Health

A changing climate has widespread implications for human health. The World Health Organization writes that “over the last 50 years, human activities — particularly the burning of fossil fuels — have released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to trap additional heat in the lower atmosphere and affect the global climate.

“In the last 130 years, the world has warmed by approximately 0.85°C. Each of the last 3 decades has been successively warmer than any preceding decade since 1850.

“Although global warming may bring some localized benefits, such as fewer winter deaths in temperate climates and increased food production in certain areas, the overall health effects of a changing climate are likely to be overwhelmingly negative. Climate change affects social and environmental determinants of health — clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter.”

CREDIT: CDC. IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON HUMAN HEALTH.

CURRENT NEWS

Yale Climate Connections

Older adults can be particularly vulnerable during weather disasters

By YCC Team 01/03/23

It’s an urgent issue as extreme weather grows more common. The post Older adults can be particularly vulnerable during weather disasters appeared first on Yale Climate Connections. ...

Forbes

How Does Deforestation Lead To Human Diseases?

By Andrew Wight 12/07/22

Colombian disease ecologist Juliana Hoyos is part of a multidisciplinary team studying the links between deforestation and diseases like Chagas disease and American cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Axios

When health inequities and climate disasters collide

By Ayurella Horn-Miller 12/06/22

Researchers released a toolkit Tuesday designed to help free and low-cost clinics in the U.S. to better deal with heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires and floods in underserved communities. The big picture: Despite treating those most…

The Hill

Harvard team launches climate resilience toolkit for front-line health care clinics

By Sharon Udasin 12/06/22

A team of Harvard University public health experts has launched an initiative to help front-line medical clinics protect their patients from climate risks. The project, called the Climate Resilience for Frontline Clinics Toolkit, provides clinical…

CNN

As heat wave grips the West, millions in California are urged to set thermostats to 78 degrees to conserve electricity today

By Aya Elamroussi 09/01/22

An intense heat wave will blanket much of the West this week, prompting officials in California to urge residents to slash their energy consumption for the second day in a row to avoid straining the…

The Washington Post

Nature can affect human well-being in many more ways than you think

By Allyson Chiu 08/05/22

Humans have long benefited from nature’s offerings. But beyond being an essential source of food, water and raw materials, the natural world can contribute to people’s overall well-being through a host of intangible effects —…

National Geographic

Climate change is eroding a precious resource: sleep

By Alejandra Borunda 05/25/22

That feeling isn’t just unpleasant. Years of research show that sleep deprivation can ramp up heart disease risk, intensify mood disorders, slow one’s ability to learn, and much more—problems with big personal, societal, and economic…

Forbes

‘A Planetary Threat’: Pollution Responsible For 9 Million Deaths Each Year, Study Finds

By Robert Hart 05/17/22

TOPLINE Pollution was responsible for more than 9 million deaths around the world in 2019, according to a study published in Lancet Planetary Health on Tuesday, equivalent to one in every six, a growing global…

The Washington Post

Cutting air pollution from fossil fuels would save 50,000 lives a year, study says

By Steven Mufson 05/16/22

Eliminating air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels would prevent more than 50,000 premature deaths and provide more than $600 billion in health benefits in the United States every year, according to a new study…

The New York Times

The Tick That Causes a Meat Allergy Is on the Move

By Livia Albeck-Ripka 05/13/22

One night in 2008, Deborah Fleshman awoke in her bed to find that her legs had turned beetroot red. Welts, some a foot wide, had appeared along her torso.

E&E News

Cancer-causing gas emission spikes continue at refineries

By Sean Reilly 05/12/22

On its website, Marathon Petroleum Corp. touts a commitment to the environment that transcends run-of-the-mill regulatory compliance.

Inside Climate News

Fossil Fuels Aren’t Just Harming the Planet. They’re Making Us Sick

By Liza Gross 05/12/22

For years, researchers have warned that chemical pollutants tied to fossil fuels have become so pervasive that they would be impossible for anyone to avoid.

KEY RESOURCES

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If you see no icon in front of an entry, it means the entry covers more than one subject.

The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels

10/26/22

The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown is published as the world confronts profound and concurrent systemic shocks. Countries and health systems continue to contend with the health, social, and economic impacts of the COVID-19…

World Health Organization

U.S. EPA and WHO partner to protect public health

01/20/22

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The agreement continues EPA-WHO collaboration on a wide range of specific and crosscutting environment and…

Environmental Health Coalition

11/10/21

Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) works for environmental justice in the San Diego/Tijuana region and throughout California.

