Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

Written by leading experts in public health and climate science
15-chapter structure ideal for courses in public health, environmental sciences, and other fields
Clearly-written and well-referenced chapters, supplemented by textboxes, case studies, photographs, tables, graphs, and suggestions for further reading

Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

Description

Climate change is causing, and will increasingly cause, a wide range of adverse health effects, including heat-related disorders, infectious diseases, respiratory and allergic disorders, malnutrition, mental health problems, and violence. The scientific bases for the associations between climate change and health problems are evolving as are the strategies for adapting to climate change and mitigating the greenhouse gases, which are its primary cause.

With contributions from 78 leading experts in climate change and in public health, this book contains a concise and comprehensive book that represents a core curriculum on climate change and public health, including key strategies for adaptation and mitigation. Written primarily for students and mid-career professionals in public health and environmental sciences, the book clearly describes concepts and their application to the health impacts of climate change. Chapters are supplemented with case studies, graphs, tables and photographs. The book's organization in 15 chapters makes it an ideal textbook for graduate and undergraduate courses in public health, environmental sciences, public policy, and other fields.

Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Contributors

Part I: Introduction
1. Applying a Public Health Context to Climate Change
2. Applying Climate Change Science for Public Health
3. A Widening Research Agenda: Challenges and Needs

Part II: Adverse Health Consequences and Specific Preventive Measures
4A. Heat Impacts on Work, Human Performance, and Daily Life
4B. Disorders Related to Heat Waves
5. Respiratory and Allergic Disorders
6. Vectorborne Diseases
7. Waterborne and Foodborne Diseases
8. Health Impacts Related to Food and Nutrition Insecurity
9. Mental Health Impacts
10. Collective Violence

Part III: Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change and to Promote Public Health
11. Public Health Policies and Actions
12. Communication
13A. Energy Policy in Developed Countries
13B. Energy Policy in Developing Countries
13C. Transportation Policy
13D. Agriculture Policy
14. Planning Healthy and Sustainable Built Environments
15. Non-governmental Actions by Individuals, Civil Society Organizations, and the Private Sector

Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

Author Information

Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H. is an Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Tufts University School of Medicine and a consultant in environmental and occupational health. He has had a wide range of experiences in public health practice, education, research, policy development, and consultation. He has served as a medical epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control, a Professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, a leader of several international health programs and projects, and president of the American Public Health Association. He has co-edited 17 multi-contributor books, nine of which have focused on environmental and occupational health.

Jonathan A. Patz, M.D., M.P.H., is Director of the Global Health Institute and Professor of Environmental Sciences and Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is one of the most recognized, long-standing experts on the health implications of global climate change. He has authored over 80 scientifically peer-reviewed papers on the subject. Dr. Patz served as a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for 14 years, and co-chaired the Health Expert Panel of the first U.S. National Assessment on Climate Change. He has taught and conducted research on climate change and its relationship to health for nearly two decades.

Contributors:

Caitilyn Allen, Ph.D.
Professor
Plant Pathology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Vicki Arroyo, J.D., M.P.A.
Executive Director
Georgetown Climate Center
Professor from Practice and Environmental Law Program Director
Georgetown Law School
Washington, DC

Robert Bailis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
Yale University
New Haven, CT

Kalpana Balakrishnan, Ph.D.
Professor
Environmental Health Engineering
Sri Ramachandra University
Chennai, India

John M. Balbus, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Advisor for Public Health
Director, NIEHS-WHO Collaborating Centre for Environmental
Health Sciences
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Bethesda, MD

Rupa Basu, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Chief, Research Scientist Supervisor
Air and Climate Epidemiology Section
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
California Environmental Protection Agency
Oakland, CA

Aaron Bernstein, M.D., M.P.H.
Hospitalist
Division of General Pediatrics
Boston Children's Hospital
Associate Director
Center for Health and the Global Environment
Harvard School of Public Health
Boston, MA

David J. Briggs, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Imperial College London
Ruby Bay, Tasman, New Zealand

Ryan Burbach, M.P.H.
Program on Forced Migration and Health
Department of Population and Family Health
Columbia University
New York, NY

Kathleen F. Bush, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
Center for the Environment
Plymouth State University
Plymouth, NH

