Call to Action on Global Warming

The American medical community believes it is necessary to acknowledge the onset of global warming, as indicated by the following:

• Since the beginning of the 20th century the Earth’s average temperature has risen nearly 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit, much of that increase coming during the last 35 years.  Increases in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have followed this trend, showing a direct correlation between temperature and CO2 concentrations.
• Sea levels are rising, and ocean temperatures have increased, leading to a loss of Arctic sea ice in excess of 25 percent and the bleaching of coral reefs from warmer waters, while ocean acidification will continue to cause damage to delicate ecosystems.
• Melting permafrost threatens to increase the rate of warming as millions of tons of carbon dioxide and methane are released from these warming soils.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that these changes are correlated directly with the output of greenhouse gases that are attributable to industrialization.  There is a solid consensus among climate scientists that anthropogenic forces are driving global warming.

We further find that:

• The American public will suffer from serious health impacts, including: heat related illness and death, advanced respiratory and cardiovascular disease as a result of worsening air quality and the threat of increased pest and water borne diseases.
• Changes in weather patterns, rising sea-levels and threats to water supplies will increase in the coming decades and could be catastrophic to some populations.
• The medical and public health services of the U.S. are not prepared adequately to handle sudden and dramatic increases in illness related to global warming.
• The United States is the leading emitter of greenhouse gas pollutants, and those emission levels continue to grow unabated.
• Unchecked, global warming represents a dangerous threat to public health.

Sign on to the Call to Action