Statement of Dr. Jonathan Moses C. Jadloc, FPCP, FACP
I was invited by Ms. Desiree Llanos Dee, a petitioner in the human rights and
climate change case, to act as a resource person for the petitioners to discuss the
impact of the climate crisis in the carnal human body and to expound on the
pathophysiology of heat stress, air pollution effects and zika virus in the third public
hearing of the case on August 30, 2018 at the Commission on Human Rights in
Quezon City, Philippines.
….” A healthy human body cannot thrive in an ailing planet. Its consequential
demise is inevitable and not linear.”
- dr jay c. jadloc
environment and health advocate, climate reality leader
“The Consequential Demise of the Human Body in the Climate Crisis”
abstract
As a practicing clinician, I strongly concur with the finding of Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has stated that “human influence on the
climate system is clear”. The fossil fuels burning, deforestation, agriculture and food
production and power plant emissions all release carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping heat causing global warming which
changes the climate system subsequently.
Climate Change threatens human health and likely can stall global health gains
from research and development. The magnitude of these looming crises led the The
Lancet to declare in 2009 that “Climate Change is the biggest global health threat of
the 21st century”, and will “put the lives and well being of billions of people at
increased risk.”
The World Health Organization estimates that “climate change will cause
additional 250,000 deaths per year from 2030-2050” likely the result of
malnourishment, malaria, diarrhea, and heat exposure related to climate change
effects. All populations will be affected but children, elderly persons and those living
in economically poor and developing nations will be disproportionately impacted. In
this abstract, I will outline the health effects and demise of human body in the climate
crisis particularly on heat-related disorders, respiratory disorders and infectious
diseases particularly Zika virus infection and consequent microcephaly.