Human Health and the Climate Crisis

Human Health and the Climate Crisis offers a detailed exploration of the human health aspects of climate change, examining both the direct and indirect human health impacts of climate change while uniquely exploring climate justice — the equitable protection of all people from climate impacts and the participation of all people in climate-related decision-making regardless of race/ethnicity, class, national origin, indigenous status and gender.  This comprehensive, yet accessible text balances appropriate technical content with sufficient contextual information about public health, epidemiology, and climate modeling for students to be able to comprehend the scientific literature on health impacts.

Beginning with an overview of the current state of climate science, policy, and activism, Human Health and the Climate Crisis moves on to introducing key concepts in public health and epidemiology, as well as sources of health information critical to understanding and communicating how our health is being affected by climate change.  After exploring key concepts in climate justice and stories of numerous climate justice advocates, subsequent chapters cover specific climate-related health topics – extreme heat, extreme weather, air pollution, vector-borne diseases, water, food, mental health, and human displacement.  A final chapter covers the ways that health professions are affected by climate change and can play a role as advocates for climate action.

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