Emily Y. Y. Chan, S.M. P.I.H., M.B.B.S., M.D.
Faculty of Medicine
Chinese University of Hong Kong
School of Public Health and Primary Care
Prince of Wales Hospital
Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China

David C. Christiani, M.D., M.P.H.
Blout Professor of Environmental Genetics
Department of Environmental Health
Harvard School of Public Health
Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA

Gary Cohen
President and Co-Founder
Health Care Without Harm
Boston, MA

Matthew Collins, Ph.D.
Professor
College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences
University of Exeter
Exeter, United Kingdom

Alan D. Dangour, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Course Director
Department of Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London, United Kingdom

Andrew L. Dannenberg, M.D., M.P.H.
Affiliate Professor
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences School of Public Health
Department of Urban Design and Planning
College of Built Environments
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Kathy Dervin, M.P.H.
Berkeley, CA

Thomas J. Doherty, Psy.D.
Director
Ecopsychology Certificate Program
Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education & Counseling
Licensed Psychologist
Sustainable Self, LLC
Portland, OR

Kristie L. Ebi, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor
Department of Global Health
University of Washington School of Public Health
Seattle, WA

Jennifer A. Francis, Ph.D.
Research Professor I
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ

Chris A. Freyberg, M.Sc.
Honorary Fellow
Health and Environment International Trust
Mapua, New Zealand
Distinguished Retiring
Massey University
Palmerston North, New Zealand

Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H.
Dean and Professor of Environmental
and Occupational Health Sciences
School of Public Health
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

Maggie L. Grabow, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Global Health Institute
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Rosemary Green, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Department of Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research
on Agriculture and Health
London, United Kingdom

Andrew Haines, M.D., M.B.
Professor Of Public Health & Primary Care
Departments of Social and Environmental Health
Research and Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London, United Kingdom

Jeremy Hess, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Professor
Department of Emergency Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Senior Medical Advisor
Climate and Health Program
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects
National Center for Environmental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA

Tracey Holloway, Ph.D.
Professor
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Howard Hu, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D.
Dean and Professor of Environmental Health, Epidemiology,
Global Health and Medicine
Dalla Lana School of Public Health
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Olivia M. Hyatt, Ph.D.
Consultant
Health and Environment International Trust
Richmond, New Zealand

Kazuhiko Ito, Ph.D.
Senior Environmental Epidemiologist
Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy
New York City Department of Health
New York, NY

J. Paul Kelleher, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Medical History & Bioethics
Department of Philosophy
School of Medicine and Public Health
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Richard C. Keller, Ph.D.
Director, International Studies Major/Global Studies/Development Studies
Professor, Department of Medical History and Bioethics
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Patrick L. Kinney, Sc.D.
Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
Director, Columbia Climate and Health Program
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University
New York, NY

Tord Kjellstrom, Ph.D. (Med), M.M.E.
Visiting Professor
International Institute of Global Health
United Nations University
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Director, Health and Environment International Trust
Mapua, New Zealand

Stephen P. Leatherman, Ph.D.
Chair, Professor, and Co-Director
Laboratory for Coastal Research
International Hurricane Research Center
Florida International University
Miami, FL

Bruno Lemke, Ph.D., Dip.Ed.
Senior Lecturer
School of Health
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Nelson, New Zealand

Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H.
Adjunct Professor of Public Health
Department of Public Health and Community Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Sherborn, MA

Vijay Limaye, Ph.D.
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Department of Population Health Sciences
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

George Luber, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Climate Change
Climate and Health Program
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects
National Center for Environmental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA

Edward Maibach, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Director, Center for Climate Change Communication
University Professor, Department of Communication
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA

Sandra L. McLellan, Ph.D.
Professor
School of Freshwater Sciences
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI

Anthony J. McMichael M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus (Population Health)
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health
The Australian National University
Foreign Associate
U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Canberra, Australia

Gregory F. Nemet, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
La Follette School of Public Affairs
University of Wisconsin
Nelson Institute Center for
Sustainability and the Global Environment
Madison, WI

Crystal M. North, M.D.
Clinical Research Fellow
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Department of Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA

Eric Obscherning
Undergraduate Student
Global Health Institute
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Raymond C. Offenheiser, M.S.
President
Oxfam America
Boston, MA

