Transcript Global Warming and Human Health

Global Warming and
Human Health
By Carolyn Vasko
How our planet is warming and its
direct effect on the human race
What is global warming?
 Global warming is a marked and extended
change in the Earth’s climate for the warmer
 Climate change is an extended change in the
Earth’s regular pattern of atmospheric
conditions and its fluctuations
 Global warming is caused by an enhanced
greenhouse effect caused by human activity
What is the greenhouse effect?
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The greenhouse effect is caused by the
trapping of heat in the Earth’s
atmosphere
First the Sun’s high frequency rays of
radiation enter into the Earth’s
atmosphere in the form of visible light
Next the Earth absorbs these rays and
radiates them back into the atmosphere
as infrared radiation, or heat
Since the Earth’s atmosphere includes
certain gases which even in small
amounts can absorb infrared radiation ,
gases such as methane, carbon dioxide,
fluorocarbons, and nitrous oxide, the
infrared radiation is trapped by these
gases and can not escape the Earth’s
atmosphere
Lastly, as the Earth’s atmosphere traps
more and more heat the Earth’s
atmosphere begins to increase the
temperature of the Earth itself
What causes an enhanced greenhouse effect?
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The greenhouse effect is caused by human activities which produce the greenhouse gases;
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorocarbons
Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas and is produced by fossil fuel burning power
plants, heating systems, factories, and modes of transportation that burn fossil fuels.
Deforestation adds to the problem since most forest remove carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere in order to produce food through photosynthesis.
Methane is another greenhouse gas produced by human use of land, including the
livestock we use and such agricultural objects as rice fields, wetlands and marshes
Nitrous oxide is produced by the exhaust of cars, human disposal of waste and
human use of nitrogen-based fertilizers
Fluorocarbons are gases which are emitted when humans use their refrigerators and
their air conditioners
Humans produce 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, 300-350 million tons
of methane, and 7-13 million tons of nitrous oxide, a drastic increase from even
fifty years ago
How do we know global warming is
happening?
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In the top graph at the right we can
see the rising levels of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere as
measured in parts per million in the
atmosphere, measurements having
been taken on the island of Mauna
Loa, Hawaii
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In the bottom graph at the left can be
seen the rising temperatures on the
planet over the past years
Global warming and Human Health
• Global warming will affect human health in a number
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of different ways
The spread of infectious diseases will be affected
Agriculture will be affected
Extreme weather patterns will be affected
The amount of smog near the ground will be affected
The supply of freshwater available to humans will be
affected
The infectious diseases
• Infectious diseases can be carried by many different
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organisms, among them are ticks, flies and mosquitoes.
When the climate becomes warmer such organisms called
vectors such as ticks, flies and mosquitoes can breed easier in
the warmer wetter climates.
As climate change begins to affect our planet to a greater
extent the infectious disease carrying organisms will be able to
reach higher altitudes and will have a longer season of
breeding, increasing the likelihood of a human being in contact
with the disease
Also, as the climate warms the amount of algae and fish that
produce toxins poisonous to humans will increase
The infectious diseases
• Malaria can affect 45%
of the world’s
population today but if
global warming
continues at the rate that
it is progressing, that
number could change to
be 60% of the world’s
population
The infectious diseases
• Malaria is a parasitic disease borne by
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mosquitoes which on reaching the
bloodstream causes blood cells to rupture,
causing a fever, chills and anemia in the
victim and potentially resulting in death
within hours
Viral encephalitis is another disease
carried by the mosquito and the tick and
which results in an inflammation of the
brain that can result in a brain
hemorrhaging as well
Leishmaniasis is another parasitic
disease carried by the sand fly which can
infect the human body, namely the lymph
nodes, the spleen and the bone marrow
and which causes the body to become
susceptible to disease as it attacks the
immune system and can result in death
due to complications that arise
Lyme disease-is carried by ticks and is a
disease commonly found in North
America, a disease which can result in
complications involving the heart and
even the nervous system
The infectious diseases
• Cholera is a parasitic disease
which can cause death from
dehydration as it causes excessive
diarrhea
• Dengue fever is transmitted by
mosquitoes and causes fevers,
joint and muscle pain, and
headaches.
• Schistomalaisisis a parasitic
disease in which the parasite
burrows into the body and then
infects the organ literally of its
choice.
• Cryptosporidiosis is a disease that,
like Cholera causes excessive
dehydration especially in small
children as a result of diarrhea.
