I’m a long time allergy sufferer, and my sinuses serve as a barometer signaling changes in air pressure and as a weathervane announcing the arrival of exotic pollens borne on southerly winds. Moldy buildings activate an early-warning system of sneezes and watery eyes. Mold is a key long-term problem associated with the heavier rains and increased flooding caused by climate change, so I always listen up when the health impacts of global warming are discussed.

While public health professionals have long been aware of these impacts, the issue is not widely understood by the general public, as shown by a recent survey by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, the seventh in a series titled “Global Warming’s Six Americas.” The resulting paper, “Perceptions of Health Consequences of Global Warming,” alerts us to the educational efforts and planning needed to build the resiliency of our health systems.

The National Climate Assessment identifies a host of health dangers related to global warming, starting with the immediate risk of death or injury associated with extreme weather events such as flood and wildfires. The aftermath of these events can include contamination of food and water supplies, and mental stress associated with dislocation and loss of homes. Long term, flooding leaves buildings seriously compromised by mold, which is hard to remediate and can cause asthma, lung infections and even skin rashes. Warmer temperatures mean more hospitable conditions for ticks, mosquitos and other disease bearing insects, and a corresponding increase in Lyme disease and West Nile virus. Global warming also threatens air quality by increasing ground-level ozone and some pollutants, resulting in diminished lung function and increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for asthma and COPD.

Low-income respondents to the Yale survey were the least aware of these health risks, which is especially alarming because this is the population most vulnerable to those impacts. The connection between poverty and poor health outcomes is clearly drawn in the most recent county-by-county health rankings, which correlate factors like income, exposure to pollutants, access to insurance, good nutrition and exercise to Sullivan County’s ranking as second from the bottom among New York State counties in health outcomes.

In the context of climate change, low-income residents of our region are more likely to live in housing that is poorly built; inadequately heated, cooled, insulated and ventilated; with greater potential exposure to mold, lead paint and other indoor pollutants such as formaldehyde; and less access to financing to remediate these problems. Around the globe, the poor are more likely to live in proximity to industrial pollution. Planning for the health impacts of climate change aligns with other efforts to improve health outcomes and with the overall principles of sustainability. To improve our health outcomes, we must address employment and a living wage, increase access to health care and healthy, nutritious foods, improve housing and workplace conditions, revise the building code to implement “healthy building” systems and materials, and educate the public about a broad range of health issues. Everything is intertwined: the health of our buildings, our land and soil, the food we eat, the air we breathe and most importantly, how we care for each other. We must engage the resources of many sectors to develop an effective response to this challenge, because this is the eco-system in which we thrive or fail.