "global warming" and "climate change" conjure images of damaging flood waters caused by melting polar caps, the scorching sun through a depleted ozone, and destructive 'superstorms ' formed by increasingly inclement weather. Though these grand manifestations of global warming do pose very real and present threats, there is a subtler, more personal danger that climate change is posing to something even more valuable than our coastlines and homes: it is stealthily creeping into our lives and stealing our health. Global warming
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These changes in climate are perilous to our health because they affect the air we breathe, the food and water that nourishes us, and the weather we experience. As the climate continues to change, the risks to human health continue to grow with current and future climate impacts causing more people in more places to be more vulnerable to public health threats. In the United States, we have endured and continue to endure climate-related calamities as we are exposed to elevated temperatures, toxic air quality, more numerous and harsher weather events, diseases spread through food, water, and disease vectors, and stress to our mental health and well-being. These threats are on track to steadily worsen if humans continue to exacerbate climate change with their complacent attitudes and selfish …show more content…
Just last month, the United States experienced its warmest ever June at 22.1°C or 1.8°C above the 20th century average as part of a 13 month streak breaking heat records. This heat wave is keeping 16% of the contiguous United States in drought which is a 3.5% increase from last year 's drought numbers (Milman). The majority of the increase in temperature is directly attributed to human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, which has released an abnormally large amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, consequently trapping additional heat in the lower-lying atmosphere. Greater concentrations of greenhouse gases are directly linked to an increase of both average and above-average temperatures which have been shown to lead to a higher amount of deaths and illness from heat. Days that are warmer than usual for the summer season or colder than average for the winter months cause an escalation in illness and death by impairing the body’s ability to adjust its temperature or by inducing direct or indirect health problems. "Loss of internal temperature control can result in a cascade of illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia in the presence of extreme heat, and hypothermia
These changes in climate are perilous to our health because they affect the air we breathe, the food and water that nourishes us, and the weather we experience. As the climate continues to change, the risks to human health continue to grow with current and future climate impacts causing more people in more places to be more vulnerable to public health threats. In the United States, we have endured and continue to endure climate-related calamities as we are exposed to elevated temperatures, toxic air quality, more numerous and harsher weather events, diseases spread through food, water, and disease vectors, and stress to our mental health and well-being. These threats are on track to steadily worsen if humans continue to exacerbate climate change with their complacent attitudes and selfish …show more content…
Just last month, the United States experienced its warmest ever June at 22.1°C or 1.8°C above the 20th century average as part of a 13 month streak breaking heat records. This heat wave is keeping 16% of the contiguous United States in drought which is a 3.5% increase from last year 's drought numbers (Milman). The majority of the increase in temperature is directly attributed to human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, which has released an abnormally large amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, consequently trapping additional heat in the lower-lying atmosphere. Greater concentrations of greenhouse gases are directly linked to an increase of both average and above-average temperatures which have been shown to lead to a higher amount of deaths and illness from heat. Days that are warmer than usual for the summer season or colder than average for the winter months cause an escalation in illness and death by impairing the body’s ability to adjust its temperature or by inducing direct or indirect health problems. "Loss of internal temperature control can result in a cascade of illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia in the presence of extreme heat, and hypothermia