Policy Brief on Climate Change NameInstitutionInstructorCourseDate Policy Brief on Climate ChangeBackground InformationClimate is one of the major factors that affect the health of all individuals across the globe.
Climate can be described as the weather patterns in a given area, which have been identified over a long time (Burch, Harris, & University of Toronto Press, 2016). Different parts of the continent have different types of climate. When climate changes to the extreme, it will affect the human health, as extreme heat will increase the transmission of certain diseases while extreme cold will also affect the human health negatively (Burch, Harris, & University of Toronto Press, 2016). Some of the consequences of climate change include flooding and drought, which all will affect individual’s health negatively. Climate change also affects the basic needs necessary for the well-being of all individuals, which may include food, water, and the air which are important for the daily survival of all living creatures (Burch, Harris, ; University of Toronto Press, 2016).
When these basic needs are affected, the human health also bears the consequences (Black, 2013). The issue of climate change must be considered and addressed due to the negative impacts it has on all humans across the globe. Climate change is a health issue that every nation should be keen to address and measures to protect the environment from a climate change should be implemented (Black, 2013). The major cause of climate change is human activities and all government and authorities should put measures to protect the environment from human activities that may have negative effects on the weather (Black, 2013). The populations that will bear the most burden of climate change are the elderly and the young children due to their weak immune systems and the poor who are unable to put mitigation strategies to protect themselves from the negative effects of climate change (Black, 2013). The extreme weather changes may even lead to death or injury for the poor population, as they are unable to protect themselves from the events that may be caused by extreme weather changes (Burch, Harris, ; University of Toronto Press, 2016). The United States has enacted measures at the national, state, and local levels to address the issue of climate change in the country. This will ensure that the nation addresses any arising threats to the climate at all levels by ensuring coordination and support between the levels (Burch, Harris, ; University of Toronto Press, 2016).
Policies are made for all levels considering the risks at the specific levels and mitigation strategies are implemented to prevent any negative human activities that may lead to the negative effects of climate change (Black, 2013). This is important as state and local representatives are allowed to participate and air their opinions, as they are the ones responsible in enforcing and implementing any policies regarding climate protection (Black, 2013). The constituencies and the states are diverse and have different weather patterns and so it is necessary to involve them in policy making for the betterment of the nation (Black, 2013). Problem StatementClimate change has affected the whole globe with rising temperatures which are negatively affecting all population across the globe and this is due to human activities which pollute the environment affecting its normal functioning and this has led to disasters in some parts of the world that are unable to implement preventive strategies to protect their citizens (Hanusch, 2018). Following these negative effects caused by climate change, all nations should put protective policies on their resources to prevent human activities from exploiting these resources, which has led to the troubles related to climate change (Hanusch, 2018). These human activities have led to the degrading of certain regions exposing them to the negative effects of extreme weather effects.
These negative effects have affected the human health and this has a negative outcome for any country as it tries to reverse the negative side effects caused by these extreme weather changes (Hanusch, 2018). Most governments spend a large part of their budget in solving these negative situations and addressing the health issues of its citizens caused by the climate changes (Hanusch, 2018). Climate change also has a negative impact on agriculture, which is important for any country as agriculture provides food for its citizens, and if this is affected, the health status of all individuals will be impacted as well as the motion’s economic budget in its provision of the basic need to its citizens.
Due to this, nations must address the issue of climate change at all levels to ensure that the world is stable from any negative effects of climate change (Hanusch, 2018). Suggestions for Addressing the Issue (Solutions) – (a) Including Necessary Stakeholders (Government Officials, Administrator); and (b) Include Budget or Funding Considerations, If ApplicableClimate change can be addressed by educating the public about the negative effects of climate change, which are caused by human activities (Reid, 2014). Education and training programs should be planned and implemented across all countries across the globe since climate change is a global concern and a single nation cannot be successful in mitigating the issue alone (Reid, 2014). These programs will help the public to be aware of their activities and be on the watch out for any activities that may lead to the negative effects (Reid, 2014). The United States government should help its citizens in adapting to new weather changes and strategies to help the nation in times of disasters should be planned (Reid, 2014). Weather changes should be monitored to avoid unexpected weather changes, which can negatively impact a nation (Reid, 2014).
The government and administrators should implement strict measures on environment protection against pollution, which largely contributes to climate change (Reid, 2014). A budget should also be planned to address emergencies and to support organizations, which help protect the environment and enforcing policies and laws regarding environment protection (Reid, 2014). Impact of climate change on the Health Care Delivery SystemThe health care system aims at providing quality healthcare to the citizens of the United States (Maslin, 2014). With the negative effects of climate change, the number of patients will increase impacting the healthcare delivery system negatively as it has to provide health care services to its population regardless the number and this will negatively impact the quality of healthcare services due to the limited resources in healthcare facilities (Maslin, 2014). Due to the climate change affecting food and water security, health care delivery system will have more diverse issues, which will involve patients without food and other basic needs, which will affect the goals and objectives of the health care delivery system of bettering the health status of the citizens of the country (Maslin, 2014).
Negative effects that occur due to climate change, which may include floods and storms, may affect healthcare facilities affecting their power and other basic equipment, which can worsen the situation due to the difficult of administering healthcare services to the citizens (Maslin, 2014). Due to this, health care facilities need to put more resources in their preparation for natural disasters brought about by climate changes and educate health care practitioners on what procedures to undertake in times of disasters (Maslin, 2014).ReferencesBlack, B. (2013). Climate change: An encyclopedia of science and history. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.Burch, R. W.
, Harris, S. E., & University of Toronto Press. (2016).
Understanding climate change: Science, policy, and practice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Hanusch, F. (2018).
Democracy and climate change. London: Routledge, Taylor, & Francis Group.Maslin, M.
(2014). Climate change: A very short introduction. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Reid, H. (2014). Climate change and human development. London: Zed Books.
