Repair The World

 

American Academy of Pediatrics President Moira A. Szilagyi, M.D. recently moved back into her California home that was destroyed four years ago by a wildfire. That experience helped inform her perspective of the emergency at hand:

Though many of us think the impact of climate change will be felt far from where and how we live, the reality is we exist within the natural world and are governed by its forces. Climate change affects every aspect of the circle of life. It leads to more severe weather patterns and causes drought, flooding, dust bowls, crop failure, lack of potable water, wildfires, melting ice packs, species loss, worsening poverty, disease, mortality, mass migrations and conflict among humans worried about their own resources and survival.

There is a phrase in Judaism, “tikkun olam,” that means to “repair the world.” As pediatricians, we have a special interest in mitigating climate change because children are uniquely vulnerable to its impacts. Children breathe more, and their lungs are more susceptible to damage from ground-level ozone. They respond more to heat, and their immune systems are still developing. It is estimated that children will feel up to 88% of the health consequences of global warming.

Climate change also discriminates. It affects children living in poverty more than those from families with better resources and wealthier communities and countries.

 

In a study appearing last month in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Columbia University and Stanford University put the blame for damaging levels of air pollution and rising greenhouse gasses threatening children’s health and safety right where it belongs — on fossil fuels:

The combustion of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum [oil], and natural gas) is the major source of both air pollution and the greenhouse-gas emissions driving climate change. The fetus, infant, and child are especially vulnerable to exposure to air pollution and climate change, which are already taking a major toll on the physical and mental health of children. Given the frequent co-occurrence of various fossil-fuel exposures, their interactions and cumulative environmental impacts are a growing concern. All children are at risk, but the greatest burden falls on those who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Protection of children’s health requires that health professionals understand the multiple harms to children from climate change and air pollution and use available strategies to reduce these harms.

 

The research shows climate change damages children’s health even before birth, reports Bob Yirka:

In their paper, the researchers note that mothers breathing polluted air during pregnancy impacts children before they are even born. Prior studies have shown it can lead to low birth weights, early births and also stillbirths. Some research has also shown a link to inflammation later on in life. And sadly, some research has shown that chemicals in the air and other types of pollution can cause birth defects, including problems with brain development.

 

The illustration below shows the vulnerabilities in fetuses, infants, and children associated with climate-related impacts such as extreme weather, heat stress, air pollution, water scarcity and degraded water quality, disrupted food supply and diminished food safety, higher risks of vectorborne infectious diseases, and social conflict and displacement.

 

 

One of the study’s authors tells Rob Jordan of steps parents and caregivers can take to help protect children from climate change impacts and exposure to air pollution:

There are a range of personal and family changes people can make. For example, parents that use electric cars for their family can decrease the likelihood of their child getting asthma by 30%. If a family can reduce eating meat just by one day a week, that can help protect the planet and improve the health of their children. Also, buying a filter like MERV 13 or higher for your home can reduce indoor air pollution. Using electric appliances instead of gas can improve the air that your family breathes by 50%.

 

Smoke produced by the growing number and size of drought-induced wildfires has become a threat to children’s lungs from coast to coast:

There is no safe distance from wildfire smoke. Children need to be inside when wildfire smoke pushes the air quality index, or AQI, above 50, especially children with asthma because their lungs are developing and the smoke can be irreversibly harmful to them. Children should wear well-fitted N95 masks outside during days of wildfire smoke. Being outside in heavy wildfire smoke is similar to smoking cigarettes. In fact, even with an AQI as low as 22, breathing outdoor air for eight hours is like smoking one cigarette in terms of smoke inhalation and exposure to a range of chemicals. That may be hard to believe, but it’s a real and compelling reason to switch to clean, renewable energy sources.

 

The study’s conclusion is a call to action for pediatricians, families, and anyone hoping to leave this planet a cleaner, healthier, and more hospitable place for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and generations to come:

The data are compelling that the toll on children and pregnant women from fossil-fuel–driven climate change and air pollution is large and growing, affecting immediate and long-term health. Interventions — which are, in many cases, cost-saving — exist to address the causes of climate change and air pollution and the disparities that they have created. Health professionals have the power to protect the children they care for by screening to identify those at high risk for associated health consequences; by educating them, their families, and others more broadly about these risks and effective interventions; and by advocating for strong mitigation and adaptation strategies.

 

Want to learn more about climate change and health? “The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment” from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is a great place to review the mounting collection of evidence.

 

(Google Images)

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2022/07/28/repair-the-world/