Physicians warn of global warming effects

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2/28/2000

Physicians warn of global warming effects

AUGUSTA, Maine

Mainers can expect to see a wide range of health threats, ranging from heat

stroke to hypothermia, as a result of global warming, a doctor's group warns in

a report released Monday.

Physicians for Social Responsibility's report says climate changes caused by

global warming in the years ahead will bring even greater temperature extremes

than the state now sees.

But the 16,000-member, nonprofit group says the severe effects of global warming

can be avoided if steps are taken now to reverse the process.

The report says that during the past 100 years, average global temperatures have

increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit, and eight of the warmest 10 years on

record fell in the last decade.

The report acknowledges " uncertainties exist in measuring this complicated

phenomenon, " but says there is a consensus among scientists that the increase in

temperature is real, human activities affect the climate and that warmer

conditions will affect people's lives.

Higher temperatures will lead to a rise in heatstroke, heart attacks, strokes

and respiratory disorders. That will drive health costs up even further,

victimizing the uninsured and elderly most directly, the physicians' report

says.

The 30-page report, " Death in Degrees: The Emerging Health Crisis of Climate

Change in Maine, " is the third in a planned series of 18 state-specific reports

in which the physicians' group describes the effects of rising world

temperatures.

The report also says extreme weather events like tornadoes, hurricanes,

nor'easters and ice storms will become more frequent and more intense.

And that, says the report, will bring about more cases of hypothermia, carbon

monoxide poisoning, drownings, electrocutions and other accidental deaths.

Maine has already had a taste of the kinds of health effects global warming can

have, according to the group's executive director, Dr. Musil.

" As greenhouse gases warm the Earth, ozone levels will rise, and Maine residents

will experience a rising caseload of asthma, a disease that already affects

40,000 Maine adults, " Musil said in a prepared statement.

" Residents can also expect more cases of diarrhea from contaminated drinking

water, " said Musil.

In addition to a 10 percent to 30 percent increase in precipitation, Mainers can

expect a higher sea level and storm surges of up to 20 feet.

The warmer ocean temperature, Musil warns, could increase red tide outbreaks

that result in shellfish poisonings.

" These events do not have to occur. We can act now to control global warming, "

said Musil, adding that his group's No. 1 goal is to reduce the burning of

fossil fuels, especially by motor vehicles and power plants.