No U.S. resident under the age of 27 can say that he or she has experienced a year of life where the average weather temperature was below that of the previous year.  Climate change, or to be more accurate, global warming, is real.

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) reports that the increase in global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is leading to higher air and water temperatures as well as rising sea levels in California.  The average annual air temperatures in our state will continue to rise throughout this century.  Our coastal sea levels are expected to rise anywhere from 17 to 66 inches before the century closes, and the frequency of extreme events such as heat waves, wildfires, floods and droughts will increase. 
Many diseases are linked to climate fluctuations, especially cardiovascular mortality and respiratory illnesses due to heat waves.   Rising temperatures will also increase the transmission of infectious diseases and promote crop failures, the latter leading to skyrocketing food prices, thereby contributing to higher rates of malnutrition in economically depressed communities. 

On a global level, the incidence of mosquito-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue fever and viral encephalitis, are among those most sensitive to climate. Climate change will directly affect disease transmission by shifting and increasing the geographic range of disease vectors.  Scientists believe that rising temperatures will increase reproductive and biting rates of these vectors and shorten the pathogen incubation period. Also, climate-related increases in sea surface temperatures and levels will lead to a higher incidence of water-borne infectious and toxin-related illnesses, such as cholera and shellfish poisoning.

While we know that climate change will have a profoundly adverse impact on population health, I have yet to see a study or report that includes this important variable in any future health care cost projections.  Current projections place health care expenditures at 20 percent of our national GDP in 2020, increasing to 25 percent by the year 2025 unless we get serious about constraining the growth of health care costs.  As the U.S. approaches the mid-century years, it’s quite possible that the effects of climate change will counter any gains that we might make in reining in this growth.

Lastly, the PPIC reports that even if all GHG emissions ceased today, “some of these developments would be unavoidable because the climate system changes slowly.”  The encouraging part of this finding is that climate change is reversible if we invest in long-view strategies.  All we need is the political will and elected leaders committed to the attainment of an environmental renaissance on a global scale … starting yesterday.

Your thoughts?