Climate Adaptation Center focuses annual conference on human health

How do weather events and climate warming impact humans’ physical and mental health? 

That was the main topic of the Climate Adaptation Center’s fourth annual Florida Climate Conference on Nov. 14-15. Climate and health experts convened at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus to deliver two days of speeches and discussions. 

The impacts of extreme weather events related to climate warming were relevant, especially for many in the audience who experienced Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the past two months. 

Climate Adaptation Center CEO Bob Bunting said heat from climate warming is causing more extreme weather events like hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, sea level rise and human health impacts. 

Photo by Janet Combs

“At the rate we’re going now, we’re putting ourselves in incredible danger. What you’re seeing outside your window these days is weather that has changed because the climate has already changed,” Bunting said. “It’s going to continue to change. … That means that our only real solution for the next lifetime is adaptation.”

During the two-day conference, speakers focused on how educating the public is a priority in mitigating future climate impacts. Experts also used personal experiences and data to show how hotter temperatures are impacting humans’ physical and mental well-being. 

Eco-anxiety emergence

CAC Senior Scientist Ric Kearbey’s presentation on day two focused on the mental health impacts of climate change. 

Terms like climate change anxiety, eco-anxiety, eco-grief and climate doom were paramount in Kearbey’s talk. 

Photo by Janet Combs

Kearbey said this is especially relevant for younger generations. According to the Climate Mental Health Network, 75% of young people ages 16-24 say climate change is making their future frightening.

“When they look and hear about things like climate warming, they have a lot of concern for the future because it’s their future more than our future, and they’re just getting started,” Kearbey said. “So they also face a lot of anxiety, but everything does show that when there’s education, it calms anxiety."

Kearbey’s presentation also stated 27% of Americans say they are “very worried” about the climate, and the number of people who say they are “alarmed” about climate change tripled in the past six years. 

“It’s definitely a trend in the wrong direction, but it makes sense,” Kearbey said.

Problems heating up

In one of his speeches, Bunting said heat-related illnesses and deaths are one of the most underrepresented.

“Heat is the deadliest weather phenomenon in the United States,” he said. “It’s not floods, it’s not hurricanes...one of our issues with heat is we don’t know how to measure heat deaths.”

Warmer temperatures and higher humidity create a higher heat index, all of which can lead to more frequent and extreme cases of illness like heat exhaustion and heat stroke. 

Many speakers warned, as global temperatures continue to rise, these issues will become more frequent, and more adaptation will be necessary. 

One of the speakers who spoke about this was Dr. Ankush Bansal, an internal and lifestyle medicine physician based in West Palm Beach. 

“The climate crisis is both a health crisis and a human rights crisis,” Bansal said.

Bansal spoke about how people at the city, county and community level can help mitigate and adapt to the “climate crisis.”

Photo by Janet Combs

There were seven strategies that Bansal outlined to address heat-related impacts: Heat-health warning systems, urban planning, public cooling centers, clinician training, community outreach, public policy and research and development. 

For example, Bansal said cities could encourage more green roofs, parks, community gardens and efficient ventilation through urban planning.

Partnerships between cities, counties and local communities would also be useful in education and public policy. 

“We also need public education campaigns, especially for vulnerable populations, on what the signs of heat illness are and how to respond,” Bansal said. “That requires partnerships of all these governments." 

Overall, the main takeaway from Bansal’s presentation was communities need to not only learn how to adapt but also address the causes of climate warming. 

“Everything I’ve talked about is adaptation. None of that will work if you don’t address the cause," Bansal said. "That’s why mitigation must be paramount for any climate health-related risk. We can’t expect to keep mopping up the floor if we don’t address the root cause and shut off the tap."