An ongoing global trend that many are unaware of and others are choosing to ignore could ultimately threaten life on earth as we know it. Over time, the average temperature of the earth has been steadily rising. Global Warming Health Effects are slowly coming into alarming focus.

According to the World Health Organization, since 2000 more than one million people have died due to planetary warming. Fatalities from air pollution from global warming add another 800,000 deaths each year. Those figures are anticipated to increase.

Officials with the organization say without reducing greenhouse gas emissions the Global Warming Health Effects will continue:

•        Temperatures in the extreme range will continue to threaten the environment and human life.

•        Hurricanes and severe weather disasters will become more frequent and widespread.

•        Water-borne diseases such as E coli will spread from global flooding.

•        Diseases spread by mosquitoes, ticks and rodents will rise.

•        Air pollution resulting from the earth’s damaged ozone layer will increase.

•        As the trees and vegetation die the planet will become deforested, a result of insufficient rainfall and severe drought from climate change.

Warmer Than Usual Weather

One of the most obvious results of global warming is hotter than usual summers. Temperature-related illnesses such as heat stroke are becoming more common. Those at the highest risk are infants, young children and the elderly.

“When most people think about climate change, they think of heat stress from heat waves,” says Cindy Parker, a doctor with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. “The heat wave in Western Europe in 2003 killed in excess of 30,000 people who wouldn't have died otherwise. With climate change, heat waves will become more severe, and last for longer periods of time.”

Parker says U.S. scientists have not been able to convince the general public of the dangers of Global Warming Health Effects.

A warmer environment may seem harmless, but the ripple effects are potentially deadly. Global warming melts icebergs that should stay frozen. The melting ice raises the water level and causes flooding, death and property destruction.

Increased Risk of Flooding

Parker says out of the 20 largest cities on earth, 13 of them are on the coastline at sea level.

“As sea level rises, there go our medical institutions, water treatment plants, emergency response units such as fire departments and ambulances,” she explains. “The bulk of the services designed to keep us healthy are almost all located in our larger cities, which are also located frequently at sea level.”

Storms also result when very warm weather collides with cooler weather. The greater the contrast between warm and cold fronts is, the more severe the weather.

One example of what global warming can do was Hurricane Katrina. Katrina was classified as the deadliest hurricane in the Atlantic to ever hit the U.S. When it slammed into the Gulf of Mexico it caused many deaths and millions of dollars of property damage.

Diseases Can Spread

When a warmer than normal winter turns into a warmer than average summer, more disease-carrying mosquitoes breed. That poses another health hazard.

“The other thing that has gotten a lot of media attention is the increased risk of infectious diseases," Parker says. “This is of greater concern to other parts of the world than the United States.” Compared to other countries, she continues, Americans have less cause to worry because the U.S. has a highly developed public health system that combats infectious diseases like malaria.

Even without global warming some areas have an inadequate water supply and a climate change can make it worse. That change can lead to altered precipitation patterns leading to widespread droughts or famine. The lack of water upsets the balance of the ecosystem and affects the soil, the forests and even the air we breathe.

Asthma Sufferers Adversely Affected

Some people in a high risk health category will suffer with the declining air quality, says Kent Pinkerton, director of the University of California Davis Center for Health and the Environment and professor of pediatrics at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

“There are individuals who will be much more susceptible to the effects of global climate change than will the members of the general population,” says Pinkerton. “In particular, we know that infants and young children, people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and those who are elderly or who have compromised immune systems will have more difficulties when air quality is poorer.”

A higher temperature in cities and developed areas means greater concentrations of ozone along the ground. Increased amounts of ozone are linked to acute infections of the lower respiratory system and lung cancer. Experts say the health risks are even greater for poor nations.

Impoverished Nations Suffer More        

The danger is highest in parts of Africa and the Indian and Pacific Ocean coastal areas, according to a report published in the environmental journal Nature.

“Those least able to cope and least responsible for the greenhouse gases that cause global warming are most affected,” says Jonathan Patz, lead author of the report and a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison's Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. “Herein lies an enormous global ethical challenge.”

Other experts agree with Patz’s concerns.

“Many of the most important diseases in poor countries, from malaria to diarrhea and malnutrition, are highly sensitive to climate,” says Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, a member of the World Health Organization and co-author of the report. “The health sector is already struggling to control these diseases and climate change threatens to undermine these efforts.”

