Effects of global warming on human health

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The effects of global warming include effects on human health. This article describes some of those
effects on individuals and populations. The observed and projected increased frequency and
severity of climate related impacts will further exacerbate the effects on human health.
Contents
[hide]
1 Impact on infectious diseases
o 1.1 Impact of extreme weather
o 1.2 Impact of warmer and wetter climates
o 1.3 Impact of warmer oceans
o 1.4 Malaria
o 1.5 Dengue Fever
1.5.1 Background
1.5.2 Climate Change Impacts
1.5.3 What can be done?
o 1.6 HIV/AIDS
o 1.7 Mental health
2 Climate Change and permafrost
o 2.1 Fresh water supplies
o 2.2 Plants
o 2.3 Soil sustainability
3 Impact on natural resources
o 3.1 Drinking water
o 3.2 Fresh water
o 3.3 Food depletion
4 Impact on livestock
o 4.1 Greenhouse gas effects
o 4.2 Heat stress
5 Impact on plant based food
o 5.1 Food scarcity
o 5.2 Extreme weather
5.2.1 Rising temperatures
5.2.2 Drought and flood
o 5.3 Financial
o 5.4 Pests and pathogens
6 Impact on nutrition
7 Adaptation and mitigation strategies
8 Ocean acidification and human health
o 8.1 Overview
o 8.2 Chemistry
o 8.3 Temperature
o 8.4 Impacts on marine life
o 8.5 Coral
o 8.6 Oceanic calcifying organisms
o 8.7 Fish
o 8.8 Human Health
8.8.1 Infiltrating fresh water and extreme weather
o 8.9 Food safety
9 Extreme weather events
o 9.1 Drought
o 9.2 Floods
o 9.3 Glacial melting
o 9.4 Heat stress
10 Deforestation
o 10.1 Tropical forests
10.1.1 Amazon rainforest
10.1.2 Southeast Asia
10.1.3 Mangroves
o 10.2 Effects of deforestation in the African Highlands
o 10.3 Biodiversity
o 10.4 Extinction of indigenous groups
o 10.5 Mountain pine beetle, forest ecosystems and forest fires
o 10.6 Smoke from wildfires
11 Displacement/migration
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
Impact on infectious diseases[edit]
Warming oceans and a changing climate are resulting in extreme weather patterns which have
brought about an increase of infectious diseasesboth new and re-emerging.
[1][2]
These extreme
weather patterns are creating extended rainy seasons in some areas,
[3]
and extended periods
of drought in others,
[4]
as well as introducing new climates to different regions.
[4]
These extended
seasons are creating climates that are able to sustain vectors for longer periods of time, allowing
them to multiply rapidly, and also creating climates that are allowing the introduction and survival of
new vectors.
[1]

Impact of extreme weather[edit]
The rise of extreme weather is itself a symptom of an unstable climate. Moreover, the variance
around the long-term warming trend has begun to influence biological systems, Indeed, two main
effects of climate changewarming and greater weather variability-mean that millions of people
worldwide face a higher risk of infectious disease.
[3]
El Nino is an extreme weather pattern that is
often responsible for increased precipitation, resulting in increased flooding, creating a more
promising breeding ground for a plethora of vectors that both carry and cause infectious diseases.
[5]

Another result of the warming oceans are stronger hurricanes, which will wreck more havoc on land,
and in the oceans,
[5]
and create more opportunities for vectors to breed and infectious diseases to
flourish.
[1][3]
Extreme weather also means stronger winds. These winds can carry vectors tens of
thousands of kilometers, resulting in an introduction of new infectious disease to regions that have
never seen them before, making the humans in these regions even more susceptible.
[1]

Impact of warmer and wetter climates[edit]
Mosquito-borne diseases are probably the greatest threat to humans as they
include malaria, elephantiasis, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, and dengue fever.
[6][7][8]
Studies are
showing higher prevalence of these diseases in areas that have experienced extreme flooding and
drought.
[6][7]
Flooding creates more standing water for mosquitoes to breed; as well, shown that
these vectors are able to feed more and grow faster in warmer climates.
[1]
As the climate warms over
the oceans and coastal regions, warmer temperatures are also creeping up to higher elevations
allowing mosquitoes to survive in areas they had never been able to before.
[1]
As the climate
continues to warm there is a risk that malaria will make a return to the developed world.
[1]

Ticks are also thriving in the warmer temperatures allowing them to feed and grow at a faster
rate.
[9]
The black legged tick, a carrier of Lyme disease, when not feeding, spends its time burrowed
in soil absorbing moisture.
[3][10]
Ticks die when the climate either becomes too cold or when the
climate becomes too dry, causing the ticks to dry out.
[3][10]
The natural environmental controls that
used to keep the tick populations in check are disappearing, and warmer and wetter climates are
allowing the ticks to breed and grow at an alarming rate, resulting in an increase in Lyme disease,
both in existing areas and in areas where it has not been seen before.
[3][9]

Other diseases on the rise due to extreme weather
include: hantavirus,
[11]
schistosomiasis,
[7][8]
onchocerciasis (river blindness),
[8]
and tuberculosis.
[2]

Impact of warmer oceans[edit]
The warming oceans are becoming a breeding ground for toxic algae blooms (also known as red
tides) and cholera.
[1][8][12]
As the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the oceans increase, the cholera
bacteria that lives within zooplankton emerge from their dormant state.
[12]
The changing winds and
changing ocean currents push the zooplankton toward the coastline, carrying the cholera bacteria,
which then contaminate drinking water, causing cholera outbreaks.
[12]
As flooding increases there is
also in increase in cholera epidemics as the flood waters that are carrying the bacteria are infiltrating
the drinking water supply.
[13]
El Nino has also been linked with cholera outbreaks because this
weather patter warms the shoreline waters, causing the cholera bacteria to multiply rapidly.
[12][13]

Toxic algae blooms (red tides) are the result of a changing and warming climate.
[14]
El Nino events
precipitation resulting in flooding, which causes the coastal seawater to be infiltrated with runoff from
the flooding land resulting in increased nitrogen and phosphorus which feed the algae and spur their
growth.
[15]
These toxic blooms in turn infectshellfish, which threatens the health of the millions of
people who depend on shellfish for protein.
[15]
Paralytic shellfish poisoning is the most common
result of red tides, as was seen in the 1987 outbreak in Prince Edward Island.
[15]
Ciguatera fish
poisoning is also a result of red tides.
[16]
Humans that ingest these infected reef dwelling fish become
ill.
[16]
Further, red tides are so powerful that they also cause respiratory illness simply by breathing
the air near them.
[15]

Malaria[edit]
Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasitic disease that infects humans and other animals caused by
microorganisms in the Plasmodium family. It begins with a bite from an infected female mosquito,
which introduces the parasite through its saliva and into the infected hosts circulatory system. It then
travels through the bloodstream into the liver where it can mature and reproduce.
[17]
The disease
causes symptoms that typically include fever, headache, shaking chills, anemia, and in severe cases
can progress to coma or death.
Climate is an influential driving force of vector-borne diseases such as malaria. Malaria is especially
susceptible to the effects of climate change because mosquitoes lack the mechanisms to regulate
their internal temperature. This implies that there is a limited range of climatic conditions within which
the pathogen (malaria) and vector (a mosquito) can survive, reproduce and infect hosts.
[18]
Vector-
borne diseases, such as malaria, have distinctive characteristics that determine pathogenicity.
These include: the survival and reproduction rate of the vector, the level of vector activity (i.e. the
biting or feeding rate), and the development and reproduction rate of the pathogen within the vector
or host.
[18]
Changes in climate factors substantially affect reproduction, development, distribution and
seasonal transmissions of malaria.
Mosquitoes have a small window for preferential conditions for breeding and maturation. The
ultimate breeding and maturing temperature for mosquitoes range from sixteen to eighteen degrees
Celsius.
[19]
If the temperature is decreased by two degrees, most of the insects will succumb to
death. This is why malaria is unsustainable in places with cool winters. If a climate with an average
of approximately 16 degrees Celsius experiences an increase of about two degrees, the mature
bugs and the larvae flourish.
[1]
Female mosquitoes will need more food (human/animal blood) to
sustain life and to stimulate production of eggs. This increases the chance of spread of malaria due
to more human contact and a higher number of the blood sucking insects surviving and living longer.
Mosquitoes are also highly sensitive to changes in precipitation and humidity. Increased precipitation
can increase mosquito population indirectly by expanding larval habitat and food supply.
[18]
These
prime temperatures are creating large breeding grounds for the insects and places for the larvae to
mature. Increased temperature is causing snow to melt and stagnant pools of water to become more
common.
[1]
Bugs that are already carrying the disease are more likely to multiply and infect other
mosquitoes causing a dangerous spread of the deadly disease.
Climate change has a direct impact on peoples health in places where Malaria is not prevalent. In
communities of higher altitudes in Africa and South America, people are at higher risk for developing
malaria in recent years because of an increase temperature. A fluctuation of two or three degrees is
creating exceptional breeding grounds for mosquitoes, for larvae to grow and mature mosquitoes
carrying the virus to infect people that have never been exposed before.
[1]
This is a severe problem
because people in these communities have never been exposed to this disease causing an
increased risk for complications from malaria such as cerebral malaria (a type of malaria that causes
mental disability, paralysis and has a high mortality rate) and death by the disease.
[1]
Residents of
these communities are being hit hard by malaria because they are unfamiliar with it; they do not
know the signs and symptoms and have little to no immunity.
The population at risk of malaria in the absence of climate change is projected to double between
1990 and 2080 to 8820 million, however; unmitigated climate change would, by the 2080s, further
increase the population at risk of malaria by another 257 to 323 million.
[20]
Therefore, reducing the
effects of climate change in the present would reduce the total by about 3.5%, saving tens of
thousands of lives worldwide.
If there is a slight discrepancy in the normal temperature, the perfect conditions for the insects to
multiply are created. People that have never been infected before are unknowingly at risk for this
deadly disease and do not have the immunity to combat it.
[1]
An increase in temperature has the
potential to cause a widespread epidemic of the disease that has the capacity to wipe out entire
populations of people. It is important to track the prevalence, species and number of insects carrying
the disease as well as the amount of humans infected in countries and places that have never seen
malaria before. It is simple for the slightest of fluctuation in temperature to cause a catastrophic
epidemic that has the possibility to end the lives of many innocent and unsuspecting people.
[19]

