Climate change to bring a wave of new he...( itioners for example will provide imm...)

itioners, for example, will provide immediate relief and is an important protection during an acute heat event. But the fossil fuels burned to generate the electricity to drive those air conditioners, as well as over-dependence on electric power grid functioning could potentially exacerbate the problem.

"Short-sighted fixes must be avoided," Patz says.

Improving deficiencies in such things as watershed protection, infrastructure and drainage systems would ease the risk of water contamination events. At present in the United States, a developed nation where most people have access to treated water, as many as 9 million cases of waterborne disease are estimated to occur each year.

With climate change, those numbers are likely to go up, says Patz, unless significant steps are taken to minimize the likelihood of sewage overflows and other weather related events that contaminate water supplies.

'"/>

Contact: Jonathan Patz
patz@wisc.edu
608-262-4775
University of Wisconsin-Madison
20-Feb-2005

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Climate change isolates Rocky Mountain butterflies
2. Climate change and permafrost thaw alter greenhouse gas emissions in northern wetlands
3. Climate change reduces Queenslands bat numbers
4. Climate change signal detected in the Indian Ocean
5. Climate change threatens wild relatives of key crops
6. Climate policy: Its good to be in the RED
7. Climate change impacts stream life
8. Climate change a threat to Indonesian agriculture, study says
9. Climate change could trigger boom and bust population cycles leading to extinction
10. Climate changes brews trouble for marine life in European Seas, Marine Board-ESF report says
11. Granthams to fund Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London