EWG’s Tap Water Database

11/09/21

Since 2013, water utilities' testing has found pollutants in Americans' tap water, according to an EWG drinking water quality analysis of more than 31 million state water records.

The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.

11/02/21

ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified more than 1,000 toxic hot spots across the country and found that an estimated 250,000 people living in them may be exposed to levels of…

lancetcountdownus.org

Lancet Countdown: Policy brief for the United States Of America

10/20/21

This fifth annual Policy Brief is supported by a diverse group of health experts from over 70 institutions, organizations, and centers who recognize that climate change is first and foremost a health crisis. It uses…

Systematic mapping of global research on climate and health: a machine learning review

08/19/21

The global literature on the links between climate change and human health is large, increasing exponentially, and it is no longer feasible to collate and synthesise using traditional systematic evidence mapping approaches. We aimed to…

The number of lives that clean energy could save, by U.S. state

08/11/21

The United States can achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while creating half a million new jobs, modernizing the energy infrastructure, and avoiding hundreds of thousands of needless deaths, according to the comprehensive Net Zero…

The Lancet Planetery Health

Systematic mapping of global research on climate and health: a machine learning review

07/13/21

Coming Storms: Climate Change And The Rising Threat To America’s Coastal Seniors

03/21/21

A new Climate Central sea-level-rise analysis identifies the assisted living and nursing homes at risk in five states. Experts say waiting to evacuate during storms is not the answer.

www.whitehouse.gov

Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis

01/20/21

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. Our Nation has an abiding commitment to empower…

WHO global strategy on health, environment and climate change

10/01/20

The burden of disease attributable to the environment is high and persistent, and amounts to 13 million deaths each year (one quarter of all deaths), and further health concerns are posed by global challenges such…

Global risk of deadly heat

10/01/20

Climate change can increase the risk of conditions that exceed human thermoregulatory capacity.

Clean Air Task Force

Raising Awareness of the Health Impacts of Coal Plant Pollution

07/30/20

In 2000, 2004 and again in 2010, the Clean Air Task Force issued studies based on a methodology and model created by Abt Associates, U.S EPA’s own health benefits consultant, based on peer-reviewed, published studies…

Civil Eats

Investors Join Calls for a Food Revolution to Fight Climate Change

02/01/19

A series of new reports shows how climate change is intertwined with the world’s worsening health, and suggests changes in the global food production system.

The Global Syndemic of Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report

01/27/19

Malnutrition in all its forms, including obesity, undernutrition, and other dietary risks, is the leading cause of poor health globally. In the near future, the health effects of climate change will considerably compound these health…

Global Climate Change and Children’s Health

11/01/15

Climate change poses threats to human health, safety, and security, and children are uniquely vulnerable to these threats.

World Health Organization

Climate change and health

02/01/18

Over the last 50 years, human activities – particularly the burning of fossil fuels – have released sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to trap additional heat in the lower atmosphere and…

Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance

03/01/17

“Things like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, domestic abuse, all these things tend to go up in the aftermath of a natural disasters,” says psychologist Susan Clayton of the College of Wooster,…

Nature Conservancy

Planting healthy air: Trees, particulate matter pollution and extreme heat

10/31/16

This study from the Nature Conservancy reviews the positive cooling effects of urban trees planting on hot city climates and the quality of their air.

FOOD POLITICS

New Lancet report: The Global Syndemic: Uniting Actions to Address Obesity, Undernutrition, and Climate Change

01/28/19

The Lancet has been busy. Last week, it published a blockbuster report on the need for worldwide dietary changes to improve human health and that of the environment. And here is another post about this…

FOOD POLITICS

Weekend reading: The Lancet / EAT Forum report on healthy and sustainable diets

01/25/19

I’ve saved this for Weekend Reading because it will take a weekend to get through it. The report is a blockbuster: 37 authors, 47 pages, 357 references.

DeSmog

Major Health Study Shows Benefits of Combating Climate Change

12/15/18

The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change, by 150 experts from 27 academic institutions and intergovernmental organizations, including the World Health Organization and the World Bank, is blunt: “A rapidly changing climate…

Business Insider

8 ways the climate apocalypse could affect your health

11/30/18

Public health journal The Lancet released a report Wednesday warning that climate change is causing a long list of health risks.

