Essay Sample on Climate Change: Its Impact on Health & Living Things

Introduction

When it comes to global threats human population, climate change ranks high due to the significant impacts that it causes on the health of people. On a positive angle, the appropriate weather climate conditions facilitate the optimum growth of living things on earth. The drastic climate changes that have enveloped the earth are responsible for many illnesses and health conditions. Changes in the climate like global warming facilitate the proliferation of several infectious diseases. Infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, and cholera are highly sensitive to climate variations. Climate change is inevitable, and it continues to manifest itself in the health and well-being of people (Wu et al., 2016). The fate of the human population is dependent on how well people will be able to combat the effects of climate change.

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The Change of Thinking from Planetary to a Global Health Issue

The impact of climate change goes beyond being a planetary issue when its effects are seen in the biosphere. Climate change has mostly been seen affecting physical conditions like temperature, the level of water bodies, and precipitation patterns (McIver et al., 2016). On further research, it has been found that the results of climate change on the earth also significantly affect human beings (Hutton & Menne, 2014). The effects of climate change on human beings have increased the campaigns against human activities that may contribute to climate change (Burton et al., 2015). Thus, concepts such as sustainable development have been adopted as standard practices all over the world to ensure that future generations will have an opportunity to thrive.

A Study of the need to use Climate Change Data for Policy Change

Parera (2017) carries out a study where the impacts of climate change on child health are evaluated. The paper points out the risks of fossil fuel combustion and climate change. The effects can be direct or indirect. The direct effects include injuries, illnesses, and death from floods, heat waves, drought, or intense storms instigated by the climate changes while the indirect effects can be malnutrition, the spread of infectious diseases, and mental illnesses from displacement, or political instability (Wu et al., 2016). Early childhood exposure to climate change can cause a lasting effect on the child throughout their lifetime. For instance, if a child is a victim of drought caused by climate change, they may have stunted growth since they did not receive proper nutrients for growth. The climate change effects can get to the child even before they are born through the mother's exposure to the changes. An increase in the levels of cortisol in a pregnant mother can result in mental development issues in the child/children (Parera, 2017).

How the topic on Climate Change may Impact my Future Career

Having a better understanding of the health impacts of climate change has helped me be more mindful of the actions that I do. Many human activities like pollution facilitate the existence of climate change. Making my actions environmentally-friendly can go a long way in ensuring that the impacts of climate change can be managed. Development is necessary and will continue taking place, but it should bring about more positive than negative impacts. If I were to come up with a project in future, I would consider its impact on the environment and find ways to minimize or eliminate the risk to the environment. If more people can do that to control climate change, the results would benefit the greater population and future generations.

References

Burton, A., Bambrick, H., & Friel, S. (2015). If you don't know, how can you Plan? Considering the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Urban Planning in Australia. Urban Climate, 12, 104-118. http://www.academia.edu/download/36787045/If_you_dont_know_how_can_you_plan__Considering_the_health_impacts_of_climate_change_in_urban_planning_in_Australia.pdf

Hutton, G., & Menne, B. (2014). Economic Evidence on the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Europe. Environmental health insights, 8, EHI-S16486. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.4137/EHI.S16486

McIver L, Kim R, Woodward A, Hales S, Spickett J, Katscherian D, Hashizume M, Honda Y, Kim H, Iddings S, Naicker J, Bambrick H, McMichael AJ, Ebi KL. (2016). Health Impacts of Climate Change in Pacific Island Countries: A Regional Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Priorities. Environ Health Perspective 124:1707-1714; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1509756

Perera, F. P., 2017. Multiple Threats to Child Health from Fossil Fuel Combustion: Impacts of Air Pollution and Climate Change. Environ Health Perspective 125:141-148; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP299

Wu, X., Lu, Y., Zhou, S., Chen, L., & Xu, B. (2016). Impact of Climate Change on Human Infectious Diseases: Empirical Evidence and Human Adaptation. Environment international, 86, 14-23. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412015300489