Focusing Attention on the Health Impacts of Climate Change

The Trust for America's Health and the Pew Environment Group released a report yesterday focusing attention on the public health impacts of climate change. The report is the latest in a series of expert statements on the subject. The most significant finding is that only 5 U.S. states have engaged in planning related to the public health consequences of climate change. Research I am currently working on with Edward Maibach and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines how to effectively engage Americans on the health consequences of climate change. We expect that studies from our first stage of research will begin appearing in Spring 2010.