Dengue Fever[edit]
Background[edit]
Dengue fever is an infectious disease caused by the dengue virus known to be in the tropical
regions.
[21]
It is transmitted by mosquito Aedes, or A aegypti.
[22]

The cases of Dengue fever increased dramatically since the 1970s and continues to become more
prevalent.
[23]
This disease is believed to be due to a combination of urbanization, population growth,
increased international travel, and global warming.
[24]
The same trends also led to the spread of
different serotypes of the disease to new areas, and to the emergence of dengue hemorrhagic fever.
There are four different types of virues in dengue fever. If someone is infected with one type of
dengue virus, he or she will have permanent immunity to that type of dengue virus, but will have
short term immunity to the other type of dengue fever.
[21]
Some of the symptoms of dengue fever are
fever, headache, muscle and joint pains and skin rash.
[25]
There is no vaccine for Dengue fever right
now and there is no true treatment to get rid of it, but there are treatments to assist with some of the
symptoms of dengue, such as the use of oral or intravenous fluids for rehydration.
[25]

Climate Change Impacts[edit]
Dengue fever used to be considered a tropical disease, but climate change is causing dengue fever
to spread. Dengue fever is transmitted by certain types of mosquitos, which have been spreading
further and further north. This is because some of the climate changes that are occurring are
increased heat, precipitation and humidity which create prime breeding grounds for
mosquitos.
[26]
The hotter and wetter a climate is the faster the mosquitos can mature and the faster
the disease can develop. Another influence is the changing El Nino effects that are affecting the
climate to change in different areas of the world, causing dengue fever to be able to spread.
[27]

What can be done?[edit]
There are many things that can be done, both on a governmental level and on an individual basis.
1.) Have a better system of detecting when dengue outbreaks may happen. This can be done by
monitoring environments, such as temperatures, rainfall and humidity that would be attractive for
these types of mosquitos to flourish. 2.) Educating the public: Letting the public know when a dengue
outbreak is occurring and what they can do to protect themselves. For example, people should
create a living environment that is not attractive to mosquitos (no sitting water), dress in appropriate
clothing (light colours, long sleeves)and wear insect repellant.
HIV/AIDS[edit]


Labour Losses Due To HIV AIDS
HIV AIDS and Climate Change are both long wave issues that cause fear and uncertainty in the
population. One of the main reasons whyclimate change appears to have such an impact
on HIV/AIDS seems to be related to food shortage. In the fight against hunger we could now be
facing a perfect storm of challenges, including climate change and increasingly severe droughts and
floods, soaring food prices and the tightest supplies in recent history, declining levels of food aid,
and HIV/AIDS, which also aggravates food insecurity says Sheeran.
[28]
The lack of food security,
due to climate change, in South Africa has been affected by HIV/AIDS. In Sub-Saharan Africa over
70% of the population are farmers and human capital has decreased due to HIV/AIDS.
[29]
This
reduction in the household labour capabilities severely decreases agricultural output. The source of
nourishment and income for the bulk of Sub-Saharan Africas population, agricultural output, is
further hurt by a loss in the transfer of intergenerational knowledge, as the productive adult
population with experience in agricultural labour is the most severely affected by AIDS.
[29]
This has
been made worse as 90% of the people infected with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa are adults.
This not only greatly reduces human capital, but it leaves many children to tend to themselves.
Malnutrition, brought about by food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, exacerbates the effects of
HIV/AIDS.
[29]
A study done in Ethiopiashowed that chronic malnutrition was a predictor of first line
antiretroviral therapy failure.
[30]
This has the potential to create more HIV deaths each year, as
immune capabilities are further weakened by Malnutrition. Another important factor about food
insecurity is that it could increase the spread of HIV AIDS from the use of Transactional sex. Women
who are desperate and suffer malnutrition are more likely to sell their bodies in order to support
themselves. Also food insecurity and poverty may prevent people from seeking a diagnosis or
prevent them from having the ability to afford treatment.
Secondly the spread of Malaria due to climate change will also be degrading to the burden of
disease of HIV/AIDS.
[31]
As people become infected by HIV/AIDS and are then exposed to Malaria, it
will create an even more substantial loss of life because AIDS victims will be less likely to be able to
fight the Malaria infection. Climate change may also increase the spread of HIV/AIDS. As climate
change disasters sweep the globe, more people will become displaced, and be forced to live in close
quarters to one another. There is evidence to suggest that this could aggravate gender
inequalities"
[31]
that have the potential to raise the possibility of transmission of the disease. Migrants
often have poor living conditions, are separated from their spouses and families, perform demanding
and dangerous jobs and have limited access to health care.
[32]
This can all lead to an increased risk
of contracting HIV/AIDS.
Lastly climate Change will reduce the funds available to mitigate HIV/AIDS. As more money is spent
on repairing infrastructure due the increasing nature of extreme weather, less money will be
available for programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and to look after those that are already infected.
[33]
This
is especially true in underdeveloped countries where they are least able to cope. The governments
in these countries are less able to provide for their populations, and will even more under strain from
the climate change related costs. This raises the possibility of bankrupt countries that may leed to
the Failed state phenomenon. The twin effects of HIV/AIDS and Climate Change therefore will be
degrading to human health.
Mental health[edit]
While the physical health impacts of climate change are well known, the impact on mental health has
only begun to be recognized in the last decade.
[34]
According to 2011 inAmerican
Psychologist Clayton & Doherty, concluded that global climate change is bound to have substantial
negative impacts on mental health and well-being, effects which will primarily be felt by
vulnerable populations and those with pre-existing serious mental illness.
[35]

They identified three classes of psychological impacts from global climate change:
[36]

Direct - "Acute or traumatic effects of extreme weather events and a changed environment"
Indirect - "Threats to emotional well-being based on observation of impacts and concern or
uncertainty about future risks"
Psychosocial - "Chronic social and community effects of heat, drought, migrations, and climate-
related conicts, and postdisaster adjustment"
In order to appreciate the impacts on psychological well-being an understanding and recognition of
the multiple meanings and cultural narratives associated with climate change and the
interrelatedness of climate change and other global phenomena, like increased population, is
required.
[35]
The psychological impacts of climate change can be divided into three classes; direct,
indirect, and psychosocial. Direct impacts refer to the immediate or localized consequences of an
environmental change or disaster, such as stress or injury. Indirect impacts are more gradual and
cumulative and are experienced through the media and social interaction and communication.
Psychosocial impacts are large-scale community and social effects, like conflicts related
to migration and subsequent shortages or adjustment after a disaster. Climate change does not
impact everyone equally; those of lower economic and social status are at greater risk and
experience more devastating impacts.
[35]

Direct impacts on mental health, such as landscape changes, impaired place attachment,
and psychological trauma are all immediate and localized problems resulting from extreme weather
events and environmental changes.
[35]
Research has shown that extreme weather events lead to a
variety of mental health disorders from the impacts of loss, social disruption, and
displacement.
[37]
Further reinforced by Clayton & Dohert1y (2011), [a]cute and direct impacts
include mental health injuries associated with more frequent and powerful weather events, natural
disasters, and adjustment to degraded or disrupted physical environments.
[35]:265
. For example,
events such as wildfires and hurricanescan lead to anxiety and emotional stress, further exacerbated
in already vulnerable populations with current mental health issues
[37]

On the other hand, indirect impacts pertaining to mental health are more gradual and cumulative and
are experienced through the media and social interaction and communication.
[35]
For example,
extreme weather events can pose indirect impacts through the migration of large communities due to
stressors upon already limited resources.
[37]
Some examples of common mental health conditions
associated indirectly from these extreme weather events include: acute traumatic stress, post-
traumatic stress disorder,depression, complicated grief, anxiety disorders, sleep difficulties, sexual
dysfunction, and drug or alcohol abuse.
[37]
Similarly, the devastating effects of the extreme weather
event of Hurricane Katrina lead to a variety of mental health problems due to the destruction of
resources.
[38]
Many people impacted by Hurricane Katrina were left homeless, disenfranchised,
stressed, and suffering physical illness.
[38]
This strain on the public health system decreased access
and availability of medical resources.
[38]
Some climate change adaptation measures may prevent the
need for displacement; however, some communities may be unable to implement adaptation
strategies, and this will create added stress, further exacerbating already existing mental health
issues.
[37]
Extreme weather events and population displacement lead to limited availability
of medications, one of the primary resources required to meet psychological and physical needs of
those affected by such events.
[37]

Furthermore, one of the more devastating indirect impacts of climate change on mental health is the
increased risk in suicide. Studies show that suicide rates increase after extreme weather
events.
[38]
This has been demonstrated in Australia, where drought has resulted in crop failures and
despair to the Australian countryside.
[38]
Farmers were left with nothing, forced to sell everything,
reduce their stock, and borrow large sums to plant crops at the start of the season.
[38]
The indirect
consequences have caused a growing increase in depression, domestic violence, and most
alarmingly, suicide.
[38]
More than one hundred farmers in the countryside had committed suicide by
2007.
[38]

Psychosocial impacts are indirect impacts on social and community relationships. While some
impacts result directly from an event caused by climate change, most are indirect results of changes
in how people use and occupy territory.
[35]
Extreme weather events can lead to the migration of large
communities due to stressors upon already limitedresources.
[37]
Climate change affects the suitability
of territory for agriculture, aquaculture, and habitation, which means that the experiences of people
in particular geographicallocations, as well as the geographical distribution of populations, will be
altered.
[35]

Consequences of psychosocial impacts caused by climate change include: increase in violence,
intergroup conflict, displacement and relocation and socioeconomic disparities. Based on research,
there is a causal relationship between heat and violence and that any increase in average global
temperature is likely to be accompanied by an increase in violent aggression.
[39]
Diminished
resources leads to conflict between two groups over remaining natural resources or the migration of
one group to another groups territory leading to conflict over rights and ownership of
space.
[35]
Furthermore, this can lead to civil unrest when governments fail to adequately protect
against natural disasters or respond to their effects, causing people to lose confidence and trust in
their government leading to backlash.
[40]
Forced relocations and displacement, result in disruptions
of geographic and social connections which can lead to grief, anxiety, and a sense of
loss.
[41]
Another consequence of psychosocial impacts is an increase in the disparity between those
countries and people with adequate economic resources and those with fewer or in need of.
Those nations and people with fewer resources will feel the impacts more strongly, as they have less
ability to afford the technologies that would mitigate the financial and medical effects of climate
change.
[35]
Within nations, these individuals of lower socioeconomic status are more likely to become
ethnic minorities, increasing ethnic tensions and inter group hostility. An example of such tension
and hostility occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where African Americans interpreted the
governments response to the disaster as indicating racism.
[35]

Climate Change and permafrost[edit]
Permafrost is an important part of our environment and plays an important role in maintaining the
stability of many ecosystems around the world. Below are a few brief descriptions of how climate
change has contributed to the melting of permafrost and the associated impacts on different aspects
of ecosystems.


