Climate Change and International Agreements Quiz

Climate Change

• Causes: Increased levels of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, trap heat reflected off Earth. Deforestation and fossil fuel combustion increase atmospheric CO2.
• Global Warming Effects: Increased frequency of extreme weather (storms, heat waves, extreme rainfall), rising sea levels, and changing seasonal temperatures (warmer winters, hotter summers).
• Global Temperature Increase: Average global temperatures rose by 0.74°C from 1906 to 2005.
• Climate Change Effects on Health: Includes increased mortality (from extreme heat), injuries (from extreme weather), spread of infectious diseases (due to changing animal/insect migration patterns), respiratory illnesses, starvation (due to drought and food shortages), and increased risk of skin cancers.
• Responding to Climate Change: Includes mitigation (reducing CO2 emissions, using less fossil fuels, alternative energy) and adaptation (infrastructure changes, early warning systems, vaccination, and protection from the sun).

Mitigation

• Reducing CO2 emissions: Key to limiting anthropogenic climate change.
• Alternative Energy Sources: Renewable sources (wind, solar, nuclear) or energy efficiency improvements (better building insulation).
• Behaviour Change: Promoting active travel, reducing energy use
• Legislation: Instruments like the Kyoto Protocol or policies to prevent deforestation.

Adaptation

• Infrastructure Measures: Developing flood barriers, heat-resistant buildings, etc.

• Information Dissemination: Establishing early warning systems for events like heat waves.

• Public Health Measures: Vaccination against infectious diseases that spread more rapidly as a result of climate change

• Protection from the Sun: Campaigns to educate people on sun precautions (like wearing sunscreen, clothing)

Risk of Extreme Weather Events

• Increased frequency of hazardous events is likely in terms of droughts, floods, and cyclones
• This increase is more likely due to improvement in accessing more information and population growth

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

• A measure of how much a greenhouse gas warms the planet over a certain period compared to carbon dioxide (CO2).
• CO2 has a GWP of 1.
• Other gases (e.g., methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)) have much higher GWPs. This reflects how strongly they absorb radiation.

Carbon Emissions 2015

• Global map illustrating CO2 emissions from fossil fuels
• Different countries contribute diverse levels of emissions to the atmosphere

Public Health Impacts of Disasters

• Exposure to disasters has different complex impact (e.g. death, injury, and widespread diseases)
• Risk of communicable diseases are higher in highly damaged urban environments

Environmental Determinants of Disease

• Human Impact on Environment: Pollution (e.g. air pollution, climate change) and other environmental factors have direct and indirect effects on human health.
• Environmental Factors: Household air pollution from solid fuels, ambient particulate matter, occupational injuries. These factors account for a significant proportion of the global disease burden (10-15%).

Principles of Sustainability

• Balancing current needs with those of future generations, involving the long-term use of resources and responsible management of pollution.
• Examples of unsustainable practices are excessive use of fossil fuels, depleted ocean fisheries, and soil erosion problems associated with agriculture.

Risk Assessment and Management

• Hazard vs. Risk: A hazard is a potential source of harm, while risk is the probability of a harmful event multiplied by its consequence. Understanding risks is important because risks can be reduced through measures to control the exposure or to manage the consequences.
• Risk Assessment Steps: Hazard identification; assessing potential health effects from that hazard in a exposed population through laboratory studies and experiments; determining relevant exposure levels in a exposed population.
• Sandman's Risk Concept: A system that incorporates the public perspective ("outrage"), alongside the "hazard" to define risk more effectively.
• Risk vs. Hazard: Risk is the combination of hazard and outrage (public perception related to the hazard). Risk management needs to consider this public perception to minimize conflict or disagreement from the community.

Environmental Surveillance Data

• Various types of data are used to track pollutants and their effects, including measurements of toxic substances in biological samples, surveillance data on infectious diseases and cancer registry data.
• Examples of contaminants, for instance, biological contaminant (e.g. salmonella), chemical contaminants (e.g. mercury in shellfish), and radioactive contamination (e.g. from Chernobyl accident)

Food Contaminants

• Examples, including biological contamination (foodborne illnesses), chemical contaminants (excessive amounts of metal like mercury), and radioactive contamination (after disasters like Chernobyl).

