22. Rates of allergies and asthma
have tripled since the 1960s
von Hertzen L, Hanski I, Haahtela T. Natural Immunity. EMBO Reports 12:1089รขโฌโ1093, 2011
Anxiety, guilt, helplessnesss CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE NOW IT IS MAKING US SICK WE HAVE A CHOICE TIME IS SHORT
Earth can absorb some CO2. ยผ in oceans, ยผ in forests but we are burning twice as much as planet can handle so the other half goes into atmosphere where it forms a blanket around the earth trapping the heat of the sun, and that's why temperatures are increasing.
Over the last 100 years the temp has gone up 0.1 F per decade, but since 1970 its been going up 3-4 times as fast.
Along with the increase in average temperature, we have more extremes, drought, floods, severe storms Climate change makes us sick by affecting the things that are necessary for our survival. Which are?
CASE THREE A 10 year old boy is brought to the doctor by his mother for cough that won't go away. Previously active and athletic, he played soccer and little league, but now avoids exercise and spends his free time on the computer. He missed 10 days of school this year due to illness.
INCREASES ER VISIT AND HOSPITALIZATION FOR ASTHMA AND COPD
KIDS MOST SENSITIVE BECAUSE THEY BREATHE FASTER AND GET MORE, CHRONIC EXPOSURE TRIPLES ASTHMA RATES IN KIDS WHO PLAY 3 SPORTS BECAUSE WITH EXERCISE THEY ARE BREATHING EVEN FASTER
ACUTE EXPOSURE KILLS, NO SAFE LEVEL. ABOUT 40% OF AMERICANS LIVE IN AREAS WITH OZONE LEVELS THAT ARE ALREADY ABOVE THE LIMIT ESTABLISHED BY THE EPA BUT THERE IS REALLY NO SAFE LEVEL OF OZONE. INCREASES IN OZONE LEVEL, EVEN WHEN BRIEF AND BELOW THE EPA'S SAFE LIMIT, RESULT IN INCREASED DEATHS.
CO2 FERTILIZER EFFEICT, INCREASED POLLEN, LONGER SEASON, STRONGER REACTIONS
ON THE OTHER SIDE, HEAVY RAINS AND HURRICANES CAUSE FLOODING AND MOLD. WHICH INCREA:SES HOSPITALIZATIONS FOR ASTHMA IN KIDS DOUBLES THE RISK OF DEATH FROM ASTHMA. IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS. AUSES ASTHMA. COHORT STUDY IN THE HOMES WITH DUST SAMPLES HAVING THE MOST MOLD DOUBLE THE CHANCE OF HAVING ASTHMA BY AGE 7
RATES INCREASING SINCE 1960S,
QUEST DID ANALYSIS OF 14 MILLION IgE TESTS DONE OVER 4 YEARS AND FOUND 12-15% INCREASE IN POSITIVES FOR RAGWEED AND MOLD, NOT FOR DUST MITES.
OTHER CLIMATE CONDITIONS THAT IMPACT AIR QUALITY: . Wildfire smoke contains irritants, carcinogens and
Very fine particulates easily inhaled into lungs Studies examining hospital records during and after fires show rise in admissions for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia,
FINE PARTICULATES PASS FROM LUNGS TO BLOOD CAUSING INFLAMMATION LEADING TO heart attacks and strokes.
FINE PARTICLES CAN TRAVEL HUNDREDS OF MILES
Incidence of VF increased dramatically since late 90s, 8 fold. Most vulnerable to dissemination >55, black, filipino, dm, immunosuppresion. Fed receiver state of emergency, evacuating 3000 prisoners from 2 prisons in SJV. Studies show that years with increased cases follow a grow and blow pattern. spring rain followed 6-24 mo later by drought and wind yields higher concentration of dust particles and increased cases of lung fungus. This slide shows the match of a predictive model based on spring rain and winter dust levels ( black line) and actual cases of lung fungus in Arizona.
EARLY EXPOSURE, 30 YEAR LATENCY. NORTH DAKOTA GRAVEL ROAD DUST LEVELS AS HIGH AS TURKISH CANCER TOWNS INSIDE SCHOOLBUSES
Soil moisture, pm 10, temp. atmospheric concentrations of soil and Pb aerosols, and blood lead levels (BLLs) in 300,000 children in Detroit, Michigan for 9 years, from 2001 to 2009 Dust and lead in the air match seasonal variation in childrenโs BLLs. a change of 7 thousandths of ฮผg/m3 of air Pb increases BLL of a child 1 year of age by 10%, while approximately 3 times as much lead( two hundredths ฮผg/m3) is required to induce the same increase in a 7 year old.
