Degrees of Change is a series following Fossil Free Newcastle and their campaign to make the university’s investments policy reflect the reality of climate change
By Mark Sleightholm
After a week of talks, petitioning and bake sales, Newcastle’s divestment campaign continued with a discussion by Medsin about the health effects of climate change.
President of Medsin Newcastle, Joanna Marsden, opened the evening by pointing out that major medical institutions such as the BMJ and Lancet have acknowledged that climate change is one of the biggest medical issues in the world, with both direct and indirect consequences of climate change having the potential to devastate our society.
The first issue Joanna discussed was the most obvious: temperature rise. “When temperatures are higher, the number of deaths is higher,” she explained. The heatwave of 2003 killed thousands of people across Europe, and a rise in average temperatures would have a massive effect on death rates.
Although climate sceptics have pointed out that a rise in temperatures could lead to less people dying from conditions such as hypothermia which are associated with cold weather, the science suggests that this would be offset by the increase in heat-related deaths.
A rise in temperatures also decreases water quality, because more evaporation will leave a higher concentration of harmful sediments in the water, and unsafe water could cause more deaths.
Higher temperatures also aid the spread of killer diseases such as malaria, as well as increasing allergens which cause asthma and hayfever, meaning that global warming would have a massive impact on many areas of our health.
Co-host Rachel Higgins took over the talk at this point to explain the effects of more dramatic climate events. Natural disasters such as droughts, floods and extreme weather are on the increase, creating more and more climate refugees.
Mass migration is often a traumatic experience and can have a negative impact on the mental health of those affected, particularly if they have to leave friends and family. Many people forced to leave their homes due to climate change end up in refugee camps, where cramped conditions allow diseases to spread quickly and where they may not have access to even basic medication that they need to survive.
At this point Joanna showed the audience a graph of food prices, pointing out that climate disasters often lead to food shortages, which can result in food riots and malnutrition.
The presenters then opened up the talk to the audience with a discussion about whether a focus on the impact on human health would help the environmental movement, rather than concentrating on polar bears and melting ice caps.
Several audience members argued that since many people are quite selfish, focussing on the impact on humans could bring the problem of climate change closer to home, and make it seem more relevant to their everyday lives. On the other hand, it’s important not to lose sight of the bigger picture, and we have to remember that humans are part of the environment, not separate to it. As one member of the audience, Joe Herbert, pointed out, humans are not invincible – we’re the ones who will suffer from climate change; the planet will still be here, however changed.
Joanna steered the conversation back to medical issues, pointing out that since air pollution will increase asthma, even people in this country will see the effects of climate change. “There’s nothing more powerful than a load of angry middle class mothers on the internet,” said Joanna, referencing the passion of many individuals when it’s their own children that are affected.
Focussing on health also has another benefit, as Joanna explained. While so much of the science of climate change is contested and based on vague predictions, a lot of the medical side is based on indisputable facts. “You can’t argue with the facts.”
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