EPA reports on climate change, health

WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- Challenges and possible effects of climate change on people and communities were addressed in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report issued Thursday.

"Analyses of the Effects of Global Change on Human Health and Welfare and Human Systems" also identifies adaptation tactics to respond to challenges posed by a changing climate, the EPA said in a news release.

The report also covered how some individuals and communities could be more affected by climate change because of age, or medical or socio-economic conditions. However, the report noted, the United States has developed health infrastructures and environmental programs that can help minimize the impacts.

"While there may be fewer cases of illness and death associated with climate change in the United States than in the developing world, we nevertheless anticipate increased costs to human health and well-being," the report read.

Among its health-related observations, the report said, more heat-related deaths should be expected as the population ages.

"Similarly, heat-related mortality affects poor and minority populations disproportionately, in part due to lack of air conditioning," the report said. "The concentration of poverty in inner city neighborhoods leads to disproportionate adverse effects associated with urban heat islands."

Strategies recommended to combat rising temperatures included early watch and warning systems, and installing cooling systems in residential and commercial buildings.