This alpine valley is entirely above the tree line


Freshet in Pangnirtung, Nunavut -f
Fresh water supplies[edit]
Permafrost plays and integral role in the regulation of fresh water supplies in the arctic and high
alpine regions.
[42]
Three general ground water systems found in permafrost regions include: Supra-
permafrost, intra-permafrost and sub-permafrost.
[42]
Supra-permafrost system involves the water that
is present above the frozen ground layer.
[42]
Intra-permafrost water system involves the water
present within channels or holes that run through the frozen ground layer.
[42]
Supra-permafrost water
systems exist below the frozen layer of earth.
[42]
Together, these systems regulate and support
aquifer water supply as well as above ground fresh water sources such as lakes and
streams.
[42]
When permafrost melts many freshwater lakes drain into the newly exposed soil
below.
[42]
The surrounding ecosystems are affected as arctic lakes provide important habitat for
migratory waterfowl, ungulates such as moose and many aquatic species.
[43]
Fresh water
evaporation also occurs as permafrost melts.
[42]
When the frozen ground disappears, associated
surface air temperatures increase causing increased evaporation of fresh water supplies. Increased
ground surface temperature also increases the rate of spring glacier melt.
[42]
This associated
increase in freshet causes water to run over soil and into muskeg areas where the water stagnates
and becomes acidic.
[42]
Once the acidified water enters into aquatic systems, it impacts the
associated ecosystem.
[42]

Plants[edit]
There is a strong interdependence between permafrost and vegetation in permafrost regions.
[44]
The
melting of permafrost has a significant effect on soils, such as the moisture content and the
availability of nutrients. Permafrost functions to serve terrestrial ecosystems; when permafrost thaws
it decreases the amount of species that can grow in the low temperatures and high moisture
soils.
[44]
The effects that thawing permafrost has on vegetation greatly depends on the depth of the
regions active layer.
[44]
In some regions the thawing of permafrost leads to increased soil drainage
and in others it leads to increased soil moisture; both causing changes to the dominant species in an
area.
[44]
In areas where the thawing permafrost causes increased soil drainage, wet plant species
like Kobresia tibetica and Kobresia humilis decrease and drought plants such as Poa
annua andAgropyron cristatum begin to take over.
[44]
Unfortunately the decreased soil moisture
leads to the disappearance of Alpine meadows and creates Alpine deserts.
[44]
As Ice-rich permafrost
regions begin to thaw the terrestrial ecosystems turn to aquatic or wetland ecosystems.
[44]
Due to
this process wet sedge meadows, bogs, thermokarst ponds and lakes are replacing forests.
[44]
In
Alaska the permafrost degradation has caused a decrease in birch forests by 25%.
[44]
Permafrost
degradation in the lowlands of Alaska has caused tussock (grass)-tundra communities to turn
into shrub-tundra communities.
[44]
Shrubs and woody plants are extending their northern ecological
range and encroaching on lichen-dominated ecosystems.
[43]



Lichen-covered tree, Tresco


Tussocks - geograph.org.uk - 452055
As a result, the amount of lichens found in the affected areas decrease.
[43]
This affects the entire
ecosystem, as lichens are a vital food source for caribou that are commonly found in arctic
regions.
[43]
The degradation of permafrost and its effects on vegetation is a complex and intricate
cycle; thus far the thawing permafrost has two major effects on vegetation: 1. Permafrost thaw in ice-
rich soils equates to a loss of terrestrial ecosystems and an increase in aquatic or wetland
ecosystems. 2. Permafrost thawing in the upland regions results in improved soil drainage leading to
the alpine meadows undergoing a transformation to either shrub communities or drought
communities.
[44]



Permafrost - ice wedge
Soil sustainability[edit]
Permafrost is integral to soil stability in arctic regions.
[45]
Melting permafrost causes the surrounding
soil to become unstable and settle.
[45]
As permafrost melts, surrounding lakeshore destabilization
takes place.
[46]
Consequently, bank materials slump into the lakes decreasing oxygen
concentration.
[42]
As a result, water temperature increases which allows bacteria to flourish.
[42]
The
abundant bacteria produce carbon dioxide and methane gas causing the lakes and ponds to
produce a significant source of greenhouse gas.
[42]
This increased methane release is further
amplified as melting permafrost exposes previously buried soil. Methane and carbon dioxide stored
in the organic matter seep into the atmosphere and contribute further to the climate change
problem.
[42]
Similar to lake shore destabilization, melting permafrost causes bank materials to slump
into river water which causes sedimentation of fish bearing streams and adversely effects habitat
and health of salmon and other aquatic species.
[47]
Settlement of surface soil associated with melting
permafrost leads to significant infrastructure instability and damage to roads, bridges, buildings,
homes, pipelines and airstrips in affected areas.
[45]

Impact on natural resources[edit]
Drinking water[edit]
In rural Africa and the Middle East, when droughts dry up the regular water supply, rural and
impoverished families are forced to resort to drinking the dirty, sediment-and-parasite-laden water
that sits in puddles and small pools on the surface of the earth. Many are aware of the presence of
contamination, but will drink from these sources nonetheless in order to avoid dying of dehydration.
It has been estimated that up to 80% of human illness in the world can be attributed to contaminated
water.
[48]

When there is an adequate amount of drinking water, humans drink from different sources than their
livestock. However, when drought occurs and drinking water slowly disappears, catchment areas
such as streams and depressions in the ground where water gathers are often shared between
people and the livestock they depend on for financial and nutritional support, and this is when
humans can fall seriously ill. Although some diseases that are transferred to humans can be
prevented by boiling the water, many people, living on just a litre or two of water per day, refuse to
boil, as it loses a certain percentage of the water to steam.
[49]

The sharing of water between livestock and humans is one of the most common factors in the
transmission of non-tuberulosis mycobacteria (NTM). NTM is carried in cattle and pig feces, and if
this contaminates the drinking water supply, it can result in pulmonary disease, disseminated
disease or localized lesions in humans with both compromised and competent immune
systems.
[50]
During drought, water supplies are even more susceptible to harmful algal blooms and
microorganisms.
[51]
Algal blooms increase water turbidity, suffocating aquatic plants, and can deplete
oxygen, killing fish. Some kinds of blue-green algae create neurotoxins, hepatoxins, cytotoxins or
endotoxins that can cause serious and sometimes fatal neurological, liver and digestive diseases in
humans. Cyanobacteria grow best in warmer temperatures (especially above 25 degrees Celsius),
and so areas of the world that are experiencing general warming as a result of climate change are
also experiencing harmful algal blooms more frequently and for longer periods of time. During times
of intense precipitation (such as during the wet season in much of the tropical and sub-tropical
world, including Australia and Panama, nutrients that cyanobacteria depend on are carried from
groundwater and the earths surface into bodies of water. As drought begins and these bodies
gradually dry up, the nutrients are concentrated, providing the perfect opportunity for algal
blooms.
[52][53][54]

Fresh water[edit]
As the climate warms, it changes the nature of global rainfall, evaporation, snow, stream flow and
other factors that affect water supply and quality. Freshwater resources are highly sensitive to
variations in weather and climate. Climate change is projected to affect water availability. In areas
where the amount of water in rivers and streams depends on snow melting, warmer temperatures
increase the fraction of precipitation falling as rain rather than as snow, causing the annual spring
peak in water runoff to occur earlier in the year. This can lead to an increased likelihood of
winter flooding and reduced late summer river flows. Rising sea levels cause saltwater to enter into
fresh underground water and freshwater streams. This reduces the amount of freshwater available
for drinking and farming. Warmer water temperatures also affect water quality and accelerate water
pollution.
[55]

Food depletion[edit]
Further information: Effects of global warming on agriculture
Impact on livestock[edit]
Climate change is beginning to lead the global population into a food shortage, greatly affecting
our livestock supply. Although the change in our climate is causing us to lose food, these sources
are also contributing to climate change, essentially, creating a feedback loop. Greenhouse gases,
specifically from livestock, are one of the leading sources furthering global warming; these
emissions, which drastically effect climatic change, are also beginning to harm our livestock in ways
we could never imagine.
Greenhouse gas effects[edit]
Our agricultural food system is responsible for a significant amount of the greenhouse-gas emissions
that are produced.
[56][57]

According to the IPCC, it makes up between, at least, 10-12% of the emissions, and when there are
changes in land due to the agriculture, it can even rise as high as 17%. More specifically, emissions
from farms, such as nitrous oxide, methane and carbon dioxide, are the main culprits, and can be
held accountable for up to half of the greenhouse-gases produced by the overall food industry, or
80% of all emissions just within agriculture.
[57]

The types of farm animals, as well as the food they supply can be put into two
categories: monogastric and ruminant. Typically, beef and dairy, in other words, ruminant products,
rank high in greenhouse-gas emissions; monogastric, or pigs and poultry-related foods, are low. The
consumption of the monogastric types, therefore, yield less emissions. This is due to the fact that
these types of animals have a higher feed-conversion efficiency, and also do not produce any
methane.
[57]

As lower-income countries begin, and continue, to develop, the necessity for a consistent meat
supply will increase.
[57][58]
This means the cattle population will be required to grow in order to keep
up with the demand, producing the highest possible rate of greenhouse-gas emissions.
[57]

There are some strategies that can be used to help soften the effects, and the further production of
greenhouse-gas emissions. Although there are many, some of them include: a higher efficiency in
livestock farming, which includes management, as well as technology; a more effective process of
managing manure; a lower dependence upon fossil-fuels and nonrenewable resources; a variation in
the animals eating and drinking duration, time and location; and a cutback in, both, the production
and consumption of animal-sourced foods.
[57][58][59][60]