Nicholas H. Ogden, B.V.Sc., D.Phil.
Senior Research Scientist
Zoonoses Division
Public Health Agency of Canada
Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

P. Matthias Otto, M.Eng.
Senior Lecturer
Digital Technology
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology
Nelson, New Zealand
Health and Environment International Trust
Mapua, New Zealand

Mercedes Pascual, Ph.D.
Rosemary Grant Collegiate Professor of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology
University of Michigan
2039/2041 Kraus Natural Science Building
830 North University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048

Jonathan A. Patz, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor and Director, Global Health Institute
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

William K. Reisen, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Center for Vectorborne Diseases
Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
School of Veterinary Medicine
University of California
Davis, CA

Kathleen M. Rest, Ph.D., M.P.A.
Executive Director
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, MA

Les Roberts, Ph.D., M.S.P.H.
Associate Professor
Department of Population and Family Health
Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University
New York, NY

Joan B. Rose, Ph.D.
Homer Newlin Chair in Water Research
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michigan State University
13 Natural Resources Building
East Lansing, MI

Linda Rudolph, M.D., M.P.H.
Center for Climate Change and Health
Public Health Institute
Oakland, CA

Mona Sarfaty, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Program on Climate and Health
Center for Climate Change Communication
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Associate Professor
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, PA

Jan C. Semenza, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S.
Professor
Office of the Chief Scientist
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Stockholm, Sweden

Perry E. Sheffield, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor
Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, NY

Victor W. Sidel, M.D.
Distinguished University Professor Social Medicine Emeritus
Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein Medical College
Adjunct Professor of Medical Ethics in Medicine
Adjunct Professor of Health Care Policy and Research
Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, NY

Kirk R. Smith, M.P.H., Ph.D.
Professor of Global Environmental Health
School of Public Health
University of California
Berkeley, CA

Valerie J. Stull, M.P.H.
Doctoral Student and Graduate Teaching Assistant
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Jennifer Sutherland, M.Sc.
Research Assistant
Department of Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London, United Kingdom

Jason Vargo, M.C.R.P., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Assistant Scientist
Global Health Institute
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Nelson Institute, Center for Sustainability
and the Global Environment
Madison, WI

Stephen J. Vavrus, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI

Louise Watson, M.Sc.
Nutrition Group
Department of Population Health
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London, United Kingdom

Nick Watts, M.A.
Head of Project
Lancet Commission on Climate Change and Health
University College London
Director
Global Climate and Health Alliance
London, United Kingdom

Kate Weinberger, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Environmental Health Sciences
Mailman School of Public Health
Columbia University
New York, NY

Aaron Wernham, M.D., M.S.
Director
Health Impact Project
A collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
and The Pew Charitable Trusts
Washington, DC

Henk Westhoek, M.Sc.
Department of Water, Agriculture and Food
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Timothy R. Wheeler, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Professor of Crop Science
Walker Institute for Climate System Research
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
University of Reading
Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom

Jalonne L. White-Newsome, M.D., Ph.D.
Environmental Justice Federal Policy Analyst
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Professorial Lecturer
The George Washington University
Milken Institute School of Public Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
Washington, DC

Paul Wilkinson, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Environmental Epidemiology
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
London, United Kingdom

Alistair Woodward, Ph.D.
Professor
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
School of Population Health
University of Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand

Felicia Wu, Ph.D.
John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Director, Center for Health Impacts of Agriculture
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Lewis H. Ziska, Ph.D.
Plant Physiologist
Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory
Agricultural Research Service
United States Department of Agriculture

Kathryn A. Zyla, M.E.M., J.D.
Deputy Director
Georgetown Climate Center
Washington, DC

Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

Reviews and Awards

Atmospheric Science Librarians International - 2015

Recipient of the American Journal of Nursing 2015 Book of the Year Award in the following subcategory: Environmental Health.

"An excellent and comprehensive resource -- engaging, well written, and evidence-based." -Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

Climate Change and Public Health

Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz

From Our Blog

Climate change poses risks to your health

When heads of state and other leaders of 195 nations reached a landmark accord at the recent United Nations COP21 conference on climate change in Paris, they focused primarily on sea level rise, droughts, loss of biodiversity, and ways to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce these consequences. But arguably the most serious and widespread impacts of climate change are those that are hazardous to the health of people.

Posted on December 23, 2015

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