Meaner allergy seasons and nastier asthma attacks in the U.S.
are already symptoms of climate change but looming next is the advance of
once-distant diseases to American soil, President Barack Obama warned.
In
an interview with NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar, the president
was asked if he shares the concern of some who believe climate change has
hastened the spread of insect-borne diseases like West Nile Virus — the first
domestic cases of which emerged in New
York City in 1999.
"It
is inevitable that if temperatures rise ... certain diseases that traditionally
have been localized in warmer climates are going to start creeping up into more
temperate climates," Obama said. "That's just adaptation by insects
and other critters that spread disease."
He
added: "It's a significant concern. We haven't had to deal with things
like dengue fever in the past, but if you go south, into Central America,
that's a problem. That traditionally is a problem in higher elevations or in
jungles. If, suddenly, you start seeing those in cities, that means that
they're more likely to spread here."
In
fact, dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, already has spread to parts of
the southern U.S. and has killed
some Americans.
On
Tuesday, the president convened
a roundtable of
leading doctors and environmental experts to discuss the impacts of climate
change on public health. Obama also announced a series of actions to prod
governments and businesses to better monitor and address the issue.
"Temperature's rising. We know that there's going to be
more severe wildfires, which mean particulates in the air, so that the allergy
season gets extended," Obama told NBC News.
"We
know that longer summers, hotter summers mean potential heatstroke and impacts
on communities, whether it's asthma or insect-borne diseases.
"What's
exciting is that you're seeing doctors, nurses — medical schools — really
trying to raise awareness so that people recognize climate's not just some
abstract thing that is off in the distance. This is something that's having a
potential impact on our kids right now," Obama said.
The
administration's new initiative to bring a fresh wave of professionals into the
climate flight includes a White House visit later this week for educators who
infuse their teaching time with lessons on climate change.
Meaner allergy seasons
and nastier asthma attacks in the U.S. are already symptoms of climate change
but looming next is the advance of once-distant diseases to American soil,
President Barack Obama warned.
In an interview with
NBC News medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar, the president was asked if he
shares the concern of some who
believe climate change has hastened the spread of insect-borne diseases like
West Nile Virus — the first domestic cases of which emerged in New York City in
1999.
"It is inevitable
that if temperatures rise ... certain diseases that traditionally have been
localized in warmer climates are going to start creeping up into more temperate
climates," Obama said. "That's just adaptation by insects and other
critters that spread disease."
He added: "It's a
significant concern. We haven't had to deal with things like dengue fever in
the past, but if you go south, into Central America, that's a problem. That
traditionally is a problem in higher elevations or in jungles. If, suddenly,
you start seeing those in cities, that means that they're more likely to spread
here."
In fact, dengue fever,
a mosquito-borne illness, already has spread to parts of the southern U.S. and
has killed some
Americans.
On Tuesday, the
president convened a
roundtable of leading doctors and environmental experts to
discuss the impacts of climate change on public health. Obama also announced a
series of actions to prod governments and businesses to better monitor and
address the issue.
"Temperature's
rising. We know that there's going to be more severe wildfires, which mean
particulates in the air, so that the allergy season gets extended," Obama
told NBC News.
"We know that
longer summers, hotter summers mean potential heatstroke and impacts on
communities, whether it's asthma or insect-borne diseases.
"What's exciting
is that you're seeing doctors, nurses — medical schools — really trying to
raise awareness so that people recognize climate's not just some abstract thing
that is off in the distance. This is something that's having a potential impact
on our kids right now," Obama said.
The administration's
new initiative to bring a fresh wave of professionals into the climate flight
includes a White House visit later this week for educators who infuse their
teaching time with lessons on climate change.
In fact, the president
is largely positioning this fight as a battle to protect America's children
from hazards he asserts are related to climate change.
"The good news is
there's something you can do about it," Obama said.
"If we are able
to move forward on the power plant rule so
that the big power plants that produce electricity are not emitting as much
carbon, as well as taking out things like mercury ... that means our kids are
going to be healthier," the president added. "And we save money in
the long-term because if you have one child who has three, four, five visits to
the emergency room for asthma, somebody's paying for that."
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/
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