Heat stress[edit]
Heat stress on livestock has a devastating effect on not only their growth and reproduction, but their
food intake and production of dairy and meat. Cattle require a temperature range of 5-15 degrees
Celsius, but upwards to 25 C, to live comfortably, and once climate change increases the
temperature, the chance of these changes occurring increases.
[58]
Once the high temperatures hit,
the livestock struggle to keep up their metabolism, resulting in decreased food intake, lowered
activity rate, and a drop in weight. This causes a decline in livestock productivity and can be
detrimental to the farmers and consumers. Obviously, the location and species of the livestock
varies and therefore the effects of heat vary between them. This is noted in livestock at a higher
elevation and in the tropics, of which have a generally increased effect from climate change.
Livestock in a higher elevation are very vulnerable to high heat and are not well adapted to those
changes.
Impact on plant based food[edit]
Climate change has many potential impacts on the production of food cropsfrom food scarcity and
nutrient deficiency to possible increased food production because of elevatedcarbon dioxide
(CO
2
) levelsall of which directly affect human health. Part of this variability in possible outcomes is
from the various climate change models used to project potential impacts; each model takes into
account different factors and so come out with a slightly different result.
[61]
A second problem comes
from the fact that projections are made based on historical data which is not necessarily helpful in
accurate forecasting as changes are occurring exponentially.
[62][63]
As such, there are many different
possible impactsboth positive and negativethat may result from climate change affecting global
regions in different ways.
[63][64]

Food scarcity[edit]
Food scarcity is a major concern for many populations and is one of the prominent concerns with the
changing climate. Currently, 1/6 of the global population are without adequate food supply.
[65]
By
2050, the global population is projected to reach 9 billion requiring global food productions to
increase by 50% to meet population demand.
[65][66]
In short, food scarcity is a growing concern that,
according to many researchers, is projected to worsen with climate change because of a number of
factors including extreme weather events and an increase in pests and pathogens.
Extreme weather[edit]
Rising temperatures[edit]
As the temperature changes and weather patterns become more extreme, areas which were
historically good for farmland will no longer be as amicable.
[67][68]
The current prediction is for
temperature increase and precipitation decrease for major arid and semi-arid regions (Middle
East, Africa, Australia, Southwest United States, and Southern Europe).
[67][69]
In addition, crop yields
in tropical regions will be negatively affected by the projected moderate increase in temperature (1-
2 C) expected to occur during the first half of the century.
[70]
During the second half of the century,
further warming is projected to decrease crop yields in all regions including Canada and Northern
United States.
[69]
Many staple crops are extremely sensitive to heat and when temperatures rise over
36 C, soybean seedlings are killed and corn pollen loses its vitality.
[62][71]
Scientists project that an
annual increase of 1 C will in turn decrease wheat, rice and corn yields by 10%.
[69][72]

There are, however, some positive possible aspects to climate change as well. The projected
increase in temperature during the first half of the century (1-3 C) is expected to benefit crop and
pasture yields in the temperate regions.
[61][62][73]
This will lead to higher winter temperatures and
more frost-free days in these regions; resulting in a longergrowing season, increased thermal
resources and accelerated maturation.
[63][64]
If the climate scenario results in mild and wet weather,
some areas and crops will suffer, but many may benefit from this.
[61]

Drought and flood[edit]
Extreme weather conditions continue to decrease crop yields in the form of droughts and floods.
While these weather events are becoming more common, there is still uncertainty and therefore a
lack of preparedness as to when and where they will take place.
[64][74]
In extreme cases, floods
destroy crops, disrupting agricultural activities and rendering workers jobless and eliminating food
supply. On the opposite end of the spectrum, droughts can also wipe out crops. It is estimated that
35-50% of the worlds crops are at risk of drought.
[62]
Australia has been experiencing severe,
recurrent droughts for a number of years, bringing serious despair to its farmers. The countrys rates
of depression anddomestic violence are increasing and as of 2007, more than one hundred farmers
had committed suicide as their thirsty crops slipped away.
[62]
Drought is even more disastrous in
the developing world, exacerbating the pre-existing poverty and
fostering famine and malnutrition.
[61][62]

Droughts can cause farmers to rely more heavily on irrigation; this has downsides for both the
individual farmers and the consumers. The equipment is expensive to install and some farmers may
not have the financial ability to purchase it.
[67]
The water itself must come from somewhere and if the
area has been in a drought for any length of time, the rivers may be dry and the water must be
transported from further distances. With 70% of blue water currently being used for global
agriculture, any need over and above this could potentiate a water crisis.
[61][65]
In Sub-Saharan
Africa, water is used to flood rice fields to control the weed population; with the projection of less
precipitation for this area, this historical method of weed control will no longer be possible.
[75]

With more costs to the farmer, some will no longer find it financially feasible to
farm. Agriculture employs the majority of the population in most low-income countries and increased
costs can result in worker layoffs or pay cuts.
[61]
Other farmers will respond by raising their food
prices; a cost which is directly passed on to the consumer and impacts the affordability of food.
Some farms do not export their goods and their function is to feed a direct family or community;
without that food, people will not have enough to eat. This results in decreased production,
increased food prices, and potential starvation in parts of the world.
[65]


Financial[edit]
Some research suggests that initially climate change will help developing nations because some
regions will be experiencing more negative climate change effects which will result in increased
demand for food leading to higher prices and increased wages.
[61]
However, many of the
projected climate scenarios suggest a huge financial burden. For example, the heat wave that
passed through Europe in 2003 cost 13 billion euros in uninsured agriculture losses.
[70]
In addition,
during El Nino weather conditions, the chance of the Australian farmers income falling below
average increased by 75%, greatly impacting the countrys GDP.
[70]
The agriculture industry
in India makes up 52% of their employment and the Canadian Prairies supply 51% of Canadian
agriculture; any changes in the production of food crops from these areas could have profound
effects on the economy.
[63][68]
This could negatively affect the affordability of food and the subsequent
health of the population.
Pests and pathogens[edit]
Currently, CO
2
levels are 40% higher than they were in pre-industrial times.
[62]
This diminishes
nutritional content for both human and insect consumption. Studies have shown that when
CO
2
levels rise, soybean leaves are less nutritious; therefore plant-eating beetles have to eat more
to get their required nutrients.
[62]
In addition, soybeans are less capable of defending themselves
against the predatory insects under high CO
2
. The CO
2
diminishes the plants jasmonic
acid production, an insect-killing poison that is excreted when the plant senses its being attacked.
Without this protection, beetles are able to eat the soybean leaves freely, resulting in a lower crop
yield.
[62]
This is not a problem unique to soybeans, and many plant species defense mechanisms
are impaired in a high CO
2
environment.
[66]

Currently, pathogens take 10-16% of the global harvest and this level is likely to rise as plants are at
an ever-increasing risk of exposure to pests and pathogens.
[66]
Historically, cold temperatures at
night and in the winter months would kill off insects, bacteria and fungi. The warmer, wetter winters
are promoting fungal plant diseases like soybean rust to travel northward. Soybean rust is a vicious
plant pathogen that can kill off entire fields in a matter of days, devastating farmers and costing
billions in agricultural losses. Another example is the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic in BC,
Canada which killed millions of pine trees because the winters were not cold enough to slow or kill
the growing beetle larvae.
[62]
The increasing incidence of flooding and heavy rains also promotes the
growth of various other plant pests and diseases.
[76]
On the opposite end of the spectrum, drought
conditions favour different kinds of pests like aphids, whiteflies and locusts.
[62]

The competitive balance between plants and pests has been relatively stable for the past century,
but with the rapidly shifting climate, there is a change in this balance which often favours the more
biologically diverse weeds over the monocrops most farms consist of.
[76]
Currently, weeds claim
about one tenth of global crop yields annually as there are about eight to ten weed species in a field
competing with crops.
[62]
Characteristics of weeds such as their genetic diversity, cross-breeding
ability, and fast-growth rates put them at an advantage in changing climates as these characteristics
allow them to adapt readily in comparison to most farm's uniform crops, and give them a biological
advantage.
[62]
There is also a shift in the distribution of pests as the altered climate makes areas
previously uninhabitable more uninviting.
[71]
Finally, with the increased CO
2
levels, herbicides will
lose their efficiency which in turn increases the tolerance of weeds to herbicides.
[76]

Impact on nutrition[edit]
Another area of concern is the effect of climate change on the nutritional content of food for human
consumption. Studies show that increasing atmospheric levels of CO
2
have an unfavourable effect
on the nutrients in plants. As the carbon concentration in the plants tissues increase, there is a
corresponding decrease in the concentration of elements such
as nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc and iodine. Of significant concern is the protein content of plants,
which also decreases in relation to elevating carbon content.
[63][66][77]

Irakli Loladze explains that the lack of essential nutrients in crops contributes the problem
of micronutrient malnutrition in society, commonly known as hidden hunger; despite adequate
caloric intake, the body still is not nutritionally satisfied and therefore continues to be
hungry.
[78]
This problem is aggravated by the rising cost of food, resulting in a global shift towards
diets which are less expensive, but high in calories, fats, and animal products. This results
in undernutrition and an increase in obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.
[65][78]

Countries worldwide are already impacted by deficiencies in micronutrients and are seeing the
effects in the health of their populations. Iron deficiency affects more than 3.5 billion people;
increasing maternal mortality and hindering cognitive development in children, leading to education
losses. Iodine deficiency leads to ailments like goitre, brain damageand cretinism and is a problem in
at least 130 different countries.
[78]
Even though these deficiencies are invisible, they have great
potential to impact human health on a global scale.
It must also be noted that small increases in CO
2
levels can cause a CO
2
fertilization effect where
the growth and reproduction abilities of C
3
plants such as soybeans and rice are actually enhanced
by 10-20% in laboratory experiments. This does not take into account, however, the additional
burden of pests, pathogens, nutrients and water affecting the crop yield.
[77][79]

Adaptation and mitigation strategies[edit]
While researchers acknowledge there are possible benefits, most agree that the negative
consequences of climate change will outweigh any potential benefits and instead the shifting climate
will result in more benefits to developed countries and more detriments to developing countries;
exacerbating the discrepancy between wealthy and impoverished nations.
[66][72][79]
By thoughtful and
proactive efforts, climate change can be mitigated by addressing these issues with
a multidisciplinary approach that works on a global,national and community basis that recognizes the
uniqueness of each countrys situation.
[65][68]