Impact Zones across the World

The effect of climate change is being felt worldwide. In the United States, Alaska’s temperature has risen between four and seven degrees in the past 50 years and Florida may see a seven-degree rise in average temperatures. Global warming in the Midwest is bringing on longer and more severe droughts. In New England the trend is disturbing the area’s normally cool, crisp autumn weather.

• The Amazon Rain Forest, nicknamed the “lungs of the world,” has 20 percent of the earth’s animal and plant species. If its trees and vegetation die off the rainfall across South America will be affected.
• In the Arctic Circle temperatures have risen twice as fast as the average for the rest of the world. More than 20 percent of its ice caps have melted in the past three decades.
• In Australia the Great Barrier Reef has been whitewashed from coral bleaching from the ocean’s rising temperatures. In 2006 it suffered the worst drought in 1,000 years.
• In East Africa the temperature is predicted to rise between 5.4 and 7.2 degrees by 2080. The global warming here could trigger species extinction, droughts, floods and famines.
• Most of Greenland is covered by 700,000 square miles of ice sheets. The sheets are two miles thick and they hold nearly one tenth of the world’s supply of fresh water. If the ice melts sea levels will rise more than 20 feet. Even a three-foot rise in the sea level will endanger 70 million people along the coastlines.
• In Ireland the temperature changes are affecting the vegetation and flora across the entire country. Fears are that over time the country’s famed soft Irish rains will change to hard, torrential downpours.

Looking Towards the Future

Scientists say greenhouse gas emissions will raise the global temperature by about six degrees by the end of this century. Their predictions:

• The chances of climate-induced diseases will more than double by 2030.
• Flooding from coastal storms will impact the lives of as many as 200 million by 2080.
• The numbers of heat-related death in California will more than double by the year 2100.
• The number of days with hazardous ozone pollution may increase by 60 percent by 2050.

By continuing to expand and deplete the last of the world’s remaining natural resources the global population is operating against the concepts of conservationism. More and more species are becoming extinct, destroying more of the planet’s food chain. Most of the earth’s endangered species and threatened natural resources have little or no conservation efforts underway to save them, says Global Wildlife Conservation.

Unless mankind begins now to reverse the upward climate change, health-related issues will increase in direct proportion to the rise in temperatures. Searching for a green lifestyle and reducing carbon emissions is a start towards a brighter global future. Without any action taken, the ultimate results will be fatal.

Water is a natural source that affects our daily lives.  Whether it is drinking it or using it to clean, a clean water source is absolutely necessary.  Unfortunately, many of the waterways from coast to coast are experiencing a level of pollution that is very difficult to contain.  Even purifying systems do not fully get the viruses and bacteria out.  Bodies of water are constantly being imperiled and it is up to the public to save them.  There are natural accidents that happen in waterways everyday – and there are accidents that we can control.  By implementing security measures and having a viable plan in place we are setting up ourselves for a brighter future.

In recent history, the BP oil spill caused environmental and economic concerns on the gulf coast. Those concerns were largely warranted because it provided tainted water from being distributed to the places it shouldn’t be.  The Exxon Valdez from 1989 was also an incident that happened to destroy local wildlife and spurn economic disaster.  Recovery was slow, but the water supply affected the local communities.  We are dependent on water. It is essential to our health, our environment, and every aspect of our lives.  

Today, waterways must deal with the constant bombardment of dangerous toxins, pollutants, and irresponsible dumping and littering.  As millions of dollars are poured into the effort it is absolutely vital to be in the position to deal with it at the local level.  

The Clean Water Act

Though the Clean Water Act was signed in 1972, we still have personal responsibilities to the public in regards to water.  Over half of the earth is made up of water – as is over half of our body mass.  When we neglect the water around us, we neglect our bodies. The Act helps regulates the discharge of pollutants in the waters around the U.S. but it does not end there.  Industries and corporations must also be careful on how they dispose of their toxic materials.  While this has been helpful to cleaning up waterways, we must consistently apply those principles and adopt creative avenues to help clean up more of our waters.  

The Implications

Think about this: the food we eat either grows from water, comes from the water, or needs water to grow and sustain health.  If tainted and polluted water taints this, we will be in a far dire situation to which we may never recover.  Clean water has proven to sustain life and help vegetation grow.  With so many aquatic ecosystems in the world, we have a task that is large – but one of importance.

Our waters are important and we rely on it every day.  We should be educated on how to develop clean water and utilize our resources to help make the waters around us fresher and better for our environment. Getting involved with organizations whose life work is to clean up the waters is a great way to start.