Kevin Loria’s article on the rise in Carbon Dioxide levels mentions that, for the first time in more than 800,000 years, the monthly average atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have topped 410 ppm. Providing a strong reason to believe this will have adverse effects on human health. This rise in CO2 levels will increase levels of pollution and the diseased related to it, as well as extreme weather patterns. These patterns would include heat waves, hurricanes, and spread the ranges of disease-carrying insects. Loria mentions that although the rise in Carbon Dioxide levels won’t have direct effects on our ability to breathe, but will “dramatically increase pollution and related diseases, potentially slow human cognition, cause extreme weather events (including deadly heat waves), and broaden the range of disease-carrying creatures like mosquitos and ticks.”
A study published in 2017 in the journal Nature Climate Change found that “30% of the world is already exposed to heat intense enough to kill twenty or more people each day.” This rise in atmospheric temperature may cause many more people to die every year and if temperatures continue to increase the numbers will multiply. This rise in temperature will also lead to a more intense hurricane season with rising water levels and warmer ocean temperatures. Along with extreme heatwaves, CO2 will destroy the ozone, which can lead to death through respiratory illness, asthma, and emphysema. Along with increasing rates of lung cancer, allergies, and cardiovascular disease. Insects along with their deadly diseases will spread to the warmer regions, who would typically die out during colder seasons would stay longer, and their habitats would expand further.
The effects of this rise in CO2 are already showing up, and without an answer, we will begin to see more and more severe consequences for our actions. The answers are more than just cutting back on CO2; this becomes a worldwide problem and not just a domestic issue.
I did not know that 30% of the world is already exposed to heat intense enough to kill twenty or more people each day.That stat alone is staggering. Also, I am a firm believer that CO2 may not directly cause disease but it definitely will contribute and create environments that are not favorable to the human body. The rate of cancer has consistently gone up for the last 10 plus years and I think CO2 and greenhouse gas emission is a major cause of this. I hope we can stop this problem and reverse it before it is too late.
I found your choice of article extremely interesting. People don’t realize how detrimental CO2 can be to our well being and it is a topic that most of the world’s population is extremely uneducated on. The possibilities that you talk about like slower cognition, extreme weather events, and increases in pollution are scary possibilities. I personally think the government should be emphasizing the issues more in news outlets. The disbelievers will say global warming isn’t real, but we need to at least get the information out there so that the ones willing to make a change are informed enough to do so.
I found the statistic about extreme heat waves extremely interesting. The fact that 30 percent of the world has already been exposed to heat strong enough to kill about twenty people a day is frightening. I think that the effects of climate change are not as apparent to people as they should be. Like you have stated, these changes in the atmosphere create a higher risk of a variety of diseases. I also agree with Elly when she said that the government should publicize these issues more clearly so people start believing that climate change and global warming are serious issues. From there, maybe more people will be conscious of the effect their actions have on our environment.
I found your choice of article to be intriguing. I don’t think I’ve ever really read about statistics that measure the potential impact of rising CO2 levels will have on human cognition. The fact that rising levels will also have an effect on disease carrying bugs struck a chord with me in a very real way. I come from Maine where, this Spring and Summer, there have been reported a record high number of ticks carrying Lyme Disease and/or a mutation of that virus. The fact about increased intensity of Hurricane Season I think we have already begun to see the effects of…