According to a study of East Africas smallholder farms, impacts of climate change on agriculture are
already being seen there resulting in changes to farming practices such asintercropping, crop, soil,
land, water and livestock management systems, and introduction of new technologies and seed
varieties by some of the farmers.
[74]
Some other suggestions such as eliminating supply chain and
household food waste, encouraging diverse and vegetable-rich diets, and providing global access to
foods (food aid programs) have been suggested as ways to adapt.
[61][65][66]
Many researchers agree
that agricultural innovation is essential to addressing the potential issues of climate change. This
includes better management of soil, water-saving technology, matching crops to environments,
introducing different crop varieties, crop rotations, appropriate fertilization use, and supporting
community-based adaptation strategies.
[63][65][68][76][80]
On a government and global level, research
and investments into agricultural productivity and infrastructuremust be done to get a better picture
of the issues involved and the best methods to address them. Government policies and programs
must provide environmentally sensitive government subsidies, educational campaigns and economic
incentives as well as funds, insurance and safety nets for vulnerable populations.
[61][65][66][68][80]
In
addition, providing early warning systems, and accurate weather forecasts to poor or remote areas
will allow for better preparation; by using and sharing the available technology, the global issue of
climate change can be addressed and mitigated by the global community.
[65]

Ocean acidification and human health[edit]
Overview[edit]
Perhaps one of the most recent adverse effects of climate change to be explored is that of ocean
acidification. Our oceans cover approximately 71 percent of the Earths surface and support a
diverse range of ecosystems, which are home to over 50 percent of all the species on the
planet.
[81]
Oceans regulate climate and weather as well as providingnutrition for a vast variety of
species, humans included.
[81]
Covering such an extensive part of the planet has allowed the oceans
to absorb a large portion of the carbon dioxide (CO
2
) from the atmosphere.
[82]
This process is part of
the carbon cycle in which the fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO
2
) in
Earths atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere are described.
[83]
Humans have drastically added to
the amount of carbon dioxide (CO
2
) in the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and the
process of deforestation. Oceans work as a sink absorbing excess anthropogenic carbon
dioxide (CO
2). As the oceans absorb anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO
2) it breaks down into carbonic acid, a mild acid, this neutralizes the normally alkaline ocean water.
As a result the pH in the oceans is declining. In the research surrounding global climate change we
are only just beginning to realize that our oceans can sequester a finite amount of CO
2
before we
start seeing impacts on marine life that could lead to devastating losses. Acidification of our oceans
has the potential to drastically alter life as we know it - from extreme weather patterns and food
scarcity to a loss of millions of species from the planet - all of these consequences hold the potential
to directly affect human health.
Chemistry[edit]
The mechanism by which CO
2
is absorbed into the ocean is basic chemistry. CO
2
combines
with water H
2
O to form carbonic acid (H
2CO
3) then eventually dissociates intocarbonate (CO2
3) and hydrogen ions (H+
). The free hydrogen ions (H+
) lower the pH of the surrounding waters making it acidic. The mechanism is shown here
CO
2

(aq)
+ H
2
O H
2
CO
3
HCO
3

+ H
+
CO
3
2
+ 2 H
+
.
According to our records since the pre-industrial age pH has already dropped approximately 0.1 pH
unit, or 30 percent because the pH scale is logarithmic.
[84]
If we continue with business as usual it is
expected that by mid-century pH could drop another o.3 pH units - at this rate our oceans would be
two and a half times as acidic then previous levels.
[84]

Temperature[edit]
Decreasing pH and rising water temperatures due to global warming and increased greenhouse gas
emissions work synergistically. When the temperature rises, the chemical reaction above proceeds
at a faster rate therefore, the water becomes more acidic as it warms. Conversely, warmer water is
unable to hold as much CO
2
therefore, it releases more into the atmosphere, in turn, making the
atmosphere warmer further warming the oceans water.
[85]

Impacts on marine life[edit]
Acidification has multiple implications on marine life such as physiological sensitivities,
reduced metabolism, decreased oxygen uptake and reproductive success.
[86]
Looking at it from a
bottom up approach, the simpler organisms are considered first moving up the food chain
culminating with the ultimate apex predator, man.
Coral[edit]
Coral reefs appear to be both negatively and positively affected by pH and temperature
changes. Corals in currently warmer waters appear to break down and die off as a consequence of
lower pH and higher water temperatures, whereas corals in cooler waters appear to become hardier
and grow faster due to pH changes and temperatures rising.
[87]
This change in coral community
composition will allow formerly cold water corals to slowly move into areas previously occupied by
warm water species.
[87]
This shift in regional locality will likely be a slow, laborious process and the
mean time could actually lead to more pronounced dead zones throughout the oceans. Acidification
and temperature increase leads to dead zones, because it allows for eutrophication to occur.
Blooms of algae and phytoplankton explode removing oxygen during their eventual death and
decomposition.
[88]
The Southern Ocean is an area of particular high risk.
[88]
A decrease in coral reef
cover leads to less viable fish habitat and a breakdown in the food chain, further exacerbating dead
zones.
[87]
In 2008, it was estimated that global fisheries dependent upon species associated with
coral reefs topped US$5.7 billion annually.
[88]

Oceanic calcifying organisms[edit]
Ocean acidification also leads to a reduction in the ability for calcareous organisms to build and
maintain their shells, skeletons and other structures.
[88][89][90][91]
The decreased pH renders them
unable to fix calcium Ca
2
to carbonate (CO2
3) for production of calcium-based protection, and they become easy prey for predators, if they are
able to survive the more acidic conditions in the first place.
[90]
Many island states and developing
nations depend upon such organisms (like mussels and oysters) for sustenance and income since
they may occupy land that has little terrestrial agricultural value.
[88]
The decrease in native species
allows for non-native, invasive species to take hold and a shift from calcareous species to soft-
bodied inverts takes place.
[89]
This also affects the food chain from a bottom-up perspective.
[89]

Fish[edit]
Fish are not immune to ocean acidification either. Not only does the lower pH affect their food
availability, it has also been shown to impair their senses. It affects their sense of smell, hearing,
balance and ability to sense predators.
[88]
Further, studies have shown that acidification has positive
and negative impacts on fecundity, distribution range, growth and seasonal
movements.
[87][91][92]
Some fish, like the anemone fish, have been able survive the pH shifts and live
to reproduce, provided the parents existed in the same conditions prior to offspring being
born.
[87]
More studies need to be conducted with a wider range of species to determine the full scope
of implications associated with this phenomenon. In one study from Southeastern Australia, ocean
acidification had the largest negative impact on total fish biomass, more so than either fishing or
ocean warming alone.
[92]
Overall, ocean acidification had the single largest negative effect on total
biomass (top predators, fishes, benthic invertebrates, plankton, and primary producers).
[92]
Taken
together, the additive effects of more than one stressor at the community level resulted in decreased
biomass in majority of the marine communities.
Human Health[edit]
The health of our oceans has a direct effect on the health humans. According to Small and Nicholls,
they estimated that 1.2 billion people worldwide, lived in the near-coastal region (within 100 km and
100m of the shoreline).
[93]
This data was collected in 1990 and therefore is a conservative estimate
in modern terms. In the U.S. alone 53% of the population lives within 50 miles of the coastal
shoreline.
[94]
Humans rely heavily on oceans for food, employment, recreation, weather patterns and
transportation.
[95]
In the U.S. alone the lands adjacent to the oceans contribute over $1 trillion
annually through these various activities not to mention pharmaceutical and medicinal
discoveries.
[95]
In all, the oceans are very important for our survival as a species.
Infiltrating fresh water and extreme weather[edit]
With degradation of protective coral reefs through acidic erosion, bleaching and death, salt water is
able to infiltrate fresh ground water supplies that large populations depend on.
[96][97]
Nowhere is this
more evident than atoll islands. These islands possess limited freshwater supplies, namely ground
water lenses and rain fall. When the protective coral reefs surrounding them erodes due to higher
temperatures and acidic water chemistry, salt water is able to infiltrate the lens and contaminate the
drinking water supply.
[96]
In coastal Bangladesh it has been demonstrated that seasonal
hypertension in pregnant women is connected with such phenomenon due to high sodium intake
from drinking water.
[97]
Reef erosion, coupled with sea level rise, tends to flood low lying areas more
frequently during storm surges and weather events. Warming ocean waters generate larger and
more devastating weather events that can decimate coastal populations especially without the
protection of coral reefs.
Food safety[edit]
Our insatiable appetite for seafood of all types has led to overfishing and has already significantly
strained marine food stocks to the point of collapse in many cases. With seafood being a major
protein source for so much of the population, there are inherent health risks associated with global
warming. As mentioned above increased agricultural runoff and warmer water temperature allows for
eutrophication of ocean waters. This increased growth of algae and phytoplankton in turn can have
dire consequences. These algal blooms can emit toxic substances that can be harmful to humans if
consumed. Organisms, such as shellfish, marine crustaceans and even fish, feed on or near these
infected blooms, ingest the toxins and can be consumed unknowingly by humans. One of these toxin
producing algae is Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta. This species produces a substance calleddomoic
acid which is responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning.
[98]
The toxicity of this species has been
shown to increase with greater CO2 concentrations associated with ocean acidification.
[98]
Some of
the more common illnesses reported from harmful algal blooms include; Ciguatera fish
poisoning, paralytic shellfish poisoning, azaspiracid shellfish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish
poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and the above-mentioned amnesic shellfish poisoning.
[98]

Extreme weather events[edit]
Infectious disease often accompanies extreme weather events, such as floods, earthquakes and
drought. These local epidemics occur due to loss of infrastructure, such as hospitals and sanitation
services, but also because of changes in local ecology and environment. For example, malaria
outbreaks have been strongly associated with the El Nio cycles of a number of countries (India and
Venezuela, for example). El Nio can lead to drastic, though temporary, changes in the environment
such as temperature fluctuations and flash floods.
[99]
Because of global warming there has been a
marked trend towards more variable and anomalous weather. This has led to an increase in the
number and severity of extreme weather events. This trend towards more variability and fluctuation
is perhaps more important, in terms of its impact on human health, than that of a gradual and long-
term trend towards higher average temperature.
[99]

Drought[edit]
Arguably one of the worst effects that drought has directly on human health is the destruction of food
supply. Farmers who depend on weather to water their crops lose tons of crops per year due to
drought. Plant growth is severely stunted without adequate water, and plant resistance mechanisms
to fungi and insects weaken like human immune systems. The expression of genes is altered by
increased temperatures, which can also affect a plants resistance mechanisms. One example is
wheat, which has the ability to express genes that make it resistant to leaf and stem rusts, and to the
Hessian fly; its resistance declines with increasing temperatures. A number of other factors
associated with lack of water may actually attract pestilent insects, as well- some studies have
shown that many insects are attracted to yellow hues, including the yellowing leaves of drought-
stressed plants. During times of mild drought is when conditions are most suitable to insect
infestation in crops; once the plants become too weakened, they lack the nutrients necessary to
keep the insects healthy. This means that even a relatively short, mild drought may cause enormous
damage- even though the drought on its own may not be enough to kill a significant portion of the
crops, once the plants become weakened, they are at higher risk of becoming infested.
[100]

