Addressing new challenges in climate change research by highlighting biological complexity

By growing awareness for and interest in climate change, media coverage enlarges the window of opportunity by which research can engage individuals and collectives in climate actions. However, we question whether the climate change research that gets mediatized is fit for this challenge. From a survey of the 51,230 scientific articles published in 2020 on climate change, we show that the news media preferentially publicizes research outputs found in multidisciplinary journals and journals perceived as top-tier. An in-depth analysis of the content of the top-100 mediatized papers, in comparison to a random subset, reveals that news media showcases a narrow and limited facet of climate change knowledge (i.e., natural science and health). News media selectivity reduces climate change research to the role of a sentinel and whistleblower for the large-scale, observed, or end-of-century consequences of climate change for natural Earth system components. The social, economic, technological, and energy aspects of climate change are curtailed through mediatization, as well as local and short-term scales of processes and solutions. Reviewing the social psychological mechanisms that underlie behavioral change, we challenge the current criteria used to judge newsworthiness and argue that the consequent mediatization of climate change research fails to breed real society engagement in actions. A transformative agenda for the mediatization of climate change research implies aligning newsworthiness with news effectiveness, i.e., addressing the extent to which communication is effective in presenting research that is likely to produce behavioral change.

The Citarum Watershed is indeed a critical water resource in Indonesia, playing a significant role in providing water to Jakarta and other areas in West Java. However, it faces severe environmental stress due to land use changes and climate changes. The Upper Citarum Watershed, considered to be a conservation area, has experienced rapid development due to human activities and economic growth. Climate change not only affects the rainfall value but also the rainfall patterns and sediment flow. The sedimentation process significantly impacts the soil characteristics around the river body. Several factors such as topography, flow velocity, and soil texture influence the sediment characteristics. Given the critical condition of climate and land use change, this study aims to analyse the impacts of the hydrological response of land use and climate change on the sediment rate in the Upper Citarum Watershed. The land use change analysis was conducted by comparing the land use data in 2000, 2010, and 2023 in the Upper Citarum Watershed. The deposition process of solid particles such as sand, silt, and gravel that are transported in the Upper Citarum River were examined in a soil investigation. The sediment rate and deposition by river flow were analysed using HEC-RAS quasi-unsteady flow. The impact of climate change in this study was assessed by simulating the discharge in three conditions, with the first simulation using the discharge from 2000 to 2010, the second simulation using the discharge from 2011 to 2023, and the last simulation using the discharge from 2000 to 2023. Due to the land use change, the developed area increased from 4% to 24% between 2000 until 2023. The magnitude of low flow during the simulation step for three discharge gauges (Majalaya, Dayeuhkolot, and Nanjung) decreased up to 48%, but, on other hand, the sediment rate increased by 20% in Dayeuhkolot.

Research on the mechanism of how climate change affects cultivated soil organic carbon is the basis for the management of cultivated land quality in the context of climate change. Crop phenological responses to climate change have an important effect on cultivated soil organic carbon as well. However, previous research primarily focused on the independent effects of climate change or crop phenological responses on the changes in soil organic carbon, and few studies have analyzed the changes in cultivated soil organic carbon under the combined influence of both factors or quantified their contribution rates to the changes in cultivated soil organic carbon. Based on topsoil samples in 2008 and 2021, annual pre-season and mid-season climate data from 2008 to 2021, and the phenological parameters extracted from the enhanced vegetation index （EVI） time series from 2007 to 2022, a soil organic carbon predictive model was constructed using the random forest algorithm. The total change in soil organic carbon from 2008 to 2021, the change in soil organic carbon under climate change alone, and the change in soil organic carbon under the synergistic influence of climate change and crop phenological responses were simulated. Furthermore, the contributions of climate change and crop phenological responses to the changes in cultivated soil organic carbon were distinguished and quantified. Moreover, the dominant influencing factors of soil organic carbon changes and their spatial distributions were identified and analyzed. The results were as follows： ① Under the synergistic influence of climate change and crop phenological responses, a decrease was observed in soil organic carbon in 74.15% of the cultivated land area in Fujian Province during the years 2008-2021, with an average decrease of 2.20 g·kg-1. Additionally, there was an increase in soil organic carbon in 25.85% of the cultivated area, with an average increase of 1.48 g·kg-1. ②The average contribution rates of pre-season climate, crop phenological responses to climate change, mid-season climate, and phenological changes resulting from cultivars shifts or other adjustments of agricultural measures to soil organic carbon changes were 34.08%, 28.56%, 22.75%, and 14.61%, respectively. Overall, climate change had a greater impact on the changes in cultivated soil organic carbon in Fujian Province than the crop phenological response to climate change. ③ The regions where climate change and phenological response jointly acted as dominant influencing factors held the largest area, accounting for 47.06% of the total cultivated land area in Fujian Province, and the regions where climate change was the dominant influencing factor alone held the second-largest area, accounting for 28.64% of the total cultivated land area. ④ Higher contribution rates of pre-season climate factors and phenological changes resulting from cultivar shifts or other adjustments of agricultural measures tended to be distributed in higher-altitude areas, whereas higher contribution rates of mid-season climate factors and phenological responses to climate change tended to be distributed in lower-altitude areas. These research findings can provide a theoretical basis for decision making regarding the management of cultivated land quality and the safeguarding of food security in the context of climate change.

