Earlier this month, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a brand-new report reviewing the evidence since 2009 on whether greenhouse gases, a.k.a. climate pollution, are endangering human health and welfare in the U.S.—and the answer is a resounding yes.
This comprehensive report, written and peer-reviewed by leading climate scientists and public health experts, was issued in response to the Trump EPA’s proposed rollback of the Endangerment Finding, a landmark 2009 decision acknowledging that greenhouse gases are heating the planet and endangering human health and welfare. Trump’s Department of Energy (DOE) had recently convened a known group of climate deniers to write their own “review” of the evidence on climate change to support the attempt to rescind the Endangerment Finding, but the DOE report was widely criticized as being full of inaccurate data and misrepresented research, intended to manipulate public opinion with misinformation.
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Climate pollution, NASEM’s new report finds, is absolutely threatening our health and welfare, and the evidence supporting this has only gotten stronger in the past 16 years.
Here are five key takeaways:
1. Human activities are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Activities like extracting and burning fossil fuels, petrochemical production, deforestation, and agricultural activities result in the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. There is strong evidence that human activities, rather than any natural phenomena, are the main reason that these gases are increasingly concentrated in the atmosphere.
2. Greenhouse gases are warming our planet and changing our climate.
Scientists are very confident that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are the reason Earth’s climate is changing and that these changes include more extreme heat, more intense precipitation, regional changes in annual precipitation, rising ocean temperatures and decreased ocean acidity, rising sea levels, and increasingly severe wildfires.
3. Climate change, driven by human activity, is harming the health of people in the U.S.
Some of the health risks to humans include more exposure to extreme heat, air pollution (including ground-level ozone, soot pollution, and allergens), and extreme weather events. These exposures can increase the likelihood of heart problems, lung problems, and early death. We are learning more about other health impacts related to climate change too, including impacts on mental health, nutrition, immune health, antimicrobial resistance, kidney disease, and adverse birth outcomes (like preterm birth and low birth weight).
4. Climate change, driven by human activity, is also harming the welfare of people in the U.S.
In addition impacting our health, climate change is also impacting other aspects of our lives. Changes in weather patterns, like extreme temperatures and precipitation, are causing problems with farms and livestock. Important ecosystems are being harmed, and some parts of the U.S. are seeing a decline in water availability and quality. In addition, climate change is causing stress for U.S. energy systems and infrastructure for many communities.
5. If human activity continues to generate climate pollution, the climate will continue to change, and the harms will become more severe.
The amount of climate pollution being emitted continues to increase, in spite of some successful efforts to reduce it. With every ton of greenhouse gas pollution released, the risk of experiencing irreversible climate harms increases.
Our main takeaway is that it’s vital for caregivers to keep speaking out against attacks on climate protections. Join Moms Clean Air Force in letting the Trump administration know that we can’t afford to roll back the climate progress we’ve made in the last few years—there’s too much at stake for our families, communities, and future generations.