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March 5, 2011

The Global Warming Health Scare

By Timothy Birdnow
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Public Health Association (APHA) have declared Global Warming a serious public health threat. You may resume reading after your laughter subsides.

According to this article from Medpage Today:

"The "evidence has only grown stronger" that climate change is responsible for an increasing number of health ills, including asthma, diarrheal disease, and even deaths from extreme weather such as heat waves, said Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the APHA.

For one, rising temperatures can mean more smog, which makes children with asthma sicker, explained pediatrician Perry Sheffield, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York."

First, temperatures haven't risen statistically since 1995 according to Phil Jones from the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, and an ardent Global Warming defender. Now, to claim rising temperatures are causing all these health issues is astonishingly disingenuous. But one must ask, which is better; draconian policies which will barely slow the growth of carbon dioxide at the expense of energy, or making energy cheap enough for asthmatic children to be able to afford air purifiers and air conditioners? Cap and Trade policies accomplish next to nothing -- assuming there is even a problem, while cheap energy accomplishes something concrete.

The article continues:

"Aside from air-related ailments and illnesses, extreme weather can have a devastating effect on health, (pediatrician Perry) Sheffield said.

"As a result of global warming, extreme storms including hurricanes, heavy rainfall, and even snowstorms are expected to increase," Sheffield said. "And these events pose risk of injury and disruption of special medical services, which are particularly important to children with special medical needs."

Uh, there is no connection between Global Warming and hurricanes that we can observe.  This is idle conjecture from idling minds, yet it is presented as fact. What will happen if we institute these destructive mitigation policies is that there will be less money to help when disaster strikes.

Let us continue:

"Extreme heat waves and droughts are responsible for more deaths than any other weather-related event, Sheffield said.

The 2006 heat wave that spread through most of the U.S. and Canada saw temperatures that topped 100 degrees. In all, 450 people died, 16,000 visited the emergency room, and 1,000 were hospitalized, said Cecil Wilson, MD, president of the AMA."

Again, an air conditioner is the best way to mitigate health problems during a heat wave; too bad that carbon reduction will make them unaffordable for the poor.

She is confusing weather and climate, it must be pointed out.

It goes even further:

"Climate change has already caused temperatures to rise and precipitation to increase, which, in turn, can cause diseases carried by tics, mosquitoes, and other animals to spread past their normal geographical range, explained (Kristi) Ebi.

For instance, Lyme disease is increasing in some areas, she said, including in Canada, where scientists are tracking the spread of Lyme disease north. Ebi also recounted the 2004 outbreak of the leading seafood-related cause of gastroenteritis, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, from Alaskan seafood, which was attributed to increased ocean temperatures causing infected sea creatures to travel 600 miles north.

Salmonella outbreaks also increase when temperatures are very warm, Sheffield said.

Hey, how about malaria? We were told malaria would spread like the Black Death, yet that has proven false.

The reality is that diseases do not have exact boundaries, but move into new habitats all the time. Since there has been no statistical warming in sixteen years, we cannot blame increases in Lyme's Disease on climate change.

Again, the best defense is a wealthy and vibrant economy. ObamaCare would make diagnosis and treatment more difficult because of government regulation of costs, and carbon mitigation strategies would slow economic growth, making government bean counters all the more stingy. Oh, and who is going to spray to keep tick populations under control with no money?  They banned DDT, which was a proven pesticide for controlling ticks, it must be pointed out.

Here is my personal favorite:

"A 2008 study also projected that global warming will lead to a possible increase in the prevalence of kidney stones due to increased dehydration, although the link hasn't been proven."

Please give me a moment; laughter has made me pass a stone!

Here is the complete list of things blamed on Global Warming.

At the end of the day, the most draconian actions by government will accomplish little if anything. This is a political controversy, not a scientific matter, and attempts to "fix" the problem will lead to economic malaise and poverty, proven killers. The poor suffer ill health in an economic slump. Poverty, more than anything, begets ill health, and groups like the AMA and APHA are promoting poverty and ill health here.

They should be ashamed!

(A tip of the porkpie to Mike W.)

Tim blogs at www.tbirdnow.mee.nu
on "The Global Warming Health Scare"