After his visit to Argentina last week, Barack Obama posted on Facebook a picture of a beautiful landscape in Patagonia where he went trekking along glacial lakes, as an example of what he called “exactly the kind of place we need to protect for our kids, and for their kids.” Climate change is high on the American president’s agenda and it’s an issue with consequences that are … [Read more...] about Take Obama’s Advice on Climate Change: Droughts Are Hurting Latin America
Environment and Climate Change
Climate Change Can Harm Your Health
2015 was without a doubt a year for raising awareness, at least as far as the environment is concerned. We closed the year with the Climate Change Summit in Paris, where 195 countries reached an agreement that aspires to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade by 2100. With that agreement, the heads of state and their representatives in attendance committed to reducing … [Read more...] about Climate Change Can Harm Your Health
The Land May Be Dry, but the Flood Goes On
The immediate effects of floods are well known and frequently devastating. Lives are lost and homes and possessions destroyed or damaged by water, while crops can be ruined or washed away, affecting livestock as well as people. Workers and firms alike lose irreplaceable days of productivity, and they can incur crippling expenses in the absence of adequate insurance—a … [Read more...] about The Land May Be Dry, but the Flood Goes On
A Climate for Infant Health
Exposure to extremes in weather during childhood and adulthood has increasingly well-known effects. Since those extremes are becoming more frequent, researchers and policymakers are working on ways to ameliorate their effects. But what about the effects of weather extremes on human gestation and infancy? Although the womb provides a degree of protection from the outside world, … [Read more...] about A Climate for Infant Health
Too Warm for Growth?
When people think about climate change, what often comes to mind are rising temperatures. Indeed, for much of the world’s population higher temperatures most dramatically manifest themselves in an increasing frequency of heat waves responsible for hundreds and sometimes thousands of fatalities. Prominent examples include heat waves in Chicago in 1995, France and other European … [Read more...] about Too Warm for Growth?