Health Risks to Humans and Penguins
November 21st, 2006 by Carbon CoalitionRecent scientific reports could turn the movie Happy Feet into a historical video rather than a children’s cartoon. According to this article in The Boston Globe, a review of hundreds of research studies shows that plant and animal species, such as frogs, polar bears, and penguins, are evolving or dying off from the effects of climate change. Scientists are shocked to see that impacts from climate change are already noticable, seeing evidence that at least 70 species of frogs have gone extinct due to rising temperatures and 100 to 200 other cold-dependent animals are at risk. Chris Thomas, a professor at the University of York in England, says that although it is impossible to prove that these changes are a direct result of global warming, it is “statistically virtually impossible that these are just chance observations.”
Penguins and frogs aren’t the only living creatures at risk–human health is becoming increasingly threatened by climate change. In response to impending health risks Massachusetts and 11 other states are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the Supreme Court on November 29th. Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the EPA arguing that failure to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions is violating the Clean Air Act (read the entire story here from the MetroWest Daily News).
