7. “The balance of evidence suggests that
there is a discernible human influence on
global climate.”
— Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
8. The Earth’s average temperature has
gone up between 0.5 and 1 degree
Fahrenheit over the past 100 years.
— Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
9. -0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
Global Air Temperature
Source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, and U.S. EPA
TemperatureChange(degrees
C) Annual
Mean
5-Year
Mean
10. Projections from
United Nations IPCC 1995
2 to 6.5°F elevation in temperature by
year 2100
6- to 38-inch sea level rise by year 2100
More hydrologic cycle extremes
11.
12. The 20th century has
been the warmest of
the last 6 centuries.
The Warming Trend
13.
14.
15.
16. Weather vs. Climate
Weather is the temporary, day-to-day state
of the atmosphere anywhere on the Earth’s
surface.
Climate is the long-term, prevailing pattern
of weather in any given place.
17. 280
300
320
340
360
380
1850 1900 1950 2000
CO2 Concentration, Last 1,000 Years
Derived from ice-core measurements (Siple and South Pole) and
direct observation (Mauna Loa, Hawaii).
Source: Based on IPCC (1994)
260
280
300
320
340
360
380
800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
18.
19. Potential Impacts of Climate
Change on Human Health
altered food
and crop
productivity
extreme
weather events
thermal
extremes
worsened air
pollution
effects on vectors
and infective
parasites
temperature
precipitation
sea level rise
Climate
affects:
regional
malnutrition and
hunger
deaths, injuries
and psychological
disorders
altered rates of heat-
and cold-related
illness and death
acute and chronic
respiratory
disorders
infectious diseases,
waterborne
diseases
Source: “Human Population Health,” IPCC, 1995
26. 0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Deaths from Heat in Chicago
July 1995
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
No.ofDeaths
Date in July 1995
Due to heat and
cardiovascular disease
Due to cardiovascular
disease alone
Due to heat alone
Deaths among case
subjects
Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 7/11/96
HeatIndex
Heat
Index
Total deaths in
Chicago in all
three categories
27.
28.
29. Emerging and Re-emerging
Infectious Diseases
Hantaviru
s
Dengue
Leptospirosis
Yellow
FeverCholera
Rift Valley Fever
Meningiti
s Yellow Fever
Ebola
Plague
Morbilliviru
s
Dengue
Diphtheria
Lassa Fever
Bolivian Hemorrhagic
Fever
V. Cholerae
O139
Anthrax
Dengu
e
Source: World Health Organization, 1996
30. Status of Major Vector-borne Diseases and
Predicted Sensitivity to Climate Change
Possible Change
Populations Prevalence of Distribution
at Risk, of Infection, Present as a Result of
Disease Millions Millions Distribution Climatic Change
Malaria 2100 270 tropics, subtropics highly likely
Lymphatic filariases 900 90.2 tropics, subtropics likely
Onchocerciasis 90 17.8 Africa, Latin America likely
Schistosomiasis 600 200 tropics, subtropics very likely
African trypanosomiasis 50 25,000 tropical Africa likely
new cases per year
Leishmaniasis 350 12 million Asia, southern Europe,
infected Africa, South America not known
+ 400,000 new
cases per year
Dracunculiasis 63 1 tropics (Africa, Asia) unlikely
Arboviral diseases
Dengue … … tropics, subtropics very likely
Yellow Fever … … Africa, Latin America likely
Japanese encephalitis … … East and Southeast Asia likely
Other arboviral diseases … … tropical to temperate zones likely
Source: World Health Organization, 1994, 1995
Based on world population estimate of 4.8 billion (1989)
31. Mosquitoes on the Move
Source:
World Wildlife Fund, 1996
Warmer
temperatures
encourage
northward migration
of malaria-carrying
mosquitoes
34. Encephalitis
Correlated to sustained temperatures over
86°F
Occurs primarily in southern U.S.
Conditions range from headache to aseptic
meningitis and death
35. Other Vector-Borne Diseases
Likely To Be Affected
Schistosomiasis water snail
Onchocerciasis black fly
(river blindness)
Trypanosomiasis tsetse fly
(sleeping sickness)
VectorDisease
36. Additional Health Threats
Changes in surface temperatures of the
sea could increase cholera, shellfish
poisoning, water-borne infections and
toxin-related illnesses.