The results of the loss of crop yields affect everyone, but they can be felt most by the poorest people
in the world. As supplies of corn, flour and vegetables decline, world food prices are driven up.
Malnutrition rates in poor areas of the world skyrocket, and with this, dozens of associated diseases
and health problems. Immune function decreases, so mortality rates due to infectious and other
diseases climb. For those whose incomes were affected by droughts (namely agriculturalists and
pastoralists), and for those who can barely afford the increased food prices, the cost to see a doctor
or visit a clinic can simply be out of reach. Without treatment, some of these diseases can hinder
ones ability to work, decreasing future opportunities for income and perpetuating the vicious cycle of
poverty.
[101]

Floods[edit]
Health concerns around the world can be linked to floods. With the increase in temperatures world
wide due to climate change the increase in flooding is unavoidable.
[102]
Floodshave short and long
term negative implications to peoples' health and well being. Short term implications
include mortalities, injuries and diseases, while long term implications include non-communicable
diseases and psychosocial health aspects.
[103]

Moralities are not uncommon when it comes to floods. The Countries with lower incomes are more
likely to have more fatalities, because of the lack of resources they have and the supplies to prepare
for a flood. This does depend on the type and properties of the flood. For example if there is a flash
flood it would not matter how prepared you are. Fatalities connected directly to floods are usually
caused by drowning; the waters in a flood are very deep and have strong currents.
[103]
Deaths do not
just occur from drowning, deaths are connected with dehydration, heat stroke, heart attack and any
other illness that needs medical supplies that cannot be delivered.
[103]

Injuries can lead to an excessive amount of morbidity when a flood occurs. Victims who already
have a chronic illness and then sustain a non-fatal injury are put at a higher risk for that non-fatal
injury to become fatal. Injuries are not isolated to just those who were directly in the
flood, rescue teams and even people delivering supplies can sustain an injury. Injuries can occur
anytime during the flood process; before, during and after.
[103]
Before the flood people are trying
to evacuate as fast as they can, motor vehicle accidents, in this case, are a primary source of
injuries obtained post flood. During floods accidents occur with falling debris or any of the many fast
moving objects in the water. After the flood rescue attempts are where large amounts of injuries can
occur.
[103]

Communicable diseases are increased due to many pathogens and bacteria that are being
transported by the water. In floods where there are many fatalities in the water there is
a hygienic problem with the handling of bodies, due to the panic stricken mode that comes over a
town in distress.
[103]
There are many water contaminated diseases such ascholera, hepatitis
A, hepatitis E and diarrheal diseases, to mention a few. There are certain diseases that are directly
correlated with floods they include any dermatitis and anywound, nose, throat or ear
infection. Gastrointestinal disease and diarrheal diseases are very common due to a lack of clean
water during a flood. Most of clean water supplies are contaminated when flooding occurs. Hepatitis
A and E are common because of the lack of sanitation in the water and in living quarters depending
on where the flood is and how prepared the community is for a flood.
[103]

Respiratory diseases are a common after the disaster has occurred. This depends on the amount
of water damage and mold that grows after an incident. Vector borne diseases increase as well due
to the increase in still water after the floods have settled. The diseases that are vector borne are as
follows: malaria, dengue, West Nile, yellow fever.
[103]

Non-communicable diseases are a long-term effect of floods. They are either caused by a flood or
they are worsened by a flood; they include cancer, lung disease and diabetes. Floods have a huge
impact on victims psychosocial integrity. People suffer from a wide variety of losses and stress. One
of the most treated illness in long-term health problems are depression caused by the flood and all
the tragedy that flows with one.
[103]

Glacial melting[edit]
A glacier is a mass of ice that has originated from snow that has been compacted via pressure and
have definite lateral limits and movements in definite directions.
[104]
They are found in areas where
the temperatures do not get warm enough to melt annual snow accumulation, thus resulting in many
layers of snow piling up over many years, creating the pressure needed to make a glacier. Global
climate change and fluctuation is causing an increasingly exponential melting of Earths glaciers.
These melting glaciers have manysocial and ecological consequences that directly or indirectly
impact the health and well-being of humans.
[105]
The recession of glaciers change sea
salt, sediment, and temperature ratios in the ocean which changes currents, weather patterns, and
marine life.
[99]
The melt also increases ocean levels and decreases the availability of water for
human consumption, agriculture, and hydroelectricity. This aggravates and increases the likelihood
of issues such as sanitation, world hunger, population shifts, and catastrophic weather such as
flooding, drought, and world-wide temperature fluctuations.
[99]

Glacier mass-balances show consistent decreases over the last century in most regions of the
world and retreat may be accelerating in many locations"
[106]
with an average loss of ten meters per
year,
[105]
nearly twice as fast as ten years ago.
[107]
Glaciers currently cover ~10% of the Earths
surface, or ~15 million km and holds ~75% of Earths fresh water supply. Glacial retreat first gained
the attention of alpinists and the tourist industry shortly after 1940 when the globe warmed
~0.5 C.
[104]
Even with 62 years of awareness, climate change is just becoming an issue for some
parts of society. Over this time period the cirque and steep alpine glaciers were able
to acclimatize to the new temperatures posed by climate change; large valley glaciers have not yet
made this adjustment. This means the large valley glaciers are rapidly retreating, as their mass is
attempting to achieve equilibrium with the current climate. If regional snow lines stay constant, then
the glaciers remain constant.
[104]
Today this is clearly not the case as global warming is causing
mountain snow lines to rapidly retreat. Even the United States famous Glacier National Park is
receding. More than two-thirds of its glaciers have disappeared and it is expected for them to be
nonexistent in the park by the year 2030.
[108]

Glacial melt will affect low lying coastal wetlands via sea level rise, change key drivers of fresh-water
ecosystems, shift the timing of snow packs, and alter the unique character of associated fresh water
streams off of snow pack.
[109]
It has also been stated that the sea level will rise 2843 cm by
2100;
[109]
if all the ice on Earth melts, it is predicted that the ocean level will increase 75 meters,
destroying many coastal cities.
[99]
In addition, the freshwater swaps in northern areas are already
affected by the intrusion of salt water. Sea level rise will cause a change of state from freshwater to
marine or estuarine ecosystems, radically altering the composition of biotic communities".
[109]

Not only are glaciers causing a rise in sea level, they are causing an increase in El Nio Southern
Oscillation (ESNO) and global temperature itself.
[104]
Glacier loss adds to global heat rise through a
decrease in what is called ice-albedo feedback. As more ice melts, there is less solar reflectivity and
less heat is reflected away from the Earth, causing more heat to be absorbed, and retained in the
atmosphere and soil
[99]
In addition to the El Nio events, glacial melt is contributing to the rapid
turnover of sea surface temperatures
[104]
and ocean salt content by diluting the ocean water and
slowing the Atlantic conveyor belt's usually swift dive because of a top layer of buoyant, cold, fresh
water that slows the flow of warm water to the north.
[99]

Fifty percent of the worlds fresh water consumption is dependent glacial runoff.
[108]
Earth's glaciers
are expected to melt within the next forty years, greatly decreasing fresh water flow in the hotter
times of the year, causing everyone to depend on rainwater, resulting in large shortages and
fluctuations in fresh water availability which largely effects agriculture, power supply, and human
health and well-being.
[99]
Many power sources and a large portion of agriculture rely on glacial runoff
in the late summer. In many parts of the world, disappearing mountain glaciers and droughts will
make fresh, clean water for drinking, bathing, and other necessary human (and livestock) uses
scarce" and a valuable commodity.
[99]

Heat stress[edit]
The upper limit for heat stress humans can adapt to is called into question with a 7 C temperature
rise, quantified by the wet-bulb temperature, regions of Earth would lose their habitability.
[110]

Deforestation[edit]


Holzstaemme
Forests account for approximately 30% of the Earths land surface.
[111]
The soils and ecosystems
that exist within these forests store around 1200 gigatonnes of carbon. With the earths atmospheric
concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) recently reaching 391 ppm (parts per million) in October
2012,
[112][113]
more than a 100 ppm increase from the pure-industrial era
[114]
it is clear that the
relationship between the Earths forests and atmosphere is critically important.
[111]
During the 1980s
it became increasingly clear that the terrestrialbiosphere played an important part in terms of the
global atmospheric carbon balance. It became apparent that the conversion of land, most notably
deforestation in the tropics, caused large terrestrial carbon losses into the atmosphere forcing
other carbon sinks to compensate.
[111]

Tropical forests[edit]
Tropical Forests account for just under 50% of the world's forests, however they contain as much
carbon in their vegetation and soils asboreal and temperate type forests combined.
[115]
With trees in
the tropics holding in general approximately 50% more carbon per hector than trees outside of the
tropics, deforestation in these areas is more likely to lead to higher levels of carbon release.
[115]

Amazon rainforest[edit]


Slash and burn forest removal in Brazil increased dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s.
Forests currently play a major role in carbon uptake in the global carbon cycle.
[116]
The Amazon rain
forest plays an important role bysequestering carbon under stable climatic conditions.
[117]
Forest
fires are often not assigned a net emission of carbon as they are viewed as a bi-product of forest
conversion for agriculture use, however accidental spread of fires beyond agriculture areas may
contribute to increased carbon emissions.
[118]
If the carbon emissions from forest fires are due to a
natural cycle of burning and regrowth, the net carbon balance is nearly zero.
[118]
However
current forest-fire models suggest that forest fragmentation and climate change could shift the
Amazon forest from a carbon sink to a source of atmospheric CO2.
[117]
Recurrent fires increase
pyrophytic vegetation, such as bamboos and grasses which also increase forest flammability thus
increasing potential emissions.
[117]
In 1997 and 1998 forest fires during the El Nio drought affected
at least 20,000 km
2
in the Amazon leading to large smoke episodes which halted air traffic in the
area and caused ships to collide at sea.
[119]
The short-term effects on human health effects were
irritations of the respiratory tract, skin and eyes,bronchitis, conjuctivitis as well as
increased asthma attacks.
[119]

