Climate change: “empirical data”.. and more!
-
Upload
australian-national-university -
Category
Environment
-
view
52 -
download
0
Transcript of Climate change: “empirical data”.. and more!
Environmental Health: More than a checklistEnvtl Health Australia NSW Conference
Port MacQuarie, Sept 7, 2016Health Reseach Inst, Univ. of Canberra, Visiting Fellow NCEPH, ANU
Climate change: “empirical data”.. and more!
Adjunct Professor Colin Butler
The future of global health - consequences of
global environmental changes
Empirical evidence: experientialacquired by means of senses, particularly observation and experimentation.
From Greek for experience, ἐμπειρία (empeiría)
In contrast to theories – whichin science, are evidence-based..
Climate change: “empirical data”.. and more!
Senator Malcom Roberts
Prof Brian Cox, holding a graph showing empirical (observed) data
John Tyndall, 1859
John Tyndall, 1859
water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane reduce heat loss, oxygen, nitrogen virtually transparent to heat.
without these, Earth .. "held fast in the iron grip of frost."
Empirical observation: marsh gas traps heat –
Theory:
“greenhouse” gases warm Earth. if greenhouse gases increases, so will global temperature if Earth heats, sea level will riseif atmosphere warms rainfall events will intensify
Ample empirical evidence for these
if climate change >2 degrees then highly dangerous for society
Limited empirical evidence as yet; case mounting
Most radiation absorbed byEarth, warming it
8
Some energy is radiated back into space as infrared
waves
Aerosols: net cooling effect
Feedback - additional GHGs
Some outgoing infrared radiation trapped by
atmosphere, warming it
CH4 CO2
Greenhouse gases
N2O
Sulfate particles
CH4
CO2
Slide adapted from one courtesy Prof Steffen Loft, University of Copenhagen,
Denmark
CO2 also wetlands, tundra, biomass burning, deforestation
CH4 wetlands, rice, tundra
Empirical evidence
Big coastal cities sink faster than seas rise By Pat Brennan, NASA Sea Level Portal Aug 31, 2016
https://sealevel.nasa.gov/news/58/big-coastal-cities-sink-faster-than-seas-rise
ruins of Fort Proctor partly submerged in “Lake” Borgne, east of New Orleans, La.
CO2 has not been this high in >half a million years.
350
300
250
200
Carbon Dioxide Concentration (ppmv)
600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Thousands of Years Before Present
[Adapted from Figure 6.3, ©IPCC 2007: WG1-AR4]
Carbon Dioxide Concentration in Atmosphere over past 650,000 years
280 ppm (‘pre-industrial’)
405 ppm CO2 (2016)
Climate change, more than “empirical data”
Physical effectsHeat Floods and firesThe carbon budget Sea level riseOther extreme events
Health effects: “Primary”, “Secondary” “Tertiary”What can you do?Conclusion
Rahmstorf, from NASA data
http://www.attn.com/stories/2621/middle-east-heat-wave-climate-change
July 30, 2015 “heat dome”
stepping outside like “walking into a fire,” said Zainab Guman, a 26-year-old university student who lives in Basra. “It’s like everything on your body — your skin, your eyes,
your nose — starts to burn,” she said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/an-epic-middle-east-heat-wave-could-be-global-warmings-hellish-curtain-raiser/2016/08/09/c8c717d4-5992-11e6-8b48-0cb344221131_story.html
Image: Mary Anne Sexsmith-Segato/The Canadian Press via AP
July 29, 2016
a microburst in Phoenix, AZ, USA July 2016
http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/heavy-downpours-increasing
Baseline: 1901-1960
> 20k Louisiana residents rescued from their homes; 12k currently in shelters in the wake of historic, devastating flash flooding
http://www.latim
es.com/nation/la-
na-louisiana-flooding-20160814-
snap-story.html
August 14, 2016
Flooding in Louisiana, USA, August 2016
http://jezebel.com/the-historic-flooding-in-louisiana-is-looking-pretty-da-1785299122?utm_campaign=socialfow_jezebel_twitter&utm_source=jezebel_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
Climate change, “empirical data” .. And more!
The carbon budget
Carbon budget: 1 trillion tones:
to have at least 66% chance of limiting global temperature increases to < 2 C
already emitted 2/3rds of this
NDC= Nationally determined contribution
Vulnerable carbon sinks
Climate change, “empirical data” .. And more!
