{"id":9918,"date":"2016-11-03T23:11:19","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T03:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/breath-of-fresh-smog\/"},"modified":"2016-11-03T23:11:19","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T03:11:19","slug":"breath-of-freshsmog","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/breath-of-freshsmog\/","title":{"rendered":"Breath of Fresh\u2026Smog?"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CDC<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works 24\/7 to protect America from health threats, fight disease, and support communities and citizens to do the same [1]. Climate Change is expected to increase both the severity and frequency of health problems and create unprecedented and unanticipated health challenges over the next few decades:<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>
Figure 1: Impact of Climate Change on Human Health [2]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Climate change increases ground-level ozone (key component of smog) and\/or particulate matter air pollution. This is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular health problems, such as diminished lung capacity, increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits, and increases in premature deaths. Heat, precursor chemicals, and methane emissions affect ozone levels. Particulate matter concentrations are affected by wildfires and air stagnation [3]. Estimates of health-related costs associated with air pollution assuming no change in regulatory controls or population characteristics range from 1,000 to 4,300 additional premature deaths nationally per year by 2050 and costs of $6.5 billion (in 2008 US dollars) [4]. Additionally, deaths from chronic lung diseases increased by 50% from 1980 to 2010, and chronic respiratory diseases are expected to become the third leading cause of death and possibly the costliest illness in the coming years [5]. Current US air quality policies are projected to reduce ozone generating emissions, but climate change is increasing the frequency of regional weather patterns conducive to increasing ground-level ozone, and unless the reductions can offset the influence of climate change, tens to thousands of additional ozone-related illnesses and deaths are expected per year [6]. Figures 2 & 3 show projected changes in ozone mortality rates in 2030 [7].<\/p>\n

\"Figure<\/a>
Figure 2: Projected increase in ozone-related deaths in 2030 [7]<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Figure<\/a>
Figure 3: Additional Ozone Deaths by Climate Region [7]<\/figcaption><\/figure>As it is CDC’s mission to protect America from health threats, the threat of climate change due to air pollution is a real challenge that will affect its operating model in years to come.<\/p>\n
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CURRENT ACTIONS AND ORGANIZATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2006, the CDC Climate and Public Health Framework was created to address and prepare for the impact of climate change on public, and in 2009, the CDC formally established the Climate and Health Program within the CDC’s\u00a0National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) [8]. The program is using the CDC\u2019s prevention expertise to help state and city health departments prepare for climate change health effects. The mission of the program is to:<\/p>\n

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  1. Lead efforts to identify populations vulnerable to climate change.<\/li>\n
  2. Prevent and adapt to current and anticipated health impacts.<\/li>\n
  3. Ensure that systems are in place to detect and respond to current and emerging health threats.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The program is currently helping 16 states and 2 cities (Figure 4) utilizing the BRACE framework (Figure 5) to drive projections and analyses for use in public health planning and response activities [9].<\/p>\n

    \"Figure<\/a>
    Figure 4: CDC Currently Funded State and City Climate Change Programs [10]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    \"Figure<\/a>
    Figure 5: BRACE Framework [11]<\/figcaption><\/figure>The CDC is also encouraging communities to address the health threats associated with air quality per the following recommendations [12]:<\/p>\n