The Cancún climate conference has ended with many issues unresolved and U.S. commitments will be hampered by the expected attacks from the incoming Congress on the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Meanwhile the urgency for solutions is rapidly increasing and leading medical and public health groups across the country agree: climate change is hazardous to our health.
In the past two decades, extreme heat events have killed tens of thousands around the globe, including populations here in the United States. Heatwaves are more frequent, of longer duration and more intense -- and the lack of nighttime relief accompanying climate change makes today's heat waves all the more lethal. Heat waves can cause illness and death from heart disease, diabetes, stroke, respiratory disease and even accidents, homicide and suicide.
At the same time, increased evaporation arising from warming seas is generating heavier downpours. (The world ocean has accumulated 22 times as much heat as has the atmosphere since the 1950s.) Across the continental U.S., two, four and six inch-a-day rains have increased 14, 20 and 27 percent, respectively, since 1970. This year, sudden, heavy downpours -- some lasting several days -- caused lethal flashfloods in Rhode Island, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Rains two inches a day and above are associated with water-borne disease outbreaks, when flooding overwhelms sewer systems and contaminates drinking water.
Increases in winter weather anomalies are emerging. Though winters have become shorter (two-to- three weeks shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, depending on latitude), they have grown more perilous. With warming, more winter precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow, increasing the chance of ice storms when temperatures do drop. Globally, westerly winds are also changing with climate change, affecting the shifts in weather fronts. And such conditions -- along with heavier, wetter snowstorms -- can be treacherous for travel and ambulation. (In Boston, we've dubbed this "orthopedic weather.")
Meanwhile, warmer winters favor insect migration. In the past decade case reports of tick-borne Lyme disease rose ten-fold in Maine and northern counties are experiencing Lyme for the first time. In Alaska, especially warm winters have ushered in swarms of allergy-inducing, stinging insects, along with mosquitoes and devastating pine bark beetle infestations. The spread of forest and crop pests -- requiring chemicals for control -- pose additional long term health and environmental risks.
There's more. Elevated carbon dioxide levels from burning fossil fuels boosts pollen production from ragweed and the pollen grains hitch rides on particulates from diesel and coal combustion, helping to deliver the allergens deep inside our lungs. Meanwhile, the allergy and asthma season has lengthened some two-to-three weeks with climate change, while, since 1980, asthma rates have more than doubled in the U.S.
The American Medical Association is working actively to educate health care professionals about the projected rise in climate-related illness. Medical and public health groups are also taking leading roles in advocating for climate and energy policies, and measures -- like electric vehicles, "smart" grids and healthy cities initiatives -- that will improve public health, create jobs and combat climate change. And physicians and other health care professionals have begun serving as role models for patients by adopting environmentally responsible, energy- and waste-reducing practices in the health sector.
We are deeply concerned that climate instability and changing weather patterns threaten our health and the vitality of our life-support systems. The U.S. must take a leadership role in advancing the clean energy transformation and international climate negotiations over the coming year. The harm to our health and our well-being, and the associated health and social costs, will continue to mount unless we take comprehensive action to stabilize the global climate system.
Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell: The Smart Grid, the Environment and the Role of the Clergy
Carl Pope: Getting Rich by Doing Good
I have a continuing challenge to "climate scientists" to show me the couple of equations it would take to demonstrate they even know how to compute the temperature of a radiantly heated colored ball . Perhaps you can be the first to put me in my place .
It continues to astound me that the eco-leninists on the bases of noise level , perhaps one part in 500 , variability in our measured mean temperature have created this war for a regimen of global statist force to suppress the molecule which is the very building block of all organic life , including themselves .
Those would be the Stefan-Boltzmann equations.
Which by the way also demonstrate that the Earth would be not ~10 degrees C cooler but instead below freezing were it not for the Greenhouse Effect. And if you are as knowledgeable in physics as you'd have us believe then you too are very well aware of that fact.
Bob: "...on the bases of noise level..."
Are you trying to suggest with your "noise level" rhetoric here that the scientific data does not conclusively show that the globe has been warming over recent decades?
In any event, contrary to you disinformation here the scientific evidence supporting anthropogenic global warming is overwhelming.
1. I keep hearing about this ("Heatwaves are more frequent, of longer duration and more intense") but where are the references to scientific studies?
2. They are confusing the urban heat island with climate ("lack of nighttime relief")
Actual data show the opposite of what they say: heat related deaths have been declining and winter causes more deaths. See: http://www.appinsys.com/GlobalWarming/GW_4CE_HumanDeath.htm#ddxw
Google is your friend. For example:
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/37/15555.full
http://www.giub.unibe.ch/klimet/docs/climdyn_2007_dellamarta_2_et_al.pdf
DA: "They are confusing the urban heat island with climate"
Gotta love unsubstantiated science denier assertions. Or not.
DA: "Actual data show the opposite of what they say: heat related deaths have been declining and winter causes more deaths. See:..."