Becker’s Hospital Review

California health systems form alliance to advise on climate change laws, regulations

08/22/18

As deadly fires and record-breaking heat waves ravage California, four of the state's largest health systems joined to form the California Health Care Climate Alliance ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit in September to…

Phys.org

Climate change is making people sick: A U.S. medical report

03/15/17

From rising levels of air pollution to increased water contamination and a widening range for disease-carrying mosquitoes, climate change is making people sick, a coalition of 11 US medical groups said Wednesday.

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MORE NEWS

The Hill

When will ‘economic growth’ account for environmental costs?

By David Shearman 05/12/22

Human health and the natural environment are indivisible. A recent article in the journal The Lancet reminds us that “economic decisions on the environment have major impacts on human health, and health and wellness depend…

Insider

Yes, you’re consuming microplastics —

By Andrea Michelson 04/30/22

Scientists are certain that humans around the world are ingesting tiny pieces of plastic on a regular basis. Now, they are seeking to understand how the wide distribution of microplastics affects human health and the…

Yahoo News

Studies find microplastics in human lungs, blood stream; scientists investigating possible health risks

04/30/22

Scientists from the Netherlands and the U.K. recently identified microplastics deep in the lungs of some surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors. Researchers say that it's possible to take in these particles…

CBS NEWS

Studies find microplastics in human lungs, blood stream; scientists investigating possible health risks

04/30/22

Reuters

California AG subpoenas Exxon for details on role in global plastic pollution

By Valerie Volcovici 04/29/22

California's attorney general announced on Thursday he issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil (XOM.N) for information on its role in causing the global plastic waste crisis.

Science

Animal melting pot created by climate change could lead to new disease outbreaks

By Jon Cohen 04/28/22

Earth’s warming climate is expected to change the habitat of many animal species, which a new modeling study predicts may spell trouble: Species on the move will mingle with many others they have never encountered…

The New York Times

Climate change will accelerate viral spillovers, study finds

By Carl Zimmer 04/28/22

Over the next 50 years, climate change will drive thousands of viruses to jump from one species of mammal to another, according to a study published in Nature on Thursday. The shuffling of viruses among…

National Geographic

Microplastics are in our bodies. How much do they harm us?

By Laura Parker 04/26/22

A few years ago, as microplastics began turning up in the guts of fish and shellfish, the concern was focused on the safety of seafood. Shellfish were a particular worry, because in their case, unlike…

The Conversation

Disease-causing parasites can hitch a ride on plastics and potentially spread through the sea, new research suggests

By Karen Shapiro and Emma Zhang 04/26/22

Typically when people hear about plastic pollution, they might envision seabirds with bellies full of trash or sea turtles with plastic straws in their noses. However, plastic pollution poses another threat that’s invisible to the…

Forbes

The $150 Billion Road Electric School Buses Can Ride To Create American Jobs And Protect Kids’ Health

By Sarah Spengeman 04/25/22

Anyone who has gone to school in the United States remembers the smell of diesel exhaust from riding the iconic yellow school bus, but few realize the danger of breathing those fumes. Thankfully, our children…

Yale Climate Connections

Living in energy-efficient homes can improve people’s health

By YCC Team 04/21/22

Home energy efficiency upgrades can cut carbon pollution and help people save money on utility bills But for Kevin Kennedy, director of the environmental health program at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, there’s…

NBC NEWS

Microplastics in the human body: What we know and don’t know

By Evan Bush 04/11/22

Few places on Earth — or in our bodies — seem to be free of microplastics. Researchers in recent months have announced the discovery of microplastics traveling in the bloodstream of a handful of anonymous…

News4JAX

Plastic and its impact on our health

04/06/22

It's well known plastics are harmful to the environment, but this isn't the only thing plastics are impacting, according to the World Economic Forum. They can also be harmful to your health.

The Washington Post

There’s good reason to worry about the health risks of plastics

By Erika Veidis and Jamie Hansen 04/02/22

An emerging domain of research shows that plastic consumption and pollution harms human health — particularly for the world’s lower-income communities.

Bloomberg Law

EV Shift Would Spur Trillions in Health Benefits, Report Says

By Jennifer Hijazi 03/30/22

Widespread transition to zero-emission vehicles would yield more than $1 trillion in public health benefits, according to research from the American Lung Association. A nationwide switch to electric cars and other vehicles would save 110,000…

Kaiser Health News

Climate change may make the US a “Goldilocks zone” for West Nile Virus

Melissa Bailey 03/28/22

Spring rain, summer drought, and heat created ideal conditions for mosquitoes to spread the West Nile virus through Colorado last year, experts said. West Nile killed 11 people and caused 101 cases of neuroinvasive infections…

