What are the causes of climate change?
Broad use of fossil fuels
Deforestation
What are the effects of climate change?
Erratic, dangerous weather patterns
Warming and acidification of oceans
Inimical to shellfish, coral reefs
What are ongoing threats of climate change?
Damage to ecosystems
Migration of fish, food insecurity
Parasites able to flourish
Mosquito-borne diseases
Describe natural disasters
- Exacerbated by human activity
- Disproportionately impact poor communities
- The importance of government action
Why are poorer communities more likely to be affected by natural disasters?
Low-lying areas vulnerable to flooding
Hillside areas vulnerable to mudslides
Infrastructure is not as strong
Wealthier people more adaptable, able to evacuate
What types of government action is important?
Regulations
Emergency response
Varies by country, province, communities
How is factory farming a domino effect?
Monocultures, degraded soil
Huge feed lots, questionable practices
Fish farming
What are the impacts of factory farming?
Soil contamination from pesticides
High-calorie diets
More irrigation –> Arsenic in rice
Food-borne infectious diseases
Mutated strains spreading to humans
Fish escaping from farms
Dead zones, greenhouse gases
How are energy sources tied to pollution?
Fossil fuel emissions, wood smoke, additives
More absorption of fine ‘particulate matter’
How is industrial output tied to pollution?
Toxic industrial byproducts
Lead as cheaper conduit material
What are the impacts of pollution?
Again, poor people most affected
Interaction between lead and PH levels
Mercury poisoning
Arsenic poisoning
Who is most impacted by household environment?
Poor people
What vectors are associated with household environment?
Poor ventilation of heating, cooking
Products for cleaning and grooming
Cheaper materials for constructing homes
Materials in furnishings, offgassing
Leaching from plastic containers
What are the impacts of household environment?
Some debate, but concern form epidemiologists
Fertility
Contamination of other ecosystems
Briefly describe plastics and the harms associated with them
Plastic: It’s everywhere!
Hormone disruptors
Greater absorption of smaller particles
What are the impacts of plastics?
Fertility
Threat to ecosystems
Other unknown threats
What are the theoretical considerations of tracking disease?
Cumulative risks
Synergistic effects of contamination
What are the theoretical considerations of connections to the economy?
Industrialization
Neoliberalism
The influence of economic actors, corporations
Why does the prof raise concerns about contradictory stances?
Davidson’s concern about ‘fuel insecurity’
Why is regulation important?
- Because it can improve the situation
Describe the prof’s concluding thoughts on Chapter 12?
Progress over past century
…Or more so, progress and then backtracking (McGarity, 2013)
This is the aftermath of industrialization
The need for collective action