Human Health and Extreme Weather Patterns
• During global warming there is a
potential for an increase in the
number of heat related deaths as
there is a potential for an increase
in the number of extremely hot
days
• Extreme heat can bring about heat
cramps due to a lack of water
which can lead to heat stroke
which can then lead to organ
failure and even death
• The elderly and the very young
are particularly susceptible to
extreme climates
• A study done in Canada suggests
that the number of people who
would die heat related deaths
would increase from 70 annually
to 240-1140 people by 2050, and
that only in the city of Montreal
Human Health and Extreme Weather Patterns
• A study done in relation to the city of New
York shows that the number of people who die
heat related deaths annually there would
increase to around 1,700 people annually also
by only 2050
• Also, there a potential trend for more
hurricanes when the temperature of the seas
increase because hurricanes are fueled by
warm ocean waters
• Although the actual number of hurricanes may
not increase as a result of global warming, it is
their intensity that is thought to increase, or
their potential energy
• As a result of an potential increase in the
intensity and thus possibly the amount of
damage many hurricanes could be capable of
doing, insurance agencies who are paying for
increased amounts of damage due to hurricanes
could even go bankrupt as a result
Human Health and Agriculture
• A good part of the world and its countries rely on agriculture
as their main source of income and of food
• In a first scenario precipitation is expected to increase due to
global warming, meaning that many crops will receive too
much water and will be drowned as fields flood due to a
projected rise of 40 centimeters in sea level
• In a second scenario the amount of evaporation is expected to
increase due to global warming, meaning that even more crops
will die due to a lack of water
• For many countries this change could mean death, in fact that
projected number of starving people worldwide is expected to
be 40-300 million people in addition to the 600 million already
projected to be starving in 2060
Human Health and Water Supply
• Due to global warming the amount of annual
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precipitation and the amount of ice converted to
freshwater from the polar ice caps is projected to
increase
A rise in sea level is projected for 2100 of as much as
40 centimeters
This rise in sea level could not only destroy human
dwellings and human places of agricultural
production but could also destroy many sea-side
aquifers which would deplete the general water
supply for humankind
Human Health and Air Conditions
• Due to global warming, the amount of smog that is
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created by nitrous oxide, or ozone that is near the
ground, will increase
An increase in the amount of smog near the ground
level could potentially result in fatally warm summer
days for those humans sensitive to such gases
As gases such as smog enter human lungs, they can
increase the potential of lung infection which can lead
to death
What else is affected by global warming?
• Coral reefs- As the sea level rises the more and more coral reefs are being
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killed as they are subjected to cooler, darker waters
Greenland- The country of Greenland, a good percentage of which is made
up of ice, is likely to melt significantly should global warming continue,
causing sea levels to rise significantly and drowning many coastal
communities
The polar ice caps- As global warming continues the polar ice caps are
melting with speed and are diminishing all over the globe, causing many
animals who inhabit the same areas as these polar ice caps to loose part of
their habitats
Weather patterns- Weather patterns will greatly be affected by global
warming as the weather must take into account a warmer climate
Wetlands- As sea levels rise due to global warming the number of wetlands
diminishes as they are drowned by the rising waters
Predictions for the future:
• The Hadley Center for Research on Climate Control has made
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a number of predictions about the future of climate change and
its results by the 21st century, such as the following;
The surface temperature globally will have risen at an average
of 3.2° at a minimum of .3 worldwide The mean daily
precipitation will have increased by .2 millimeters globally
The mean soil moisture will have decreased by a mean of 2
millimeters of moisture globally
The sea level will have decreased by a mean of .42 meters
globally
The volume and area of artic sea ice will have dramatically
decreased
How can we help to stop/what is being
done to stop global warming?
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One way people can help to stop global warming is by using alternate forms of energy that are
not using up fossil fuels, products that create greenhouse gases when they are used
Some of the forms of renewable energy that have been suggested as alternatives are wind
energy and solar energy
Another way we can stop global warming is by attempting to take greenhouse gases out of the
atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, through techniques such as
carbon sequestration
There are four main ideas for carbon sequestration; to store carbon dioxide in the ground, to
store carbon dioxide in the ocean floor, to increase the abilities of certain plants and animals
to take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and to look at the genome sequences of certain
plants and animals who produce methane, hydrogen, or help to store carbon dioxide
Already a number of different projects are being done such as by Eric A. Davidson and Neil
Scott of the Woods Hole Research Center who are attempting to increase the carbon
sequestration capacity of certain trees
The company Statoil, the State Oil company of Norway, is also already setting limits on how
much carbon dioxide they can produce and are keeping their emissions at that level by
injecting any extra carbon dioxide their company produces into the sea floor off the coast of
Norway
How much do you know? (A short quiz)
• What causes global warming? Why does it
cause global warming? (Slides 2-4)
How much do you know? (A short quiz)
• What are two of the infectious diseases that
have a potential for becoming more prominent
as a result of global warming? (Slides 9-10)
How much do you know? (A short quiz)
• What is one natural disaster that could become
potentially more harmful to humans due to
global warming? How would it be harmful
physically? Financially? Economically? (Slide
12)
How much do you know? (A short quiz)
• How is it that global warming could cause the
sea level to become lower while it could also
cause the sea level to rise in certain areas of
the world?
