Climate Change and Public Health

This second edition of Climate Change and Public Health comprehensively covers the health impacts of climate change, including heat-related and respiratory disorders, vectorborne and waterborne diseases, malnutrition, mental disorders, and violence. It provides a thorough understanding of the policymaking process and energy, transportation, and agriculture policies for mitigation. It covers health adaptation, sustainable built environments, and nature-based solutions to address climate change. Finally, it describes ways of strengthening public and political support, including communicating the health relevance of climate change, building movements, and promoting climate justice.

Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H., is Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Levy has worked in public health for more than fifty years as a CDC epidemiologist, a medical school professor, leader of international health programs, and American Public Health Association president. He has edited twenty other multi-contributor books and authored the book From Horror to Hope: Recognizing and Preventing the Health Impacts of War (OUP, 2022). He has authored more than 250 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Levy has taught occupational and environmental health for more than four decades. He has received the APHA's Sedgwick Memorial Medal and several other major awards.

Jonathan A. Patz, M.D., M.P.H., is Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with appointments in the Nelson Institute and Department of Population Health Sciences. He has researched, taught, and written more than 200 scientific publications addressing climate change. Dr. Patz co-chaired the health report for the first US National Climate Assessment and served as a Lead Author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. For his pioneering research on climate change and health, he was elected into the US National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous awards.

Acknowledgments
About the Editors
Contributors
Disclaimer

Foreword to the First Edition
Gro Brundtland

Preface
Barry S. Levy and Jonathan A. Patz


Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1: Applying a Public Health Context to Climate Change
Jonathan A. Patz and Barry S. Levy
Box 1-1: Disparities
Barry S. Levy
Box 1-2: A Brief History of Organizational Responses to Climate Change
Jonathan A. Patz and Barry S. Levy

Chapter 2: Applying Climate Science to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events
Stephen J. Vavrus, Aimee Puz, Samuel Kruse, and Jonathan A. Patz


Part II: Health Impacts

Chapter 3: Heat-Related Disorders among Workers
Tord Kjellstrom, Jeremy Lim, and Jason Lee
Box 3-1: Safe Work Depends on Work Intensity Level and Temperature
Tord Kjellstrom

Chapter 4: Heat-Related Disorders among Community Populations
Rupa Basu and Xiangmei (May) Wu

Chapter 5: Respiratory Disorders
Ioana O. Agache, Vanitha Sampath, Juan Aguilera, and Kari C. Nadeau
Box 5-1: Occupational Respiratory Disorders
Crystal M. North and David C. Christiani
Box 5-2: Achieving Health and Climate Co-benefits by Reducing Household Air Pollution from Solid Cooking Fuels
Lisa M. Thompson and Jamesine V. Rogers Gibson

Chapter 6: Vectorborne Diseases
Christopher M. Barker and William K. Reisen

Chapter 7: Waterborne Diseases
Jennifer R. Bratburd and Sandra L. McLellan

Chapter 8: Food Insecurity and Malnutrition
Jessica Fanzo, Kate R. Schneider, and Stanley Wood
Box 8-1: Threats from Plant Pathogens
Caitilyn Allen

Chapter 9: Mental Health Impacts
Thomas J. Doherty and Amy D. Lykins
Box 9-1: Assessing and Responding to Mental Health Impacts of Wildfires in Alaska
Micah Hahn
Box 9-2: Australia's "Black Summer Bushfire Season"
Thomas J. Doherty and Amy D. Lykins

Chapter 10: Violence
Barry S. Levy
Box 10-1: Migration Due to Climate Change
Barry S. Levy


Part III: Developing and Implementing Policies for Mitigation

Chapter 11. The Public Policymaking Process and the Power of Participation
Kathleen M. Rest
Box 11-1: Examples of Existing Federal Laws, Regulations, and Other Policies Related to Climate Change
Kathleen M. Rest
Box 11-2: Glossary of Some Policymaking Terms
Kathleen M. Rest
Box 11-3: Local Community Takes Action on Deadly Heat
Roseann Bongiovanni
Box 11-4: Approaching Climate Action Through the Lens of Local Needs
Shimekia Nichols and James Gignac

Chapter 12: Energy Policy
Nova M. Tebbe, Nicholas A. Mailloux, and Gregory F. Nemet
Box 12-1: Air Quality and Health Benefits of Mitigation Policies
Nova M. Tebbe, Nicholas A. Mailloux, and Gregory F. Nemet

Chapter 13: Transportation Policy
Kathryn A. Zyla
Box 13-1: Epidemiological Evidence for the Health Benefits of Active Transportation
Natalie Levine and Maggie L. Grabow

Chapter 14: Agriculture Policy
Valerie J. Stull and Jonathan A. Patz


Part IV: Developing and Implementing Actions for Adaptation

Chapter 15: Implementing Health Adaptation
Kristie L. Ebi and Peter Berry
Box 15-1: Guiding Principles for Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health Climate Change and Health Adaptation Framework
Kristie L. Ebi and Peter Berry
Box 15-2: Systems Approach to Climate Services for Health in Ethiopia
Kristie L. Ebi and Peter Berry
Box 15-3: Combining Mitigation and Adaptation: Climate Proofing of Healthcare Facilities
Kristie L. Ebi and Peter Berry
Box 15-4: Greening of the Healthcare Sector
Gary Cohen

Chapter 16: Planning Healthy and Sustainable Built Environments
Jason Vargo

Chapter 17: Promoting Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Howard Frumkin, Brendan Shane, and Taj Schottland
Box 17-1: Ecosystem Services and Nature's Services to People
Howard Frumkin, Brendan Shane, and Taj Schottland
Box 17-2: How Many Trees Can the World Support?
Howard Frumkin, Brendan Shane, and Taj Schottland


Part V: Strengthening Public and Political Support

Chapter 18: Communicating the Health Relevance of Climate Change
Mona Sarfaty and Edward Maibach
Box 18-1: Principles of Climate Change Communication
Howard Frumkin and Edward Maibach

Chapter 19: Building Movements to Address Climate Change
Teddie M. Potter, Julia Frost Nerbonne, and Vishnu Laalitha Surapaneni
Box 19-1: The Climate and Health Movement
Linda Rudolph
Box 19-2: Three Innovative Climate Change Initiatives
Olivia M. Dyrbye-Wright

Chapter 20: Promoting Climate Justice
Rohini J. Haar and Barry S. Levy
Box 20-1: Steps for a Just Energy Transition
Barry S. Levy

Index