Global Warming In the News

Maine must step up global warming fight

 Peter Wilk, M.D., of Sebago, and Tracy Allen of Portland

 

  

02/13/2008

Are you exercising? What's your diet like? Do you smoke?

These are the questions that come up when we talk to our doctors about our health. We don't expect our doctors to ask, "What have you done lately to reduce global warming pollution?" But it's a relevant question, as our physical health is closely tied to our climate.

According to the World Health Organization, global warming is already claiming an estimated 150,000 lives each year. As temperatures increase, so will illnesses and deaths from heat waves, air pollution, the spread of infectious diseases and extreme weather.

The good news is that Congress may be getting serious about global warming. The choice it makes -- whether to take bold action to combat global warming or to pass off half-measures as progress -- will have long-lasting effects.

The Maine Legislature also has the chance to tackle Maine's biggest contributor to global warming -- transportation. It can invest in projects that will reduce global warming, or maintain the status quo with Mainers driving more every year.

Heat is a killer. Between 1999 and 2003, it caused the most weather-related deaths in the United States -- more than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes and floods combined. According to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, cities that experience heat waves will face "an increased number, intensity and duration of heat waves" if global warming continues unabated.

In 2006, the United States experienced a summer heat wave that broke records and caused nearly 200 deaths. A recent study of 21 U.S. cities estimates that heat-related deaths will double by mid-century as a result of global warming.

And heat brings other dangers. It's harder to breathe on hot, smoggy days. When it's hot, ozone -- or smog -- forms more readily. Ozone is a powerful air pollutant that can harm even the healthiest lungs. Children, teenagers, the elderly and people with lung disease, asthma and other respiratory diseases are most vulnerable to the health effects of ozone exposure, which can trigger asthma attacks and even cause premature death.

More than 99 million Americans live in areas with unsafe levels of ozone, according to the American Lung Association. Maine's coastal counties got grades of C and a D for ozone pollution from the lung association's 2007 report. Global warming is only going to add fuel to this fire.

The good news is that we don't have to let global warming take an ever-increasing toll on our health -- or our environment or economy. The tools we need to combat it are at our fingertips; we simply must put them to use.

We have technology to reduce the pollution that fuels global warming. Maine has demonstrated leadership on global warming by establishing programs to cut emissions from power plants, to make cars and homes efficient and to promote clean, renewable energy.

Despite its progress, the state -- and the rest of the country -- still has a long way to go. The science is clear: We must act now to reduce total global warming emissions at least 15 percent to 20 percent by 2020 and at least 80 percent by 2050. These are ambitious goals, and meeting them won't be easy. But we can't settle for anything less.

While more than a third of the state's global warming emissions are created in the transportation sector, one of its biggest pollution-reducing projects -- the Downeaster train between Portland and Boston -- may be forced to stop running if funding isn't secured for 2009. The train cuts global warming pollution, reduces dependence on oil and saves consumers money.

In 2005 alone, the Downeaster train saved 2,383 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Maine needs to commit to funding this energy-efficient, consumer-friendly service.

Rather than widening highways with more miles of pavement, Maine must put a priority on investment in transit systems that cut global warming pollution. Investment in transit is an investment in our environment, our economy and our health.

And in Congress, rather than letting big corporations deliver weak legislation to a president who has made little effort to address global warming, our senators must work toward mandates that will reduce global warming pollution to the levels that science tells us are necessary to protect future generations.

Both state and federal actions are investments in our future, and that's a prescription we can live with.

Peter Wilk, M.D., of Sebago, is co-president of Physicians for Social Responsibility/Maine and a psychiatrist practicing in Portland.

Tracy Allen, of Portland, is the Associate for Environment Maine, an environmental group with 4,000 members statewide.