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Global warming is raising concerns about the effects on infectious disease. Increased global and local temperatures have a direct impact on zoonotic and vector-borne diseases. Milder winters and hotter summers lead to a extended survival of vectors in Canada. This is leading to the northward development of infectious disease due from vectors. Increasing temperatures are of a result of accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, water vapour, nitrous oxide, methane, and ozone. Infectious (zoonotic and vector-borne) diseases that have already started showing in southwestern Ontario are West Nile Virus (WNV), Lyme Disease, or smaller concerns such as Malaria, or Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV). These diseases are caused by a bite either from a mosquito or a tick, which is increasing due to the heating planet.
As Canadians. we are still heavily dependent on the burning of fossil fuels. As we continue this, it is the number one reason for the warming planet, say most climate scientists. The heat that is supposed to be escaping the atmosphere into outer space is being blocked by the GHG, trapping it inside Earth. Yes, this is a small topic, however if we make an attempt to reduce the amount of these gases entering the atmosphere, we might be able to help with not just this topic, but so many other small ones that would add up. We are starting to be conscious of our mistakes that were made recently and many decades ago, and we are starting to pay for what we did. Canada’s leader joined Group of 7 (G7), along with France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who called for an end to fossil-fuel use by the global economy by 2100 as well as cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 that lower them as much as 70 per cent from 2010 levels. I believe we could make an impact by changing our daily routines that influence these topics.
We could slow or stop the emissions of accumulated greenhouse gases by regulating the levels of these gases that factories emit into the atmosphere. By having the government control these outputs of greenhouse gases, it will help clear up the blocked atmosphere, allowing heat to escape and Earth once again stabilize its global temperatures. Another method to reduce the amount of these gases invading the atmosphere is to look more in depth at the usage of the everyday human being and their impacts at a smaller level that can and do add up to create a larger problem. A way we can help is to plant a tree. Deforestation is a huge dilemma around climate change. Trees take in carbon dioxide, and other potentially harmful gasses, such as carbon monoxide as well. By planting more trees, they would breathe in more carbon dioxide, a major component to greenhouse gases. The government could give rewards, such as a tax return if you were to plant x number of trees in your yard, or a public property. One more way we could improve our carbon footprint is to have factories with products that require minimal packaging, or to reuse and recycle old packaging to become new again. By recycling half of your household waste, you could save up to 2 400 lbs. of carbon dioxide annually. Both of these ideas could come with a reward also, a tax refund for the civilians, and maybe even a premium bonus to the factories. This decision is a double answer, because by factories reducing the amount of packaging, and by people recycling and reusing, we will make an impact of climate change.
