Research conducted by University of Wisconsin professors is showing a stronger connection between global health and the environment, highlighting the multi-faceted nature of climate change.
The study was led by Jonathan Patz, professor of environmental studies and population health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin. Tracey Holloway and Daniel Vimont, both associate professors at UW, co-authored the study as well.
“Climate change and its health impacts are really huge topics. There are many different ways climate affects health worldwide,” Holloway said. “It matters whether people have access to food and health care and reliable energy. People need to be in a healthy environment.”
On one hand, there are health issues that can be easily linked to the weather, such as extreme heat leading to heat stress. However, Holloway said most issues require more sophisticated statistics.
There are very clear linkages in between weather and health that are illustrated in very graphic ways, Holloway said.
Climate change and its health effects are illustrated in a number of different ways, Vimont said. These include heat stress, respiratory problems, vector borne diseases and food security.
There are two studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that examine the impacts of heat on mortality rates, Holloway said. Out of all the weather-related deaths, 25-30 percent of those deaths are related to extreme heat.
The CDC performed a study in 2013 that examined statistics from the 1995 Chicago heat wave. The results showed that before the heat wave, on a typical July summer day, around 150 people died. However, Holloway said, during the heat wave, an alarming 500 people died per day.
“The temperature in Chicago on a typical summer day was around 80-85 degrees. During the heat wave, temperatures rose to an average of 105 degrees,” Holloway said.
There is a close relationship between temperature and ozone layer. Holloway said this relationship affects changes in air pollution as well as directly affecting health.
In the summer, there is also an increased amount of ozone smog. This is concentrated in urban areas, largely due to increased vehicle emissions. Carbon dioxide pollutes the air, and most carbon dioxide comes from burning fossil fuel.
Vimont said that the best way to reduce climate change would be to find ways to reduce carbon emissions, but that there is only so much we can do.
“Some climate change is inevitable, and we need to be looking for ways to reduce our vulnerability to what we know is coming,” Vimont said.
However, Holloway said that there are lots of things, big and small, that the community can do to help the environment.
Some energy-saving methods include walking instead of driving or turning off the lights when leaving a room.
“Anything we do that reduces the amount of energy we use will help,” Holloway said.
