Rapid Change Threatens Foundations of Human Health - Report. By Douglas Fischer, The Daily Planet, November 5, 2009. "Rapid changes already underway to the Earth's climate, ecosystems and land cover threaten the health of billions, undermining key human life-support systems and threatening the core foundations of healthy communities worldwide, according to a new report [The Threat to Human Health] released Wednesday. The disruption represents the greatest public health challenge of the 21st century and leaves poor populations mostly in developing nations most vulnerable - even though they contribute the least to many of the problems. The report was published jointly by the Worldwatch Institute and the United Nations Foundation, two nonprofit organizations working on global policy... The report outlines a series of public health threats - food and water scarcity, altered distribution of infectious diseases, increased air pollution, natural disasters, and population displacement - that collectively threaten large segments of the human population. But most of the death and disability from these threats is fundamentally preventable, Myers said, if the political will can be mobilized to take strong, concerted action. The report was released the same day developing countries said they risked 'total destruction' unless the rich stepped up the fight against climate change to a level that even the United Nations says is out of reach. The comments came from Barcelona, where the final preparatory talks are taking place before next month's climate meeting in Copenhagen."
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