The major drivers of deforestation and degradation in the Amazon are, forest conversions for shifting
cultivation, croplands, pastures as well as industrial and fuel woodharvest.
[118]
When forests are
converted to croplands all initial vegetation is replaced by crops causing a change in the carbon
density.
[118]
Cropland conversion also causes a 25-30% soil carbon reduction.
[118]
Forest conversion
to pastures for cattle is a major cause of deforestation in the Amazon, and although it does not
cause the reduced soil carbon seen with croplands, it is still significant primarily due to its sheer
magnitude.
[118]
The harvest of both industrial wood and fuel wood causes increased carbon
emissions due to burning and decay of wood products as well as reduced carbon density of
forests.
[118]
Tree plantations result in a carbon sink reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide in
participating areas. However within tropical forests worldwide tree plantations have only accounted
for an approximately 4% decrease in net carbon emissions.
[118]

Southeast Asia[edit]
By World War II approximately one-third of the tropical forests in Southeast Asia had been cleared,
with declines continuing past the mid-century mark.
[120]
Over the past thirty years commercial logging
for export has caused significant forest loss.
[120]
In the forested uplands of Indonesia, in order to
extract timber, large forestry corporations constructed road systems to allow access to previously
inaccessible areas. After having logged a given area the loggers moved on and small farmers settled
along the roads and cleared additional forests.
[120]
Logging companies shifted from
one concession to another, moving from country to country.
[120]
Increased market expansion
for tropical timber along with inferior law enforcement, vested interests, and corruption, allowed for
illegal logging operations to exist.
[120]
The lowland forests of Laos and Cambodia have been
subjected to increasingly intense swidden cultivation and the majority of old-growth forests have
ceased to exist in these areas.
[120]
Forests generally hold 20 to 50 times more carbon than the
ecosystem which replaces them,
[115]
thus leading to a net increase of atmospheric C02.
Mangroves[edit]


A red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle
Mangroves are the salt-tolerant evergreen forests, found in the intertidal zones of sheltered
shores, estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters,lagoons, marches and mudflats of the tropical and
subtropical latitudes. Mangrove systems are in continuous jeopardy, facing threats from human
interventions. Human interference in mangrove forests has caused the system to shrink in an
alarming way and at a faster rate than inland tropical forests and coral reefs.
[121]
It is predicted that
small rise in sea level would be the greatest threat to the existing mangroves.
[122]
The mangrove
forests are likely to be totally lost in the next 100 years, if current trends continues.
[121]
A healthy
mangrove ecosystem provides vast benefits to the adjoining systems and mankind. Mangroves and
associated soils can sequester 22.8 million metric tons of carbon each year, which is 11% of the
total input of terrestrial carbon into oceans
[123]
and provides more than 10% of essential organic
carbon to the global oceans.
[124]
Carbon sequestration potential of mangroves is 50 times greater
than many other tropical forests. This is due to the high levels of below ground biomass and also the
considerable storage of organic carbon in mangrove sediment soils. Failing to preserve mangrove
forests may cause considerable carbon emissions and thus accelerate global warming.
[125]
The
restoration of mangroves can be an ideal and natural counter-measure to global warming, and
mangroves also play a key role in environmental security. This consists of mitigating the effects
of tsunami, cyclones, floods and green house gas. In general, every ecosystem provides life
supporting functions as well as other valuable services, many of which are interlaced with human
welfare
[126]
Mangroves have a medicinal value as well. Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves are
as a potential site for new drugs.
[127]
Drug research groups have pointed out that mangroves
possess an untapped source of new medicines and in the future this ecosystem will be the new
frontiers for drug discoveries.
[127]

Effects of deforestation in the African Highlands[edit]


The Ethiopian Highlands
Environmental changes such as deforestation could increase local temperatures in the highlands
thus could enhance the vectorial capacity of the anopheles.
[128]
Anopheles mosquitos are
responsible for the transmission of a number of diseases in the world, such as, malaria, lymphatic
filariasis and viruses that can cause such ailments like O'nyong'nyong virus.
[128]
Environmental
changes,climate variability, and climate change are such factors that could affect biology and
ecology of Anophelse vectors and their disease transmission potential.
[128]
Climate change is
expected to lead to latitudinal and altitudinal temperature increases. Global warming projections
indicate that the best estimate of surface air warming for a high scenario is 4 C, with a likely range
of 2.4-6.4 C by 2100.
[129]
A temperature increase of this size would alter the biology and the ecology
of many mosquito vectors and the dynamics of the diseases they transmit such as Malaria.
Arthropods critically depend on ambient temperature for survival and development,
[130]
and their
distribution range is limited by the temperature. Climate warming or any factor that alters
the microclimate conditions of Anopheles mosquitos (e.g., Deforestation) in the highlands may
facilitate the persistence of the mosquito population.
[131]
Climate warming can mediate
mosquito physiology and metabolic rate because metabolic rate increases exponentially rather than
linearly with temperature ectotherms.
[132]
Anopheles mosquitoes in highland areas are to experience
a larger shift in their metabolic rate due to the climate change. This climate change is due to the
deforestation in the highland areas where these mosquitos dwell. When temperature rises,
the larvae take a shorter time to mature
[133]
and, consequently, there is a greater capacity to
produce more offspring. Microclimatic changes in human homes caused by the effects of
deforestation can also significantly shorten the duration of the mosquitoes' gonotrophic cycle by 1.7
days (4.6 vs 2.9 days)
[134]
The gonotrophic cycle is the period between the taking of a blood meal by
a mosquito, including the digestion of the blood meal, until oviposition or egg laying.
[135]
The
decrease of the gonotrophic cycles implies an increase of the biting frequency from an average of
once every five days to once every three days. In turn this could potentially lead to an increase in
malaria transmission when infected humans are available.
Deforestation for the purpose of logging and self-subsistence agriculture is a serious problem in the
tropical regions of Africa. For Example, Malava forest, a tropical rainforest in kakamega
district, Kenya, shrank from 150 km
2
in 1965 to 86 km
2
in 1997. In East African highlands, 2.9 million
hectares of forest were cleared between 1981 and 1990, representing an 8% reduction in forest
cover in one decade.
[136]
Land use and land cover changes may modify the temperature and relative
humidity of malaria vector habitats in the highlands. For instance, deforestation in Cameroon caused
the introduction of A. gambiae into the habitat that was previously dominated by A. moucheti.
[137]



Biodiversity
Biodiversity[edit]
Deforestation is directly linked with a decrease in plant biodiversity.
[138]
This decrease in biodiversity
has several implications for human health. One such implication is the loss of medicinal plants. The
use of plants for medicinal purposes is extensive, with ~70 to 80% of individuals worldwide relying
solely on plant-based medicine as their primary source of healthcare.
[139]
This dependency on plants
for medicinal purposes is especially rife indeveloping countries that only consume 15% of
manufactured pharmaceutical drugs, many of which are fake.
[139]
Local knowledge surrounding
medicinal plants is useful for screening for new herbal medicines that may be useful for treating
disease.
[140]
Villages and communities which reside continually in a single geographic area over
time, create, transmit and apply widespread information surrounding the medicinal resources in the
area.
[140]
Formal scientific methods have been useful in identifying the active ingredients used
in ethnopharmacy and applying them to modern medicines. However, it is important that medicinal
resources are managed appropriately as they become globally traded in order to prevent species
endangerment.
[140]

Extinction of indigenous groups[edit]
Deforestation is also a primary cause of dislocation and in some cases, extinction of indigenous
people.
[141]
The Malaysian state Sarawak is an example where rampant deforestation has overrun
many Dayak groups.
[141]
The indigenous Sarawakians relied on shifting agriculture, hunting and
gathering in order to sustain their relatively low population density.
[142]
With the advent of modern
logging technology the Sarawak forests entered 'mainstream' economic development.
[141]
This has
led to massive forced evacuations and relocation of the Dayak people causing a loss of their
traditions and culture.
[143]

Mountain pine beetle, forest ecosystems and forest fires[edit]


Adult mountain pine beetle
Climate change and the associated changing weather patterns occurring world-wide have a direct
effect on biology, population ecology, and the population of eruptive insects, such as the mountain
pine beetle (MPB). This is because temperature is a factor which determines insect development
and population success.
[144]
Mountain Pine Beetle are a species native to Western North
America.
[145]
Prior to climatic and temperature changes, the mountain pine beetle predominately
lived and attacked lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees at lower elevations, as the higher
elevation Rocky Mountains and Cascades were too cold for their survival.
[146]
Under normal seasonal
freezing weather conditions in the lower elevations, the forest ecosystems that pine beetles inhabit
are kept in a balance by factors such as tree defense mechanisms, beetle defense mechanisms,
and freezing temperatures. It is a simple relationship between a host (the forest), an agent (the
beetle) and theenvironment (the weather & temperature).
[145]
However, as climate change causes
mountain areas to become warmer and drier, pine beetles have more power to infest and destroy
the forest ecosystems, such as the whitebark pine forests of the Rockies.
[145]
This is a forest so
important to forest ecosystems that it is called the rooftop of the rockies. Climate change has led to
a threatening pine beetle pandemic, causing them to spread far beyond their native habitat. This
leads to ecosystem changes, forest fires, floods and hazards to humanhealth.
[145]

The whitebark pine ecosystem in these high elevations plays many essential roles, providing support
to plant and animal life.
[145]
They provide food for grizzly bears and squirrels, as well as shelter and
breeding grounds for elk and deer; protects watersheds by sending water to parched foothills and
plains; serves as a reservoir by dispensing supplies of water from melted snowpacks that are
trapped beneath the shaded areas; and creates new soil which allows for growth of other trees and
plant species.
[145]
Without these pines, animals do not have adequate food, water, or shelter, and the
reproductive life cycle, as well as quality of life, is affected as a consequence.
[145]
Normally, the pine
beetle cannot survive in these frigid temperatures and high elevation of the Rocky
Mountains.
[145]
However, warmer temperatures means that the pine beetle can now survive and
attack these forests, as it no longer is cold enough to freeze and kill the beetle at such
elevations.
[145]
Increased temperatures also allow the pine beetle to increase their life cycle by 100%:
it only takes a single year instead of two for the pine beetle to develop. As the Rockies have not
adapted to deal with pine beetle infestations, they lack the defenses to fight the
beetles.
[145]
Warmer weather patterns, drought, and beetle defense mechanisms together dries
out sap in pine trees, which is the main mechanism of defense that trees have against the beetle, as
it drowns the beetles and their eggs.
[145]
This makes it easier for the beetle to infest and release
chemicals into the tree, luring other beetles in an attempt to overcome the weakened defense
system of the pine tree. As a consequence, the host (forest) becomes more vulnerable to the
disease-causing agent (the beetle).
[145]

