Washington — Climate change is happening faster than anticipated and is starting to negatively impact health, two scientists say.

Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Federation, and Dr. Paul Epstein, associate director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School as well as a medical doctor trained in tropical public health, came together to discuss the situation at a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars event, “Healthy Solutions to Climate Change.”

Staudt said there is mounting scientific evidence that “climate change is happening faster than what we had anticipated even a few years ago.” According to Staudt, these unanticipated changes are already affecting the lives of people around the world.

“There’s an increasing awareness that these changes are going to be irreversible and … that we’re already being impacted,” she said. “In particular, the increasing severity of weather and climate extremes, drought, floods, rainfall, hurricanes and wildfires are all ways that I think we’re experiencing global warming in our day-to-day life.”

CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTING HEALTH

As these changes in climate occur, Epstein said, health risks will worsen. For example, the rapidly changing climate will help spread infectious diseases.

“The first signal we have in terms of infectious disease is in the mountains of Africa, Asia and Latin America,” he said. “What we’re seeing is the glaciers are retreating, plant communities are upwardly migrating and mosquitoes … are circulating at higher altitudes.”

As the mosquitoes move upward, so do the diseases they are carrying. Epstein said this results in higher rates of malaria and yellow fever as the mosquitoes cover more territory.

On June 16, the U.S. government released Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, a comprehensive report that detailed how climate change affects Americans. According to the report, the same weather conditions that lead to heat waves also increase ground-level ozone. Ozone decreases short-term lung function and can cause permanent cell damage in the lining of the lungs.

The report predicts that the number of extreme heat waves will increase, resulting in more heat-related deaths and illnesses. Because the severity of weather extremes is increasing, heavy rains and floods are also posing a health risk. Heavy rains often lead to flooding, which increases the incidence of water-borne diseases.

HEALTHY SOLUTIONS AND STABILIZATION

Epstein said the world must focus on healthy solutions. He said a variety of solutions must be combined to create a portfolio of options, with each lessening the damaging effects of climate change. These options range from adopting renewable energy, like wind and geothermal power, to better managing forest resources.

Many of these solutions offer “no regrets” ways to stabilize global warming, which Epstein said are “really good and offer lots of promise.” He said these no-regrets options can safely be used immediately. Other options, such as the use of biofuels and fossil-fuel-based energies, require further study before implementation in order to fully assess the potential health, ecological and economic consequences, he said.

RETHINKING CLIMATE CHANGE

Staudt said irreversible changes have forced environmental conservationists to rethink their strategy in fighting climate change.

“The conservation community right now is actively wrestling with how global warming will affect their mission,” she said. “For many years, perhaps the whole history of conservation, the emphasis has been on returning our land to some pristine state. That’s just not a reality anymore. We’re now dealing with completely new climate conditions. So, now we have to think in the conservation community about how we change everything we do to make sense in a changing climate.”

Staudt said she thinks that although the situation is critical, the world has the opportunity to move forward.

“I just think this is a really historic opportunity,” she said. “Everything’s been coming together. We have increasing, surging awareness of the urgency, so we know we need to reduce global warming pollution. At the same time we have this opportunity to repower America, advance a clean-energy economy, and also protect wildlife for our children’s future. That’s really why I’m in this game at all. I just think it’s so important that we be taking action now to provide a better world for our children.”