Detecting vulnerability of humid tropical forests to multiple stressors

Background: The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) have supported climate change and health-relevant research for decades. Through the years 2010 to 2020, annual NIH support for climate change and health research hovered around $10 million funded by 21 NIH components. The NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative, launched in 2021, is an NIH-wide effort to develop the first coordinated NIH plan for research on the impacts of climate change on human health. Methods: The Initiative created a core framework in 2021 that was informed by a month’s long planning and engagement process. Directors of seven Institutes and Centers at the NIH have joined together to create a strategic framework document that highlights the core focus areas of the work. The group released a Public Request for Information to gather input from community organizations and academic scientists and conducted a federal and international landscape assessment to map out organizations working in the space. Internally, NIH conducted a portfolio analysis of funded climate research from the past decade, engaged staff through workshops, and developed an internal data call for planned climate related programs. Results: The strategic framework will guide a community of practice comprising outstanding and committed scientists, trainees, and specialists. Key areas of interest outlined include: Health Effects Research, Health Equity, Intervention Research and Training and Capacity Building. The framework also identifies nine key areas of supporting science for climate change and health research. Conclusions: Climate change is impacting health and communities around the world but there remain many key research knowledge gaps. NIH’s role as a leading funder of biomedical and human health research can play an important role in coordinating research to better understand health impacts, health adaptation, and outcomes in communities impacted related to climate change. There is perhaps no greater opportunity for NIH to fulfill its mission than by providing global leadership in the response to the burgeoning climate change and health crisis. Key words: Climate change; public health; research

Aerosols, as suspended solid and liquid particles in the atmosphere, play a significant role in global climate change and environmental quality. This study utilizes global coarse-mode aerosol optical depth (CAOD) data from 2012 to 2021, derived through a deep learning model, to comprehensively analyze the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of coarse-mode aerosols. The findings reveal that global CAOD values exhibit a fluctuating downward trend during the study period, with a more pronounced decline in the Northern Hemisphere, likely due to regional variations in climate change, desertification, and human activities. Spatially, regions such as North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia show higher CAOD values, associated with desert dust activity and anthropogenic emissions, whereas regions like South America, Australia, and Antarctica have lower CAOD values, attributed to their cleaner atmospheric conditions and minimal human activity. The complex CAOD variations in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere are influenced by climatic conditions, topographical features, and the distribution of human activities. This study provides critical data for understanding the role of coarse-mode aerosols in global climate change and highlights the importance of considering geographical differences in aerosol distribution in climate change research. The study offers a scientific basis for formulating environmental policies and interventions. Future research will further explore the specific contributions of aerosol sources and their interaction mechanisms with climate change.

Researchers have documented that observations of climate change impacts reported by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities coincide with scientific measurements of such impacts. However, insights from Indigenous and Local Knowledge are not yet completely included in international climate change research and policy fora. In this article, we compare observations of climate change impacts detected by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from around the world and collected through a literature review (n=198 case studies), with climate scientists' opinions on the relevance of such information for climate change research. Scientists' opinions were collected through a web survey among climate change researchers from universities and research centres in Spain (n=191). In the survey, we asked about the need to collect local level data regarding 68 different groups of indicators of climate change impacts to improve the current knowledge, and about the feasibility of using Indigenous and local knowledge in climate change studies. Results show consensus on the need to continue collecting local level data from all groups of indicators to get a better understanding of climate change impacts, particularly on impacts on the biological system. However, while scientists of our study considered that Indigenous and local knowledge could mostly contribute to detect climate change impacts on the biological and socioeconomic systems, the literature review shows that information on impacts on these systems is rarely collected; researchers instead have mostly documented the impacts on the climatic and physical systems reported by Indigenous and local knowledge.

