Human health will be strongly impacted by climate change. As climate change brings tropical weather to higher latitudes, tropical diseases - like the West Nile virus - will follow. Ecosystem disruption will make the outbreak of water-borne diseases more likely.

Air pollution, which in Canada is largely caused by fossil fuel use, is already a scourge on public health. Climate change will make smog more intense, and lead to still higher rates of asthma and heart disease. The most devastating casualties will be among inhabitants of poor countries, where there is little infrastructure to deal with changing water tables and increased extreme weather. Among the world's least privileged, the potential for climate induced disaster is enormous.

View the video showing how the burning of coal, oil, and gas harms our lungs.