How much do you know? (A short quiz)
• What are some other ways that anyone at home
could help to reduce carbon emissions?
The End
(But not of global warming)
(See http://www.classroomencounters.org/ for
more details)
Bibliography
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1. Author not listed (done by the Hadley Center) Climate Change Predictions. The Hadley Centre
Website
on Met Office. January 2, 2006.
<http://www.metoffice.com/research/hadleycentre/models/modeldata.html>
Organization; The Hadley Centre on Climate Research. Last update not listed.
2. Author not listed. Global Warming. OzEstuaries. Downloaded January 2, 2005.
<http://www.ozestuaries.org/indicators/Def_global_warming.html> Organization; National
Land and Water Resources Audit and the Coastal Cooperate Research Centre for Coastal
Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management. Last update not listed.
3. Author not listed. (Based on the Summary for Policymakers of the Third Assessment Report
written by Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.) Scientific
Facts on Climate Change and Global Warming. GreenFacts.org. Downloaded on January 2,
2006. <http://www.greenfacts.org/studies/climate_change/sources.htm> Organization;
Green Facts. Last updated July 3, 2005.
4. Author not listed. Medical Encyclopedia for Malaria, Toxins, Dengue Fever, Encephalitis,
Leishmaniasis, Schistomalaisis, Heat Stroke and Cryptosporidiosis. Medline Plus.
Downloaded January 2, 2006. http://medlineplus.gov/ Organization; U.S. National Library
of Medicine and The National Institutes of Health. Last updated; December, 2005.
5. Author not listed. The Effects of Global Warming. The Effects of Global Warming. Downloaded
June 4. 2006. <www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/1848/global.html>. Organization and
update not listed.
Bibliography
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6. Author Unlisted. Carbon Sequestration. Enhancing the Natural Terrestrial Cycle. Current Projects. Carbon
Sequestration in the Oceans. Sequencing Genomes of Micro-organisms for Carbon Management. Office of
Science. April 4, 2006. <http://cdiac2.esd.ornl.gov/index.html> Organization: U.S.
Department of Energy. Last Updated;
April 2004.
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7. Epstein, Paul R., Andrew Haines, and Anthony J. McMichael. “Environment and Health: 2. Global climate
change and health.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. Originally Published September 19, 2000;
pages 729-734. Downloaded on January 2, 2006.
<http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/163/6/729>
Organization; Canadian Medical Association Journal.
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8. Gardiner, Lisa. Effects of Climate Change Today. Windows to the Universe. Downloaded on January 2,
2006. <http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/cli_effects.html&edu=high>
Organization; University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research. Last updated June 23, 2004.
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9. Haines Andrew, and McMichael, Anthony J. “Global Climate Change: The Potential Effects on Health.”
Printed in British Medical Journal on September 27, 1997; pages 805-809. Reproduced on British
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<http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7111/805> Organization; British Medical Journal.
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10. Hopwood, Nick and Jordan Cohen. Greenhouse Gases and Society. University of Michigan Website.
Downloaded on January 2, 2006. <http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse.htm>
Organization; University of Michigan. Last update not listed.
Bibliography
• 11. Perkins, Sid. “Dead Heat.” Science News. Published July 2004.
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Reproduced in ProQuest. July 3, 2004.
<http://proquest.umi.com>
12. Walter, Katie. A Solution for Carbon Dioxide Overload. Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory. April 4, 2006.
<http://www.llnl.gov/str/Johnson.html> Organization: Lawrence
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13. Watson, Robert T., et al. Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report
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<http://www.ipcc.ch/pub/un/syreng/spm.pdf> Organization; The
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14. Image not from sites above on Slide 3; drawn by Carolyn Vasko, taken
from <http://www.classroomencounters.org >