7 IQ POINTS FOR EVERY 10 MCG OF BLL OVER 0
Rain overall has increased 5% but heavy rainfall has increased by almost 70% in some parts of the country. MOST DEATHS FROM FLOODING OCCUR IN VEHICLES. 12 INCHES OF FAST MOVING WAT
PA has highest number of CSOs in US. As little as 1/10 in of rain in Pittsburgh results in dumping untreated wastewater, 22 billion gallons year. Contains raw sewage, industrial chemicals, runoff. Pittsburgh area rivers are closed to rec use ยฝ of boating season due to CSO events. U Pitt Cancer Institute collected catfish from Allegheny River and compared the effect of extract from their meat on human breast cancer cells that grow faster with estrogen. They found that cells treated with fish extract collected from river with many overflow sites had twice as much estrogen as fish caught in areas with fewer overflow sites. Water tx doesn't completely remove estrogen from water but it removes 98%.
Rainwater going down storm drain and coming back up mixed with raw sewage
CONTAMINATION OF TREATMENT PLANTS
FLOOD WATERS CONTAIN HEAVY METALS LIKE LEAD, PESTICIDES, BACTERIA, HEPATITIS VIRUS, PETROCHEMICALS, AND PCBs. We will be having more coastal flooding due to sea level rise and increase in severity of storms fueled by warmer ocean temperatures, .. Sea level in US is predicted to rise about 6 inches by 2030, a foot by 2050 . and 3 feet by the end of the century. By 2030 the risk of 100 year coastal floods will double to triple potentially affecting 5 million americans.
BIPHASIC ILLNESS, BACTEREMIC/IMMUNE, WEIL SYNDROME MOST WIDESPREAD ZOONOSIS IN WORLD, RE EMERGING IN US, VECTORS-RATS, DOMESTIC PETS, LIVESTOCK, WILD ANIMALS. CONTACT WITH URINE DIRECT OCCUPATIONAL OR FLOODWATERS. PUERTO RICO AND HI. TRIATHELONS. INCIDENCE IN US HAS DOUBLED SINCE 1990'S. DOGS- 2000'S.
arsenic can cause lung, bladder, liver, kidney, prostate and skin cancer. Emerging science also shows that inorganic arsenic may harm pregnant women and their fetuses. Arsenic has been shown to cross the placenta to the fetus and has been found in breast milk. Chronic exposure to arsenic has been shown to affect child development, lowering their IQ scores.
MICROCYSTIN heavy rains increase runoff, 2011 was the wettest spring on record. That 120 miles, from Toledo to past Cleveland. It produced lake-water concentrations of microcystin, a liver toxin, that were 1,200 times World Health Organization limits, tainting the drinking water for 2.8 million consumers.PRESENT IN MANY SURFACE DRINKING WATER SOURCES, 30% OF TIME IN MIDWEST WHEN NO VISIBLE ALGAE, CONCENTRATED BY SHELLFISH DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON AND CARCINOGENIC DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS
Common at intakes to water treatment plants, water treatment is a doubled edged sword, removes microcystin but dead algae increases dissolved organic carbon which combines with chlorine to form carcinogens.
CASE 3 John Williams developed nausea, vomiting, and tingling around his mouth one night about half an hour after dinner. When the tingling spread to his arms and legs he decided to get medical assistance. He drove to the hospital, but by the time he arrived, he was too weak to get out of the car or shout for help. Luckily someone noticed John in the parking lot because an hour later he was completely paralyzed, unable to breathe and had to be put on a ventilator. He began to recover his strength the next morning and was sent home the following day. PSP-
Cost of HABs in US $37 million in health costs for illnesses $38 million losses to commercial fisheries
CROP FAILURE SEVERE DROUGHT,midwest disaster area, $50-80 billion losses. HEAVY RAIN AND RESULTING EXCESS SOIL MOISTURE INCREASE CROP LOSSES FROM DISEASE AND PESTS. OZONE IS ALREADY DECREASING PRODUCTIVITY OF SENSITIVE CROPS LIKE SOYBEANS 5-15%. PROJECTED IMPACT BY 2030 (25% LOSS) WOULD ELIMINATE ANY BENEFIT FROM CO2. OPTIMISTIC PROJECTIONS OF INCREASED YIELD LOSSES FROM EXCESS SOIL MOISTURE IN THE MIDWEST ARE PREDICTED TO DOUBLE BY 2030. DECLINING FISHERIES, HIGH FOOD PRICES 13% 2011-12 RESULT IN CHILD ANEMIA AND ADULT OBESITY AND DIABETES,
VIBRIO INFECTIONS MORE THAN DOUBLED 1998-2010.
