April 8, 2008

Climate Change:  Our Health in the Balance

National Public Health Week Recognized April 7-13

In recognition of this year’s National Public Health Week’s theme, “Climate Change: Our Health in the Balance,” the Nassau County Department of Health reminds residents that simple choices individuals can make in their own lives can help lead to healthier lifestyles for themselves and their families while lessening the impact of climate change.

According to the American Public Health Association, some of the country’s top health and climate change experts have endorsed a series of recommendations for a healthier lifestyle and a healthier climate.

Travel Differently.  Leave the car at home and take public transportation.  Walk or ride a bike.  If there is a need to drive, try to carpool.

Eat Differently.  Buy locally-grown food from a community farmers’ market or from supermarket shelves.  Eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

Green Your Home.  Insulate your home so that energy is not literally going out the window.  Reduce the use of wasteful products and reuse or recycle the products you do use.  Conserve water.

Green your Work.  Use recycled paper in your computer, for greeting cards and elsewhere.  If you already recycle your computer paper, print less often and on both sides of the paper.  Set your computer to energy-saver mode and buy eco-friendly office furniture.

Be Prepared.  Inform yourself about the health impacts of global warming and regional climate change issues facing your community and take action to prepare for possible disasters.  Climate change could lead to extreme temperatures that could result in more heat stress and heatstroke, particularly among the elderly and poor.  Rising temperatures could mean worse symptoms for people with allergies, while diseases carried by insects or animals, such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus, could extend their reach.

Americans make up just four percent of the world’s population, but produce about a quarter of all carbon dioxide pollution which is a major cause of climate change.  If individuals make just small changes in their own lives, it could, collectively, help reduce the impact of climate change while increasing their own health and wellbeing.