Grist

The next frontier in medicine: Doctors with climate training

By Emily Jones 03/24/22

It’s the culmination of several years of student-led efforts to ensure Emory’s future doctors learn about the growing health impacts of a warming planet, because climate change doesn’t just bring hotter weather and more extreme…

The Guardian

Microplastics found in human blood for first time

By Damian Carrington 03/24/22

Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested. The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body…

The Gothamist

Climate change will make spring hell for Northeast allergy sufferers, study says

By Rosemary Misdary 03/24/22

That is what Brooklynite Amy Grech, 49, experiences with the first plant buds of spring, and she said since she was 14 years old, her allergies have worsened in severity as well as lengthened in…

The Guardian

The world’s forests do more than just store carbon, new research finds

By Nina Lakhani 03/24/22

The world’s forests play a far greater and more complex role in tackling climate crisis than previously thought, due to their physical effects on global and local temperatures, according to new research...

Sciencedirect

Managing upstream oil and gas emissions: A public health oriented approach

By J. Lee , C. Sorensen and Others 03/21/22

Oil and natural gas are the largest primary global energy sources, and upstream gas emissions from these fuels can impact global climate change and local public health. This paper employs a public health-oriented perspective that…

The New York Times

The Unseen Toll of a Warming World

By Sarah Kerr and Noah Throop 03/09/22

Experts and psychologists are racing to understand how the torments of a volatile, unpredictable planet shape our minds and mental health. In February, a major new study highlighted the mental health effects of climate change…

Battelle

New Data Finds Common Ground in Addressing Climate Resiliency Among Academics and Beltway Professionals

By Battelle Media Relations 03/08/22

A recent survey commissioned by global research and development organization Battelle ahead of its forthcoming Conference on Innovations in Climate Resilience shows that more than two-thirds of academics and Beltway professionals believe the implementation of…

Yale Climate Connections

Six behavior changes that can heal people and the planet

By Neha Pathak 03/04/22

As a physician practicing in this growing field, I help my patients address common chronic conditions, like heart disease, diabetes, and lung problems, by focusing on six major changes to their lifestyles. Beyond a focus…

Sustainibility Times

Electric school buses benefit both the climate and students’ health

By April Miller 03/02/22

Electric school buses are finally rolling out and are directly impacting the air quality children breathe each day. Recently, there have been several announcements regarding EV school buses. Some of these include studies backing their…

NBC NEWS

Global health has improved for decades. Climate change could change that.

By Evan Bush 02/28/22

As temperatures warm, the health risks of climate change are expected to intensify in the U.S. and worldwide. The effects of climate change have already left millions of people hungry, caused deaths during heat waves…

Capital and Man

As Evidence of Cap and Trade Problems Mounts, California Air Regulators Remain Defiant

By Aaron Cantu 02/24/22

At a state Senate hearing on Wednesday, top regulators dismissed concerns about the ability of California’s cap and trade program to help the state meet its climate goals. The hearing focused on a recent report…

The New York Times

Apocalypse when? Global warming’s endless scroll

By Amanda Hess 02/03/22

From “Don’t Look Up” to Greta Thunberg videos to doomsaying memes, we are awash in warnings that we are almost out of time. But the climate crisis is outpacing our emotional capacity to describe it.

The Washington Post

The life-or-death implications of curbing air pollution from power plants

By Maxine Joselow 02/01/22

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday affirmed its authority to regulate emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from the power sector. It's easy to frame Monday's move as an abstract regulatory decision by Washington…

hsph.harvard.edu

Living near or downwind of unconventional oil and gas development linked with increased risk of early death

01/27/22

Elderly people living near or downwind of unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD)—which involves extraction methods including directional (non-vertical) drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking—are at higher risk of early death compared with elderly individuals…

AP News

EPA acts to curb air, water pollution in poor communities

By Matthew Daly 01/27/22

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of enforcement actions Wednesday to address air pollution, unsafe drinking water and other problems afflicting minority communities in three Gulf Coast states, following a “Journey to Justice” tour…

The Washington Post

EPA announces ‘bold’ action to monitor pollution in ‘Cancer Alley’

By Darryl Fears 01/26/22

Two months after touring “environmental justice” communities in three southern states, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan on Wednesday announced bold steps to address complaints from residents about tainted drinking water, chemical plants near homes…

Global Health Institute

New paper shows: ‘A win on climate is a win for health’

By Ann Grauvogl 01/20/22

From ramping up clean electricity to eliminating food waste. From designing cities for walking and biking to preserving ecosystems. Projects that lead to a low-carbon society and limit climate change will have more and greater…

WHO

U.S. EPA and WHO partner to protect public health

01/20/22

his week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The agreement continues EPA-WHO collaboration on a wide range of specific and crosscutting environment and…

New Security Beat

The Climate Footprint of Plastics and the Need for a Global Solution

By Justin Bernstein 01/13/22

U.S. efforts to reclaim its climate change leadership, as demonstrated at COP26 in Glasgow, will be undermined if the country does not also step up and accelerate action on reducing plastic waste. Plastic is packing…

The Atlantic

How Bad Are Plastics, Really?

