The king of kings when it comes to Australian scientific health has unleashed a declaration that we have entered a crisis state due to worsening effects of climate change.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has beat the drum of climate change affecting human health since early 2004 and is now following suit of major countries in the United Kingdom and North America.
The AMA attests that climate change is very much real and will dictate human health for generations to come, particularly in the Oceanic regions including Australia.
Their evidence for declaring the emergency includes:
- Correlation between higher temperature exposure and increased mortality.
- Annual productivity loss of $616 AUD per employee due to heat stress.
- Nearly 2,200 deaths over the past 117 years from extreme weather events.
- 13.7% increase in dengue-carrying mosquito incidents within the past 60 years.
The AMA joins 74 health organisations in the US alone who have attributed the emergency to instances of similar findings, strengthening the findings.
The AMA has lobbied for the current climate policy to be more "ambitious" by adopting mitigation targets, promoting health benefits of fighting climate change via renewable energy whilst establishing a "National Strategy for Health and Climate Change", as well as a "National Sustainable Development" plan to address carbon emissions in the healthcare sector.
"Climate change will cause higher mortality and morbidity from heat stress. Climate change will cause injury and mortality from increasingly severe weather events. Climate change will cause increases in the transmission of vector-borne diseases. Climate change will cause food insecurity resulting from declines in agricultural outputs. Climate change will cause a higher incidence of mental ill-health,
"The AMA is proud to join the international and local chorus of voices urging action to address climate change on health grounds." - Dr Tony Bartone, president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).
Is voicing the effects of climate change on our health a powerful way to communicate the message?
Let us know in comments and don't forget to share to spread ARSE far and wide as we thrust into the deep unknown...
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