Survival Plan

UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK, YOU KNOW CLIMATE CHANGE EXISTS

BUT NONETHELESS, FOR THE SKEPTICS IN OUR MIDST

HERE’S JUST A PARTIAL LIST OF SOME THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN INCREASING

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES, LEVELS OF THE SEAS AND

LEVELS OF HUMIDITY, PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS

HEAT WAVES, FLOODS AND DROUGHTS

LOOK, THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE IS BOTH REAL AND HERE

WE KNOW IT’S BAD, WE CAN FEEL THE FEAR

BUT BAD HOW? LIKE, SPECIFICALLY

WELL, FIRST LET’S ASSUME THAT IF YOU’RE LISTENING TO ME

YOU’RE HUMAN, AND IF THAT’S INDEED THE CASE

THEN THE IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH THE OBVIOUS PLACE

TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

WHICH QUICKLY REVEALS A WIDE RANGE

OF CONSEQUENCES ON HEALTH AND HEALTH SYSTEMS

AS I’M PARTIAL TO DO, LET’S LIST ‘EM

FIRSTLY, AN INCREASED POSSIBILITY 

OF HEAT-RELATED MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY

BUT THAT’S JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, LITERALLY

ALSO HIGHER RISKS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

WHETHER FOOD, WATER, OR VECTOR-BORNE

IN THE CASE OF THE LATTER, AS TEMPERATURES WARM

THE GEOGRAPHIC RANGES OF DISEASE-CARRYING 

MOSQUITOES AND TICKS GROW

LEADING TO OUTBREAKS SHOWING 

UP IN REGIONS NEVER BEFORE SEEN

LIKE CANADA EXPERIENCING THE SPREAD OF LYME DISEASE 

SO CLEARLY CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTING HEALTH 

IN MANY AREAS, ALSO TIED TO WEALTH

‘CAUSE PREDICTABLY IT WON’T AFFECT US EQUALLY

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND REGIONS’LL BE

AFFECTED DIFFERENTIALLY

WITH CLIMATE CHANGE EXACERBATING INEQUITIES

AND POVERTY, SO WHAT DO WE DO?

MAN, IT’S DISCOURAGING, ALL THIS DOOM AND GLOOM

YEAH, I HEAR YA, LOOK JUST STAY TUNED

‘CAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT SOLUTIONS IN VERSE TWO

 CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE

CAN’T STICK OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

NEED TO RELY ON THE SCIENCE

FOR OUR SURVIVAL PLAN

SO WE CAN BETTER

UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND

LET THEM GUIDE THE RESPONSE

OF OUR HEALTH SYSTEMS

CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE

CAN’T STICK OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

NEED TO RELY ON THE SCIENCE

FOR OUR SURVIVAL PLAN

SO WE CAN BETTER

UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND

LET THEM GUIDE THE RESPONSE

OF OUR HEALTH SYSTEMS

CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, IT’S HERE, AND IT’S IMPACTING OUR HEALTH ALREADY

SO THE OBVIOUS QUESTION IS: WHAT’S THE REMEDY?

WELL FIRST, WE NEED BETTER COMPREHENSION

OF THE RISKS OF VARIOUS CLIMATE-RELATED HEALTH OUTCOME PROJECTIONS

UNDER DIFFERENT ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION SCENARIOS

WHICH SOUNDS COMPLICATED, BUT DON’T BE SCARED ‘CAUSE, YO

THESE AFOREMENTIONED  ARE JUST A WAY TO DESCRIBE

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PREPAREDNESS OF 

HEALTH SYSTEMS TO TACKLE CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS AND

HELP US MAKE MORE-INFORMED POLICIES WITH THESE

PROJECTIONS, LIKE EARLY-WARNING SYSTEMS

AND IMPROVED SURVEILLANCE PLUS PROJECTIONS

CAN BE USED TO ADVOCATE FOR MITIGATION

TO REDUCE POTENTIAL RISK LATER THIS CENTURY

AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE INEQUITIES 

DISCUSSED EARLIER IN THE SONG

NEED AN EQUITY LENS FOR SUSTAINABILITY FOR ALL

SO YES SOME DOOM AND GLOOM, LET’S NOT PRETEND OTHERWISE

BUT SIGNIFICANT KNOWLEDGE TO EFFECTIVELY GUIDE OUR RESPONSE

INFORMED BY THESE PROJECTIONS

TO STRENGTHEN OUR CLIMATE RISK PROTECTION

CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE

CAN’T STICK O UR HEADS IN THE SAND

NEED TO RELY ON THE SCIENCE

FOR OUR SURVIVAL PLAN

SO WE CAN BETTER

UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND

LET THEM GUIDE THE RESPONSE

OF OUR HEALTH SYSTEMS

CLIMATE CHANGE IS HERE

CAN’T STICK OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

NEED TO RELY ON THE SCIENCE

FOR OUR SURVIVAL PLAN

SO WE CAN BETTER

UNDERSTAND THE RISKS AND

LET THEM GUIDE THE RESPONSE