THE CROPS WE GET DURING A DROUGHT MAY NOT BE HEALTHY. STRESSED CORN GETS A FUNGUS INFECTION THAT MAKES Aflatoxin potent natural carcinogen. Inserts self into DNA TURNS OFF tumor suppresser gene. INCREASES RISK OF LIVER CANCER ABOUT 7 TIMES HIGHER BUT WHEN COUPLED WITH CHRONIC INFLAMMATION LIKE HEP B OR C OR ALCOHOL, RISK IS 60 TIMES HIGHER. NAFLD increasingly common risk factor for HCC in US. Childhood obesity increases risk of adult liver cancer 12-20%. currently affects 30% of US population, predicted to double by 2050 Biomarkers detected in Texas community with high prev HCC, related to corn tortillas and rice
ANY KIND OF INFLAMMATION OF LIVER INCREASES CANCER. FATTY LIVER COMMON NOW, HIGHER IN HISPANICS AND RATES OF LIVER CANCER RISING FASTER ALSO. SAN ANTONIO TX LATINOS HAVE HCC RATES 2-3 TIMES AS HIGH AS STATE AVG, 20% HAD AFLATOXIN BIOMARKERS IN BLOOD, 11% IN URINE.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE SPREAD OF DENGUE FEVER IN RECENT YEARS FROM THE HOTTEST AREAS AROUND THE EQUATOR TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH
Also transmitted by a mosquito called the Yellow Fever mosquito because it also causes Yellow Fever, although not anymore in the US. Dengue is a severe flu like illness, sometimes called โbreakbone feverโ due to intense joint pain. If you are unlucky enough to catch it again, you get hemorrhagic fever which is 50% fatal without intensive treatment. Dengue was eradicated, now back. Since 1980 7 outbreaks TX, 1 HI, 3 FL. 2000-2007 hospital admissions for dengue tripled. In addition to effects on breeding and biting of mosquitos mentioned for WNV, climate change is increasing the mosquitos' geographic range. The most effective transmitter can't survive freezes, range expanding northward with warmer winters.
MASS DISLOCATION In the US since 2005 over 7 million people have been evacuated from their homes due to extreme weather events. One big lesson from Katrina was that the biggest health impact was not illness or injury from flood waters, but people with chronic diseases getting sick because they didn't have their medicines and were disconnected from their usual source of medical care. . We also saw outbreaks of communicable diseases in shelters where people were living in close quarters These experiences leave psychological scars : after major fires and hurricanes 30% of affected populations have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder .
Climate change is causing people to move around more than ever before. In the US since 2005 more than 7 million people have been evacuated due to extreme weather events. Lesson from Katrina was that the biggest health impact was not from floods but the 200,000 people with chronic diseases disconnected from their usual source of medical care. Diabetics without insulin, asthmatics without inhalers, people on dialysis, mentally ill people with no meds, etc. Evacuation shelters have large numbers of people in close quarters causing outbreaks of gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Aside from physical consequences, these experiences leave psychological scars : after major fires and hurricanes 30% of affected populations have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Globally, environmental events now cause more refugees than war or genocide. Storms, rising sea level, drought, crop failures, and conflict over diminishing resources will result in mass migration of 200 million by 2050. Poorer countries will be the most affected and some of their displaced will come to US and bring diseases with them. TB in US 12x more common in immigrants, cities with high numbers of newly arrived immigrants have higher rates of TB persisting for years after. >80% of MDR (multiple drug resistant) tuberculosis in US occurs in foreign born.
t Globally, environmental events now cause more refugees than war or genocide. Storms, rising sea level, drought, crop failures, and conflict over diminishing resources will result in mass migration of 200 million by 2050. Poorer countries will be the most affected and some of their displaced will come to US and bring diseases of poverty with them. >80% of MDR (multiple drug resistant) tuberculosis in US occurs in foreign born.