37.
38. Potential Rise in Cholera
Cholera killed 120,000 people worldwide
in 1995 — most of them children
Global warming could significantly
increase the number of cholera cases
worldwide
49. Other Answers Include:
Recycling used materials
More efficient use of agricultural
chemicals
Better insulation
Energy-efficient lighting and production
equipment
51. U.N. Addresses Climate Change
1992
150
countries
sign the
U.N.
Framework
Convention
on Climate
Change
(UNFCCC)
First
Conference of
the Parties
(COP-1) to
design
negotiation
process for
binding
agreement
Second
Conference
of the
Parties
(COP-2) to
negotiate
voluntary
agreements
Kyoto
conferenc
e to sign
legally
binding
agreement
s among
nations
1993 1994 1995 1996
1997
(Dec.)
UNFCCC
enacted
52. Nations Report Progress in
Reducing CO2 Emissions
Source: UN Framework
Convention for Climate Change
54. Drive a more fuel-efficient car, carpool or use mass transit
Walk or bicycle
Insulate your home and office
Lower your thermostat
Use energy-efficient lighting and other equipment in your home
and office
Recycle
Reduce unnecessary packaging
•What You Can Do
•. . . at Home
55. What You Can Do
Educate people about global warming
Support “weather-watch warning systems”
Research health trends related to global
warming
Discuss climate change with your
colleagues
. . . at Work
56. What You Can Do
Publish articles
Green your workplace
Join a task force
Participate in public dialogue about the
problems associated with global warming
. . . at Work
57. What You Can Do
Write to policymakers
Draft a petition
Support stronger regulatory emissions
standards
Write to the editor of your local newspaper or
professional magazine
Join Physicians for Social Responsibility
. . . to Voice Your Concern
58.
59. PSR is the U.S. affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear W
60. Physicians for Social Responsibility
1101 14th Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 898-0150
psrnatl@psr.org
Visit our Web site!
http://www.psr.org
For More Information . . .
61. Our thanks to
the W. Alton Jones Foundation, Inc.
for making this
presentation possible.
Notas del editor
Changes in the world's climate are nothing new. Over millions of years, variation in the Earth's orbit, volcanic activity and other factors have caused our planet's atmosphere to warm and cool.
The climate change that may be occurring now, is disturbingly different from the slow, steady cycle of ice ages and warming that have shaped our world.
Today, however, forces not of nature, but of human activities, are beginning to affect our climate in potentially serious ways. There is now a virtual consensus that human activity is altering the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, leading to a consistent rise in the average temperature of the Earth.
It's what most people refer to as "global warming"—and it could have profound effects on the health of people worldwide.
The Earth's atmosphere has always acted like a greenhouse. Greenhouse gases exist naturally and form a blanket over the Earth, without which life on this planet would be a lot different—and far colder. If it weren't for the natural capture of the sun's radiation, the average surface temperature of the Earth would be a bone-chilling 5 degrees Fahrenheit, rather than the 60 degrees Fahrenheit at which life is sustainable.1
But an excessive build-up of greenhouse gases—due to human activity—could have devastating consequences for our world and our health by causing additional warming of the Earth's surface.
Since humans launched the Industrial Revolution some 200 years ago, the exponential growth in the combustion of coal and oil, the burning of vast amounts of wood, and the use of various chemicals for pesticides, fertilizer and packaging have dramatically increased the production of greenhouse gases.
A number of gases are capable of contributing to this greenhouse effect. When fuel is burned, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rice paddies, cattle and the decay of the ever-increasing volume of garbage in our landfills releases another potent gas—methane, or CH4 —but carbon dioxide, or CO2, is the main one.
The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere is due to the difference between annual emissions and the capacity of the Earth’s sinks—which are places such as oceans and forests—to absorb the gas buildup. Humans have contributed to the loss of a major natural sink through deforestation.
Partly because it is present in far greater quantities than others, carbon dioxide has the greatest impact of all of the gases. In 1996, carbon emissions from fuels climbed to a record high.2
This graph shows the increase in greenhouse gases from 1750.
