Australia is suffering the most severe drought in 100 years. Things are so dire that if rain does not come within two months, irrigation water to outlying farmlands may be cut off and the nation may have to begin importing food. All in all, it’s not a very hospitable welcome to the world of climate change.

For Australian epidemiologist Anthony J. McMichael, Australia’s plight involves more than ruined crops, lower food yields and economic distress. He and other public-health experts also are concerned about the physical and mental health risks to vulnerable subpopulations, particularly individuals who are elderly or who live in remote indigenous settlements or areas afflicted by infectious diseases.

"I want to stress that the things that put our economy, physical infrastructure, production capabilities and material growth at risk are also things that bear on human health," said McMichael, director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University.

"Yes, we are all concerned about the risk to the economic system, but, in the long run, the more serious risk is the risk to the world's life-support systems. And that's where there is recognition that human biology and human health are at risk."

Speaking at the National Summit on Coping with Climate Change on May 8, McMichael suggested a number of adaptation strategies to help populations cope with climate change. These include raising public awareness of the problem, instituting warning systems for heat waves or severe storms, beefing up disaster preparedness and enhancing infectious disease-control programs.

Public-health leaders also need to set clear priorities, evaluate adaptive strategies carefully and systematically update scenario-based health-risk assessments.

McMichael conceded there are impediments to overcome. Research funding, for example, often favors basic climate science, and developing adaptive strategies frequently requires multisectoral and multidisciplinary collaboration.

"As we know, cats are difficult to herd, because they have territorial boundaries and different agendas," he remarked. "That’s always going to be a challenge for us."

But, he added, "All of this is to remind us that human-population health is being seen as a very important component of the climate-change debate. The true bottom line in the world’s sustainability project is actually about optimizing the environmental conditions that will sustain health into the indefinite future."

The National Summit on Coping with Climate Change, May 8-10, was hosted by the School of Natural Resources and Environment on behalf of the University of Michigan. The summit is part of the Clinton Global Initiative, a non-partisan catalyst for action, established by former President Bill Clinton and the William J. Clinton Foundation for the purpose of bringing together global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to pressing world challenges.

By Claudia Capos

For more information, contact Cynthia Shaw at cshaw@umich.edu or call 734-763-6605.