|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
 Climate Change Indicators: Health
and Society
Changes in the Earth’s climate can affect public health,
agriculture, water supplies, energy production and use, land
use and development, and recreation. The nature and extent
of these effects, and whether they will be harmful or
beneficial, will vary regionally and over time. This chapter
looks at some of the ways that climate change is affecting
human health and society, including changes in Lyme disease,
West Nile virus, ragweed pollen season, heat-related deaths
and hospitalizations, heating and cooling needs, and the
agricultural growing season across the United States.
Because impacts on human health are complex, often indirect,
and dependent on multiple societal and environmental factors
(including how people choose to respond to these impacts),
the development of appropriate health-related climate
indicators is challenging and still emerging. It is
important for health-related climate indicators to be clear,
measurable, and timely to better understand the link between
climate change and health effects. |
|
Weather Conditions
Changes in climate affect the average weather conditions to
which we are accustomed. These changes may result in
multiple threats to human health and welfare. Warmer average
temperatures will likely lead to hotter days and more
frequent and longer heat waves, which could increase the
number of heat-related illnesses and deaths. Increases in
the frequency or severity of extreme weather events, such as
storms, could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high
winds, and other direct threats to people and property.
Warmer temperatures could also reduce air quality by
increasing the chemical reactions that produce smog, and,
along with changes in precipitation patterns and extreme
events, could enhance the spread of some diseases.
In addition, climate change could require adaptation on
larger and faster scales than in the past, presenting
challenges to human well-being and the economy. The more
extensively and more rapidly the climate changes, the larger
the potential effects on society. The extent to which
climate change will affect different regions and sectors of
society will depend not only on the sensitivity of those
systems to climate change, but also on their ability to
adapt to or cope with climate change. Populations of
particular concern include the poor, the elderly, those
already in poor health, the disabled, and indigenous
populations. |
|
|
Summary of Key Points |
 Heating
and Cooling Degree Days - Heating and cooling degree
days measure the difference between outdoor temperatures and
the temperatures that people find comfortable indoors. As
the U.S. climate has warmed in recent years, heating degree
days have decreased and cooling degree days have increased
overall, suggesting that Americans need to use less energy
for heating and more energy for air conditioning. This
pattern stands out the most in the North and West, while
much of the Southeast has experienced the opposite results. |
 Length
of Growing Season - The length of the growing season for
crops has increased in almost every state. States in the
Southwest (e.g., Arizona and California) have seen the most
dramatic increase. In contrast, the growing season has
actually become shorter in a few southeastern states. The
observed changes reflect earlier spring warming as well as
later arrival of fall frosts. The length of the growing
season has increased more rapidly in the West than in the
East. |
 Ragweed
Pollen Season - Warmer temperatures and later fall
frosts allow ragweed plants to produce pollen later into the
year, potentially prolonging the allergy season for millions
of people. The length of ragweed pollen season has increased
at 10 out of 11 locations studied in the central United
States and Canada since 1995. The change becomes more
pronounced from south to north. |
Heat-Related Deaths - Since
1979, more than 9,000 Americans were reported to have died
as a direct result of heat-related illnesses such as heat
stroke. The annual death rate is higher when accounting for
deaths in which heat was reported as a contributing factor,
including the interaction of heat and cardiovascular
disease. People aged 65+ are a particular concern: a growing
demographic group that is several times more likely to die
from heat-related cardiovascular disease than the general
population. Considerable year-to-year variability and
certain limitations of the underlying data for this
indicator make it difficult to determine whether the United
States has experienced long-term trends in the number of
deaths classified as “heat-related.”
Heat-Related Illness - From
2001 to 2010, a total of about 28,000 heat-related
hospitalizations were recorded across 20 states. Annual
heat-related hospitalization rates ranged from fewer than
one case per 100,000 people in some states to nearly four
cases per 100,000 people in others. People aged 65+
accounted for more heat-related hospitalizations than any
other age group from 2001 to 2010, and males were
hospitalized for heat-related illnesses more than twice as
often as females.
Lyme Disease - Lyme disease is
a bacterial illness spread by ticks that bite humans. Tick
habitat and populations are influenced by many factors,
including climate. Nationwide, the rate of reported cases of
Lyme disease has approximately doubled since 1991. The
number and distribution of reported cases of Lyme disease
have increased in the Northeast and upper Midwest over time,
where some states now report 50 to 100 more cases of Lyme
disease per 100,000 people than they did in 1991.
West Nile Virus - West Nile
virus is spread by mosquitoes, whose habitat and populations
are influenced by temperature and water availability. The
incidence of West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease in the
United States has varied widely from year to year and among
geographic regions since tracking began in 2002. Variation
in disease incidence is affected by climate and many other
factors, and no obvious long-term trend can be detected yet
through this limited data set. |
|
|
|
|
EPA Page |
|
This is the
EPA page for this topic. To see if the Trump
administration has changed the EPA page, simply click the
link and compare the information with this page. If you
notice changes were made to the EPA page, please post a
comment. Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional Climate Change Information |
Climate Change and Carbon Dioxide
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of climate change
and carbon dioxide.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice. |
Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of carbon dioxide
and climate change.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice. |
Environmental Group Warns Earth's Health at Risk
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of climate change.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
A report by the World Wildlife Fund looked at thousands of animal populations
and found they have dropped significantly in 40 years. |
Sea Levels Rising at Fastest Rate in 3,000 years
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of climate change.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
A group of scientists say sea levels are rising at record rates. Another group
found that January temperatures in the Arctic reached a record high. |
Capturing CO2 Gas Is Not Easy
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of climate change.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
Most scientists agree that carbon-dioxide gas is partly to blame for climate
change: rising global temperatures. But capturing the CO2 gas released by power
stations is costly and difficult. |
Growth, Climate Change Threaten African Plants and
Animals
(Beginner - Listening,
reading)
A video lesson to
help with your understanding of climate change.
The English is
spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Great English listening and reading practice.
Researchers believe Africa may lose as much as 30 percent of its animal and
plant species by the end of this century. |
|
|
|
|
Search Fun Easy English |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
About
Contact
Copyright
Resources
Site Map |
