Download Essay 10 - Michigan State University

Global Warming and the Spread of Disease
When one hears the phrase “global warming,” what often comes to mind is melting ice
caps and warmer winters but most people are horribly unaware of the effects that global warming
will have on human health. Food shortages, contaminated water, extreme weather, and deadly
heat threaten the world because of the warming temperatures of our earth. The effects of these
can be seen today and their influence will be magnified in the not-so-distant future. But the most
dangerous threat we face from global warming is the spread of disease.
The term global warming refers to an unnatural and accelerated increase in temperature.
These increases are mostly due to the release of heat trapping gases such as methane, nitrous
oxide, halocarbons, and ozone. Almost all of these are byproducts of human commerce and
activity. Things like car emissions, raising livestock, producing industrial chemicals and even
deforestation add more of these chemicals to our air, throwing off the natural balance of our
atmosphere (Berger 30). The mean temperature on Earth has risen about 1 degree Fahrenheit
since the industrial revolution. It has been predicted that the climate could increase about 2.2 to
10 degrees in the next 100 years (EPA 2 0f 2). This data is supported by countless satellites,
weather studies, oceanic studies and computer models of world wide climate patterns and this
warming is inevitable (Shute et al 44). When doing global warming research one must be
cautious, because the biggest source of misinformation on global warming is the fossil fuel
companies who will have you believe that global warming and it’s ill effects are nothing but
scientific hype.
These ruthless companies go to great lengths to ensure that their business will not suffer,
even as they endanger all of us. As John Berger so aptly stated:
The main tactics of the fossil fuel industry's climate campaign are to sow doubt about
climate science and fear of economic pain. To create fear, the campaign charges that
limiting carbon emissions would be exorbitantly expensive...To sow doubt, the fossil fuel
industries take alleged “uncertainties” in climate science out of context, blow them up out
of proportion, and use them to stir up skepticism.(60)
These oil companies quietly fund groups that sound like environmental organizations but are
actually used to further their cause. They also pay scientists to try and fool the public. One
example is Dr. S. Fred Singer who has received somewhere around 165,000 dollars from
companies including Exxon, Shell, UNOCAL, ARCO, and Sun Oil (Berger 62). Unfortunately
there is a long list of organizations, publications, think tanks, and even so called scientists that
are funded by the oil companies in an attempt to misinform and even endanger the public
because of their own self-interest. These are the people telling us that global warming is not
harmful, is not a problem, is not even real. But scientist who have been studying diseases like
malaria, cholera, and dengue fever know differently.
We face a horrifying variety of illnesses that are being spread to areas where they never
previously existed due to the warmer, more hospitable climates that are spreading northward.
New Scientist magazine stated, “human disease is emerging as one of the most sensitive, and
distressing, indicators of climate change”(Kingsnorth 92). The proliferation of disease that we
could experience will be more than all our new technologies can conquer and many diseases that
are assumed to no longer be a threat may emerge. Most of these will be vector-borne diseases.
These are the diseases that are spread by insects and other small creatures. A 1996 study done
by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine showed that of the worlds ten most
harmful vector borne diseases which include malaria, schistosomiasis, dengue fever, lymphatic
filariasis, sleeping sickness, Guinea worm, Leishmaniasis, river blindness, Chagasas’ disease and
yellow fever “all but one will increase or change their range as a result of climate change”
(Kingsnorth 92). Paul Epstein, a Harvard scientist and leading global warming researcher
conducted a study that showed evidence of these types of diseases already spreading, saying “I
think climate change is a very big threat, it’s a major wake-up call. Climate change is already a
factor in terms of the distributions of malaria, dengue fever, and cholera. They are changing
their distributions right now” (Monastersky 218).
One of the biggest threats is the malaria mosquito, which is being given a wider range of
hospitable climate to multiply in and spread disease. Today, malaria causes two million deaths
every year and is the world’s most wide spread mosquito borne disease. The Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change has predicted an increase in the number of people at risk of being
affected with malaria from 45% to 60% in the next 75 years (Martens 534). The malaria
mosquito develops more quickly as the temperature rises and increased rainfall also helps them
breed. This disease will spread to areas with high altitude like the Andes where it was previously
nonexistent (Kingsnorth 92). It also will hit closer to home. Already, Houston Texas
experienced cases of malaria in the past two years and in the past 12 years, cases of malaria have
been recorded in such northern areas as New Jersey, Michigan and Queens, NY (Sierra Club 1 0f
2). Cases of malaria have also been reported in the highlands of Africa, rural Papua New
Guinea, central African cities and across Asia. Another factor that makes the spread of malaria
worse is that people in the previously unaffected regions have immune systems unfamiliar with
the disease which leaves them much more vulnerable. This will be the case for every new area
unaccustomed to the disease (Kingsnorth 92).
Dengue, also known as “break bone” fever, is second only to malaria in the number of
people affected world wide (Gubler et al 223). Like malaria, dengue is carried by mosquitoes
which are restricted by temperatures. This disease has been moving north as well. An
astounding example of this is shown by the 1978 outbreak in Honduras. While dengue raged all
over the country, the city of Tegucigalpa did not have a single case of dengue. This was due to
the fact that the average temperature there was a mere 4 degrees lower than the rest of the
country (Martens 534). Here at home, the dengue mosquito has been found in Chicago, and in
Mc Allen, Texas, in 1995 an outbreak of dengue which scientists said was the result of an
“unusually mild winter and hotter than normal summer” occurred (Sierra Club 2 of 2). Dengue
fever has no vaccine.
