Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026

08:18
Design and Use of a Full Flow Sampling System (FFS) for the Quantification of Methane Emissions
Published on: June 12, 2016
Policy on global warming: fiddling while the globe burns?
1Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, Curtin University, Western Australia, Australia. dweston1@westnet.com.au
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
|August 20, 2009
Summary
Global warming exacerbates poverty and inequality, leading to a public health crisis. Addressing this requires a fundamental shift in the global economic system and international financial institutions.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Global Health
- Public Health Policy
Background:
- Global warming poses significant health risks.
- Existing responses to climate change inadequately address its impact on poverty and inequality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate how health consequences of global warming and mitigation strategies account for poverty and inequality.
- To highlight the intersection of climate change, economic instability, and public health.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of global warming, its impacts, and proposed solutions.
- Analysis of the interplay between environmental, economic, and health crises.
Main Results:
- Insufficient attention has been given to health consequences stemming from increased poverty and inequality due to global warming.
- The convergence of climate change impacts, economic downturns, and resource scarcity points towards an impending global public health crisis.
Conclusions:
- Rethinking the current global economic system and institutions like the IMF and World Bank is crucial for effective solutions.
- Public health practitioners must adopt a global perspective, recognizing the critical links between global warming and financial crises for future action.
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
What is Climate?
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.
Microbes and Climate Change
Microorganisms are pivotal agents in Earth's biogeochemical cycles, significantly influencing climate dynamics through their metabolic activities. These microbes modulate the levels of key greenhouse gases by both contributing to and helping mitigate climate change.Microbial Contributions to Greenhouse Gas EmissionsRising global temperatures accelerate microbial metabolism, which, in turn, speeds up the decomposition of organic matter. This process releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) through...
Radiation: Applications
The average temperature of Earth is the subject of much current discussion. Earth is in radiative contact with both the Sun and dark space; it receives almost all its energy from the radiation of the Sun and reflects some of it into outer space. Dark space is very cold, about 3 K, so Earth radiates energy into it. For instance, heat transfer occurs from soil and grasses, the rate of which can be so rapid that frost can occur on clear summer evenings, even in warm latitudes.
The average...
The average...
Threats to Biodiversity
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