BackgroundThere are gaps in translating climate change research into public health action at the global level. Knowledge translation refers to the methods used to bridge the gap between knowledge and action. Given the significant impacts of climate change on health, it is essential to integrate climate research into health decision-making processes. This integration ensures that evidence effectively informs policies and practices at all levels, leading to more timely, equitable, and impactful public health responses.ObjectiveThis scoping review examines key approaches and identifies gaps in knowledge translation methods for integrating climate change research into public health decision-making.MethodsA systematic search of the literature was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus using a predefined search string to identify studies on climate change and health published between January 1, 2003, and March 1, 2024, with no geographic restrictions. Retrieved articles were screened and data extracted using Covidence software. Thematic analysis was performed in ATLAS.TI employing Braun and Clark’s six-step method. The identified knowledge translation approaches were categorized according to the Cochrane Knowledge Translation Framework.FindingsOur findings highlight five primary knowledge translation approaches: (1) monitoring the coverage of climate change and health across media, scientific literature, and government responses; (2) engaging citizens of all ages in participatory activities to address local climate challenges and co-develop policy solutions; (3) integrating knowledge generation, synthesis, and dissemination for effective communication; (4) emphasizing advocacy and education to foster collaborations and gain support from decision-makers; and (5) leveraging health impact assessment tools to guide decision-making related to climate change and health. Nonetheless, we did not find any primary studies on climate change research and knowledge translation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).ConclusionThere is a need for primary studies on the knowledge translation of climate change research, especially in relation to adaptation, into meaningful public health actions that can inform decision-making and contribute to building climate-resilient health systems in LMICs.

This study presents a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of tourism and climate change research over the past decade by leveraging bibliometric analysis and a dataset sourced from the Scopus Database. The study scrutinised over 3400 English language articles. The analysis reveals a remarkable surge in publications, signifying the growing recognition of climate change’s multifaceted impact on tourism. However, a noteworthy geographical disparity emerges, with many regions remaining underrepresented in the literature, particularly in Africa and the Middle East. This oversight is concerning, given the vulnerability of these regions to climate change and their burgeoning tourism industries. The study also highlights the pivotal role of influential scholars, funding organisations, and publication outlets in shaping the research landscape. The European Commission and the National Natural Science Foundation of China are major funders. At the same time, journals like Sustainability and the Journal of Sustainable Tourism serve as prominent platforms for disseminating research findings. The analysis uncovers thematic trends, including the growing focus on climate change modelling and its implications for destination planning. However, research gaps persist, notably in sports tourism and climate resilience within the tourism sector. In conclusion, this study offers valuable insights into the current state of tourism and climate change research, pinpointing areas that demand increased attention and inclusivity. It is a valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and stakeholders working towards a sustainable and resilient future for the global tourism industry in the face of climate change.

Background: The rising concern about climate change and risks associated with it around the world and locally compared to the disproportionate level of awareness in Jos Metropolis inspired this study. Achieving adaptation to climate change always relies on the level of awareness. Hence effort must be made to intensify awareness. Though religious leaders in the study area have significant followership to positively change the tides of climate change awareness, risk perception, adaptation, and action, the opportunity is not harnessed. The study sought to project the role and attitude of religious leaders in Jos Metropolis in the global climate crisis. Methodology: Through a survey of a systematically drawn sample of 293 religious leaders using the Climate Change Survey Questionnaire (CCSQ), data was gathered to answer questions on climate change awareness, climate risk perception, attitude towards climate change, and the role of religious leaders in fighting the climate crisis. The reliability of the CCSQ was computed using the Cronbach Alpha method to be 0.98 after validation by experts in the field of Geography. Findings: Insights from the data suggest that religious leaders have a superficial awareness but lack meaningful awareness of climate change, giving rise to the shrouded perception of climate risks. Further, their attitude towards climate change issues was found to be positive, but not to the extent of neither taking individual measures to reduce climate change nor accepting organized media communications on climate change as factual. The level of awareness, risk perception, and attitude of the subjects under study were sufficient to inspire acceptance of climate change issues for discussions in churches/mosques and inclusion in their strategic plans. Findings also revealed that though nearly all the religious leaders have never taught in church/mosque on the subject of climate change or taken climate action in their immediate communities, the result shows the willingness of religious leaders to accept informed persons/experts to talk to their members on climate change. Recommendations: Considering the necessity of awareness in combating climate change, it is recommended that the government should seek opportunities to deepen awareness among religious leaders which could have a ripple effect on the Nigerian populace. Religious leaders were advised to teach or create platforms to bring awareness of climate change and its risks to their members. Circulation of climate laws and policies to religious leaders and the public is strongly advocated.

