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Environmental Group
Letter of Transmittal
To: US Population
From: Alejandra Escareo
Date: September 7, 2014
Subject: Address the impact of climate
changes in the United States.
The purpose of this memo is to inform the
people residing in the United States about
the impact of current environmental aspects
on the U.S. population, animals and
geographical characteristics. The main focus
will be in how climate affects people health,
but since information about that topic is
limited a broader image will be provided.
Different organization including the
National Health Institute (NHI) has begun
conducting studies to find where the gaps of
the information about this topic. The effects
of climate can affect in many different ways
starting with the main one that is the
increasing temperature, which can lead to
severe adverse events. The adverse events
can be an increase of flooding which can
affect the infrastructure of a place and also
cause emotional and even physical problems
to people. The main contributors for climate
change are the humans, but there are many
alternatives which with the help of everyone
can make the conditions of the earth better.
Climate changes are relevant to everyone in
this earth, but the study will focus the
Page 1
Executive Summary
Introduction
Climate change has been an ongoing
problem, but for the past years a more
histrionic changes have been recorded. The
people in the world, including the people
residing in The United States, are not well
informed about the current situation and
ways to prevent it. The effects of climate
can affect in many different ways starting
with the main one that is the increasing
temperature, which is causing and is
predicted to cause greater problems.
Purpose
To educate the people residing in the United
States about the impact that climate change
has and will have in their health, with the
animals and other geographical
characteristics. The people need to be aware
of the different components that cause this
problem, because they might be a great tool
to stop this problem.
Scope
The goal is to inform the U.S residents of
their responsibilities and the consequences
of climate change. For the goal to be
possible, the study will focus on answering
four questions:
Methods
A secondary research study was conducted
to be able to answer the four questions about
the climate change. The searches of
electronic databases and websites were
made to collect the information. The key
words that were used to find the information
were climate change, environmental,
and temperature change, and
environmental changes. Only scholarly
articles published from 2010 through 2014
were admitted to the study. The websites
criteria was that they had to be from a
reliable sources, by that they were required
to finished in .org, .edu or .gov.
Limitations
The information was limited to the articles
that were found for free to the general
people and Google Scholar and to the
articles that the University of Texas at El
Paso has accesses to. The time of the study
was only of two months which resulted in
the limited amount of information that could
be analyzed. The limitations did not affect
significantly the general information that
was found about the topic.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Climate change has several outcomes which
in a way are not beneficial. The main
contributors of this environmental change
are the humans. The outcomes of climate
change have direct consequences of people,
which affect and will affect everyone in the
planet differently. A great overview of some
outcomes have being already recorder and
predicted, but there is still more research
that needs to be conducted. Future
recommendations are more focus on
Page 2
Page 3
Table of Contests
Letter of Transmittal
P. 1
Executive Summary
PP.2-3
Introduction
P.5
PP.6-7
PP.8-9
P.10
P.11
P.12
References
PP.13-14
Glossary
PP.15-16
Acknowledgements
P.17
Page 4
Introduction
The surface temperature has been recorded
since the year 1850, but starting in the year
1995 through 2006 higher temperatures
started to be documented. This is not the
only climate change that has been recorded
or is expected.1Climate change is something
that has always occurs that could be the
result of natural climate variations or
human-induced climate variations.2 Peoples
actions have elevated different chemicals
such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide. In the 21st century, a high
concentration of carbon dioxide and
methane has been linked to the burning of
fossil fuels and nitrous oxide to agriculture
practices.3 These green gases emissions stay
in the hemisphere which makes climate
forcing that causes either the temperature to
go down or up. Figure #1 represents the
radioactive forcing caused by greenhouse
gases from the years 1979 to 2013.4 The
people in the world, including the people
Page 5
Figure #2
Heat Waves
Heat waves (HW) mostly occurred during
the summer around the world; they can have
economically problems and increase the
prevalence of health complications. The HW
causes health related problems such as:
dehydration, heat-stroke, sunburn, breathing
problems, and drowning (people tried to
cool themselves in rivers and other water
sources).5 In North America, it is expected
that there would be more and longer periods
of HW in this century.6In 2003, Europe
experience an HWS period that caused the
5
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Figure #3
Fire Seasons
Fire seasons are becoming longer compare
to previous years.9 Accumulated fuel,
severe drought, and exceptionally dry
atmospheric conditions all contributed to the
famous Yellowstone fires of 1988.9 Forest
fires in Canada have being linked to climate
change caused by humans.9
Conclusion/Recommendations
In conclusion there are many events in
history that have been the outcomes of
climate change. Some events were about
more than the usual rainfall or intense heat
waves for a long period of time in some
places. Each person should have her house
equipped in case of any traumatic event. A
way to equipped can be to have a plan of
where to go in case of a fire or if something
happens to their houses. Also looking over
the young children and elderly can prevent
many health complications, such as
dehydration during any environmental
event.
