A Healthy Planet Makes for Healthy People – The Link Between Climate Change and Health

Submitted by Climate Change Action Dufferin-Caledon

With the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection, COVID-19, on everyone’s mind these days, it’s a good time to remind ourselves that human health is inextricably tied to the health of our planet. A lot of research has gone into the impacts of climate change on human health and the results, though not surprising, are staggering. You can find all kinds of information on this topic on websites by the World Health Organization (WHO), The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

You may think that climate change impacts human health only through pollution or through natural disasters like hurricanes, fires and floods, but these are only the tip of the iceberg. Changing climactic conditions affect some parts of the world adversely, making it difficult to grow food and to find water. This can lead to civil unrest, mass human migration, and sometimes even war.  All of these events can result in malnutrition, the spread of contagious disease and can cause mental illness.

Another effect of climate change that people may not be aware of is how it can help to spread infectious disease. A warming climate means that more areas of the world are home to the biting insects (or “vectors”) that transmit disease, like certain types of mosquitoes or ticks for example. Diseases like Malaria, Dengue fever and Hantavirus are spreading in our warming world. One example of this emerging infectious disease problem that is close to home for us here in the Headwaters region is Lyme disease. Twenty years ago we rarely, or never, heard about Lyme disease and it was rare that anyone found a tick on themselves or on a pet. Today that is not the case. As the climate warms, the Ixodes ticks that carry Lyme disease are surviving our winters and are reproducing here. As their numbers grow, so do the number of cases of Lyme disease.

So what can we do to restore the health of our planet and by extension, ourselves? This column focuses on practical things that individuals can do, so feel free to look up past articles and to look for future ones for some great tips. This month we’re going to focus on some things we can do individually that help our civilization get on with the job of becoming sustainable:

• Sign petitions to show public support for sustainable initiatives. Organizations that showcase petitions for environmental and social justice issues are springing up everywhere. The 5G Space Appeal, Leadnow, change.org and Avaaz are just a few examples. Sign up for emails from an organization whose policies you agree with and start supporting the changes you want to see happen.
• Be a good role model for others, especially children. Every person has an environmental impact on the world around them. Consider whether your actions are sustainable or not and make positive changes where you can. Other people will start to notice.
• Educate yourself on environmental issues.
• Use your status as a customer to refuse to buy things or services that could be harmful and switch to purchasing products or services that are sustainable. Companies spend a lot of money monitoring what people are buying to keep themselves in business. Send them a clear message with your spending habits that you are investing only in things that promote a healthy planet and a sustainable future.
• Support government investments in sustainability initiatives: like tree planting, developing effective public transportation, and investments in renewable energy.
• Speak out against our tax dollars being used to fund projects that are not sustainable or that are damaging to the environment. Speak out against cuts to government programs that are helping the environment and speak out against legislation that relaxes regulations designed to protect our environment.
• Participate in peaceful, non-violent demonstrations and marches in support of environmental issues.

To Learn More: To learn more about Climate Change Action Dufferin-Caledon, please visit our Facebook page and click “like” to follow us!