The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is pleased to present the proceedings of its March 2009 w... more The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is pleased to present the proceedings of its March 2009 workshop, Assessing the Benefits of Avoided Climate Change: CostBenefit Analysis and Beyond. Even though significant uncertainties about future climate impacts remain, government decision‐making requires consideration of all economic costs and benefits if policies are to maximize the social benefits of regulatory decisions. This workshop was convened to explore the current state of the art in analyzing climate‐related benefits, its strengths and weaknesses, and ways to improve it. Placing a value on the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is quickly moving from the pages of academic journals and IPCC reports to the front burner in regulatory decision making. This policy revolution began with the growing acceptance of the science linking climate change to adverse impacts on public health and welfare and the potential catastrophic risks associated with continued greenhouse gas emi...
Few communities are well prepared to effectively prepare for, cope with, and recover from current... more Few communities are well prepared to effectively prepare for, cope with, and recover from current climate variability. Modifying policies and programs to reduce this adaptation deficit is expected to increase resilience to projected changes in the frequency, intensity, and extent of extreme weather events with climate change.
Modifications of public health strategies, policies, and measures to enhance health protection to... more Modifications of public health strategies, policies, and measures to enhance health protection to climate-sensitive health outcomes may not increase resilience to future (and different) weather patterns. Communities resilient to the health risks of climate change (1) anticipate risks; (2) reduce vulnerability not just to the hazards associated with climate change, but also with the full range of factors that increase the probability of harm; (3) reduce exposure to weather and climate events through, for example, early warning systems; (4) prepare for and respond quickly and effectively to the consequences of a changing climate, including alterations in the frequency, magnitude, duration, and spatial extent of extreme weather and climate events; and (5) recover faster, with increased capacity to coping with changing weather patterns. Increasing resilience includes top-down (e.g. strengthening and maintaining disaster risk management programs) and bottom-up (e.g. increasing social cap...
Adapting to heatwaves is becoming more critical as the climate changes and extreme heat events ar... more Adapting to heatwaves is becoming more critical as the climate changes and extreme heat events are occurring more frequently than in decades past. Despite this trend, previous research suggests that very few U.S. communities have programs in place to prevent health problems during hot weather. The summer of 2011 in the continental U.S. presented an opportunity to study public health preparedness when 41 of the lower 48 states experienced record-breaking hot weather. This report examines local heat adaptation programs and their cost for local county government entities after the 2011 heat wave. Using a multi-modal survey approach, local health and emergency response departments were invited to participate in a survey about their climate change adaptation plans. Overall, 62% of the total respondents did not have a heatwaves plan in place. Surprisingly, those states that did not experience a heatwave in 2011 were more prepared than the states that did experience a heatwave. Other insig...
ABSTRACT Climate change is expected to increase health risks in all countries. Although public he... more ABSTRACT Climate change is expected to increase health risks in all countries. Although public health agencies and organizations have impressive records of controlling the burden of climate-sensitive health outcomes, current and planned programs and activities may need to be modified to address the additional risks of climate change. Programs and activities need to take an iterative risk management approach if they are to maintain current levels of health burdens as diseases change their geographic range and incidence in response to changing temperature and precipitation patterns and as the risks of adverse health outcomes from extreme weather events increase. Public health can learn from the experiences in ecosystem management with adaptive management, a structured and iterative process of decision-making in the face of imperfect information, with an aim of reducing uncertainty through monitoring and evaluation. Although many of the steps in adaptive management are familiar to public health, key differences include: a stronger emphasis on stakeholder engagement; taking a systems-based approach; developing interventions based on models of future impacts; and a strong and explicit focus on iterative management that can facilitate the capacity for further adaptation. Incorporating these elements into public health programs and activities will increase their effectiveness to address the health risks of climate change. KeywordsClimate change-Public health-Adaptation-Adaptive management-Systems approach-Stakeholder engagement-Risk management-Ecohealth-Learning by doing-Health risks
... Who Cares? AIDS in Africa By Susan S Hunter. Pp. ... ISBN 1-4039-3615-3. (Available from SAMA... more ... Who Cares? AIDS in Africa By Susan S Hunter. Pp. ... ISBN 1-4039-3615-3. (Available from SAMA-HMPG. Price R160, members R150.) This book tells the story of AIDS in Africa. Susan Hunter places AIDS in the context of epidemic history and of African economic development. ...