The whitebark forests of the Rockies are not the only forests that have been affected by the
mountain pine beetle. Due to temperature changes and wind patterns, the pine beetle has now
spread through the Continental Divide of the Rockies and has invaded the fragile boreal
forests of Alberta, known as the lungs of the Earth.
[145]
These forests are imperative for
producing oxygen through photosynthesis and removing carbon in the atmosphere. But as the
forests become infested and die, carbon dioxide is released into the environment, and contributes
even more to a warming climate. Ecosystems and humans rely on the supply of oxygen in the
environment, and threats to this boreal forest results in severe consequences to our planet and
human health.
[145]
In a forest ravaged by pine beetle, the dead logs and kindle which can easily be
ignited by lightning. Forest firespresent dangers to the environment, human health and
the economy.
[145]
They are detrimental to air quality and vegetation,
releasing toxic and carcinogenic compounds as they burn.
[145]
Due to human
induced deforestation and climate change, along with the pine beetle pandemic, the strength of
forest ecosystems decrease. The infestations and resulting diseases can indirectly, but seriously,
effect human health. As droughts and temperature increases continue, so does the frequency of
devastating forest fires, insectinfestations, forest diebacks, acid rain, habitat loss, animal
endangerment and threats to safe drinking water.
[145]

Smoke from wildfires[edit]


A surface fire in the western desert ofUtah, U.S.
Climate change increases wildfire potential and activity.
[147]
Climate change leads to a warmer
ground temperature and its effects include: earlier snowmelt dates, drier than expected vegetation,
increased number of potential fire days, increased occurrence of summer droughts, and a
prolonged dry season.
[148]

Warming spring and summer temperatures increase flammability of materials that make up the
forest floors.
[148]
Warmer temperatures cause dehydration of these materials, which
prevents rain from soaking up and dampening fires. Furthermore, pollution from wildfires can
exacerbate climate change by releasing atmospheric aerosols, which
modify cloud and precipitation patterns .
Wood smoke from wildfires produces particulate matter that has damaging effects to human
health.
[149]
The primary pollutants in wood smoke are carbon monoxide and nitric oxide.
[148]
Through
the destruction of forests and human-designed infrastructure, wildfire smoke releases other toxic and
carcinogenic compounds, such as formaldehyde and hydrocarbons.
[150]
These pollutants damage
human health by evading the mucociliary clearance system and depositing in the upper respiratory
tract, where they exert toxic effects.
[148]
Research by Naeher and colleagues.
[149]
found that physician
visits for respiratory diseases increased by 45-80% during wildfire activity in urban British Columbia.
The health effects of wildfire smoke exposure include: exacerbations and development of respiratory
illness such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder; increased risk of lung
cancer, mesothelioma and tuberculosis; increased airway hyper-responsiveness; changes in levels
of inflammatory mediators and coafulation factors; and respiratory tract infection .
[149]
It may also
have intrauterine effects on fetal development, resulting in low birth weight newborns.
[151]
Because
wildfire smoke travels and is often not isolated to a single geographic region, the health effects are
widespread among populations.
[150]
The suppression of wild fires also takes up a large amount of a
countrys gross domestic product which directly affects the countrys economy.
[152]
In the United
States, it was reported that approximately $6 million was spent between 2004-2008 to suppress
wildfires in the country.
[152]

Displacement/migration[edit]
Climate change causes displacement of people in several ways, the most obviousand dramatic
being through the increased number and severity of weather-related disasters which destroy homes
and habitats causing people to seek shelter or livelihoods elsewhere. Slow onset phenomena,
including effects of climate change such as desertification andrising sea levels gradually erode
livelihoods and force communities to abandon traditional homelands for more accommodating
environments. This is currently happening in areas of Africas Sahel, the semi-arid belt that spans
the continent just below its northern deserts. Deteriorating environments triggered by climate change
can also lead to increased conflict over resources which in turn can displace people.
[153]

Extreme environmental events are increasingly recognized as a key driver of migration across the
world. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, more than 42 million people were
displaced in Asia and the Pacific during 2010 and 2011, more than twice the population of Sri Lanka.
This figure includes those displaced by storms, floods, and heat and cold waves. Still others were
displaced drought and sea-level rise. Most of those compelled to leave their homes eventually
returned when conditions improved, but an undetermined number became migrants, usually within
their country, but also across national borders.
[154]

Asia and the Pacific is the global area most prone to natural disasters, both in terms of the absolute
number of disasters and of populations affected. It is highly exposed to climate impacts, and is home
to highly vulnerable population groups, who are disproportionately poor and marginalized. A recent
Asian Development Bank report highlights environmental hot spots that are particular risk of
flooding, cyclones, typhoons, and water stress.
[155]

To reduce migration compelled by worsening environmental conditions, and to strengthen resilience
of at-risk communities, governments should adopt polices and commit financing to social protection,
livelihoods development, basic urban infrastructure development, and disaster risk management.
Though every effort should be made to ensure that people can stay where they live, it is also
important to recognize that migration can also be a way for people to cope with environmental
changes. If properly managed, and efforts made to protect the rights of migrants, migration can
provide substantial benefits to both origin and destination areas, as well as to the migrants
themselves. However, migrants particularly low-skilled ones are among the most vulnerable
people in society and are often denied basic protections and access to services.
[155]

The links between the gradual environmental degradation of climate change and displacement are
complex: as the decision to migrate is taken at the household level, it is difficult to measure the
respective influence of climate change in these decisions with regard to other influencing factors,
such as poverty, population growth or employment options.
[154]
This situates the debate
on environmental migration in a highly contested field: the use of the term 'environmental refugee',
although commonly used in some contexts, is disrecommended by agencies such as
the UNHCR who argue that the term 'refugee' has a strict legal definition which does not apply to
environmental migrants.
[156]
Neither theUN Framework Convention on Climate Change nor the Kyoto
Protocol, an international agreement on climate change, includes any provisions concerning specific
assistance or protection for those who will be directly affected by climate change.
[157]

See also[edit]
Arctic methane release
Effects of global warming
Environmental Security and Peace
Food security
Long-term effects of global warming
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Global warming is also known as the green house effect, is a topic that has received much attention, in
recent years; yet our Climate change is not a recent problem. Every year, almost 7 billion tons of carbon
dioxide is released into the atmosphere by human activity. Global warming is in the earth's upper
atmosphere directly caused by human burning of fossil, fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation. Every
year we see natural disasters that are extremely powerful. For example, In April of 2011, the country of
Japan was hard hit by an earthquake that took the lives of thousands of people. If we ignore the fact now
the result could be catastrophic. As humans, we all have our own opinions, but the problem of global
warming should not be debated: it should be solved.

The problem on Global warming has been unsolvable in the last 30 years, but modern day researchers
have found various remedies to the problem that we as humans have inflicted on the earth. A
phenomenon (otherwise known as 'Climate change of the green house effect') whereby solar radiation
that has reflected back of the surface of the earth remains trapped at atmosphere levels, due to the build-
up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, rather than being emitted back into space. The effect
of this is a warming of the global atmosphere. People that don't believe in Global warming say that there
is no sciencetific proof that earth's temperature is rising. Evidently they never read up on the greenhouse
effect. The earth's atmosphere has mix of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide. It means that this
mixture is delicate balance that makes the temperature on earth proper for plant and animal life. Global
warming is indeed a scan, perpetrated by scientists with vested interests, but in need of crash courses on
Geology, logic and philosophy of science. Therefore claiming that global warming is bad, don't really
know even know if it really is as bad as they say it is.

When considering Global warming, it is first important to know how recently statistics. Global warming has
been caused by the people of the world. Many things have happened as a result. Since the beginning of
20th century, the average surface temperature has increased by 1.1 degree Celsius. Just in the past 40
years. It has risen by a half of a degree. As of now the global sea level is rising three times faster than in
the last hundred years when compared to the last three thousand years. This doesn't sound like much
right away but any change in temperature causes melting to the polar ice caps. If they continue to melt,
the sea level could start to rise dramatically. Furthermore, it is a fact that the average rice in temperature
globally is 1.1 degree. The starting fact is that parts of Alaska, Canada, and Northern Russia. They have
experienced a rise in temperature by 5 degree Fahrenheit. This means that they are in the Northern
hemisphere where there is less water. Less water means less of the new found heat is being taken away
be the vast ocean. These gasses are adding up everyday. In 1987 "Carbon Dioxide reached 340 parts
per million" and "in the 1999 360 ppm". It is estimated that in 2050 the carbon dioxide count will be 600
ppm.This is at the point in which the global temperature would be "higher than it has ever been and will
cause serious problems" unlike the warning sign we are experiencing currently. Clearly the recently
statistics demonstrate that global warming has been effected in the world.

We have properly talked about how global warming effect to our earth already. Another thing we should
have talked in how to help to reduce the gasses on our earth. Building green homes is important both
economical wise and environmental, not only do you help reduce pollution, but making your home
energy-efficiently will help you reduce your bill. We can take charge in our own homes to start modifying
energy usage. The CFL bulb works the same way as the regular one but making your home energy-
efficient energy. This can mean as little as replacing the regular light blub to super-efficient compact
fluorescent lights CFLs would be perfect in your house. The most important things in 21 century are home
improvement or remodeling. Home improving can mean selecting newer appliances such as air-
conditioners, furnaces, water heaters, and refrigerators. Furthermore, after remodeling or replacing the
old product to energy-efficient appliances, it is always good idea take care of the huge important for
climate as transportation. Transport is responsible for nearly one quarter of greenhouse gas emission
world wide, is important but staring 1970 it had increased rapidly worldwide. There are many ways to help
reduce the vehicles that are on the road, for every person who drives fuel-efficient cars, car pull, or uses
public transportations would be as consider environmental friendlybecause it reduces polluting the
atmosphere.



I have not begun my conclusion yet because I can't think of anything now. I am so sick. I have to
complete it before May 23rd 2011. So, I would love If you can help me write down my conclusion or any
comment and suggesting for my paper. Thanks for your time.