Yet another disease that threatens the world is cholera. Cholera is different from malaria
and dengue in that is a water borne, not vector borne disease. Global warming warms the oceans
as well as the air, increasing what are known as “harmful algae blooms” which house cholera
(Rose et al 218). Peru, 1991 illustrated the emergence of cholera for the first time in a hundred
years. It caused 5,000 deaths and also gave proof that an increase in water temperature is
positively associated with the spread of cholera. It was shown that the tiny marine animals that
carry cholera feed on algae, which proliferates as the water warms This was also proven in
Bangladesh (Monastersky 219). JoAnn Burkholder of North Carolina State University says
“given that many of these harmful algae [thrive at higher temperatures], warming trends and
global climate change will promote increased activity and also cause them to continue to expand
and extend their ranges” (qtd in Monastersky 219). The human cost of these diseases is
obviously high, but if that isn't enough, consider this: the ’91 cholera epidemic cost Peru one
billion dollars and the ’94 outbreak of dengue in India cost the tourism industry around five
billion dollars (Kingsnorth 92).
The problem of increased risk of disease due to global warming is a serious one. We
must be able to change our practices to try and lessen the effects that these diseases will have.
Things like dengue fever and malaria are important to detect early on so that the problem and
source can be targeted. Things such as programs to control the mosquito population will be
instrumental. This can include protective screens and use of pesticides, as well as eliminating
watery places for the mosquitos to breed. Scientists need to focus on vaccines and making
medicines available around the world should these diseases become widespread. Health care
personnel need to be educated to recognize the diseases and symptoms and tourists need to know
how to protect themselves when traveling to prevent the international spread of these diseases
(Gubler et al 229).
For diseases such as cholera, which is waterborne, it will become important for all people
to treat drinking water. Also, people may have to avoid swimming in some areas and must focus
on appropriate sewage and sanitation measures (Rose et al 217). One of the main problems with
water borne diseases is that they often go unreported, especially in underdeveloped countries if
the person is never treated. It is very important to inform the public of possible risks from
contaminated water. One very important measure is to control ballast water in ships to greatly
curb the spread of the harmful algae that causes cholera (Rose et al 218).
The reality of global climate change is very serious. It is certain that these changes in
climate will effect the health of the world. Risk factors such as poverty, lack of medical care,
bad sewage systems, poor nutrition and overcrowding all increase the likelihood of outbreaks of
diseases, but these diseases and other ill health effects will hit the whole world, not just
developing countries. Global travel and trade today can carry vectors surprisingly easily and
this, coupled with the fact that many mosquitoes are now resistant to pesticides and many
diseases are becoming resistant to antibiotics, will greatly encourage the spread of disease
(Martens 539).
It is obvious that something must be done to limit the impact that
global warming will have on human health. In 1957, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in California named Roger Revell announced that the changes humans are
causing to the climate are “a large-scale geophysical experiment with potentially vast
consequences” (Shute et al 45). Now, almost fifty years later we can see just how right he was.
We are warming our planet at a rate that our environment cannot handle and it is a problem we
need to confront right now.
Works Cited
Berger, John. Beating the Heat. Berkeley, California: Berkeley Hills Books, 2000.
Environmental Protection Agency. 31 October 2002. 11 March 2003.
<http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/climate.html>.
Greenough, Gregg et al. “The Potential Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Health
Impacts of Extreme Weather Events in the United States”. Environmental Health
Perspectives 109.2 (2001): 191-98.
Gubler, Duane J.et al. “Climate Variability and Change in the United States: Potential Impacts
on Vector and Rodent-Borne Diseases.” Environmental Health Perspectives 109.2
(2001): 223-233.
Kingsnorth, Paul. “Human health on the line.” Ecologist 29.2 (1999): 92-94.
Martens, Pim. “How will climate change affect human health?” American Scientist 87.6
(1999):
534-41.
Monastersky, Richard. “Health in the Hot Zone.” Science News 149.14 (1996) : 218-19.
Sanderson, George. “Climate Change: The Threat to Human Health.” Futurist 26.2 (1992):
34-38.
Shute, Nancy et al. “The Weather Turns Wild Global warming could cause droughts, disease,
and
political upheaval.” US News and World Report 5 Feb. 2001: 44-52.
Sierra Club. 11 March 2003 <http://sierraclub.org/globalwarming/health/conclusions.asp>.
Other Works
“Green House Effects.” Time Dec. 1999: 78-9
Global Warming International Center. 11 Nov. 2001. 11 Mar. 2003
<http://www.globalwarming.net/news/news11112001-1.asp>.
“Global Warming Disease Scares Are Based on Hype, Not Science, Notes Lancet Letter.”
Consumer Alert. Apr. 1998. 11 Mar 2003
<http://www.consumeralert.org/pubs/comments/MarApr98/letter.htm>.
Kaiser, Jocely. “NAS backs study of health, global change.” Science. 269.5231 (1995): 1659.
Last, John M. “New causes for new diseases.” World Health. 50.1 (1997): 12-13.