10 Ways Global Warming Could Hurt Your Health
It's not just a political and economic issue—a warmer planet could impact your physical well-being
Scientists the globe over have observed changes that are impacting individuals' health and have also created models to predict where we might be headed. Here's a sampling of what we could be discussing with our doctors in the decades to come.
Stepped-up sniffling. Allergies—from ragweed in the fall to tree pollen in the spring—are predicted not only to become stronger but also to enjoy lengthened seasons because of less frost and earlier blooming. Fungal spores (those outdoors and in moist basements) will most likely thrive, tickling the throats of many.
Algae-related complaints. Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, thrive and bloom in the rising temperatures of bodies of water, from municipal water systems to the Great Lakes and Florida's Lake Okeechobee. The algae have been linked to digestive, neurological, liver, and dermatological diseases.
Painful kidney stones. Because of higher temps and more dehydration, the crystallized calcifications that must be passed—often painfully—through the urinary tract could plague an additional 2.2 million people a year by 2050, researchers estimate. The current "kidney stone belt," which includes southern states like Florida, the Carolinas, and Arkansas, could extend up into Kentucky and northern California.
Exotic infections. Dengue fever, malaria, and encephalitis, while not exactly household names, have seen U.S. outbreaks and upticks in incidence in recent years. Mosquitoes and plankton, which flourish in warmer water temperatures, play a key role in transmitting such diseases.
Itchier cases of poison ivy. Poison ivy appears to become more potent as carbon dioxide levels rise, research has suggested.
Surplus of stings. Alaska's warming has heralded a sixfold rise in severe stings reported, and the buzzing bees, wasps, and yellow jackets are showing up in spots never before seen. Alaska may be a harbinger for the rest of us, as its temperature changes have been the most significant in the United States.
Fewer fruits available. The value of crops produced in the Yakima River Valley—more than 6,ooo square miles of orchards and farmland east of Seattle—may drop almost a quarter as temperatures rise over the coming decades. Less water for irrigation from nearby mountain snowpack could drive down fruit availability and drive up the cost of the produce.
Upsurge in summertime hacking and wheezing. Cool breezes coming down from Canada could diminish, driving up ozone pollution at ground level—particularly in the Northeast and Midwest—say some Harvard scientists. Possible result: irritated lungs, especially in people with respiratory illness.
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Reader Comments
Global warming and health...
Global warming may not be as serious as some folks think. But then, is this not why we have scientists? So, who's paying any attention to their warnings? Who gives a hoot? The economy stinks, but then going green in some respects provides jobs...so when shall we get started? You know, make more electric cars cheaper, construct more wind turbines for electricity; make it a law to add solar power where feasible. And while I'm at it, let's ask the FDA to make it madatory to eleminate MSG, too much sodium, too much corn syrup and all the other bad crap out of our packaged and canned foods. And what's that to do with global warming? Nothing really, we just mightr live longer too if we improve our diets besides being stressed about global warming.
This is Offensive
This is all one big SCAM !!!
Here is interesting commentary on how you Eco-Fascists try scare tactics.
This journmalist, JD Rucker and the editor should be ashamed. The people are aware, and the scientists are also campaigning against you Eco-terrorist journalists.
See these -
'Scientists Denounce AP For Hysterical Global Warming Article' -
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/12/15/scientists-denounce-ap-hysterical-global-warming-article
'Scientists Call AP Report on Global Warming 'Hysteria' -
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,468084,00.html
Will You Fall For The Crap?
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/12/17/hot-propaganda-coming-soon-to-a-tv-near-you/
global warming - the hoax
Take a look at the research done by NOAA and 1n particular the ARGOS bouy systen. That is 3000 bouys in the Pacific. Climate change is due to a 1470 year cycle that has been going on at least 1 million years. The current warming spell has been replaces with a lack of sunspots. So far this year we have had 200 days with no sunspots. That means less energy to the earth from the sun. If you think that doesn't affect us, go back and read about the "Little Ice Age" that lasted from about 1650 to 1725 when Europe froze and starved. That was a period of almost no sunspots.
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