Climate Change

1. What do you personally find most troubling about climate change?

Climate change is and will continue to negatively affect all life on earth as CO2 emissions increase. Air pollution, extreme weather events, food insecurity, and rising sea levels, among other effects of climate change are all extremely troubling and frightening. Climate change is an extremely complex issue that will require commitments and efforts from all countries and governments across the globe. Actions need to be taken swiftly. What I truly find most troubling is this quick orchestration of countries and governments. Our own current Administration is clearly not interested or committed to tackling climate change given the rollbacks of Obama-era climate policies and the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. If this will take a worldwide effort, how do we get everyone on the same page? That is a daunting task. 

2. As a public health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right now?

I think tackling climate change will require both proactive and reactive efforts. Some attention should be paid towards mitigating the effects of climate change. This might include building levies, dams, and using other technologies to protect coastal areas from rising sea levels or better preparing for extreme weather like hurricanes and flooding by educating the public about emergency preparedness and planning or setting up emergency shelter and cooling centers for extreme heat. Just as much or maybe more attention needs to be paid towards reducing CO2 emissions. This will include pushing for better policies and legislation, abandoning fossil fuels and adopting clean energy at greater rates, supporting local, organic farming rather than conventional farming, among other things. 

3. If you were visiting with a long-lost relative who had never heard about climate change, how would you describe it and its attendant human health and ecological threats?

I would explain that human activities, especially burning fossil fuels for energy, are resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that are creating a "blanket" around the earth. As the sun warms the earth, heat is trapped in by the "blanket" of greenhouse gases. Thus the planet is warming up and causing a host of problems which include melting ice and rising sea levels, an increase in extreme weather events with droughts and flooding, warmer summers with an increase in days of extreme heat, among other things. This will impact human health both directly and indirectly. Direct effects will include air pollution and/or heat-related disease and the exacerbation of chronic illnesses. Indirect effects will include food and water insecurity.