Physical effectsSea
level rise
http://nsidc.org/greenland-today/
Credits: Dave/Flickr Creative Commons/CC BY 2.0http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/new-nasa-web-portal-shines-beacon-on-rising-seas/#
Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Florida
Flooding is becoming a “normal” nuisance in Miami, as the sea inexorably rises
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Imageshttps://weather.com/science/environment/news/miami-flooding-increase-over-past-decade
A house in Norfolk, Va., that has been repeatedly hit by tidal floods sat on temporary supports as workers prepared to elevate it permanently in June. Credit Eliot Dudik for
The New York Times Sept 2016http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/science/flooding-of-coast-caused-by-global-warming-has-already-begun.html?
action=click&contentCollection=Books&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
Water from a tidal stretch of the Potomac River flooded Old Town Alexandria in Virginia during high tides in early June,
2016 Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times
At the City Market in Charleston, S.C., one of the most popular spots in town, shoppers dodged seawater that bubbled up from storm drains during high tide in June, 2016.
Credit Hunter McRae for The New York Times
“We’re putting enough heat in the ocean to send water over us, no question,” Dr. Stoddard said. “Ultimately, we give up and we leave. That’s how the story ends.”
Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida
2016 2045
200
150
100
50
0
Source: Coastal Risk Consulting, Graphic: Jan Diehm, The Guardian (2016)
2016 2045 2016 2045 2016 2045
Secondary
Tertiary
Primary
Heat waves, fewer cold waves, injuries, floods, fires
primary
Health effects of eco-climate-social stress
44
Australia: Getting Hotter from: CSIRO/BoM State of the Climate, March 2010
605040302010
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year
Data source: Bureau of Meteorology
Average number of record hot days per year, by decade
No. of record hot days [max temperature] at Australian climate reference stations, 1960-2009
No. of record hot
days
Night-time
Day-time‘Heat Island” Effect: Melbourne, Australia
Heatwave, Jan 2009
From: M Loughnan, Monash University
Heatwaves, Illness Events and Mortality
SOURCE: January 2009 Heatwave in Victoria: an Assessment of Health Impacts. State of Victoria 2009
Maximum Temperature
Heat Stress
Heat Stroke
Dehydration
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Jan: 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 Feb Date
Temp oC
Melbourne, Australia, 2009
27-31 January – maximum temperatures 12-15°C above normal.
28-30 Jan: > 43°C
250
200
150
100
50
060% increase, Jan 29-30, in ambulance call-outs
126 out-of-hospital deaths (vs. 44 expected deaths)
Number of attendances
Ambulance attendances for heat-related illnesses in Metropolitan Melbourne: 19 Jan – 1 Feb, 2009
Elderly at most risk: vulnerable to exacerbation of chronic illness?
Super Typhoon Haiyan approaching the Philippines on Nov 7, 2013. Credit: EUMETSAT (Wide-angle satellite image)
Typhoon Haiyan, Tacloban, The PhilippinesStrongest recorded storm to make landfallDirect death toll: >5,000Displaced: >4 millionTotal Burden of Disease?Fraction attributable to climate change?
49
A woman, who survived the typhoon by climbing up a steep hill, stands beside her temporary home. “I’m scared living here. When the tide comes up here, I’m very nervous that my house will be destroyed,” she said. Photograph: Eleanor Farmer/Oxfam
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/feb/07/tacloban-after-typhoon-haiyan-in-pictures
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Typhoon+Chan-hom&client=firefox-b&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKq5myxvjOAhXDFpQKHQ7BAOYQ_AUICigD&biw=1708&bih=794&dpr=0.8#imgrc=ARGx7TW_Mem1qM%3A
Typhoon Chan-hom (2015)
Super typhoons becoming more powerful and more frequent, new study finds
Peter Hannam Sept 6, 2016
Infectious diseases, especially vector borne, allergies, air pollutants, infrastructure
secondary
Health effects of eco-climate-social stress
• Climatic conditions set the geographic and seasonal boundaries of potential transmission.
• Other environmental, social and behavioural factors – and public health strategies – determine where/when actual transmission occurs.
