Doctors and Climate Change Links Between Climate Policy And Health Policy Must Not Be Overlooked
Journal Title: National Journal of Integrated Research in Medicine - Year 2010, Vol 1, Issue 4
Abstract
In November 2010, representatives from countries around the world will meet in Cancún, Mexico, at the 2010 United Nations Climate Change Conference1. Here they will attempt to draft a treaty aimed at stabilising atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that will prevent catastrophic climate change. What a pity the meeting had not been scheduled in Pakistan. Then the anger of those whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the biblical floods that have washed away the hopes of a nation would surely have focused the delegates’ minds. Alternatively, the meeting could have been held in western Russia, where record high temperatures, wild fires, droughts, and crop failures have precipitated a state of emergency. The conference might even have been held in Mozambique, where rapidly rising wheat prices have caused rioting in the streets. All of these climatic events and their predictable human aftermath occurred this year and all are made more probable by climate change, the main cause of which is the increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, mostly from the burning of fossil fuels. But perhaps Mexico is not such a bad location for the c limate conference after all. Mexico is second only to the US with regard to the prevalence of obesity. One in four Me xicans is obese2. If the delegates at the climate conference think that obesity and climate change are unrelated, they would be wrong. The planet is getting hotter, its people are getting fatter, and the use of fossil fuel energy is the cause of both3. Large increases in motor vehicle traffic in Mexican towns and cities have decimated levels of physical activity. This, combined with increased availability of energy dense food, has propelled the body mass index in the entire population upwards. Mexicans are paying for these changes in terms of reduced health and wellbeing, with increased rates of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Unchecked car use has also conspired with rapid population growth and topology to make Mexico City one of the most polluted cities in the world. The city topped the list in a 2010 IBM poll of commuter pain, with 22% of commuters spending more than two hours a day traveling to and from work4. In this respect, the people of Mexico stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Pa kistan as victims of the use of fossil fuel energy.
Authors and Affiliations
Ian Roberts, Robin Stott
Keywords
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