Yesterday’s release by the EPA of a report on the impacts of climate change to human health, human welfare and communities in the United States was an important contribution to the climate change discussion. It provides the most up-to-date synthesis and assessment of scientific literature on the impact of climate change on health.

The report highlights many of the issues addressed by APHA and all of our partners during this year’s National Public Health Week, which was themed “Climate Change: Our Health in the Balance.” Prominent among these issues is the fact that climate change is likely to accentuate the disparities already evident in our health care system. Many of the expected health effects are likely to fall disproportionately on the poor, elderly, disabled and uninsured.

We must take action to protect the most vulnerable among us from the health impacts of climate change. The public and private sector should come together to educate the public about the changes they can make in their lives. We need to support policies and practices aimed at mitigating climate change, as well as fund and conduct research necessary to better understand and address these human health effects. Most importantly, we must adapt by adequately funding our public health infrastructure to ensure our ability to minimize the health impacts of climate change.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Politics .