Luo, L., Tang, Y., Zhong, S., Bian, X., & Heilman,
W. E. (2013). Will Future Climate Favor More
Erratic Wildfires in the Western United States?.
Journal Of Applied Meteorology & Climatology,
52(11), 2410-2417. doi:10.1175/JAMC-D-12-0317.1
Page 7
Page 8
Figure #4
Conclusion/Recommendations
There is still a lot more research that needs
to be conducted to understand all the
different effects that climate change has one
the people, animals and the environment.
Every single person is exposed to an
outcome of an environmental variation. A
new solution of how to recycle or limit the
amount of waste products needs to be
implemented. As a citizen, a person can buy
rechargeable batteries and also recycle all
the materials they can.
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissue
s/global-warming-climate-change/threatsimpacts/index.htm
15
Nigatu, A. S., Asamoah, B. O., & Kloos, H.
(2014). Knowledge and perceptions about the
health impact of climate change among health
sciences students in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional
study. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 432-450.
doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-587
Page 9
Introduction
The climate fluctuations are having different
consequences in different ecosystems. The
changes include an increase of temperature
that leads to changes in the landscapes, the
increase of sea level, the increase of
droughts, the increase of frequency of fires
and the increase of infectious diseases.14,1
Increase of Temperatures
A great example of the ecosystem
differences is that it is expected that polar
areas will warm faster than tropical areas.7
By the end of the 21st century and increased
of 1.4 5.8 Celsius Fahrenheit is predicted.13
In the 2040s it is expected that all the
summers after are going to consist of heat
waves as the summer of 2013 in Europe.7
The heat waves can be predicted with three
days in advance which can provide the place
to prepare for it.7
Sea Level
In 100 years it is expected that the sea level
will rise more than 4 inches 36 inches due
to the thermal expansions, melting glaciers
and ice caps and polar sheets.14,1
Figure #5 shows the flood of 2008 that
happened in Venice, Italy.
Infectious Diseases
The Nature Conservancy (2014) website
reports that also the increase of the sea level
will cause more storms. As the temperatures
increase around the world, insects and
diseases are more capable to survive longer
and in more place.14 Also, the increase of
temperature can increase dryness that can
cause erratic and extreme fire behavior,
thus increasing the risk of losing
Conclusion /Recommendations
The expected outcomes due to climate
change are mostly negative. The increase of
the ocean is expected to keep increasing
correlated with the increase of temperature.
Recommendations include getting
vaccinated and wear insect repellent to
prevent infectious diseases.
Figure #5
Page 10
Conclusion /Recommendations
It is everyone responsibility to stop the
climate variations that result of humans
actions Educating everyone about this big
problem will provide more awareness and
might lead to more preventions.
16
Page 11
Limitations
The information was limited to the articles
that were found for free to the general
people and Google Scholar and to the
articles that the University of Texas at El
Paso has accesses to. The time of the study
was only of two months which resulted in
the limited amount of information that could
be analyzed. The limitations did not affect
significantly the general information that
was found about the topic.
Page 12
References
Baede, A., Ahlonsou, E., Ding, Y.