ABSTRACT A changing climate is increasing the frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent o... more ABSTRACT A changing climate is increasing the frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent of heat waves. These changes are associated with increased human mortality during heat extremes. At the other end of the temperature scale, it has been widely speculated that cold-related mortality could decrease in a warmer world. We aim to answer a key question; the extent to which mortality due to temperature extremes in Stockholm, Sweden during 1980–2009 can be attributed to climate change that has occurred since our reference period (1900–1929). Mortality from heat extremes in 1980–2009 was double what would have occurred without climate change. Although temperature shifted towards warmer temperatures in the winter season, cold extremes occurred more frequently, contributing to a small increase of mortality during the winter months. No evidence was found for adaptation over 1980–2009.
Climate change is widely acknowledged as a key global challenge for the 21st century, and is proj... more Climate change is widely acknowledged as a key global challenge for the 21st century, and is projected to significantly affect population health and human well-being. All of the climate change-related changes in weather patterns will affect human health, from boosting mental well-being to mortality from large-scale disasters. Human health can be affected both directly and indirectly. For various reasons, the health sector has been slow in responding to the projected health impacts of climate change. To effectively prepare for and cope with climate change impacts, public health must move from a focus on surveillance and response to a greater emphasis on prediction and prevention. The targeted agenda program dialogue identified three priorities for climate change related health actions: heat waves, vector-borne diseases; and malnutrition.
We examined the association between magnetic field (MF) exposure and survival among children with... more We examined the association between magnetic field (MF) exposure and survival among children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated at 51 Pediatric Oncology Group centres between 1996 and 2001. Of 1672 potentially eligible children under treatment, 482 (29%) participated and personal 24-h MF measurements were obtained from 412 participants. A total of 386 children with ALL and 361 with B-precursor ALL were included in the analysis of event-free survival (time from diagnosis to first treatment failure, relapse, secondary malignancy, or death) and overall survival. After adjustment for risk group and socioeconomic status, the event-free survival hazard ratio (HR) for children with measurements >/=0.3 muT was 1.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8, 4.9), compared to <0.1 muT. For survival, elevated HRs were found for children exposed to >/=0.3 muT (multivariate HR=4.5, 95% CI 1.5-13.8) but based on only four deaths among 19 children. While risk was increased among chi...
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is pleased to present the proceedings of its March 2009 w... more The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is pleased to present the proceedings of its March 2009 workshop, Assessing the Benefits of Avoided Climate Change: CostBenefit Analysis and Beyond. Even though significant uncertainties about future climate impacts remain, government decision‐making requires consideration of all economic costs and benefits if policies are to maximize the social benefits of regulatory decisions. This workshop was convened to explore the current state of the art in analyzing climate‐related benefits, its strengths and weaknesses, and ways to improve it. Placing a value on the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is quickly moving from the pages of academic journals and IPCC reports to the front burner in regulatory decision making. This policy revolution began with the growing acceptance of the science linking climate change to adverse impacts on public health and welfare and the potential catastrophic risks associated with continued greenhouse gas emi...
Few communities are well prepared to effectively prepare for, cope with, and recover from current... more Few communities are well prepared to effectively prepare for, cope with, and recover from current climate variability. Modifying policies and programs to reduce this adaptation deficit is expected to increase resilience to projected changes in the frequency, intensity, and extent of extreme weather events with climate change.
Modifications of public health strategies, policies, and measures to enhance health protection to... more Modifications of public health strategies, policies, and measures to enhance health protection to climate-sensitive health outcomes may not increase resilience to future (and different) weather patterns. Communities resilient to the health risks of climate change (1) anticipate risks; (2) reduce vulnerability not just to the hazards associated with climate change, but also with the full range of factors that increase the probability of harm; (3) reduce exposure to weather and climate events through, for example, early warning systems; (4) prepare for and respond quickly and effectively to the consequences of a changing climate, including alterations in the frequency, magnitude, duration, and spatial extent of extreme weather and climate events; and (5) recover faster, with increased capacity to coping with changing weather patterns. Increasing resilience includes top-down (e.g. strengthening and maintaining disaster risk management programs) and bottom-up (e.g. increasing social cap...
