How we treat ourselves, our animals and our planet is a matter of life or death. Earth Day 2020 reminds us to address climate change in terms of One Health — the intersection of human, animal and environmental health. The COVID-19 pandemic is teaching us that we must be responsible for each other — everywhere.
Solving the climate crisis. Stopping infectious diseases. Preparing for epidemics. Training health workers. These issues and more make up the World Health Organization’s (WHO) newly issued 13 global health challenges which we face in the next decade.
On December 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Climate and Health Alliance assembled a one-day Global Climate and Health Summit in Madrid.
This time last year, I wrote an editorial describing the wildfires burning north of San Francisco, where many WiRED volunteers and board members live. Because of air pollution, we were holed up in our homes, able to venture outside only for chores and obligations we could not avoid. This year the fires have returned, and so has the air pollution, although the air isn’t as foul as it was last year. This year’s new disaster-related feature was the preemptive electricity outages, where power companies plunged 2.7 million people into darkness. Of course, neither the pollution nor the blackouts approach the horrors of the fires themselves and the losses to people who suffered through those infernos.
The World Health Organization (WHO) placed air pollution and climate change at the top of its list of ten threats to global health in 2019 — even ahead of such concerns as noncommunicable diseases and Ebola. Air pollution seriously affects health. There are two main types of air pollution: ambient air pollution (outdoor pollution) and household (or indoor) air pollution (pollution generated by household combustion of coal, wood or kerosene using open fires or basic stoves in poorly ventilated spaces).
Disasters such as fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and violent storms can cause great harm. These kinds of events underline the importance of a One Health perspective — the critical link among humans, animals and the environment that we all share.
The New York Times recently ran a piece called “One Thing You Can Do: Talk to Your Children about Climate Change.” The article encouraged parents not only to talk to their children but to get them involved in solutions to the dangers of climate change.
“Our house is on fire — let’s act like it. We demand climate justice for everyone.” So say the world’s youth as they stage a week-long Global Climate Strike event September 20–27 to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels. Students across our threatened Earth are walking out of school on September 20 to save the planet for their future and for future generations to come. Many school systems in New York City and elsewhere are giving permission for students to leave class, and companies from Amazon to Ben & Jerry’s plan to close their doors for part of the day in solidarity.
On August 8 the United Nations released an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report by 107 experts from 52 countries, which warns that the world’s food supply is at risk due to “unprecedented” climate change, combined with the exploitation of land and water resources.
Dengue fever threatens nearly half of the world’s population, but it will likely get much worse. The New York Times reports on a recent study that forecasts that climate change is about to boost the risk of the disease to considerably larger swaths of the population.