Officials not ready for climate change

WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- The first nationwide survey of U.S. public health departments reveals most lack the resources needed to deal with climate change.

The survey was conducted by the National Association of City and County Health Officials, the Environmental Defense Fund and George Mason University. The survey is said to be the first of its kind to assess the perceptions and activities of local public health directors regarding climate change and public health.

Patrick Libbey, executive director of NACCHO, said more than half of the surveyed directors are concerned about the health effects of climate change, although only a small group has been able to make adaptation or prevention a priority.

He said most health directors reported significant financial and human resource limitations on their ability to respond to climate change.

"These findings show that while public health officials recognize the need to be prepared for adverse health impacts from climate change, there are serious gaps in the U.S. public health system's ability to meet that need," said Dr. John Balbus, the Environmental Defense Fund's chief health scientist and lead author of the report.

The full survey is available as a PDF file at

http://www.edf.org/documents/7846_AreWeReady_April2008.pdf.