By Rebecca Altman 01/03/22

This is hardly the time to talk about plastics is what I think when Dad, hovering over the waste bin at a post-funeral potluck, waves me over, his gesture discreet but emphatic. He has retrieved…

NASA

Reducing emissions would yield dramatic health benefits by 2030

By Roberto Molar Candanosa 11/30/21

Air quality improvements resulting from a worldwide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would benefit human health and prevent economic losses, according to new research by scientists from NASA, Duke University, and Columbia University.

Nexus Media News

Doctors Say Climate Change Is Killing People Now, Call For Action

By Nexus Media 11/29/21

Climate change is killing people now, public health experts say. Their report, published in the medical journal The Lancet, details the degree to which “Climate-induced shocks are claiming lives, damaging health and disrupting livelihoods in…

The Washington Post

COP26 finally framed climate change as a public health issue

By Maxine Joselow 11/22/21

More than 100 doctors and nurses traveled to Glasgow earlier this month with a message for world leaders: Global warming is a leading threat to public health. And curbing planet-warming emissions is a prescription.

Civil Eats

Could Climate Change Make Food Less Nutritious?

By Greta Moran 11/16/21

As the climate crisis progresses, the planet is becoming less inhabitable—not only for humans and other animals, but also for plants.

The Week

How climate change impacts mental health

By Nirmal Jovial 11/07/21

The world is getting ready for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (CoP26). Scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12, the CoP26 will discuss health as a science priority…

The Guardian

‘They’re killing our children’: mothers from around the world demand action on fossil fuels

By Damian Carrington and Nina Lakhani 11/05/21

It may have been his toughest meeting yet. A delegation of mothers from all over the world, all of whom had seen their own children suffer health damage from air pollution, met the Cop26 president,…

grist.org

20,000 deaths and counting: As mass transit stagnates, US traffic deaths surge

By Adam Mahoney 11/04/21

Winter storm Uri notoriously demonstrated the failure of many elements of American infrastructure: Texas’ electrical grid collapsed, water treatment systems went offline, and oil refineries released millions of pounds of excess pollution. Less widely noticed, however, was the…

ProPublica

How We Created the Most Detailed Map Ever of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution

By Lylla Younes, Al Shaw and Ava Kofman 11/02/21

We analyzed billions of rows of EPA data to do something the agency had never done before: map the spread of cancer-causing industrial air emissions down to the neighborhood level.

Yale Climate Connections

Clean energy could save American lives to tune of $700 billion per year

By Dana Nuccitelli 11/01/21

The case for climate solutions has long been hindered because of the decades it will take for investments made today to yield benefits in the form of less extreme weather impacts. Carbon dioxide pollution remains…

abc4

Intermountain Healthcare’s new solar project a major step for cleaner air in Utah

By Ian Bartlett 11/01/21

Intermountain Healthcare is taking a major step in sustainability by joining a utility-scale solar project near Huntington, Utah, that will supply 20 percent of the health system’s total electricity needs.

Mental Health Today

Research finds that climate breakdown is affecting the mental health of young people

By Ed Brown 11/01/21

In time for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has released new research findings showing a profound connection between deteriorating mental health and climate breakdown.

cbc

Curbing air pollution could prevent millions of deaths in North America over next 50 years

By Lauren Pelley 11/01/21

Curbing climate change and improving air quality could provide greater health benefits in our lifetime than previously thought, potentially preventing millions of deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. alone during the next half-century, new research…

Deadline News

Doctors union warn climate change is damaging patient health

By Wendy Brooking 11/01/21

A DOCTORS’ union has reminded world leaders of their “moral responsibility” to protect public health, warning that climate change is damaging patient health.

Consumer Healthday

Brazil study shows climate change’s deadly impact on kidneys

By Robert Preidt 11/01/21

For the study, researchers analyzed data from hospitals in more than 1,800 cities in Brazil between 2000 and 2015, and found that just over 7% of all admissions for kidney disease could be attributed to…

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