Ashley Sanchez

Brian Hendrickson
English 110
15 November 2015
Climate Change: Effects on Public Health
Overview/abstract:
Climate change is a serious problem that is happening all around the world today. More
specifically, it is a serious public health issue. To help prove this, there will be a few points
given. First, some background information will be provided. Next, the methods on how research
was done and the questions it was based on. Continuing, results, which is the research that was
found, will be presented. Then a discussion explaining how the research results relate to the
questions. Finally, it will wrap up with the conclusion tying everything up with a
recommendation followed by an appendix and the references.
Background:
Believe it or not but climate change is a public health issue. Like other states and nations,
New Mexico is also being impacted. Society needs to be informed of the impact climate change
has since it is the people being affected by these changes. Research that will be discussed
throughout has shown that climate change has a negative impact on human health that can be
prevented. Climate change has been taking place for the last 50 years thanks to the burning of
fossil fuels. We are damaging our own health without realizing it. This makes climate change a
caring matter. Not only are you being affected, but so will the future generations.

Methods:
Using various sources, research was done to get some answers and learn more about
climate change. Before we get into the sources used and the information, what questions were
used to conduct the research? The main questions used include: (1) Health wise, are there any
advantages or disadvantages to climate change happening? (2) What effects does climate change
have in New Mexico? (3) Do we need climate change? Each source that was used is able to
answer the questions in some way. Four internet sources and a personal interview were used for
the research. The internet sources include the Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health
Organization (WHO), New Mexico Conservation Science (NMCS), and the Office of the Press
Secretary (OPS). The personal interview was conducted with Dr. Julia Fulghum who is also a
Chemistry 101 teacher at the University of New Mexico (UNM). Some questions get answered
by more than one source. The CDC helps give information to answer the first question. WHO
helps provide information for the first and third research questions. NMCS mainly helps to
answer the second question, but also provides information on the third. OPS answers the first
question while combining the second and third question. Lastly, Dr. Fulghum helps to answer all
three questions in her own words.
Results:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Their website had quite a bit of information about the impact climate change has on
human health. The main information I found though was a chart (see appendix). The chart was a
diagram representing various situations caused by climate change and how each affects health.
For example, in one of the sections it was showing that climate change can affect the food and

water supply by increasing levels of carbon dioxide in an area which could cause malnutrition
and diarrheal disease. Also, the CDC provided information about the different ways there would
be an environmental impact leading to an increase in health problems. The disruptions include
physical, biological, and ecological systems, including disturbances originating here and
elsewhere. They go on to say that not everyone would be at risk for further or new health
complications. Some of the complications may vary based on age, economic resources, and
location.
World Health Organization (WHO):
This source was useful because it provided facts about climate change and how it affects
health. This was helpful because it provided some facts about how climate change is or will
affect the public health in a list. Some of the facts from the list include the fact that between the
years of 2030 and 2050 climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional
deaths per year, from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress (WHO). While stating facts
about how climate change will affect the health of society, it also states a way of preventing or
slowing these impacts down, which could be done by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases
through better transport, food and energy-use choices can result in improved health, particularly
through reduced air pollution (WHO).
New Mexico Conservation Science (NMCS):
Since this is a New Mexico based site, it does provide information on the effects climate
change has on New Mexico. NMCS makes the information easy to understand. On the site, they
have a section that has information showing recent changes in climate in New Mexico at a
glance, meaning just a few facts of the recent changes. A few of these facts include that over 95%

of New Mexico has experienced mean temperature increases, warming has been greatest in the
western and central parts of the state, most of New Mexico's mid- to high-elevation forests have
experienced warmer and drier conditions, and high-mountain species and water-dependent
species are particularly vulnerable (NMCS). The organization also discusses ways to confront the
issue of climate change in the section Confronting the threat. In this sub-section they discuss
ways that they can articulate management concerns, share management strategies and identify
opportunities to address climate change adaptation challenges (NMCS) so that climate change
wont be as big of a concern in New Mexico as it is.
Office of the Press Secretary (OPS):
Like previously stated, this site helps answer the first question and provides a combined
response for the second and third questions. The sites article has a section titled Selected
Findings and Information from the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment Relevant to New
Mexico with a subheadings. These subheadings explain the ways that climate change is
affecting the topic of the subheading. For example, one of the subheadings is health and
underneath it is explained how climate change effects the health of people in New Mexico. Some
other subheadings include water, ecosystems, tribes, etc. The article provides a combined
response for questions two and three because it doesnt answer either one exactly but instead
says that the impacts of climate change are significant enough that they need to be dealt with and
many efforts are already underway to mitigate and respond to these issues (OPS).
Interview (Fulghum):
Dr. Fulghum discussed in the interview that the health related risks/factors of climate
change depend on where you live. She said that this is based on the fact that different regions

will be affected differently causing different risks. In her interview she also said that in New
Mexico you can see the effects of climate change because there have been hotter temperatures
and droughts. Also, our wildlife is in danger of losing habitats. Lastly, she said that based on her
knowledge, we do not need climate change. She says that the disadvantages outweigh the
advantages (Fulghum).

Discussion:
Several sources were used to answer the research questions. To refresh, the questions
were (1) Health wise, are there any advantages or disadvantages to climate change happening?
(2) What effects does climate change have in New Mexico? (3) Do we need climate change?
There was a lot of information gathered from these sources that helped answer these three
questions. What did all the research mean for each question? For question one, the research
concludes that there are little to no health advantages due to climate change, however, there are
several disadvantages. These disadvantages depend on location and several other factors. Some
may be fatally affected and some may not be affected at all. Continuing, question two also had
quite a bit of useful information. Different parts of New Mexico are being affected by climate
change differently. This means different areas will have different environment changes resulting
in different health changes. Lastly, question three. Although there wasnt as much results for this
question, it is made clear that climate change is not needed. It does more harm than good and is
only getting worse.
Conclusion:

Based on the information that I gathered and found, I can say that we need to get climate
change under control. As a state we can start making a difference that can help people here and
hopefully around the nation. We can do this by cutting down on the burning of fossil fuels such
as coal and other greenhouse gases. Also, we can get our states climate change under better
control by doing what the World Health Organization suggested and reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases through better transport, food and energy-use choices can result in improved
health, particularly through reduced air pollution. Climate change isnt going to slow itself down,
we have to take charge and do it ourselves for ourselves. Climate change is not needed, is bad for
the environment, and for humans. If we dont do something now, things will continue to get
worse.
Appendix
CDC: Chart

References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Climate Effects on Health. Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/default.htm
Fulghum, Julia. Personal Interview. 27 Oct. 2015.
New Mexico Conservation Science. New Mexico Climate Change Adaptation Project. The
Nature Conservancy. n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
http://nmconservation.org/projects/new_mexico_climate_change/
Office of the Press Secretary. Fact Sheet: What Climate Change Means for New Mexico and the
Southwest. The White House. 6 May 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2015. <
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/statereports/NEWMEXICO_NCA_2014.pdf>
World Health Organization. Climate Change and Health. World Health organization. Sep. 2015.
Web. 30 Oct. 2015. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/