&Schimel, D. (2003). The climate
system: An overview. Retrieved from
http://www.grida.no/publications/other/
ipcc_tar/
Bayer, A. M., Danysh, H. E., Garvich, M.,
Gonzlvez, G., Checkley, W.,
lvarez, M., & Gilman, R. H.
(2014). An unforgettable event: a
qualitative study of the 1997-98 El
Nio in northern Peru. Disasters,
38(2), 351-374.
doi:10.1111/disa.12046
Bernstein, L., Bosch, P., Canziani, O., Chen,
Z., Christ, R., Davidson, O., & ...
Yohe, G. (2007). Summary for
policymakers, in climate change
2007: Synthesis report.
(Synthesis).Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change.
Climate Change. (2014). The Nature
Conservancy. Retrieved from:
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urg
entissues/global-warming-climatechange/threats-impacts/index.htm
A.,&.Rosenthal, J. P. (2013).
Climate Change, Human Health, and
Biomedical Research: Analysis of
the National Institutes of Health
Research Portfolio. Environmental
Health Perspectives, 121(4), 399404. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104518
IPCC.(N.A)Organization. Retrieved from
http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/orga
nization.shtml
Lau, N., & Nath, M. J. (2014). Model
Simulation and Projection of
European Heat Waves in PresentDay and Future Climates. Journal Of
Climate, 27(10), 3713-3730.
doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00284.1
Luo, L., Tang, Y., Zhong, S., Bian, X., &
Heilman, W. E. (2013). Will Future
Climate Favor More Erratic
Wildfires in the Western United
States?. Journal Of Applied
Meteorology & Climatology, 52(11),
2410-2417. doi:10.1175/JAMC-D12-0317.1
Patz, J. A., Campbell-Lendrum, D.,
Holloway, T., & Foley, J. A. (2005).
Impact of Regional Climate Change
on Human Health. Nature,
438(7066), 310-317..
Macpherson, C. (2013). Climate Change is a
Bioethics Problem. Bioethics, 27(6),
305-308. doi:10.1111/bioe.12029
McMichael, A. J., Woodruff, R. E., & Hales,
S. (2006). Climate change and
human health: present and future
risks. Lancet, 367(9513), 859-869.
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68079-3
MetOffice. (2012). European heatwaveAugust 2003. Retrieved from
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/educati
on/teens/case-studies/heatwave
Nigatu, A. S., Asamoah, B. O., & Kloos, H.
(2014). Knowledge and perceptions
Page 13
Page 14
Glossary
A
B
Bioethics: a field of study concerned with
the ethics and philosophical implications of
certain biological and medical procedures,
technologies, and treatments, as organ
transplants, genetic engineering, and care of
the terminally ill.
C
Culture: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a
particular society, group, place, or time.
D
Databases: a comprehensive collection of
related data organized for convenient access,
generally in a computer.
E
Ecology: a science that deals with the
relationships between groups of living
things and their environments.
El Nio: a flow of unusually warm water
along the western coast of South America
that causes many changes in weather in
other places (such as a lot of rain in areas
that are usually dry).
F
Fossil Fuels: any combustible organic
material, as oil, coal, or natural gas, derived
from the remains of former life.
Alejandra Escareo Analytical Report 2014
G
Global warming: An increase in the
average temperature of the atmosphere that
causes changes in the climate.
Greenhouse gas: Gas that absorbs infrared
radiation emitted from Earth and warms the
atmosphere.
H
Haines Index- It a tool designed to assess
the potential for wildfire growth by
measuring the stability and dryness of the air
over a fire
Heat wave: a period of unusually hot
weather.
I
J
K
L
M
Morbidity: the relative incidence of disease.
Mortality: the number of deaths that occur
in a particular time or place.
Page 15
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
Thermal Expansion: the tendency of matter
to change in volume in response to a change
in temperature, through heat transfer.U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Alejandra Escareo Analytical Report 2014
Page 16
Acknowledgements
The author wish to thank Brittney Mosher,
Casandra Wagoner, Gerardo Quintero,
Karen Obregon, and Michelle Calero for all
their help with this project.
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