Climate and Infectious Disease
3650m (13,000 feet)
54
Faster viral incubation in mosquitoShorter mosquito breeding cycle Increased mosquito feeding
frequency
Effects of Temperature Rise on Dengue Transmission
Dengue’s principal vector: Aedes aegypti
Map-projection of changes to rainfall across Australia to 2100 under ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ scenarios.
Using evidence from published literature, modelled how these changes would affect dengue distribution over space and time.
Areas suitable for dengue transmission in 2100 under 4 climate change scenarios (grey = ≥50% likelihood of transmission)
Bambrick et al., 2009, Global Hlth Action
4. Warm (strong mitigation)3. Hot & Wet
2. Hot, Median humidity1. Hot & Dry
Possums – vectors – mosquito? .. Little known
Bats (pteropid species) colonising urban environments Habitat loss, new-habitat attraction,
climate changePotential source of many new viruses
Nipah, Ebola, Hendra, …
Model-fitted relationship of monthly Salmonellosis case counts in relation to monthly av. temperature in five Australian cities, 1991-2001
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Average MonthlyTemperature oC
Salm
onel
la c
ount Perth
Brisbane
Adelaide
MelbourneSydney
D’Souza et al., 2003
Non-empirical
tertiary
Health effects of eco-climate-social stress
famine, conflict, pop’n displacement, refugees, development failure
60
PNAS - 2015
Damascus, 2014. Line for food aid from UN Relief and Works Agency in a great city - large parts of which have been destroyed by civil war, along with basic food supply infrastructure
“a risk multiplier”
Burden of Disease (proportion)
Year widely accepted
now 2050?
PRIMARY (eg heat, injury, productivity)
Burden of Disease (proportion)
Year widely accepted
now 2050?
PRIMARY (eg heat, injury, productivity)
SECONDARY (e.g. vector-borne diseases, air pollution, allergies)
Burden of Disease (proportion)
Year widely accepted
now 2050?
PRIMARY (eg heat, injury, productivity)
SECONDARY (e.g. vector-borne diseases, air pollution, allergies)
TERTIARY: (a “systemic multiplier”)
famine, conflict, large-scale migration,
economic collapse
Climate change, more than “empirical data”
What can you do?
Individual
• Eat less meat• Use more active transport • Consider solar panelsCollective???Increased coverage on Environmental health curriculumHeat warnings, food safetyPosition paper and join climate and health lobby groups
Most harm still in the future
Choice of Meat?- Greenhouse gas (esp. methane) emissions- Dietary fat content
Tonnes of GHG emissions per head per year (CO2 equivalents)
BEEFLean fillet
LAMBTrimmed steak
CHICKENLean breast
KANGAROOFillet or steakNew Scientist, Oct 9, 2010
Fat content per 100 gms of raw meat
Climate change, more than “empirical data”
Conclusion
The far-sighted amongst you are anticipating
broader global impacts on property, migration and political
stability, as well as food and water security. … Past is not
prologue … the catastrophic norms of the future can
be seen in the tail risks of today.
Mark Carney, 2015
(Governor of the
Bank of England)
Carney M. Breaking the tragedy of the horizon – climate change and financial stability. http://wwwbankofenglandcouk/publications/Pages/speeches/2015/844aspx
Crisis = opportunity74
I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy_horse
Ingenuity in the Year without a summer (1816)
http://www.saskwind.ca/blogbackend/2014/9/17/wind-solar-cost-declines-renewables-growth
Solar Power Will Become Cheaper Than Coal By 2017HuffPost India | By Anirvan Ghosh Posted: 14/05/2015 16:12 IST Updated: 21/05/2015 14:45 IST
http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/05/14/solar-power-will-become-cheaper-than-coal-by-2017/
Solar is now cheaper than coal, says India energy minister (April, 2016)
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/04/18/solar-is-now-cheaper-than-coal-says-india-energy-minister/
80
But .. Not just technology
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Tesla%27s+Powerwall&biw=1920&bih=950&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=7AFHVfi1IMK4mAWxxYDIAw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#imgrc=naTB6IIlI9D8uM%253A%3BCxr_fp8gCRRjUM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ficdn3.digitaltrends.com%252Fimage%252Ftesla-powerwall-7-970x548-c.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.digitaltrends.com%252Fhome%252Ftesla-energy-is-the-companys-line-of-batteries%252F%3B970%3B546