74 Climate Management Issues
Health Issues Associated with Climate Change
One component of preparing for climate change involves planning
for new or increasing threats to human health. As ecosystems change
through intense weather events, shifting habitats, wildres, heat waves,
and other effects, humans must be prepared for inevitable changes. There
is an overwhelming amount of evidence that rising levels of CO
2
in the
earth’s atmosphere are having a serious impact on the climate with sec-
ondary effects on the earth’s physical systems and ecosystems, such as
an increase in severe weather events, rising sea levels, migration and
extinction of both plant and animal species, shifts in climate patterns,
and melt ...