In its latest report on climate change, released in December of 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—an international body of 2,500 meteorologists and scientists known as the IPCC—concluded, "The balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate."3
If current trends continue, the Earth's temperature could rise approximately 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years.4
That may not seem like much—but temperatures now are actually rising faster than they have in recorded history.
In fact, the rate at which global warming now is occurring may be faster than the ability of people, plants and animals to adapt to it.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change studied the potential for environmental and health threats and concluded:
Temperatures will increase. IPCC’s best estimate is 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sea level will rise. IPCC’s best estimate is 19.1 inches.
Hydrologic cycle will have more extremes.
Without specific policies that combat global warming by regulating greenhouse gas emissions, the Earth's average temperature is projected to increase at a rate faster than any observed in the last 20,000 years.5
The evidence from thousands of precise thermometer readings taken around the globe for decades is showing such a trend. The IPCC has found that the 20th century has been notably warmer than the previous five centuries.6
Would ecology—and human health—be impacted by a climatic temperature increase of only 2 to 4 degrees?
Yes. Consider this: During the last Ice Age, some 12 million square
miles of land were covered by sheets of ice as much as 2 miles thick—because of a decrease in global temperature of about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. And average global temperatures during the Ice Age were just roughly 9 degrees Fahrenheit lower than they are today.
What seem like minor temperature increases could subject the planet to a greater frequency of extreme weather conditions—including, ironically, periods of bitter cold. We could see a larger number of powerful storms and floods, more blistering droughts and sustained heat waves.
How do we know that it's climate that is changing, and not just weather patterns?
Climate and weather, although related, are not the same thing. Weather is the temporary, day-to-day state of the atmosphere anywhere on the Earth's surface. Usually it's reported in terms of rain or shine, hot or cold, windy or calm.
Climate, by contrast, is defined as the long-term, prevailing pattern of weather in any given place.
Weather fluctuates far more rapidly than climate. The fact that the winter weather of 1996 was extremely cold in the eastern United States or that the summer of 1995 was extremely hot in Great Britain doesn't prove that the planet's climate is changing . . .
But when changes in temperature, precipitation and the frequency of storms occur consistently in the same region, we conclude that the climate is changing.
Of course, as in all scientific fields of study, opinions are not unanimous that climate change necessarily poses a problem. What many question is whether the warming that has already taken place can be attributed to the increased accumulation of human-generated greenhouse gases.
Those concerned about man's influence on global temperature point to the clear correlation between increased CO2 levels and rising temperatures.7 Furthermore, scientists, by studying computer models and historical trends, have warned us of potentially serious health threats posed by global warming.
Many organizations worldwide, including the World Health Organization8 and the World Meteorological Organization, are convinced that the effects of global warming will be one of the greatest public health challenges for the 21st century.
The sustained health of human populations is dependent on the Earth's
natural systems and their overall stability. It is therefore safe to
assume that ever-changing weather patterns and their effect on
ecosystems will pose risks to human health.9
It is expected that most of the impacts could be adverse and populations with different levels of natural, technical and social resources would differ in their vulnerability to climate-induced health impacts.
As physicians and public health advocates, you ought to be familiar with the potential impact of global warming—and join other health professionals and citizens in voicing your concerns.
Changing climate could affect the productivity of certain crops in particular regions. Any large-scale, adverse alteration in agricultural production, supply and distribution—particularly in the developing world—could have a severe medical impact. Malnutrition and starvation in these regions could likely increase until new crops, supply lines and distribution systems could be put into place.10
Furthermore, some scientists are concerned that increased temperatures will give rise to new populations of crop-infecting insects.
A particularly dramatic result of global warming on the Earth's environment has been a rise in sea level, due to melting polar ice and the expansion of warming sea water. One manifestation of this has been erosion of Antarctic ice, evidenced in March 1995 when a 48 x 22-mile chunk of the Larsen Ice Shelf broke off, exposing rocks that had been buried for 20,000 years.11
Sea level rise can lead to flooding in populated coastal communities, causing families to lose homes and be forced into overcrowded areas inland where the population may be vulnerable to illnesses such as tuberculosis, diphtheria and diarrheal diseases.
In addition, rising seas may contaminate inland water supplies, reducing the availability of fresh water.
