Bob Menendez: “today I talk about public health. As I hope many of my colleagues are aware, this week is National Public Health Week…”

“today I talk about public health. As I hope many of my colleagues are aware, this week is National Public Health Week, and this year's goal is to increase the Nation's awareness of the serious effects of global warming on the public's health. When I say global warming, people think of many things. You might think of polar bears, vanishing glaciers, or rising sea levels, but you are not likely to think of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is unfortunate because there is a direct connection between global warming and the health of our Nation. A warming planet will affect food, water, shelter, and the spread of infectious diseases. At the same time, we will face more extreme weather events. Storms, floods, droughts, and heat waves will have an acute impact, particularly on hundreds of millions of people in the developing world. Climate change is very much a public health issue. The science behind global warming is no longer debatable. Scientists from around the globe have stated in the strongest possible terms that the climate is changing, and human activity is to blame. These changes are already dramatically affecting human health around the world.”