Health Consequences of Environmental Degradation and Social Injustice

1. Health Consequences of Environmental Degradation and Social Injustice Martin Donohoe, M.D., F.A.C.P.

2. Am I Stoned? A 1999 Utah anti-drug pamphlet warns: “Danger signs that your child may be smoking marijuana include excessive preoccupation with social causes, race relations, and environmental issues”

3. Our Home

5. Portland, OregonMount Hood

6. Multnomah Falls, Oregon

7. Causes of Environmental Degradation • Overpopulation • Pollution • Deforestation • Global Warming • Agricultural/Fishing Practices • Overconsumption / Affluenza • Militarization

8. Causes of Environmental Degradation • Maldistribution of Wealth • National and Global Political and Economic Institutions • Poor education • Media manipulation and inaccurate reporting • Unbalanced political influence • Citizen apathy

9. Consequences of Environmental Degradation • Increased poverty and overcrowding • Famine • Weather extremes • Species loss

10. Consequences of Environmental Degradation • Medical illnesses • Infectious diseases • War • Malthusian chaos and disaster • Tragedy of the Commons

11. Economic Costs of Environmental Diseases • Estimated at $132-165 billion/year in the U.S. alone • Does not count the psychological and emotional costs of the human suffering involved for the victims, their families, and their communities

12. Overpopulation • World population - exponential growth • 1 billion in 1800 • 2.5 billion in 1950 • 6 billion in 2000 • 6.5 billion in 2006 • est. 8 billion by 2050 • More people added to the planet in the last 40 years than in all previous recorded history

13. Overpopulation • Africa, Asia, and Latin America primarily affected • Causes: • Poverty • Women’s rights issues

14. Overpopulation • Urbanization • 20-30 million people/year leave rural for urban areas • 2007: first time in history that more than half the world’s population will live in urban areas • World migrant population = 100 million -economic, war and environmental refugees

16. Urban Sprawl • Since the 1960’s America’s metropolitan areas have been consuming land at a rate 4x faster that population growth

17. Wallace Stegner “We simply need … wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope”

18. Air Pollution

19. Air Pollution

20. Air Pollution • Top ten most polluted cities in the world are in China and India • Most polluted areas in US: • 2001 – LA • 2002 – Houston • 2003 – San Joaquin Valley in Central California • 2004, 2006 – LA

21. Health Effects of Air Pollution • Causes approximately 75,000 premature deaths/yr. in U.S. • 1.8 million worldwide

22. Health Effects of Air Pollution • Air pollution causes asthma and impairs lung development and function • Deaths from cardiopulmonary diseases correlate with air pollution levels in US cities • Both day to day and over time

23. Health Effects of Air Pollution • Increased admissions for CHF, asthma, COPD, PVD, and cerebrovascular disease • Increased lung cancer mortality • Decreased exercise tolerance, increased pulmonary symptoms • Impaired sperm production

25. Effects of Ozone Destruction • Ozone hole over Antarctic (2½X size of Europe) • Increased cataracts (UV damage) • Increased lifetime melanoma risk • 1/1500 - 1930 • 1/68 - today

26. Automobiles

27. Automobiles • Number of autos-US: 1 car/2 people-Mexico: 1/8-China: 1/100 (increasing; leaded gasoline) • Global auto population to double in 25-50 years

28. Automobiles • Average miles traveled/car/year in U.S. • 1965 - 4,570 mi. • 1975 - 6,150 mi. • 1985 - 7,460 mi. • 1995 - 9,220 mi. • 2006 – 12,000 mi.

29. Automobiles • Average fuel efficiency of U.S. autos stagnant • Relatively low oil prices • Growing market for low-efficiency pickups, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles • Ford Model T – 25 mpg (1908); Avg. Ford vehicle – 22.6 mpg (2003)

30. Automobiles: Alternatives • Rapid transit-industry squashed in 1930’s and 40’s (GM, Standard Oil, Firestone, etc.)-Convicted under Sherman Antitrust Act

31. Automobiles: Alternatives • Car sharing • Pay-as-you-drive auto insurance • “Peak Pricing” and “Congestion Fees” • E.g., London → 30% decrease in traffic, 37% increase in bus ridership, cleaner air • Bicycles/walking • 30% of all trips by bike in Amsterdam; 2% in Portland, OR

32. Alternatives to Automobiles • Busses • Trains • 15 x more efficient per passenger than autos • Amtrak receives 1/3 the amount of federal funding (adjusted for inflation) that it received 20 years ago

33. Automobiles: Alternatives • Electric cars-killed by oil companies, automakers in early 20th century • Natural gas, gasohol, and biodiesel • Telecommuting

34. Automobiles: Alternatives • Solar cars • Hydrogen-powered cars • Byproduct = water • Problem: Hydrogen production requires fossil fuels

35. US Energy Consumption by Fuel • Oil – 40% • Gas – 25% • Coal – 25% • Nuclear – 9% • Hydroelectric – 1% • Other Renewables – 1.5%

36. U.S. Energy Sources for Electricity • Coal – 52% • Nuclear – 20% • Gas – 16% • Hydroelectric – 7% • Oil – 3% • Renewables – 2%

37. Energy Spending/Research • Since 1947, the U.S. has spent $145 billion on nuclear R and D vs. $5 billion on renewables R and D • BP invests $100 million annually in clean energy = amt. it spends annually to market its new name and environmentally-friendly image of moving “Beyond Petroleum”

38. Petroleum Industry Profits • Mergers squelch competition, drive up prices • Record-breaking oil company profits in 2005 and 2006 • Exxon: $36 billion in 2005 • Largest in U.S. history • Exceeds GDP of 2/3 of world’s nations

39. Oil and War • Countries that export oil are >40 times more likely to be engaged in civil war than those that do not • Gulf Wars I and II • The Future?

40. Other Sources of Air Pollution • Industry - #1 • Indoor combustion of coal and biomass (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and animal dung) for cooking, heating and food preservation • Used by almost 3 billion people worldwide • Associated with multiple pulmonary conditions

41. Garbage

42. Garbage • 98% of the country’s total refuse is industrial waste; 2% municipal waste • Making 1 lb of sellable product generates avg. 32 lbs. of waste

43. Garbage • American produce 4.4 lbs/d garbage • In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 6500 times his/her adult weight in garbage

44. U.S. Garbage Composition • Paper and Paperboard - 39% • Yard Waste - 13% • Food Waste - 10% • Plastics - 10% • Metals - 8% • Glass - 6% • Wood - 5%

45. U.S. Recycling Rates • Tires - 22% • Plastic containers - 36% • Glass containers - 28% • Yard waste - 41% • Paper and Paperboard - 42% • Aluminum packaging - 54% • Steel cans - 60% • Auto batteries - 93%

46. Garbage • Landfills • Incinerators • Garbage Exports

47. Toxins

48. Toxins • 6 trillion tons of over 85,000 chemicals produced annually • 2000-3000 new chemicals registered each year • more than 80% have never been screened for toxicity

49. Toxic Pollutants • The chemical industry is a $450 billion enterprise in the U.S. alone • Chemical manufacturers are not required to prove safety • the legal burden is on the government to prove that a product is dangerous

50. Pesticides • 4.5 billion lbs/yr pesticides (17 lbs/citizen) • CA and NY are the only states currently tracking pesticide sales and use