Because of higher temperatures, we could see an increase in the incidence of heat stress cases—some of them fatal—particularly among the elderly, children and low-income populations. The susceptibility of these populations is due to a variety of physical and societal conditions, including their likelihood to live in unventilated places, without air conditioning and where fear of crime prevents residents from opening their windows.
Patients with chronic cardiovascular and respiratory disease would be at particularly high risk.
This graph shows that total mortality during and immediately after a New York heat wave in 1966 was well above the mean.12
Similarly, this slide shows the projected excess mortality resulting from increased thermal extremes (heat- and cold-related).
We've already seen the impact of high temperatures in Chicago, where, in 1995, 500 people died within days during an extended heat wave.
Rising temperatures also can reduce air quality, primarily through increases in ground-level ozone pollution in heavily populated urban areas. These heightened ozone levels may lead to an increase in respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.13
Increases in temperature or ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the lower atmosphere enhance the chemical reactions that produce ozone. Ozone is a highly reactive gas which can oxidize molecules directly, and create high-energy free radicals that damage cell membranes.14
The acute respiratory effects of ozone have been observed particularly in relation to childhood asthma.15
The principal cause of increased heat-induced morbidity and mortality, however, may not come from heat stress.
There is a high risk that deadly diseases that now exist primarily in warmer climates could spread to other parts of the world—challenging the ability of public health programs to contain them.
The growth of the Earth's frost-free zone could lead to the migration of insects and rodents that spread warm-weather disease to higher latitudes and elevations. Dr. Paul Epstein, Associate Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, put it concisely:
"If tropical weather is expanding, it means that tropical diseases will expand."
What is good for germs is rarely healthy for humans. Longer and hotter heat waves caused by climate change are creating perfect breeding conditions for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
The greatest concern is malaria. Already one of the Earth's most prevalent diseases, malaria afflicts an estimated 350 million people worldwide and kills between one and two million each year—more than half of them children.16
Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and generally found only in places where the minimum winter temperature drops no lower than approximately 61 degrees Fahrenheit. An enlargement of this 61 degree zone would also enlarge the malaria zone, with tragic results—perhaps 50 to 80 million additional cases each year by the end of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization.17
Malaria already is being reported at higher elevations in central Africa, Ethiopia and Asia.
Dengue fever and yellow fever are two other tropical diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. Also called breakbone fever, dengue is a prolonged, severe flu-like illness that can be fatal in certain forms (dengue hemorrhagic fever). Unlike yellow fever, there is no vaccine for dengue.
While trends in urbanization, inadequate mosquito control, and marked increases in international travel and human migration are major factors leading to the re-emergence of dengue, climate conditions contribute to epidemic spread and geographic distribution.
Although no clear evidence has yet been found of regional climatic influence, the range of tropical disease-carrying mosquitoes appears to be increasing as frost-free zones move to higher tropical elevations. In 1995, Peru was hit with the largest epidemic of yellow fever in the Americas since the 1950s. At about the same time, dengue fever was
reported in the Colombian Andes—the highest elevation yet.18
The disease infects an estimated 30 to 60 million people annually. 19
The vector for dengue, Aedes aegypti, is highly sensitive to temperature, as can be shown by this graph. In short, slightly higher temperatures within the range of mosquito viability lead to more infectious mosquitoes that bite more frequently.20
Vector-borne encephalitis causes conditions that range from headache to aseptic meningitis and death. Encephalitis is of particular concern in temperate countries. In the U.S., a large proportion of all reported encephalitis such as St. Louis encephalitis (SLE), La Cross encephalitis and western and eastern equine encephalitis (WEE and EEE) are vector-borne.21
Outbreaks of St. Louis encephalitis in the Midwest have been correlated with periods of high temperatures (exceeding 86 degrees Fahrenheit), particularly following a warm, wet winter. Computer-generated models of global weather circulation show that warm, wet winters and subsequent sustained hot weather patterns fit projections for climate change in the United States.22
The potential public health impact of this disease is indicated by epidemic years, such as in 1975, when 1,815 cases of SLE were reported in the United States.23
Other vector-borne diseases that show a considerable likelihood of wider distribution with climate change include schistosomiasis; onchocerciasis, or river blindness; and trypanosomiasis, also called sleeping sickness.24
Mosquitoes and other insects do not carry the only health threats associated with global warming. Changes in surface temperatures of the sea could lead to an increase in water-borne infections such as V. Cholera. Evidence is accumulating that marine phytoplankton provide a refuge for the dormant spore-like vibrio, which shelter beneath thick layers of algae. When oceans warm, phytoplankton “bloom” and the cholera bacillus re-emerges in an infectious state. In other words, human-induced and natural disturbances of coastal ecosystems play an important role in cholera transmission.25
The warmer ocean temperatures stimulate growth of toxic algae—often reported in the press as "red tides." The toxic algae are consumed by fish and shellfish and then eaten by people, who can get food poisoning.
