The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has confirmed 25 heat-related deaths in the state, including 20 in the St. Louis area. The department also has received hospital reports of 829 heat-related emergency department visits from May 1 through July 22. The weather is also causing a high risk of fire, according to the governor’s office.
The most expansive drought in the United States in more than half a century has hurt corn and soybean crops.
The temperature in St. Louis was 104 Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Through July 21, this year has been the warmest start to a calendar year on record in St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri, the NWS said.
The link for the story above is here: Missouri declares state of emergency due to heat, drought
Let’s review those numbers again: 25 deaths this summer. 829 Emergency Department visits related to the heat. Crops failing. Farmers suffering. And that is just one state. Other states no doubt can recite similar statistics. As for the risk of wildfires, well let me say say simply this: Colorado, Texas and the US Southwest, this year and last. Right now wildfires are also a major problem in other countries such as Portugal and Russia.
Yet the GOP’s record on climate and environment is only part of an agenda that is causing misery now for millions of Americans. What are the policies promoted by the GOP that have contributed to this misery, and yes unnecessary deaths, that will continue to contribute to these concerns? Here’s a short list (in no particular order):
(cont.)
1. Denial of Global Warming (see also the no. 2 related GOP policy on my list).
2. Energy policy based on extraction of fossil fuels at the expense of conservation and investment and development of renewable energy.
3. Underfunding (and the potential elimination) of Health Care Reform, the Privatization of Medicare, and the potential elimination of Medicaid.
4. NO JOBS PLAN (sorry, for the all caps but it seems appropriate). To be fair, they do have a plan for job creation, just not in the United States.
5. Tax Cuts for the Rich and Large Corporations.
6. Increased taxes on the poor and Middle Class.
7. Reduction of Government Services and Assistance by the Federal Government (e.g., Kill off the National Weather Service, Environmental Regulation, FEMA, NIH and CDC funding, No Grants for Municipalities for police, fire and EMT services).
8. Protect the Big Banks at all costs, including watered down regulations.
9. Reward Companies for Outsourcing Jobs.
10. Add your “favorite” in the comments. Personally I’d choose the War on Women and their health but feel free to choose your own if you like.
Alan Grayson was right the Republican Party is the Death Party. Time and time again they support policies that harm the majority of Americans and increase the risks that will lead to more American deaths. The 8 years of the Bush years led to military deaths, and their policies have led to an increase in misery for most Americans, from poor healthcare, climate related weather events, lost jobs, higher prices for food and other essentials, greater environmental pollution leading to higher risks of cancer and other diseases, etc.
Here’s what the picture looked like in 2000 vs. 2010:
People without health care coverage:
2000: 38.7 million
2010: 49.9 million
Average cost of health care coverage for families with insurance (yearly premiums):
2000: $6,438 a year.
2010: $13,770 a year
Quality of US Health Care: Link
Americans spend twice as much as residents of other developed countries on healthcare, but get lower quality, less efficiency and have the least equitable system, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The United States ranked last when compared to six other countries — Britain, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, the Commonwealth Fund report found. […]
“We rank last on safety and do poorly on several dimensions of quality,” Schoen told reporters. “We do particularly poorly on going without care because of cost. And we also do surprisingly poorly on access to primary care and after-hours care.” […]
Every other system covers all its citizens, the report noted and said the U.S. system, which leaves 46 million Americans or 15 percent of the population without health insurance, is the most unfair.
“The lower the performance score for equity, the lower the performance on other measures. This suggests that, when a country fails to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, it also fails to meet the needs of the average citizen,” the report reads.
Increase in Asthma: Link
The proportion of Americans with asthma increased from 7.3% in 2001 to 8.4% in 2010, marking the highest level ever, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. In 2010, an estimated 18.7 million adults and 7 million children had the disease — one in every 12 Americans. […]
Climate Change and US Air Quality: Link
Rising temperatures can make smog pollution worse and increase the number of “bad air days” when it’s hard to breathe. […]
Ozone smog forms when pollution from vehicles, factories, and other sources reacts with sunlight and heat. Increasing temperatures speed this process and result in more smog. Added to the mix are ragweed and other allergens in the air — which are expected to worsen as rising carbon dioxide levels cause plants to produce more pollen. Also, as dry areas get dryer, wildfire risks go up and smoke from burning landscapes intensifies poor air quality.
Exposure to increased smog, pollen pollution, and wildfire smoke puts a wide range of people at risk for irritated eyes, throats and lung damage (the U.S. EPA likened breathing ozone to getting a sunburn on your lungs). This includes outdoor workers, children, the elderly, and those who exercise outside.
Income Inequality Creates Disparities in Health Outcomes in America: Link
Socioeconomic status, whether assessed by income, education, or occupation, is linked to a wide range of health problems, including low birthweight, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.1 Lower socioeconomic status is associated with higher mortality, and the greatest disparities occur in middle adulthood (ages 45–65).2
J. Michael McGinnis and William Foege have provided an incisive analysis of the “actual causes” of death in which they estimated the number of U.S. deaths caused by factors such as tobacco, diet and lack of activity, and toxic agents.3 They noted the mismatch between the importance of these factors and allocation of health care resources, with most resources going to treat diseases and relatively few to modifying the predisposing factors. To modify these risk factors, one needs to look even further upstream to consider their “actual determinants.” Socioeconomic status is a key underlying factor. […]
Although controversial, one explanation is that underinvestment in public goods and welfare and the experience of inequality are both greater in more stratified societies and that these, in turn, affect health.10 If this is correct, then highly stratified societies take an additional toll on health beyond that associated with absolute deprivation. Although the association between income and health is stronger at lower incomes, income effects persist above the poverty level.
This is what Republicans stand for: policies that increase the risk of death for the lower 99%, as well as ignoring the increasingly massive and life-threatening effects of climate change so the wealthy can accumulate even more wealth.
Republicans don’t care if you live or die. They do care about increased profits for the extremely wealthy at the expense of everyone else. Rather than the elephant (an intelligent and compassionate species) this should be the symbol of their Party:
