Skip to main content

health linked to the climate

Health and Well-being Under Threat

Our health is directly linked to the climate. Rising temperatures create dangerous conditions and exacerbate existing health problems.

  • Extreme Heat: More frequent and intense heatwaves increase the risk of heatstroke and dehydration. They also put significant strain on the cardiovascular system, which is especially dangerous for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions.

  • Worsening Air Quality: Higher temperatures can increase ground-level ozone (smog), which damages lung tissue and can worsen conditions like asthma and bronchitis. Wildfires, made more common by climate change, also release massive amounts of harmful smoke into the atmosphere. 🔥

  • Spreading Diseases: Warmer climates allow disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks to expand their habitats. This increases the risk of illnesses such as malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease in new regions. 🦟

The Economic Cost 💰

Climate change hits our wallets hard, from individual household budgets to the global economy.

  • Damage to Property and Infrastructure: More powerful storms, floods, and wildfires destroy homes, businesses, roads, and power grids. The cost of rebuilding is astronomical and often falls on taxpayers and homeowners.

  • Food and Water Scarcity: Droughts, floods, and extreme heat can devastate crops, leading to food shortages and higher prices at the grocery store. Water supplies are also threatened by reduced snowpack and saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater sources.

  • Rising Insurance Costs: As climate-related disasters become more frequent, insurance companies raise premiums to cover the increased risk, making it more expensive to insure homes and businesses.

Environmental Transformation

The planet's physical and biological systems are being fundamentally altered, with consequences that ripple out to affect everyone.

  • Rising Sea Levels: It's not just a future problem. As ocean water warms and expands, and as glaciers and ice sheets melt, sea levels rise. This leads to chronic coastal flooding, erosion, and the loss of valuable coastal land and property.

  • More Extreme Weather: Global warming supercharges the water cycle, leading to more extreme weather events. This means more intense hurricanes, heavier rainfall and flooding in some areas, and longer, more severe droughts in others.

  • Ocean Acidification: The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2​) we release. This makes the water more acidic, harming marine life, especially organisms with calcium carbonate shells like corals, clams, and oysters. This process is destroying coral reefs, which are vital ecosystems that support countless marine species and coastal economies.

  • Loss of Biodiversity: As habitats are altered or destroyed by changing climate patterns, many plant and animal species are struggling to adapt or relocate. This disruption leads to a loss of biodiversity, threatening the stability of ecosystems that provide us with clean air, water, and food. The polar bear is a symbol, but the problem affects countless species on every continent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Who to Contact if You're Impacted by Aircraft Noise

Contact numbers and emails for Maryland politicians Van Hollen 111 Rockville Pike Suite 960 Rockville, MD 20850 Brent Girard (Constituent Services and Community Outreach, Van Hollen) Brent_girard@vanhollen.senate.gov 667-212-4610 Ben Cardin 100 S. Charles St. Tower 1, Suite 1710 Baltimore, MD 21201 Heather_campbell@cardin.senate.gov 410-962-4436 Shannon Frede (Legislative Assistant, Cardin) Shannon_frede@cardin.senate.gov 202-224-4524 Steny Hoyer US District Court House 6500 Cherrywood Ln. Suite 310 Greenbelt, MD 20770 Sana Mirza (Hoyer) 301-474-0119 Noise from Aircraft Operations at Your Community Airport Airport noise issues and concerns should first be addressed with the local airport manager or staff who respond to airport noise issues. Check your local telephone directory for airport telephone numbers. Many airports also have their noise abatement information and contact information published on their website. If you believe the airplanes were flying unsafely...
Post a Comment
Read more

Political action

-  Congressman Raskin And Others Request GAO Study Of Noise Impacts From NextGen, June 19, 2019 Rep. Jamie Raskin yesterday joined 28 other Members of Congress in requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate "how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has considered community noise impacts while implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) in major metropolitan areas," including the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.   <iframe width="425" height="300" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/embed/mapframe?state=md&district=5&bounds= -78.071,39.843,-75.454,37.105 "></iframe>
3 comments
Read more

(CNN)Air pollution is deadly:

(CNN) Air pollution is deadly: A new study links exposure to it to more than 107,000 premature deaths in the United States in 2011. It isn't just killing us; it cost the country $866 billion, more than double the value of all the economic activity in a country  like Ireland,  according to the study, published Monday in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Particulate matter, or particle pollution, is the mix of solid and liquid droplets floating in the air, according to the  Environmental Protection Agency.  It can come in the form of dirt, dust, soot or smoke.   Particulate pollution comes from coal- and natural gas-fired plants. Cars, agriculture, unpaved roads, construction sites and wildfires can also create it. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/08/health/particle-pollution-study/index.html
Post a Comment
Read more

What is NoiseQuest?

NoiseQuest is your source for information on aviation and airport noise. Our goal is to improve the relationship between airports and their surrounding communities. Where Does the information on NoiseQuest come from? Government documents News articles Research journals Aviation practices Mission statement This website was developed to provide educational information on aviation noise. The initial site development was supported by the Federal Aviation Administration through the PARTNER Center of Excellence under grants to researchers at The Pennsylvania State University and Purdue University. The ongoing development and enhancement of the NoiseQuest site is supported by the Federal Aviation Administration through the ASCENT Center of Excellence under grants to researchers at The Pennsylvania State University. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Fed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vianair, contract - reduce noise

 Vianair, contract -  strategies to reduce overflights and noise impacts on residential communities Accokeek and Fort Washington The Vianair, Inc website has information that describes a contract implemented by Prince George’s County and Alexandria to identify strategies to reduce overflights and noise impacts on residential communities south of Regan Airport. If you live in Accokeek or Fort Washington and are concerned about the 400 airplanes that travel over our communities, this should interest you. Click on the link to the website for more information https://www.vianair.com/kdca-south-of-airport-project/ Project Overview  DCA South of Airport Aircraft Noise and Mitigation Study Project Kick-Off / Community Conversation May 17, 2023. • Analysis of historical conditions, including DCA aircraft operations and noise exposure, 2014-2019 (Pre-COVID). • Identify and characterize changes that have led to a substantial increase in complaints from communities south of DCA. ...
Post a Comment
Read more