Swine Flu and Climate Change - Aiding and Abetting?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 8:00AM | Share Article 
Virus (img source: Sarej@http://sxc.huThis week's big news on the international front has been the emergence and spread of the swine flu. The viral variant of the avian flu that caused so much concern a few years ago has taken over 150 lives in Mexico so far - and that's only the confirmed cases - and has spread to the United States, Canada, Spain, Scotland and perhaps Australia. It combines elements from human, avian and swine flu variants, and while most of the cases diagnosed outside Mexico have been mild - so far - it can be deadly.
So why am I writing about the swine flu on Wet Wednesday? Because a few people here and there have wondered out loud, as I have, if climate change may have contributed to the formation and spread of this strain of flu. Back in October, the Wildlife Conservation Society listed a dozen diseases which may be affected by climate change. Among those diseases was avian flu, which is one of the strains of flu that has contributed to the swine flu. According to a Reuters story about a conference in Spain:
"Even minor disturbances can have far reaching consequences on what diseases (wild animals) might encounter and transmit as climate changes," said Steven Sanderson, head of the society.
It's the Butterfly Effect in action, more or less. The central underpinning of the Butterfly Effect, which has been hugely distorted by the popular media, is that very small differences in initial conditions can be amplified over time/distance to create vastly different end scenarios. A very small change in temperature near the polar ice caps can wreak havoc on the other side of the world - it's part of the underlying theory of climate change. But how does this affect things like the spread of disease?
At that conference, Sanderson went on to say:
"The term 'climate change' conjures images of melting ice caps and rising sea levels that threaten coastal cities and nations, but just as important is how increasing temperatures and fluctuating precipitation levels will change the distribution of dangerous pathogens."
In other words, the small changes can result in very big problems. I talked about that a little last week when I wrote about how coffee is a canary. But coffee isn't the only thing that is affected by climate change. Here's what the Conservation Society had to say about avian flu in their 2008 brochure:
Current data indicate that the movement of H5N1 (avian flu) from region to region is largely driven by the poultry trade, but changes in climate, such as severe winter storms and drought, can disrupt normal movements of wild birds and bring wild and domestic bird populations into greater contact at water sources. (http://www.wcs.org/media/file/DEADLYdozen_screen.pdf)
Now, in the interests of transparency and total honesty I'll point out that the origins of the current swine flu pandemic are probably a better subject for Therese's Trash Thursday - at this point, it looks like the culprit may be poor sanitary conditions at a Smithfield Farms pork outfit in Mexico coupled with our tendency to be globetrotters, which enhances the spread of diseases. But the possible connection does make one think, doesn't it?
And it makes one think both backward and forward. Seriously, do you think that anyone considered the possibility that the creation of the wheel might someday lead to the destruction of the planet? Or that the guy who figured out how to put things like hairspray into a pressurized can had any notion that aerosol sprays might contribute to a hole in the atmosphere? You can't really blame Eric Rothiem for the hole in the ozone layer - but most of us now know why we can't blithely use aerosol sprays containing CFC's.
Many of the things that we can do to slow climate change are similar in scope - tiny changes that have a large effect when you magnify them. Here's a list of 10 things you can do to stop climate change, adapted from a list at stopglobalwarming.org.
- Buy local and organic.
- Hang your clothes to dry.
- Change out your light bulbs for CFLs.
- Drive a hybrid - or at least a car with high MPG.
- Make sure your tires are properly inflated and your air filters are changed.
- Reduce the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 F. or less.
- Use a low-flow shower head for your shower - and spend a little less time in there.
- Change the temperature on your thermostat by just 2 F.
- Unplug your appliances when they're not in use.
- Plant a tree.
Deb Powers writes regularly about coffee and Fair Trade at Coffee Break Today and about political and feminist issues at Not My Mother's Blog.
climate change, global warming tips, swine flu, virus Jesse
Reader Comments (8)
Hi Deb - Climate change is almost certainly a contributor to the spread of viruses into areas where they were previously unknown to exist. A case in point is the West Nile Virus into Canada. A slight increase in temperature appears to have caused a migration of the virus north.
Thanks for the additional confirmation of what I suspected here, Steve. I really wish people would start to realize just how interconnected all of our problems are - and see why the solutions that will work are those that take into account those connections!
Deb, what a well thought out and non-inflammatory article! I too heartily agree that most folks simply don't get the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life here. It's not so difficult to see. You can illustrate it simply for Wet Wednesday... hehe. Just toss a pebble into a pond. You know when the bird flu was the big news and everyone was panicking I was out here with my shotgun loaded. So called "emergency" deputized federal marshalls were confiscating and euthanizing companion and rescued parrots with no proof or or even tests for the virus. I'm just glad I don't have a pig to protect. *wink
I couldn't agree more. The impacts of climate change are widespread and so many of our greatest global threats are interconnected--swine flu is a great example of this. I have posted some further thoughts on this at Climate Matters @ Columbia
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