I have written earlier about how much longer the pollen season lasts now, to the sorrow of all of my patients with asthma and allergies. In researching that post, I referenced the delightful and practical science done by my podcast guest today, Dr. Lewis Ziska, PhD. He joins me today to discuss his research on pollen and allergens in our air, and how the “plant food” of increased carbon is affecting our world.
He has a long and celebrated career as a plant physiologist who has been working tirelessly to help us understand the impact of climate change on plant life, with a focus on food security and how climate change may be affecting our food supply. He had a 24 year career at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and is currently an associate professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He was a contributor to the 2014 International Panel on Climate Change report with respect to food security and was also a contributor to the 2014 and 2018 National Climate Assessment regarding public health and air quality. His most recent book is: Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security in the 21 st Century: Our Daily Bread.
Listen to our discussion today about how climate change is affecting our pollen. We also cover more recent science suggesting that climate change may be driving the rise in food allergies including peanut allergies. He also shared more about the political interference with science that forced him to decide to leave the USDA, a place where he has served for decades under Republican and Democratic administrations. As someone who works as an ICU doctor on the COVID19 frontline, it was sadly familiar to hear the similarity of the Trump administration ignoring life-saving science to feed a simple political narrative. This has also been detailed in the lay press.
As a climate scientist, he also explores the zoonotic origins of COVID19 and what we can expect regarding future pandemics and how we can prepare as a scientific community and a society.
TLDL- Climate change is leading to more allergenic pollen, in greater amounts, for longer pollen seasons!
Twitchy Airways Club Members– No, it is not your imagination, your allergies really are getting worse and lasting longer.
- As an exercise, add up how much money you and your insurance are paying each year for how much you spend on medications, inhalers, doctor visits related to allergies or asthma, then figure out how much your employer has spent on paying you missed sick days (if you have paid time off, hopefully you do!).
- These costs are part of the real cost of climate change!
- Consider writing an Op-Ed in your local paper and/or share on social media about what you have calculated
- Consider getting in touch with your elected representatives to tell them to act on climate change to avoid future escalating healthcare costs
- Consider donating to the National Resources Defense Council to work to mitigate damage from climate change and preserve clean air and food security.
References-
Botemiller Evans- “It Feels Like Something Out of a Bad SciFi Movie” – 2019 Politico article about Dr. Ziska leaving the USDA after 24 years due to scientific interference
Ziska, Lewis- Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security in the 21 st Century: Our Daily Bread