In 1995, cholera killed 120,000 people worldwide—most of them children.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health's Program on the Health Effects of Global Environmental Change are investigating whether remote satellite sensing can provide earlier warning of these types of outbreaks.
In addition to the proliferation of these types of well-known old diseases, there are new ones on the U.S. scene. Many organisms such as rodents, bats and pests are involved in the transmission of infectious diseases. For example, the emergence of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome on and around Navajo Indian lands in the Southwest United States in 1993 has been linked to changes in local rodent populations. And climate change is suspected to have played a part in the ecosystem changes that brought on the disease.26
Under normal circumstances, the desert deer mice that carry hantavirus are kept well under control by natural predators.
Then in the spring of 1993, much heavier than normal rains caused a resurgence of the plant and insect life that rodents feed on, such as pinion nuts and grasshoppers. The mouse population skyrocketed, growing much more quickly than that of its predators, such as coyotes and owls.
The larger hordes of deer mice invading the Southwest area may have led to an increase in the incidence of hantavirus there, leaving more than 50 people dead.
Scientists believe that weather patterns in the Southwest—and in many other parts of the world—were upset by an exceptionally strong manifestation of what's called "El Niño," a complex interaction among trade winds, water currents and ocean temperature in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Many scientists think that global warming is causing El Niño to get stronger and last longer.
All of the health ramifications that have been mentioned point to an important possibility: Climate change could create the biggest public health challenges of the new millennium. We may find ourselves facing health and environmental issues that we've not had to deal with before at this magnitude.
Climate change has been brought about by human abuse of our fragile environment. We are the cause of the problem... but we are in a position to do something about it. What can we do?
First, we must recognize the primary role the U.S. plays in carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gas emissions—and accept our responsibility to do something about it.
This is a daunting challenge, but not an insurmountable one. If humanity now is so technologically advanced that we can affect the planet's climate, then we also have the power to use technology to mitigate our impact on the Earth.
The United States emits more CO2 than any other industrialized nation. Our industries, utilities and motor vehicles spew more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the global atmosphere annually—or about 5 tons per person each year.27
The U.S. also generates a tremendous amount of garbage that it doesn't recycle. The trash winds up in landfills where it produces methane as it decomposes.
There are thousands of solutions we can apply to reduce our spiraling emission of greenhouse gases. And these solutions won't impede economic growth.
Millions of consumers, industries, businesses and municipalities already have undertaken hundreds of innovative, cost-effective initiatives to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
It is incumbent upon physicians, public health professionals and other health advocates to speak out about the long-term medical consequences of global warming, the importance of which could dwarf the short-term economic interests of those who profit from the production of greenhouse gases.
You don’t have to wait. You can take action by:
Using energy more efficiently and switching to non-fossil, renewable energy sources such as water, wind and solar power;
• Recycling more;
• Using more efficient applications of agricultural chemicals;
• Using better insulation; and
• Installing more efficient lighting and production equipment.
But this also is a global issue that requires global solutions.
At the international level, the main vehicle for addressing global warming is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was adopted at the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It has been signed by more than 150 nations and calls for "the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, mainly by committing industrial countries to try to return carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2000.” At the current pace, the U.S. will not reduce CO2 to1990 levels. In fact, U.S. emissions have continued to rise since 1992.
Initially, this U.N. convention called for each of the signing countries to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gases to 1990 levels. This voluntary approach did not work.