Adapting to heatwaves is becoming more critical as the climate changes and extreme heat events ar... more Adapting to heatwaves is becoming more critical as the climate changes and extreme heat events are occurring more frequently than in decades past. Despite this trend, previous research suggests that very few U.S. communities have programs in place to prevent health problems during hot weather. The summer of 2011 in the continental U.S. presented an opportunity to study public health preparedness when 41 of the lower 48 states experienced record-breaking hot weather. This report examines local heat adaptation programs and their cost for local county government entities after the 2011 heat wave. Using a multi-modal survey approach, local health and emergency response departments were invited to participate in a survey about their climate change adaptation plans. Overall, 62% of the total respondents did not have a heatwaves plan in place. Surprisingly, those states that did not experience a heatwave in 2011 were more prepared than the states that did experience a heatwave. Other insig...
ABSTRACT Climate change is expected to increase health risks in all countries. Although public he... more ABSTRACT Climate change is expected to increase health risks in all countries. Although public health agencies and organizations have impressive records of controlling the burden of climate-sensitive health outcomes, current and planned programs and activities may need to be modified to address the additional risks of climate change. Programs and activities need to take an iterative risk management approach if they are to maintain current levels of health burdens as diseases change their geographic range and incidence in response to changing temperature and precipitation patterns and as the risks of adverse health outcomes from extreme weather events increase. Public health can learn from the experiences in ecosystem management with adaptive management, a structured and iterative process of decision-making in the face of imperfect information, with an aim of reducing uncertainty through monitoring and evaluation. Although many of the steps in adaptive management are familiar to public health, key differences include: a stronger emphasis on stakeholder engagement; taking a systems-based approach; developing interventions based on models of future impacts; and a strong and explicit focus on iterative management that can facilitate the capacity for further adaptation. Incorporating these elements into public health programs and activities will increase their effectiveness to address the health risks of climate change. KeywordsClimate change-Public health-Adaptation-Adaptive management-Systems approach-Stakeholder engagement-Risk management-Ecohealth-Learning by doing-Health risks
... Who Cares? AIDS in Africa By Susan S Hunter. Pp. ... ISBN 1-4039-3615-3. (Available from SAMA... more ... Who Cares? AIDS in Africa By Susan S Hunter. Pp. ... ISBN 1-4039-3615-3. (Available from SAMA-HMPG. Price R160, members R150.) This book tells the story of AIDS in Africa. Susan Hunter places AIDS in the context of epidemic history and of African economic development. ...
ABSTRACT A changing climate is increasing the frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent o... more ABSTRACT A changing climate is increasing the frequency, intensity, duration and spatial extent of heat waves. These changes are associated with increased human mortality during heat extremes. At the other end of the temperature scale, it has been widely speculated that cold-related mortality could decrease in a warmer world. We aim to answer a key question; the extent to which mortality due to temperature extremes in Stockholm, Sweden during 1980–2009 can be attributed to climate change that has occurred since our reference period (1900–1929). Mortality from heat extremes in 1980–2009 was double what would have occurred without climate change. Although temperature shifted towards warmer temperatures in the winter season, cold extremes occurred more frequently, contributing to a small increase of mortality during the winter months. No evidence was found for adaptation over 1980–2009.
Climate change is widely acknowledged as a key global challenge for the 21st century, and is proj... more Climate change is widely acknowledged as a key global challenge for the 21st century, and is projected to significantly affect population health and human well-being. All of the climate change-related changes in weather patterns will affect human health, from boosting mental well-being to mortality from large-scale disasters. Human health can be affected both directly and indirectly. For various reasons, the health sector has been slow in responding to the projected health impacts of climate change. To effectively prepare for and cope with climate change impacts, public health must move from a focus on surveillance and response to a greater emphasis on prediction and prevention. The targeted agenda program dialogue identified three priorities for climate change related health actions: heat waves, vector-borne diseases; and malnutrition.
We examined the association between magnetic field (MF) exposure and survival among children with... more We examined the association between magnetic field (MF) exposure and survival among children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated at 51 Pediatric Oncology Group centres between 1996 and 2001. Of 1672 potentially eligible children under treatment, 482 (29%) participated and personal 24-h MF measurements were obtained from 412 participants. A total of 386 children with ALL and 361 with B-precursor ALL were included in the analysis of event-free survival (time from diagnosis to first treatment failure, relapse, secondary malignancy, or death) and overall survival. After adjustment for risk group and socioeconomic status, the event-free survival hazard ratio (HR) for children with measurements >/=0.3 muT was 1.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.8, 4.9), compared to <0.1 muT. For survival, elevated HRs were found for children exposed to >/=0.3 muT (multivariate HR=4.5, 95% CI 1.5-13.8) but based on only four deaths among 19 children. While risk was increased among chi...
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