Food quality improvements

• Reducing pesticide use.
• Minimising risk of biological contamination through irradiation, canning, or freezing
• Controlling cooking methods and temperature

Water Supply

• Water Sources: Saltwater, freshwater (surface water, groundwater), glaciers.

• Water Use Factors: Distance from source, availability, transport/storage conditions, and water quality (e.g., microbiological contamination, mineral content).

• Protection: Water treatment is crucial to prevent spread of water-borne diseases and use of appropriate technologies for filtration and disinfection, sanitation, and hygiene maintenance.

Water Treatment

• Mass Water Treatment: Methods like Jar test (coagulation/flocculation), assisted sedimentation, rapid sand filtration, and chlorination methods.
• Household Water Treatment: Basic methods like boiling, UV disinfection, or chemical disinfection.

Transport Policies

• Increased Transport & Accessibility: Benefits include employment and economic development.
• Active Transport: Walking and cycling have health advantages (physical activity, reduced pollution) outweighing the risks (air pollution, accidents).
• Sustainable Transportation: Policies promote emissions reductions, car-sharing, public transport, and reducing car usage.

Air Pollution

• Sources: Primarily from the increased number of motor vehicles, industrial activities, emission from burning fuels.
• Smog: London-type smog (coal burning), Los Angeles-type smog (vehicle emissions).
• Health Effects: Respiratory problems. Cardiovascular effects (primarily for those with pre-existing conditions), asthma and COPD symptoms, reduced lung function, and increased deaths.

Climate Change and Health

• Global health impacts due to climate change, including morbidity and mortality, and associated with disasters like floods, and droughts, are greater than thought. This emphasizes public health implications as an important issue.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)

• Importance: Access to safe water and sanitation is crucial for health.
• Public Health: Prevents diseases like diarrhoea, protects for women and girls, and prevents malnutrition
• WASH in settings: Refugee camps, slums, and rural and other humanitarian settings
• Improving Hygiene: Crucial to decreasing infection transmission
• Addressing Waterborne Diseases: Crucial for mitigating waterborne illnesses like cholera, shigellosis, and typhoid.

Medical Waste Management

• General Principles: Emphasize on-site waste management to reduce risks of contaminated waste being spread into environment.
• Waste Segregation: Essential for effective treatment and safe disposal. Categorize wastes according to type (sharps, soft tissues/biological wastes, organic wastes, hazardous wastes).
• Waste Treatment: Incineration, burial, and other methods based on the type and specifics of waste.
• Disposal: Designated areas, with appropriate method, and safety standards, or proper return to originating sources

Radon

• Cause: Naturally occurring radioactive gas (from uranium in rocks/soil) that can leach into buildings.
• Health Risks: Significant contributor to lung cancer.
• Assessment & Mitigation: Measures to test homes for radon, and measures to mitigate radon levels (e.g., improved ventilation).

Environmental Exposure to Carcinogens & Toxins

• Types of Chemicals: Inorganic chemicals (e.g., halogens, metals) and organic chemicals (e.g., hydrocarbons, alcohols).
• Toxicity Characteristics: Depends on dose, duration, and frequency of exposure as well as how body absorbs, distributes and metabolises the chemicals.
• Exposure Routes: Inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption.
• Adverse Health Effects: Vary in severity from minor to life-threatening (e.g. cancers, organ damage).

Water Quality

• Physical Characteristics: Taste, color, smell, and turbidity. Chemical contaminants like fluoride are important to monitor.
• Chemical Composition: Heavy metals (lead), dissolved minerals. Other contaminants may include nitrates, or pesticides from farming or industrial activities.
• Bacteriological Issues: E. coli or cryptosporidium are used as indicators of potential microbial contamination

Soil Contamination

• Sources: Introduction of contaminants to the land as a result of previous uses, or from natural constituents
• Pathway of Exposure: Ingesting contaminated food, inhaling gases from soil, or contact with contaminated soil/water