This op-ed essay urges medical anthropologists to join a growing number of public health scholars to examine the impact of global warming on health.
Adopting a critical medical anthropology perspective, I argue that global
warming is yet another manifestation of the contradictions of the capitalist world system.
Ultimately, an serious effort to mitigate the impact of global warming not only on health but also settlement patterns and subsistence will require the creation of a new global political economy based upon social parity, democratic processes, and environmental sustainability.
Key Words: critical medical anthropology; global warming; health Numerous climate scientists have come to the conclusion that global warming or climate change is largely the result of human or anthropogenic activities, particularly since the Industrial Revolution.
Global average surface temperatures rose 0.6–0.7_C during the 20th century; depending on the source, 2005 was either the hottest year or the second-hottest year since temperatures began to be systematically recorded in the mid-19th century. Forty percent of the Arctic icecap has retreated during the past several decades; and glaciers around the world have been rapidly retreating.