Health and wellness in the age of climate crisis is a real challenge. Public health experts say our changing climate and fossil fuel use presents us with many new health concerns, as well as high economic costs.
The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high, that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport and food systems effectively pays for itself. When health is taken into account, climate change mitigation is an opportunity, not a cost.
–Dr Maria Neira, World Health Organization (WHO) Director of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.
According to Dr. Vanessa Kerry, WHO Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health, by 2030 the cost of climate impact on health will be between 2 and 4 billion dollars per year. But that figure doesn’t include impacts on agriculture, water, and sanitation, which all affect public health.
In NPR’s Living on Earth radio program interview, Dr Kerry said over 5 million deaths a year are directly attributable to fossil fuel production and use. In every possible way, climate change is impacting our daily experience and our ability to live healthy lives. If we continue to burn fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions will continue to increase. That means we will experience more of the extreme weather and pollution that is negatively impacting our health. As soon as we reduce the use of fossil fuels, we will start to see direct benefits on health. Asthma attacks and hospital and emergency room visits will decrease.
Climate impacts on health
- Air pollution
- Water pollution
- Pesticides
- Excessive Heat
- Extreme storms
- Floods
- Wildfire smoke
- Microplastics
- Pandemics
Our community needs be provided with information to protect health. Knowledge is power. Addressing these health issues now will help our community become more resilient.
A look at air quality
All of sudden, we are receiving frequent air quality alerts. We need to take these alerts seriously. Last summer we experienced so much hazardous pollution from Canadian wildfires that we were warned not to go outdoors. When I started keeping track of air quality every day, I was horrified to find that the overwhelming majority of days were rated poor for nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant that results from traffic and trash incinerators like Covanta.
Children, pregnant women, older adults, and anyone who has asthma, allergies, COPD, or heart conditions are especially vulnerable. Symptoms of exposure to poor air quality include chest pain, coughing, sneezing, throat irritation, congestion, and difficulty breathing.
Pollutants in the air are often not visible, so how will you know if the air quality is poor? Accuweather created a comprehensive Air Quality Index (AQI) to alert us to unhealthy pollution levels, so we can avoid exposure to poor air quality. The color-coded forecasts will let you know when the air is unhealthy in your community. You can even see your street on the map. You can sign up to receive alerts.
Precautions for poor air quality:
When there is an air quality alert, take the following steps:
- Avoid outdoor activities like gardening and exercising, especially if you have a heart or lung condition.
- Wear an N95 mask if you have to be outdoors. Ordinary medical masks will not filter out harmful air pollutants.
- Help to ensure air quality doesn’t get worse. Turn off unnecessary electricity, turn down air conditioning, carpool, and walk or take public transportation to reduce the number of pollutants in the air.
- Use hand-powered, battery operated, or electric lawn care equipment rather than gas-powered.
- Avoid exercising outside. Walk indoors in a shopping mall or gym.
- Do not allow your child to play outside when air quality is unhealthy.
What more can you do?
- Even when air quality is good, don’t exercise near high-traffic areas. Vehicles on busy highways can create high pollution levels up to one-third of a mile away.
- Use less energy in your home. Electricity, oil and gas create air pollution. By reducing energy use, you can help improve air quality, curb greenhouse gas emissions, encourage energy independence, and save money.
- Encourage your child’s school to reduce exposure to school bus emissions. Schools should not allow school buses to idle outside of their buildings. Many school systems are using the U.S. EPA’s Clean School Bus Campaign to clean up emissions. https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus
- Don’t burn wood or trash. Burning firewood and trash are among the major sources of particle pollution (soot) in many parts of the country.
- To find out climate risks specific to your neighborhood, go to Center for Climate Resilience and click on Local Climate Projections.
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