Last week RCFC member P.K. Vedanthan shared with us his concerns and information connecting health with global warming in his talk - the Impact of Climate Change on Our Health & Well Being. The first slide was a picture of PK with the Masai Mara in Kenya. This was shown to illustrate the contrast of healthy people in a healthy environment with unhealthy people in an unhealthy environment (4 pictures of masked persons in polluted cities). The Masai are “in sync” with nature and can meet all their needs within a 5-mile radius from the natural world (no cars, trains, etc). In contrast, urban inhabitants, especially in the developed world, are exposed to chemical and particulate pollutants, eat too much, and spend almost all day sitting rather than walking or standing.
The Biosphere has 3 intimately associated components - Atmosphere (Air), Lithosphere (Earth), and Hydrosphere (Water). What takes place in one affects the other two.
If we look at historical charts going back thousands of years, we see it is normal to have cold and hot periods. But historically these have been separated by hundreds to thousands of years - what is happening now is we break heat records every few years.
What disturbing facts do we know so far about climate change? - CO2, ocean acidity, hot days, heat waves, heat-related deaths and population migration are all increasing. The predicted sea level near Houston and Santa Monica can be seen in 2 scenarios - a 1.5 degree C (definitely coming) and a 3 degree C rise (hopefully not). Some other disturbing facts - 90% of the world’s population live in areas of low air quality (WHO), pollution affects every organ system in the body and the exposure is now present from birth until death; massive population displacements are occurring because of climate change; most emissions are coming from wealthy countries and the effects on morbidity and mortality are experienced worldwide especially by poorer populations. The WHO calculates that 60K people die each year due to natural disasters and 4.2 million die each year from the effects of outdoor pollution (COPD and ischemic heart disease are the 2 leading causes).
Ninety-five percent of greenhouse gases are human driven - CO2 from burning fossil fuel. Ozone exists in 2 forms - good (atmospheric) blocks UVL while bad (ground level) ozone is mostly man made. Ever more frequent forest fires are a major contributor to particle pollution which is especially harmful to our lungs and generally not reported in air quality alerts. Dust storm particulates from Sub Saharan Africa eventually arrive in Colorado. A local effect of CO2 - driven warming is easily tracked through measurements of the Colorado snowpack. Urban effects of auto pollution can be seen in poor plant quality along highways. Urban density produces “heat islands” leading to increases in heat locally and increased allergens such as ragweed. More pollen leads to more allergies and more plants, but lower quality plants (crops). Plant hardiness zones are moving north.
We have all heard what governments and countries must do. What can we do on a personal level? Change our diets to include more fresh fruits (antioxidants) and reduce indoor pollution by growing indoor plants.
Members were heard to be depressed by all this information. Perhaps we first may be depressed, next energized and ultimately activists to save our world for our children and grandchildren.
