Environment
Chapter 2 - Society
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Welcome to the environment page
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"We have failed to prevent global warming, so we must adapt to it" - By Andrew Lilico - 17 February 2014 • 6:59pm - The Telegraph
George Monbiot in 'The Invisible doctrine' raises this question about this statement: who is the first WE, and who the second one?
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Core ideas
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Can it be that we are facing an earth system crisis?
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Deep dive
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How a Changing Climate Is Reshaping the Spread of Infectious Diseases
As global temperatures rise, the spread of infectious diseases is rapidly evolving in unexpected ways. Climate change is often discussed regarding increasing temperatures and extreme weather, but its impact on human health—especially infectious diseases—is less widely understood. When I think about the major categories of infectious diseases that are impacted by climate change, I group them into three big buckets: respiratory, waterborne and vector-borne diseases. For respiratory diseases, there’s always been this idea of “seasonality”—like a flu season or a season for other respiratory viruses. What’s interesting is that for many of these viruses, we don’t fully understand why they’re seasonal or exactly how temperature and seasonal changes affect their transmission. Extreme weather events are also a big factor here. Aedes mosquitoes need water to complete their life cycle—from egg to larva to pupa, it all happens in water. When floods occur, all the discarded plastic and trash fill with water and become the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
On the topic of emerging infections, there’s this huge link between deforestation and disease. As humans move closer to forest edges and fragment natural habitats, we come into contact with mosquito species—and the pathogens they carry—that we’ve never encountered before. In pristine, balanced ecosystems, nature regulates itself. You have predators that eat mosquitoes. Things are kept in check. But when we disrupt those systems, we lose that balance. I’m a big proponent of avoiding habitat fragmentation and thinking holistically. I don’t know if rewilding is the right word, but I believe in taking a “one health” or “planetary health” approach. These infections don’t just impact us; they affect animals and ecosystems, too. We need to think about how we can use nature-based solutions to promote health for humans and all the other living beings that share this planet.
| Content source |
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| Inside Climate news - 2025 - Dr. Angelle Desiree LaBeaud - Professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stanford University’s School of Medicine |
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Do you want to know more?
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| Phys.Org |
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| https://phys.org/ |
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