By turning to clean energy, we can fight the health impacts of climate change | Opinion – NJ.com

By Nancy Griffeth and Valerie Griffeth

The two leading causes of death in New Jersey are heart disease and cancer, conditions made worse by heat stress and air pollution. Both diseases stem in part from particulate matter and ozone. Asthma, one of the leading causes of hospitalization in New Jersey, also is exacerbated by climate change.

These facts alone tell us we ignore climate change at our own risk, and that continuing to rely on fossil fuels for New Jerseys energy needs is unsustainable.

The state Board of Public Utilities recently developed an Energy Master Plan to point the way to a clean energy future. The Plan included comprehensive modeling by the Rocky Mountain Institute to develop and analyze New Jerseys energy economy and find a least-cost pathway to New Jerseys goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and using 100% clean energy by 2050. The analysis shows that a clean energy electric grid will provide reliable service and that having zero emissions is achievable.

As a result, we now know that the cost of converting to renewables is less than that of staying on our present course and paying the health costs that result from reliance on fossil fuels.

Even ignoring health and social costs, the cost of clean energy will continue to decline as a percentage of all spending.

As climate change brings warmer temperatures and heavier rains to New Jersey, the impact of New Jerseys major health problems will get worse.

Very hot days increase stress on the heart and lungs for older people and for those with existing heart or lung conditions, increasing cardiovascular and respiratory disease. From 1995 to 2010, thousands of deaths were attributable to heat waves in the U.S. and Europe. As the climate warms, this trend is likely to continue.

Because climate change expands the range of many insects, there will be more insect-transmitted diseases. Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya and dengue fever all are carried by mosquitos already found in New Jersey.

Methane emissions, such as those from fossil gas, and rising temperatures increase ground-level ozone, which is responsible for a variety of health problems. Ozone can worsen pre-existing conditions like bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. It can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure can permanently scar lung tissue.

Shorter winters will give plants more opportunity to produce pollen, aggravating asthmatics and others who suffer from various seasonal allergies.

Water-borne diseases will increase with climate change, as flooding contaminates water. New Jersey already sees regular nuisance flooding, but the impacts will worsen because of the growing health implications. Mosquito-borne diseases will increase because puddles that arent washed away allow mosquitos to breed. Large hatches of salt marsh mosquitos have already been observed in New Jersey, and increased loads of bacteria on beaches are seen now during heavy precipitation.

Compounding the problems, heavy rains and precipitation can cause obstacles to traveling, which will limit the ability to get to a hospital. Power failures due to extreme events may result in death for people who lack medically necessary equipment at home. If evacuations are necessary, displaced persons often suffer mental health problems, poor nutrition, compromised hygiene and infectious diseases. Superstorm Sandy required evacuation of two hospitals and 11 long term care facilities in New Jersey. And, 39 hospitals and 74 assisted-living facilities lost power, and over 7,000 people ended up in shelters. New Jersey suffered 35 fatalities, including seven that were work-related. We can expect more of this if we do nothing to move toward clean, renewable energy.

Climate change worsens the impact of particulate matter that forms in the atmosphere due to chemical reactions among various pollutants. Fossil fuel emissions are a major source of these unsafe particles. Particulate matter increases respiratory problems and there is recent evidence that it may induce mental issues.

Health professionals already know that continuing to rely on fossil fuels, considering what we know about the impact of climate change, would be an expensive policy both in dollars and lives. Anyone in a flood-prone area, in an outdoor job, with damaged lungs or heart disease as well as the very young and very old -- will need more medical care from heat stress alone.

Its crucial that policymakers make use of this knowledge and keep these implications uppermost in mind as they use the Energy Master Plan to guide us to the safest path to a healthy future for all New Jerseyans.

Nancy Griffeth is a member of the Environmental Justice Task Force of UU FaithAction NJ, Professor Emerita at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and former Bell Labs researcher. Valerie Griffeth is a Clinical Associate, Department of Emergency Medicine, at the Oregon Science and Health University Medical School, and formerly of Westfield.

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By turning to clean energy, we can fight the health impacts of climate change | Opinion - NJ.com