One of the health hazards is the increase of respiratory illness due to the connection between heat waves and air pollution. Another related factor is that it has been found that increased levels of carbon monoxide are related to increases in the pollen count which affects various respiratory ailments. "Photochemical smog and carbon dioxide are factors that have been found to boost pollen production by ragweed. This alone may help account for part of the tremendous rise in asthma. In addition, extreme weather events are becoming more intense and projected to become more frequent.

Solutions and controversy

There is a general consensus among most nations that solutions to this growing problem have to be found. This will of necessity involve policy changes in many countries towards the environment.

A the world now faces the challenge of designing an effective policy response. International cooperation will be required because greenhouse gases are long-lived in the atmosphere -- emissions from every country spread worldwide to create a truly global problem. Cooperation is also required because controlling emissions may be costly.

Furthermore the world's leading authority on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has stated that

"unchecked global warming will cause a significant increase in human mortality due to extreme weather conditions and an increase in infectious diseases. No country, even industrialized nations like the United States, will escape these impacts."

One of the most disturbing aspects when it comes to solutions is that many people are not aware of the problem due to its gradual and almost imperceptible growth. This is a worrying aspect as many experts claim that a large-scale awareness and involvement is required to deal with the problem

Addressing the consequences of global warming will demand, on a worldwide scale, the kind of social and economic mobilization experienced in the United States only during its birthing revolution and World War II, and therein lies a problem. The buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a nearly invisible, incremental crisis. Carbon dioxide is not going to bomb Pearl Harbor to kick start the mobilization. Author Jonathan Weiner observes, "We do not respond to emergencies that unfold in slow motion. We do not respond adequately to the invisible" (Weiner 1990, 241).

Others like Jeremy Leggett state that the solution to global warming is obvious. The answer lies in closer cooperation between nations to stop the use of gas emissions into the atmosphere

The uniquely frustrating thing about global warming -- to the many people who see its dangers -- is that the solutions are obvious. There is no denying, however, that creating the necessary changes will require paradigm shifts in human behavior -- particularly in the field of cooperation between nation-states -- which have literally no precedent in human history.... There is no single issue in human affairs that is of greater importance. (Leggett 1990, 457)

Conclusion: the Kyoto accord

In February of this year the Kyoto Protocol comes into effect. This protocol has been designed to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 2012. However, while it has been ratified by 141 nations, these do not include the United States and Australia. A disagreement about the protocol erupted at the Hague Summit in 2000. President Bush objected to the accord and suggested other alternatives such as taxes or binding targets.

The Kyoto accord could be one the best hopes to stem the growing problem of global warming and it is problematic that a large world producer of gas emissions such as the United States is not part of this process.

The continuing political wrangling over the Kyoto Protocol illustrates why the world is responding so slowly to the impending crisis of global warming. Climate diplomacy remains an arena dominated by competition of special (mainly national) interests.

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7. Appendix

Heat wave deaths in Midwestern cities may soar due to global warming

CITY

CURRENT DEATHS in PRESENT CLIMATE

2020 *CLIMATE AVERAGE DEATHS

2050 *CLIMATE AVERAGE DEATHS

Buffalo, NY

Chicago, IL

Cleveland, OH

Detroit, MI

Indianapolis, in

Kansas City, MO

Minneapolis, MN

Pittsburgh, PA

St. Louis, MO

Source: http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/health/weather.asp

Endnotes

See Addendum: Heat wave deaths in Midwestern cities may soar due to global warming www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001896991

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