The UCLA School of Public Health hosted its first Climate Change Summit on Wednesday to bring attention to many of the health-related concerns associated with global climate change.
The summit, which was held in the California Nanosystems Institute, was held to bring attention to a consequence of global climate change that needs more attention, said Linda Rosenstock, dean of the UCLA School of Public Health.
The World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 people die annually and an additional 5 million people suffer from climate-related illnesses. If changes are not made to reduce global greenhouse emissions, that number could double by 2030, Rosenstock said.
In addition to diseases like malaria and diarrheal infections, which are becoming more prevalent and widespread due to warmer climates, increases in temperature can lead to catastrophic health concerns said Gina Soloman, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
When considering global warming, many think of increased flooding, frequent forest fires and violent storms, Soloman said, but global warming also poses dangers to drinking water and food supplies, as well as provides favorable habitats for infections and non-infectious organisms to multiply.
Last year, several children died when they were infected by “brain-eating amoeba” which cause a type of meningeal encephalitis. The amoeba were able to survive and multiply in lakes and rivers due to abnormally high summer temperatures, Soloman said.
In addition to rising levels of infectious diseases ““ due in part to the fact that bacteria are now able to survive in warmer, more diverse regions of the world ““ Soloman said changes in global temperature can lead to an increase in allergens in the environment and higher asthma rates.
According to Soloman, rising temperatures have led to the “heat island phenomenon” in which highly populated cities have temperatures that are an average of seven degrees Fahrenheit higher than those of neighboring areas. As a result, recent heat waves have led to several deaths, including more than 140 deaths in a California heatwave in 2005.
Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, said issues of global climate change affect every area of policy, including electricity and transportation planning issues.
Nichols said Californians have seen the effects of climate change, including the melting Sierra Nevada ice packs which serve as the primary water supply for Californians, and the time has come for real changes to be made.
“We have to think about the link between what humans are doing and how we live,” she said.
California has already passed legislation to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2020 and an unprecedented 80 percent by 2050, Nichols said.
Soloman said she believes California can be an inspiration for other states, and even other countries, to begin taking steps to reduce carbon emissions and combat global climate change.
“If the people of California can band together and meet the greenhouse gas goals, people will be inspired. It can show that it’ll be done,” she said.
Soloman said she hopes the Climate Change Conference will help get the word out about global warming and climate change and position UCLA as a leader in taking action.
“Everybody on this campus is living global warming,” she said. “If we plan ahead, we’ll be able to deal with this challenge.”