ISU Bengal

Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: News

Dr. Paul Epstein had been allergy-free the week before arriving in Pocatello, but was coughing and sneezing during a press meeting Thursday afternoon. The sudden symptoms, he said, underscored the message of his keynote presentation on the health effects of global warming at the Idaho Conference on Health Care Oct. 24-26.

According to Epstein, global warming is causing earlier springs and later falls, extending the normal allergy season, while also causing the extension of the areas affected by various diseases, such as the West Nile virus.

"We've got to back off the levels of carbon dioxide we're pumping into the atmosphere," Epstein said. "We've got to do it fast, and we've got to do it globally."

According to Epstein, higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are resulting in massive increases in the pollen production of many types of weeds and soil fungi. This drastic increase in pollen, he said, has resulted in an increase in asthma cases, as well as a worsening condition for those who have already had it.

Epstein continued, stating that the ocean, which is the engine driving climate change, has warmed roughly 22 times more than the atmosphere. Heat waves resulting from this ocean warming, as well as from the "heat island" effect created in large urban areas result in an increase of o-zone, which contributes to the creation of smog.

Epstein, Associate Director of the Center for Health and Global Environment (CHGE) at Harvard University, is a trained family practice physician and helped author the health section of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Second Assessment Report.

"Our center is dedicated to looking at climate change and biodiversity and how it affects our lives and health," Epstein said.

He stated that combating the health related effects of global warming involves numerous changes to our city structure and economic systems to include green technologies and alternative energy sources.

These changes include the utilization of green buildings, rooftop gardens, biking and walking lanes in urban centers, along with various other possible changes to the conventional city structure, especially with regards to the business community. According to Epstein, however, the reception of such ideas by business leaders has been surprising.

"It's a message that's been getting more play than I'd have thought in the business community," Epstein said.

This, Epstein explain, is because the effects of global warming are beginning to be felt in the business world, and especially in the insurance sector. The current wildfires in California, hurricane Katrina, and similar catastrophes all affect the insurance industry immensely.

Continued...

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