Negotiators now are working to reach a binding agreement, setting measurable emissions limits and reduction goals with specific deadlines. The new, complex plan, which includes an emissions bank and allows countries to buy and sell emissions credits, is being readied for the next U.N. meeting on climate change, scheduled for December 1997 in
Kyoto, Japan.
Unfortunately, a powerful and well-funded opposition is fighting action on climate change.
Its leaders are producers and heavy users of fossil fuels, such as oil companies, automakers and electric utilities. These special interest groups promoted efforts in Congress last year to cut funding for the President's Climate Action Plan.
They also lobbied to cut funding for programs to research, develop and disseminate renewable energy technologies, thus hampering the use and spread of such advances as sophisticated modern windmills and solar energy devices.
As a health professional—and a concerned citizen—there is much you can do to mitigate global warming:
• Drive a more fuel-efficient car, car pool or use mass transit.
• Whenever possible, walk or bicycle for short trips.
• Insulate your home and office.
• Lower your thermostat.
• Use energy-efficient lighting and other equipment in your home and office.
• Recycle.
• Reduce unnecessary packaging.
As health professionals, you can also:
• Educate yourself about the issue
• Participate in and expand disease surveillance systems. Surveillance is critical to the preparation of prevention measures and treatments.
• Educate your patients about global warming. Perhaps you can provide literature in your office.
• Support the creation of “weather-watch warning systems” in collaboration with your local and city government.
• Contribute to the research on health trends related to global warming.
• Raise the issue of climate change at conferences and among your colleagues.
Publish articles in your professional newsletters and journals.
Green your workplace with energy-efficient equipment and be environmentally responsible when disposing of medical waste.
Join or initiate a task force that addresses specific risks that will affect your area of interest, such as water-borne illnesses, heat stress or emerging infectious diseases.
Participate in public dialogue about the problems associated with global warming. Dialogue is invaluable in our effort to rasie awareness and understanding of this vital issue—and in finding viable solutions to it.
By participating in the public debate on global climate change, you can inject needed health expertise and broaden the constituency of citizens concerned about these issues. You can:
• Write to the president, your representative and senators.
• Draft a petition and circulate it among your colleagues for their signatures.
• Support stronger regulatory standards for auto emissions and other air pollutants.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or professional magazine, expressing your concern about global warming and encouraging others to take action on it.
• If you are not already a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, consider joining our organization to strengthen our ability to protect the health of our planet.
As health care providers, researchers and health-conscious adults, we tend to want the final results of a study or a clinical trial before we proceed with treatment, but medical practice offers plenty of precedents for acting in the face of uncertainty.
In the case of global warming, delay could result in irreversible damage to our environment and our health over the next century. Global warming and the subsequent health conditions are no longer unsubstantiated theories; evidence has emerged in both data and projections.
And while 100 years from now may seem a long time off, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren likely will be alive then and will have to deal with the consequences of what we do—or don't do—about global warming today.
Physicians for Social Responsibility accepts the charge to take action now, especially because its members—opinion leaders in our communities, guardians of public health and architects of healthier futures—can make a difference.
Physicians for Social Responsibility was founded in 1961 to combat the potential medical catastrophe posed by nuclear proliferation and the possibility of nuclear war. We now have 20,000 members and 75 local chapters. Our goals have expanded considerably over the past 35 years to encompass issues involving other human health concerns—especially those affecting children and infants. We want to ensure that these concerns are addressed by more than rhetoric and are remedied through social action and U.S. environmental policy.
PSR focuses on a variety of environmental health hazards, including medical waste dioxins, air pollution and global warming. Our work has attracted the support of medical professionals throughout the United States. In 1985, as the U.S. affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, we received the Nobel Prize for Peace.
Global warming may be our toughest challenge.
Physicians for Social Responsibility is not waiting to act on global warming. We urge and invite you to join us.
For more information on PSR's climate change campaign or to join PSR's Environmental and Health Network, contact:
Physicians for Social Responsibility
1101 14th Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 898-0150
[email_address]
Visit our Web site!
http://www.psr.org
Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak with you. I'd also like to acknowledge the W. Alton Jones Foundation, Inc. Their generous support enabled Physicians for Social Responsibility to develop this presentation.