enter the giveaway contest and potentially win Changing Planet, Changing Health<\/a>, which was published today), below is a question and answer with the authors (and a little intro to it). A ton of useful info in here.<\/em><\/p>\nClimate change is sometimes portrayed as a victimless crime, but it’s not. In 2005, the World Health Organization found that climate change was already causing 150,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses a year. That was an underestimate, and the threat is growing. Major medical or public health groups have recently issued urgent warnings about the harm climate change could pose to human health, including the American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Public Health Association. The Lancet, the leading international medical journal, stated flatly that “climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century<\/strong>.”<\/p>\nThe earth’s atmosphere is warming because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted by human activities since the start of the industrial revolution. These extra greenhouse gases act like a blanket, warming air, land, and oceans. Warmer oceans evaporate more water, and warmer air holds 7% more water vapor for each 1oC of warming. This extra water vapor in the atmosphere returns to earth as heavier rains and snows. In the United States, torrential rains of more than six inches occur 27 percent more often than they did in 1970. Climate change means more heat, but also more wild and potentially dangerous weather.<\/p>\n