In an attempt to reduce CO2 emissions and tackle climate change, the UK government has set targets of 10% of energy output by 2010, and 15% by 2015, to be sourced from renewable energy, with an aspirational 20% by 2020 (Morley 2006). This is a considerable challenge, and the race is on to meet these targets. Of the renewables sufficiently advanced to contribute to these goals, wind energy constitutes the major component, with offshore wind farms expected to deliver the bigger share (British Wind Energy Association; http://www.bwea.com). Other sources of renewable energy at different stages of development in the UK are: hydro, which currently supplies 2% of the UK's installed energy capacity (and is particularly important in Scotland); solar; tidal (tidal stream); wave power; and biomass – all of which are relatively small scale at present. Formerly, considerable investment was made into research in tidal power barrages (Clark 2006). Whilst these are no longer at the forefront of renewable energy development in the UK, the associated research has increased our understanding of birds in intertidal habitats; and hence the potential impacts on birds of energy generation schemes in these habitats. Clearly, the impacts of a changing climate – sea level rise, warmer temperatures, changes in precipitation, and increasing extreme weather events, for example – all have implications for birds and other biodiversity (IPCC 2001), so renewable energy is welcomed as one of a raft of measures to help slow climate change. However, renewable energy developments can have their own impacts on biodiversity (e.g. Langston & Pullan 2003, Barrios & Rodriguez 2004, Hötker et al. 2004). What are these impacts? What research has been undertaken into their nature and likelihood? What research is needed? What contribution can ecological research make to inform renewable energy developments, thus minimizing any deleterious effects on biodiversity? In recognition of the need to take stock, improve the mutual understanding of the technical and biological issues arising from different forms of renewable energy, and to attempt to minimize the potential conflict between renewables and birds, the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) held its annual spring conference in 2005 on Wind, Fire and Water: Renewable Energy and Birds. The conference was held at the University of Leicester, 1–3 April 2005, supported by The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; the Department of Trade & Industry (for England and Wales); the Renewables Advisory Board; British Wind Energy Association; and English Nature. There were 190 attendees, comprising a broad range of interests, including: the scientific community; conservation bodies; environmental consultancies; government; and industry. This was an excellent opportunity to stimulate debate between people with different interests and perspectives, with the aim of starting a discourse that would continue beyond the conference. The topic of renewable energy routinely polarizes views, and the purpose of the conference was to: present an objective overview of the technologies and their potential effects on birds; methods of minimizing the risk of adverse impacts; and to identify gaps in knowledge and how to plug them. The first presentation, on Friday evening, set the scene for the rest of the conference, and provided the link with an earlier BOU conference that was dedicated to climate change (Rehfisch et al. 2004). Prof. Brian Huntley (University of Durham), reminded delegates that climate change per se is not new, but the anthropogenic influence this time around is unprecedented (Huntley et al. 2006). Furthermore, the predicted rate and magnitude of change in global temperature and greenhouse gas emissions also are without parallel, at least during the evolution of most extant species. He described how we can learn from past responses to climate change and model likely responses to future climate change, illustrating this with examples from predictive models of changing bird distributions for Europe and Africa. Spatial responses are most likely – for those organisms that can move rapidly enough – and therein lies the problem. For many species, the shift in their preferred climate may outpace their ability to respond. The stark prognosis from a recently published global study by Thomas and colleagues (2004), is that a high proportion of plant and animal taxa (9–32%) might be committed to extinction by 2050. There is a clear impetus for ‘action now’– to slow the pace of, or ideally reduce, future climate disruption – as termed by Dr Mark Avery (RSPB's Director of Conservation); a definition that better reflects the problems associated with climate change predictions. There is an urgent need to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and use energy resources more wisely, to counter what is increasingly considered by some as the greatest threat to global biodiversity. We need to tackle other causes of accelerated climate change too, for example transport, in particular aviation, but that is a debate for another occasion. There was reference to nuclear power – because it is a carbon-free technology – but it is not renewable, and that thorny issue too was left for another day. Internationally, the political debate is divided in terms of how to combat climate disruption, but there is recognition that a mix of renewable sources of energy has an essential role to play as part of a suite of measures. Following a welcome by the BOU's President, Prof. Chris Perrins, the official opening address was given by Elliot Morley MP, Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment (Morley 2006). Mr Morley stressed the need to maintain reliability, adequacy and affordability of energy supply, and for energy efficiency measures to be adopted in homes, businesses and transport. Of the renewable sources of energy, wind power is currently the most cost-effective, and both onshore and offshore wind farms are expected to be the main contributor to the 2010 target of 10% from renewable sources. This is an ambitious first goal in terms of timescale, and has brought into sharp focus the paucity of information regarding the impacts on biodiversity. The longer-term vision includes bringing online several novel technologies, notably wave and tidal, as well as increased involement from more established renewable sources, such as hydro and biomass, of which the latter is set to boost its contribution considerably. Energy generation, including that from renewable sources, has its own potential for environmental harm. The requirement is to balance the risk of adverse impacts on biodiversity, with the need to address climate disruption. The Minister welcomed the conference as timely and helpful in identifying the issues and considering mitigation, stating that renewables cannot be at the expense of biodiversity. In the lively open-floor discussion that followed the opening speech, the Minister said that, whilst one could not say ‘no, never’, Special Protection Areas (SPAs) should be last on the list for development proposals. He also emphasized the need for monitoring to plug gaps in information and referred to the Marine Bill which will provide for spatial planning of activities in the marine environment, including energy, fishing, and aggregates, thereby helping to minimize conflict. Further lively debate took place during the conference, culminating in the plenary session that closed the conference. Before that, a full and diverse programme of conference presentations took centre stage, as presented in these Proceedings of the 2005 Annual Conference of the BOU. Wind, Fire & Water: Renewable Energy & Birds was a conference organized by Rowena Langston (The RSPB) and Steve Dudley (BOU) on behalf of the British Ornithologists’ Union. The BOU is grateful to the individual speakers and their respective organizations for presenting their work at the conference. The BOU and the conference organizers are grateful to Richard Evans, Guy Anderson, Sam Gardner and Alison McLennan (all The RSPB) for their help and support during the conference weekend. The BOU is very grateful to Rowena Langston (Guest Editor) and her editorial team, Guy Anderson, Allan Drewitt, Richard Evans, David Gibbons, Richard Oxley and Jeremy Wilson, for their invaluable work in delivering these proceedings within 12 months of the conference being held. These proceedings have been published with generous support from The RSPB, Department of Trade and Industry, Renewables Advisory Board, British Wind Energy Association and English Nature.

