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WASHINGTON
- December 12 - With the release of the
latest in a line of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reports
dating back to the 1972 that warn of the potentially devastating
environmental and health effects of global climate change,
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), called on President
Bush today to take urgent action to prevent a climate catastrophe.
"There can be no higher priority for our nation's security and
the health of the planet than curbing global climate change," said
PSR's Executive Director and CEO, Robert K. Musil, Ph.D., M.P.H.
"This NAS report should be the last wake up call the Bush
Administration needs. To not respond with action is to risk
American security and the public's health."
The new NAS report, Abrupt Climate Change: Inevitable Surprises,
states that "greenhouse warming and other human alterations of the
earth system may increase the possibility of large, abrupt, and
unwelcome regional and global climatic events." The report goes on
to warn that, "because climate change will likely continue in the
coming decades, denying the likelihood or downplaying the relevance
of past abrupt events could be costly."
The NAS report is a departure from previous warnings in
underscoring the possibility of larger and more sudden changes than
have generally been predicted including sudden snaps in average
global temperature of up to 10 degrees C. Such a change would be
even larger than the shift from the Ice Age to the current world
climate system that has supported the development of human
agriculture, civilization, and adaptation to disease.
A series of PSR reports called Death by Degrees has already
documented in detail the potential for climate change to affect
human society and health. Higher temperatures and increased weather
activity can cause an increase in heat-related illness and death,
worsen air quality with increasing cases of respiratory illness
such as asthma, decrease water quantity and diminish water quality,
and affect the spread of insect populations that carry diseases
such as malaria and dengue fever. Additional effects from sea level
rise, flooding and drought can affect human settlements and food
production globally and may produce large numbers of refugees
subject to further disease and civil unrest.
"Now is the time for the Bush Administration to admit that it
needs to work with the Senate to develop a new energy plan. The
U.S. needs invest in responsible energy strategies that will curb
greenhouse gas emissions," said Musil. "The only way protect
ourselves is to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels."
PSR has been advocating that the United States clean up old and
dirty power plants, invest in renewable energy sources, improve
energy efficiency of appliances, and increase the fuel efficiency
of cars and light trucks.
"There is no more time to waste," said Musil. "The effects
indicated by the new NAS report and by PSR's research could be as
devastating as terrorist attacks. The Administration needs to act
accordingly."
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