Climate Chaos: Your Health at Risk
Climate Chaos: Your Health at Risk
Article Type: Book reviews From: Disaster Prevention and Management, Volume 18, Issue 3
Cindy L. Parker and Steven M. Shapiro,Praeger Publishers,Westport, CT,www.praeger.com2008,220 pp.,ISBN 978-0-275-99858-5,$49.95 (hard cover)
After a brief primer on the basics of climate change science, this book offers a practical guide to health issues that might arise in a warming world and advice on how to deal with them. The biggest source of human health problems in a warming world is likely to be heat. The 2003 heat wave in Western Europe was blamed for the deaths of 45,000 people, while a 2006 heat wave killed 140 people in California and another 140 in New York. The question of whether these events were caused by climate change remains, but the predicted increase in global average temperatures in the coming century is expected to increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of heat waves.
Average summer temperatures in cities like Washington, DC, and Atlanta could see daily highs ranging from 100-110°F by late in this century. Climate Chaos offers tips for staying healthy (and alive) in the heat, as well as dealing health hazards such as air pollution, infectious diseases, and other issues that could loom in a warmer climate.