Climate change has presently appeared as an unequivocal but unstoppable event, and it poses severe threat for survival of biosphere on this earth. Climate change actually results in large changes in environmental conditions like rainfall pattern, average temperature, heat waves, global change of CO2 or ozone levels, fluctuations in sea levels in addition to surge in new weed flora and insect pests or pathogens. It is believed that climate change is the main cause of various abiotic and biotic stresses that have been badly affecting the agricultural production. Further, climate change predictions indicate that a gradual increase in average atmospheric temperature or frequent incidence of environmental extremes would have a negative impact on physiological and biochemical functioning. Thus, climate has raised global apprehension in respect of lowering crop productivity and food security. As such understanding the tolerance mechanisms of plants has come up with great attention and concern among the researchers working on the development of crop resilience towards climate-smart agriculture and thereby food security under climate change scenario. Indeed, plants can alleviate stress injuries or damages through the aid of various strategies like avoidance or by adopting several inherent mechanisms towards resilience. With this background, this chapter aims to summarize the climate change-induced limiting factors for plant growth and plant responses to such changes. Also, various adaptations or tolerance mechanisms of plants to environmental extremes have been discussed. This contextual information is critical for agricultural sustainability and food security since an improved knowledge would aid in improving plants’ resilience to climate change through the application of modern breeding methodologies and biotechnological or genetic engineering tools.

This research note focuses on the current climate change research scenario and discusses primarily what is required in the present global climate change conditions. Most of the climate change research and models predict adverse future conditions that have to be faced by humanity, with less emphasis on mitigation measures. Moreover, research ends as reports on the shelves of scientists and researchers and as publications in journals. At this juncture the major focus should be on research that helps in reducing the impact rather than on analysing future scenarios of climate change using different models. The article raises several questions and suggestions regards climate change research and lays emphasis on what we really need from climate change researchers.

