Climate change is often seen as a “psychologically distant problem” (at least in the United States) according to Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale Project on Climate Communication and reported yesterday at allAfrica.com: Africa: Did You Know That Climate Change Is Bad for Your Health?

It has become mired in debates over the science, the environmental impacts (which have focused on polar bears not people), and domestic and international political squabbling over responsibility for action. “We ignore other frames – especially the health frame – but people do care passionately about this aspect, and it helps to localise the issue,” (Leiserowtz) said; ”The more local you can help people understand the impacts to be, the more likely you are to engage them effectively.”

There is an emerging view that the health effects of climate change have not been emphasised enough in the public debate, according to the article:

There’s certainly a widespread view among experts that heath has not been given the importance it deserves in the climate change arena. “Human health has been largely neglected, if not entirely ignored, in debates about climate change,” Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation. Now that more evidence is available on the existing and expected threats climate change poses to health, it needs to be packaged in a way that influences policy and injects greater urgency into the response, she added.

Climate change (Photo credit: jeancliclac)

One barrier to effectively communicating the climate-health link has been a lack of current data, according to Professor Tony McMichael, a leading exponent of this issue. Until now. According to the article, Prof McMichael says that updated figures are currently being prepared with the aim of being ready for the upcoming Rio+20 summit.

Article Outcome: We should be promoting win-win solutions, like cycling, with benefits for both health and climate. We should also be tailoring the message for specific audiences.

Prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can adversely affect a child’s intelligence quotient or IQ, according to new research by the the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health. PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. In urban areas motor vehicles are a major source of PAHs.

Ref: Perera et al. Prenatal Airborne Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5 Years. Pediatrics, August 2009.

Piecemeal evidence suggests weather may have played a role in the rapid spread of West Nile virus (WNV) across the United States and into Canada and Central America following its detection in New York City in 1999. A team of U.S. and Canadian researchers has looked more comprehensively at the evidence by analyzing a spectrum of weather factors for 17 climatically diverse states, and found several significant links with the incidence of human WNV cases [EHP 117:1049–1052; Soverow et al.]. The analysis was based on 16,298 WNV cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 to 2005, as well as year-round temperature, precipitation, and dew point data from 351 weather stations in close proximity to the infected people.

A 12°F increase in maximum daily temperature was associated with a 45–72% increase in WNV case reports within a 1-month period. Precipitation was also associated with WNV, which increased 29–66% in association with a single-day rainfall of at least 50 mm within 3 weeks of diagnosis. Smaller amounts of precipitation were associated with smaller increases in WNV cases, consistent with a dose–response effect. Increases in cumulative weekly precipitation and mean weekly dew point temperature (a measure of relative humidity) were also associated with an increase in WNV cases.

The findings, which hold up across season and location, generally mesh with what is known about the biology of WNV, humans, mosquito vectors, and bird reservoir hosts. The authors write that additional research will be needed to address some limitations of their work—notably gaps in data from a number of geographic regions and the influence of localized interactions of factors such as bird populations, vegetation, mosquito control efforts, and acquired immunity in both humans and animals. If these weather–disease links are confirmed, and if climate changes in North America unfold as predicted with increases in temperature and precipitation, public health officials may be better able to prevent or mitigate outbreaks in the future.