Transcript Document

Introduction to the Colloquium
on Climate and Health: A
Challenge to Interdisciplinarity
L. O. Mearns
NCAR
Colloquium on Climate and Health
NCAR, Boulder, CO
July 17, 2006
Evolution of the Colloquium
• In the summer of 1998 Linda lends Jonathan her car in
Snowmass, Colorado at an EMF workshop
• Jonathan repays loan with a fabulous dinner at Krabloonik
– combination dog sledding operation and restaurant (very
interdisciplinary establishment!)
• They discuss good wines
(and climate and health) over dinner
• The rest is history!
• Reflects importance of diverse
activities for formulating interdisciplinary programs
First Colloquium
Held in summer 2004 – a broad
overview of health-climate topics
(heat waves, air pollution, vectorborne disease).
Second Colloquium
Focus on Vector-born Disease
Organizing
Committee:
• Kris Ebi, Exponent
Consulting
• Sandy Johnson, U.
Denver
• Linda Mearns, NCAR
• Johnathan Patz, U.
Wisconsin
Evolution of the Colloquium
Part of the NCAR Weather and Climate
Impacts Assessment Science Program
(www.assessment.ucar.edu)
• Developed in 2001-2002
• Program Development set up to
promote more integrated research at
NCAR
www.assessment.ucar.edu
Weather and Climate Impact
Assessment Science Program
Composed of three elements:
Characterizing
Uncertainty in
Impact Assessment
Science
Extreme Weather and
Climate Events
Climate and Health Program
Development
www.assessment.ucar.edu
Climate/Health Component
• Climate/health issues integrate well with other two
parts of the Program.
• Both temperature and precipitation extremes are
important contributors to problems in human
health
• Many important issues of uncertainty in attribution
of climate as a cause of health problems
(e.g., vector-borne disease)
Extremes
Summer 2003 heat wave in Europe
Anomalously High Precipitation
• High June Precipitation and West Nile Virus
in Colorado (2004)
• ‘West Nile is in county skeeters’ Boulder
Daily Camera, July 13, 2006
High precipitation and warm weather
Why Climate and Health ?
Human Health is one of the less welldeveloped impacts areas
Impacts area to which people are very
sensitive (in risk analysis parlance, has a
high dread factor).
Why Climate and Health ?
A highly complex impact area that requires a
very high level of interdisciplinary from the
very start (climate,weather, biology, public
health, economics, policy)
Evidence that climate and weather
information has not always been properly
integrated into studies.
Need for Health/Climate/Environment Programs
Specific
recommendations from
the National Academy
of Sciences Report of
the Committee on
Climate, Ecosystems,
Infectious Disease, and
Human Health, 2001.
Need for Health/Climate/Environment Programs
Specific Recommendations from
the CEIDH Report
• Research on the linkages between climate and
infectious diseases must be strengthened.
• Research on climate and infectious diseases
requires interdisciplinary collaboration.
Recommends educational programs for health
workers that explore environmental and socioeconomic factors.
Need for Health/Climate/Environment Programs
Inclusion of new
section on
environmental
(including climate)
factors in the
Institute of
Medicine Report
on Microbial
Threats to Health,
2003.
Climate/Health Program
Interdisciplinary Community Integrated Approach
Physical
Data Rescue
and Archive
• Hydrology
• Oceanograph
y
• Climatology
Vulnerability
and
Risk
Assessment
Analytical Studies
Social
• Public
Health
• Demography
• Economics
• Sociology
Biological
•
•
•
•
Design
Analysis
Ecology
Entomology
Microbiology
Mamology
Modeling
and
Prediction
Observation
Monitoring
Surveillance
Long Term Goal: Full Climate/Health Program
Emphasizing Education
Program Elements:
•
•
•
Establishment of a formal post-doctoral program at
NCAR for health researchers, and climatologists
interested in health problems
Formal scholarly exchanges between NCAR and
others institutions, such as U. Michigan, U.
Wisconsin, the Center for Disease Control (e.g.,
summer visits at NCAR)..
Visitor program for policy makers and public health
workers to become more informed regarding
climate and human health interactions.
Short Term Goal:
or what we can afford right now
Bi-annual Educational Colloquium
on Climate and Human Health
Progression of Climate and Health
in the Reports of the IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change –
established by WMO and UNEP - to assess the
scientific and socio-economic information on
climate change
Development of Climate and
Health in the Reports of the IPCC
• First, 1990 – no chapter on subject – treatment of
heat stress, vague statements on infectious disease
• Second, 1995 – separate chapter – inclusion of
direct and indirect effects; emphasized role of
socioeconomic factors
• Third, 2001 – explicitly addresses methodological
difficulties in attribution of causation to climate
when many factors present
• Fourth, 2007 -- more focus on current impacts –
very difficult attribution problem
The Joys and Challenges of
Being an Interdisciplinarian
What you need to know
Impediments to
Interdisciplinarity
• Accusations of superficiality by
disciplinarians
• Inhospitable institutional structures
• Difficulties in communicating across
disciplines (‘death by acronym’)
• Inadequate or non-existent reward systems
• Inadequate or hostile funding mechanisms
Status in Climate and Health
• Interdisciplinary
journals exist (e.g
Global Environmental
Change and Health –
which became
Ecohealth:
Conservation Medicine,
Human Health, and
Sustainable Ecology)
Status in Climate and Health 2
• Interdisciplinary funding programs (e.g., NOAA,
NASA).
• Interdisciplinary programs at Universities (U.
Michigan, U. Wisconsin, Columbia).
• But, reward systems still inadequate.
• Federal agency cooperation needs further
development.
What you need to know and do
• You do not need to become an expert in three or
more different fields.
• But, you do need to understand basic issues in
fields adjacent to your focus – read a great deal
now while you have time!
• Work closely and actively with experts in the
adjacent fields.
• Become part of and help build the
interdisciplinary community
Goals of the Colloquium
• Provide overviews of relevant fields
• Gain further appreciation for the
complexity of interactions
• Gain more familiarity with social
vulnerability perspective
• Provide hands-on tutorials with tools for
use in climate-health research
• Promote interaction across disciplines
… And Have FUN!