Quantitatively projecting the impact of future climate change on the socio-economy and exploring its internal mechanism are of great practical significance to adapt to climate change and prevent climate risks. Based on the economy-climate (C-D-C) model, this paper introduces a yield impact of climate change (YICC) model that can quantitatively project the climate change impact. The model is based on the YICC as its core concept and uses the impact ratio of climate change (IRCC) indicator to assess the response of the economic system to climate change over a long period of time. The YICC is defined as the difference between the economic output under changing climate condition and that under assumed invariant climate condition. The IRCC not only reflects the sensitivity of economic output to climate change but also reveals the mechanism of the nonlinear interaction between climate change and non-climatic factors on the socio-economic system. Using the main grain-producing areas in China as a case study, we use the data of the ensemble average of 5 GCMs in CMIP6 to project the possible impact of climate change on grain production in the next 15–30 years under three future scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5). The results indicate that the long-term climate change in the future will have a restraining effect on production in North region and enhance production in South region. From 2021 to 2035, climate change will reduce production by 0.60–2.09% in North region, and increase production by 1.80–9.01% in South region under three future scenarios. From 2021 to 2050, compared with the climate change impact in 2021–2035, the negative impact of climate change on production in North region will weaken, and the positive impact on production in South region will enhance with the increase in emission concentration. Among them, climate change will reduce grain output in North region by 0.52–1.99%, and increase output in South region by 1.35–9.56% under the three future scenarios. The combination of economic results and climate change research is expected to provide scientific support for further revealing the economic mechanism of climate change impacts.

For many years investigators have been aware of potential links between climate change and outdoor air quality.1 Far fewer studies have focused on climate change and indoor air quality, but a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concludes that the relationship between the two warrants further attention and action.2 “There’s not much research at this interface, and hard evidence is needed,” says John Spengler, an atmospheric scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, who chaired the committee that authored the report. “This report identifies indoor air quality as a priority that deserves an important place in climate change research and policy.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the IOM to independently investigate the issue. “Most people spend the majority of their time indoors, so it makes sense that people will experience climate change from a housing perspective,” says Patricia Butterfield, dean of the Washington State University College of Nursing, who reviewed the report. The IOM committee describes potential changes to residential and commercial buildings resulting from efforts either to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Climate change mitigation plans seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions often tout the goal of reducing the amount of energy needed to maintain a comfortable indoor environment. That’s because coal combustion for electricity production is a primary source of U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide.3 But steps such as weatherizing buildings to make them more energy efficient could create new indoor problems or worsen existing conditions, according to the report. For example, caulking and sealing leaks in buildings may alter airflow and concentrate indoor pollutants such as tobacco smoke, radon, and chemical emissions from building materials.4 And trapped moisture can spur mold and bacterial growth.5 Weatherproofing must be undertaken with care to avoid unintended problems with indoor air quality. Severe weather presents another opportunity for indoor air hazards. For instance, Butterfield says, families may face an increased likelihood of flooded basements or mold in attics related to predicted increases in extreme weather. And an increase in cases of carbon monoxide poisoning after hurricanes has been traced to the improper use of portable gasoline-powered generators, which emit high levels of carbon monoxide.6 When generators are used properly with good ventilation, they are not a problem. But when used improperly close to or inside homes, people end up in emergency rooms or even dead. “It’s a good example of the interplay we will experience as we adapt to climate change,” Spengler says. He adds that new weatherizing materials and techniques may be commercialized faster than their health implications can be assessed. “We will invent all sorts of things as we adapt to mitigate climate change,” he explains. The report authors write that an “upfront investment” is needed to consider the potential consequences of housing-related adaptation actions in order to avoid problems and prevent the costs of medical care and lost productivity of building occupants. This investment might entail research that combines data from government agencies to understand how climate change affects environmental health, putting programs in place to certify products as helpful or nonhazardous, and training workers to properly install proven products. Models to ensure the safety of building materials already exist in the U.S. Green Building Council and Labs21 programs.7 The report urges government agencies to cooperate in investigating the problem and work toward solutions. Several agencies already collect extensive data sets, such as residential energy consumption surveys conducted by the Department of Energy8 and the National Hospital Discharge Survey compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.9 Combining such data could help to answer questions about how climate change affects indoor health. Identifying complex public health issues that connect global climate change and indoor air environments can lead to sound policy decisions that could save lives, Butterfield says. “The IOM report makes a connection between global climate change and weather extremes and the behavior of people as they try to adapt,” she says. “Unfortunately, many people will experience climate change as a natural disaster like a flood or hurricane. We need to connect global climate change with the indoor air environment to give thoughtful guidance to people.”