BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN
On April 22, millions of people all over the world celebrated the twin events of Earth Day and March for Science Day, to be followed on April 29 by the Climate Change March. WiRED International believes that the health of our planet depends on research-based science and accessible community medical and health education.
According to respected scientists, Earth has been warming and cooling for centuries, but, as a result of human activity since the mid-20th century, this process is proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented. As members of an organization that for 20 years has focused on medical and health education, we at WiRED must ask what this spike in global temperatures and the rapidly changing climate mean for human health.
The World Health Organization states that climate change due to human actions has increased the risk of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, as well as water-borne and vector-borne diseases such as malaria, zika and yellow fever.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency testifies that air pollution from toxins such as ozone, sulfur and nitrogen dioxides, lead and carbon monoxide damages lungs and hearts and stimulates the development of cancers.
The American Psychological Association released a study in March called “Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Implications, and Guidance,” which demonstrates how climate change affects mental health leading to post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide, with natural disasters creating the most immediate human consequences.
Earth is in peril; the risks are real. WiRED trusts that science will provide the foundation for nonpartisan policies, actions and decisions that will ensure the health of our planet’s populations for all the Earth Days to come.
Bipartisan Effort in Congress Created the First Earth Day
On April 22, 1970, 22 million Americans across the country demonstrated to protect the environment. Motivated by a 1962 massive oil spill in California, Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. senator (D) from Wisconsin, founded Earth Day along with Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded congressman (R) from California. This bipartisan effort was supported by a broad spectrum of voters, organizations and members of Congress. Earth Day 1970 led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. This year Earth Day celebrates its 47th anniversary.
Source: Earth Day Network