Extreme heat causes more deaths than any other type of extreme weather event,, variability kills more over 10,000/ year LETHAL Heat wave in Europe 2003- 70,000 deaths. 2006 2 weeks, 600 deaths, 1600 hospitalizations, 16000 ER visits. AGRESSIONincreased rates of assault, murder, domestic violence, suicides and psychiatric holds for danger to others In US avg annual heat deaths in hundreds, Medicare study on summer variability showed 10,000 deaths/yr in elderly with diabetes, heart failure, chronic lung disease IN UTERO EFFECTS low birth weight 2011 206 DEATHS ENTIRE US
MOST AFFECTED Old, poor, people of color, no air conditioning BP and psych meds, city dwellers Urban heat island effect 9 deg hotter in cities, 2012 5 high school athletes..
We are following worst case scenario and facing a public health emergency. Public health- affects whole populations Emergency- not because everyone will drop dead right away but because if we don't lower our CO2 emissions NOW the GHGs we put into atmosphere will stay for hundreds of years and it will be too late to do anything to prevent the resulting disease and death. WE'RE NOT QUITE DONE WITH THE BAD NEWS YET.
NOT ONLY DOES CLIMATE CHANGE MAKE US SICK, BURNING FOSSIL FUEL MAKES US EVEN SICKER.
1/3 OF COLON CANCERS, 1/3 OF POSTMENOPAUSAL AND RECURRENT BREAST CANCERS, 1/3 OF HEART DISEASE AND DIABETES CASES PREVENTABLE BY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HALF ENDOMETRIAL CANCERS, 1/3 ESOPHAGEAL AND PANCREATIC CANCERS ATTRIBUTED TO OBESITY WHICH IS RELATED TO INACTIVITY
US nearly 2x the RDA for red meat, only 26% eat 3+ servings of vegetables, Heatlh Professional Followup Study and Nurses Health Study- unprocessed red meat- 18% CV mortality, 10% cancer mortality . Womens Health Study RR diabetes 1.24 highest vs lowest red meat quintile. Processed meat incurs higher risk.
So everything we've done up to now now is like a drop in the bucket, a very leaky bucket as population continues to increase and industrializing countries like China and India burn increasing amounts of fossil fuels. We have to do much more and we don't have a lot of time. 1) In order for GLOBAL CO2 levels to fall while developing countries' emissions are still rising, countries like the US must make steep cuts, much steeper than anything we've promised so far (and we haven't even kept our promises). Over the next 18 years, we have to cut our CO2 pollution in half. 2) We have to start NOW. The longer we wait, the more CO2 will build up in the atmosphere and the higher the temperature will rise. There may be a tipping point when climate induced changes like thawing permafrost and warmer oceans release large amount of GHGs and create rapid unstoppable heating. We don't know and we don't want to find out. 3) As the second biggest CO2 polluter on the planet, we can't expect other countries to lower emissions if we aren't pulling our own weight. We've been slackers when we need to be leaders. But if we want to lead, first we have to catch up. HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT?
LUCKILY, ITS NOT THAT DIFFICULT. THE SOLUTIONS ARE COMMONSENSE, PAY FOR THEMSELVES IN FUEL AND HEALTHCARE SAVINGS, AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE. BUT OF COURSE THERES A CATCH,
So before I give you the magic prescription, lets GO BACK TO THE ostrich and talk about a common denial mechanism called tokenism. Thats when we do a small thing that makes us feel good but doesn't make much of a dent in the problem because we'd rather not do the big thing which might make a real difference. Like saying โone of my best friends is blackโ or hiring a woman and then paying her less than you'd pay a man for the same job. That doesn't stop racism or sexism but it makes you feel like you did what you could do. And the thing we're in denial about, the big thing we don't want to address, is the hijacking of our government by big money interests. But remember the climate scoreboard with its number stuck on 8 degrees in spite of all the the wonderful things we do in our communities. Because to solve a problem this big, you need big solutions. And to solve a problem thats global, you need countries working together. And if one of the most powerful countries , the second largest GHG emitter with the biggest per person CO2 emissions, doesn't take serious action as a country, you can put solar panels on your roof and ride your bike and grow your garden till the cows come home but don't fool yourself that you're stopping climate change because you won't.
