http://go.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glregionmic_hea.htmlClimate Change Impacts: Human Health (Michigan)
Increased Risk of Heat-Related Morbidity or Mortality
Over the course of the century, the number of hot days (exceeding 90oF) annually is projected to increase with cities such as Detroit projected to experience a doubling or tripling of such days. Of greater concern is the projected 5- to 10-fold increase in extreme heat days (exceeding 97oF). Extreme heat is associated with cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke; and lengthy or repeated heat waves may not allow people to recover. The ill-health effects of heat waves may also be compounded by other problems, such as high humidity and poor air quality. In order to avoid the worst health impacts, residents will need to improve warning systems and preparations.
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A Potential Increase in Ground-Level Ozone
Weather conditions conducive to high ozone levels will occur more often over the next decades, and high heat days may lead to decreased air quality and an increased incidence of respiratory disease. Ground-level ozone is produced by a complex series of chemical reactions involving sunlight, oxygen, water vapor, volatile organic compounds, and oxides of nitrogen. The rates of these reactions increase with higher temperatures. Thus, as Michigan grows warmer, the formation of ground-level ozone, holding air pollutants constant, will increase. Research is underway to assess what may happen when temperatures rise but air pollutants are reduced.
Increased Risk of Waterborne Infectious Disease
Extreme rainstorms can swamp municipalities' sewage and stormwater capacities, increasing the risks of water pollution and waterborne infectious diseases. As a result, outbreaks of waterborne infectious diseases such as cryptosporidiosis or giardiasis may become more frequent or widespread if extreme rainstorms occur more often, as projected under climate change.
One of the best known examples of a cryptosporidium outbreak occurred in Milwaukee in 1993, after an extended period of rainfall and runoff overwhelmed the city's drinking water purification system, and caused 403,000 cases of intestinal illness and 54 deaths. Milwaukee's drinking water originates in Lake Michigan.
Increased Risk of Vector-borne Infectious Disease
The occurrence of many infectious diseases is strongly seasonal, suggesting that climate plays a role in influencing transmission. St. Louis encephalitis outbreaks in the Great Lakes region, for example, have been associated with extended periods of temperatures above 85oF (29oC) and little rainfall. Some Vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease or more recently, West Nile encephalitis, have expanded widely across the region. While this spread is attributed largely to land use changes, future changes in rainfall or temperatures could encourage greater reproduction or survival of the disease-carrying insects, which include ticks and mosquitoes, respectively.
http://go.ucsusa.org/greatlakes/glregionmic_agr.htmlClimate Change Impacts: Agriculture (Michigan)
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Changes in Crop Yield
Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as a longer growing season, could boost yields of some crops, such as soybeans and corn. However, higher ozone concentrations can damage soybeans and horticultural crops, countering positive impacts of a warmer climate. In addition, severe storms and floods during the planting and harvest seasons could decrease crop productivity. Hotter and drier summers and potentially more droughts would hurt crops and may require irrigation of previously rain-fed crops, increasing the costs for farmers as well as increasing the pressures on water resources.
More Favorable Conditions for Some Pests
Warmer winters with longer freeze-free periods, shifts in rainfall, and extended growing seasons may create more favorable conditions for pests. More southerly pests, such as corn earworms, may expand northward. Such a shift already appears to be happening with bean leaf beetles, which feed on soybeans and serve as vectors for a virus that causes disease in soybeans. Warming will increase the rate of insect development and the number of generations that can be completed each year, contributing to a build-up of pest populations. Increased pests may drive farmers to use more pesticides or related chemicals, placing an additional burden on water quality.
An Increase in Risk for Perennial Crops
Further climate variability is particularly problematic for perennial crops, such as such as fruit trees and vineyards, because adjustments cannot be made as flexibly and long-term investments are at risk.
An Increase in Soil Erosion and Runoff
Heavy rains and flooding could lead to an increase in farmers' costs to maintain soil fertility as well as contribute to off-site costs, including nutrient overloads and pollution to local water ways. These costs are already estimated at $98 million for the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
A Decrease in Livestock Productivity
High temperatures suppress appetite and decrease weight gain in livestock, while warmer winters and less snow cover are projected to reduce the quantity and quality of spring forage, overall decreasing milk quality. In addition, any extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, and blizzards, have severe effects on livestock health, although intensively managed livestock operations are better able to buffer the effects of extreme events.
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