Oh look - another reference to appinsys.com, a site run by some anonymous guy that has been repeatedly demonstrated to distort and mislead with respect to climate science information, and routinely cites non-peer-reviewed sources.
It would appear that the global warming over the past 150 years has supported improved public health. Can anyone name a similar period of time over which human life expectancy increased at a greater rate?
Q: Why are some science deniers unable to understand that correlation does not equal causation?
A: Because they are science deniers, of course.
What makes that the optimal temperature?
The ideal goal is to stay below a mean global increase of 2 degrees C, though reaching that goal is increasingly unlikely.
Tygartman: "Are we trying to return to 1850,1920,Â1950,1980?"
No, and we could not do that even if we wanted to. The goal is instead to mitigate future global warming.
For a new way forward see Green Light at www.aesopiÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂnstÂiÂtÂuÂtÂeÂÂ.ÂÂoÂÂrg
PotentiallÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂy destructivÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂe solar storms occurred in April, September and November. The latter, a huge one, narrowly missed earth. Imagine the impact of widespreadÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ, lengthy, blackouts!
DecentraliÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂzÂeÂd power production is a wise insurance policy - as well as a surprising way for disruptive green technologiÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂeÂs to start to supersede the costly need for imported oil!
Political opposition may be minimal, since such blackouts would clearly be national emergencieÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂsÂ.
A solar storm can cause power system collapse. NASA estimates in the U.S., damage could cause 130 million people to suffer a long-term blackouts. The cost - $1-2 trillion the first year. Roughly the price tag of both the wars in Iraq and AfghanistaÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂnÂ!
SupersedinÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂg grid dependency has now become a wise insurance policy for our population and the entire planet. See the Aesop Institute website.
The potential for power outages can be used to stimulate rapid production of potentiallÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂy cost-compeÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂtÂiÂtÂiÂÂvÂÂeÂÂ, renewable, energy conversion systems.
SupersedinÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂg oil and all fossil fuels can be accomplishÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂeÂd very much faster than conventionÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂaÂl wisdom (and predictablÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂe skepticismÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ) would suggest is possible.
DecentraliÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂzÂeÂdÂ, inexpensivÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂeÂ, green energy can turn future cars and trucks into.power plants that can sell electricity to local utilities when parked.
The resulting activity can revive the fragile economy, generate large numbers of jobs, and restore hope to many worried individuals..
Insurance against possible events is a reasonable path forward.
Ignoring them is increasing the odds of a major disruption.
Burying one's head in the sand is all too common.
NASA and the NOAA have published material illuminating the dangers. The House of Representatives has passed the GRID ACT, which now needs Senate action.
But, wise individuals might want alternatives to government solutions. Those are now increasingly on the horizon.
With sufficient support, we can cost-competitively supersede fossil fuels and it can be done much faster than might be imagined.
It is time for individuals to make a difference. And they can!
See GREEN LIGHT on the Aesop website: www.aesopinstitute.org to learn a bit about how that might be done.
Congress makes law, not the President. It's in the Constitution, the Founding Fathers reasoned that the many in Congress could better represent us than a single President. House passed carbon bill, Senate did not. Dems control Senate, they are responsible for all the "failures" of this administration. House passed public option, Obama middle-class tax cut, strong financial reform, Senate failed on all of them. Senate Dems are 100% to blame for all the failings of this administration. Or else the Senate rules and Repub obstructionism, the fault of the Senate not Obama.
In fact I think President Obama has shown genuine leadership in his attempts to negotiate with those who disagree with him. But that doesn't change the fact that he has completely and utterly sided with oil companies on this particular issue, which is climate change. And as I stated, I believe this shows the true character of this administration: standard Washington culture. Not a reform movement. Not even a member of the global community. (you know the Nobel committee is kicking itself) Just the same do as we say not as we do style of diplomacy that has made us such a hit every where else in the world.
There has been a reduction in temperature monitoring stations in Canada but it's been found that deviations are fairly constant over large areas so not as many stations are needed.
The expectation is that the largest temperature deviations due to global warming will occur at far northern latitudes so it’s worthwhile to look at some recent temperature data for this region. Here are data for a handful of widely dispersed locations throughout northern North America. The temperature data is in Fahrenheit.
Average Decade/Annual Temperature (F)
Town 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010*
Sault Ste Marie, MI 39.8 40.2 40.9 42.3 44.7
Resolute, Nunuvut 1.4 2.5 3.3 4.9 9.4
Churchill, Manitoba 18.9 19.6 20.1 21.3 25.9
Yellowknife, NWT 22.9 23.5 a 24.7 28.6
Goose Bay, NFL 30.7 31.3 31.0 33.2 37.1
aComplete data was not available
*Based upon actual data for January-November 2010 and the 1971-2000 average for December
Temperature deviation maps of Siberia, which can be seen at the National Climatic Data Center website, show generally strong positive temperature deviations in recent years for Siberia.