THIS IS NOT A PRESCRIPTION FOR YOU. ITS A PRESCRIPTION FOR OUR COUNTRY. AND THE VERY FIRST THING ON THE LIST IS : TAKE BACK OUR DEMOCRACY. BECAUSE OUR PROBLEM IS NOT A LACK OF SOLUTIONS, ITS A LACK OF POLITICIANS WILLING TO VOTE IN OUR INTEREST WHEN THEIR FRIENDS IN THE FOSSIL FUEL AND AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY BRIBE THEM TO DO SOMETHING ELSE. THE NEED TO GET BIG MONEY OUT OF POLITICS IS SOMETHING MOST DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN CITIZENS AGREE ON, INCIDENTALLY.
WE NEED TO GET PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR CARS. EVEN WITH IMPROVED FUEL ECONOMY, THE REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS WILL BE OUTWEIGHED BY AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CARS. IF YOU DOUBLE YOUR MILEAGE AND THEN DRIVE TWICE AS FAR, YOU HAVEN'T FIXED THE PROBLEM. WE GET WHAT WE PAY FOR: HIGHWAYS. ONLY 1% FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORT AND WE HAVE TO FIGHT TO KEEP IT.We know what to do: off road bike/ped ex: Minneapolis Public transit: equalize the federal match, invest till people are using it. NY and transit 40% of daily trips are under 2 miles. Put the things we need within walking distance, separate the people from the cars, Mass transit mixed mode. Public transport โ 30% get recommended exercise vs 80% of total pop that doesn't. Why should each person take 1-2 tons of steel if they're all going to the same place. Highly functional system, investment, subsidy.
Honda Fit was only available in CA because we require a percentage of sales to be Zero emissions.IT ZERO ENERGY HOME SEATTLE, MAKES UP USE WITH SOLAR. 75% CONSERVATION AND 25% GENERATION.
Prevents 23,000 deaths, more than 20,000 heart attacks and hospitalizations and The total monetized value more than $100 billion per year Decrease in asthma, CVD, cancer. EPA 2013 Health cost of coal and oil is more than the energy cost.
Heatlh Professional Followup Study and Nurses Health Study- unprocessed red meat- 18% CV mortality, 10% cancer mortality . Womens Health Study RR diabetes 1.24 highest vs lowest red meat quintile. Processed meat incurs higher risk.
Heavy meat eaters eat an avg 700 cal more/d Decrease cancers by 10%, heart disease by 20%, 25% less diabetes
Michael Goldsmith Gutierrez was born and raised in . Even though his grandparents have diabetes and heart disease, and his mom had asthma as a baby, he and his sister are healthy aside from the usual childhood illnesses and injuries and his parents are also well. They live in a house which is warm in winter, cool in summer and powered by sun and wind. They ride their bicycles on paths that connect their home to school, work, and the market where they buy fresh food produced by neighbors. There are still heavy storms, forest fires, and floods. Water is rationed and there are times Michael isn't allowed outdoors because of extreme heat or mosquitos, but before he was born his community decided to move people along the river to higher ground, generate their own energy with solar panels and wind farms, and make sure all their public works would withstand heavy weather. Sometimes when they sit around together in the evenings, Michael likes to hear his grandmother tell about the olden days. He likes to imagine living in a great big house, driving a gasoline car, having bubble baths, and eating foods from around the world; and what it was like in the early days for the clean energy pioneers, but his favorite part of the story is when people got together all over the Earth and made their governments sign and abide by the Great Global Treaty and then how everyone worked together to build communities where people live well without warming the world. Michael asked his grandma why they didn't think of it sooner. She gave him a big long hug and said, โJust thank God they managed it at all.โ
I'd like to leave you with that story in your head. Fill in with your imagination the parts yet to be told then lets go make it happen. Please pick up some of our cards with our website and give them to any doctors, nurses and other health professionals with a request to go on our website and endorse our prescription for action. We will deliver them personally in Washington and thats our ticket in the door. I'd like to introduce________ to talk to you about people are doing here in___________ Thanks for your kind attention and spirited participation. If you'd like to make a donation to help us down the road, you can drop it in the bike helmet/piggy bank on your way out.