Major Science Organization’s Claim Climate Change Might Increase Mental Illness, Suicide Has More Craters Than Moon

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) highlighted in its Wednesday report about greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) that some researchers have linked climate change and air pollution to mental health ailments, a claim that experts who spoke to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation rebuked.

NASEM released a report on GHGs following the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) July 29 announcement that the agency is moving to roll back the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which several energy sector experts previously told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation was hastily assembled with potential political motivations. The report, titled “Effects of Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas Emissions on U.S. Climate, Health, and Welfare,” argued that different “psychological and mental health” problems might be downstream of climate change and air pollution in a move that cherry-picks data and stokes climate anxiety, according to energy sector experts that spoke with the DCNF.

“The report is right to say climate anxiety is a problem, but the authors don’t seem to recognize their role in stoking it. We’ve been hearing for decades that humanity is about to drive off a climate cliff, but the negative impacts of climate change are overstated, and trying to talk about any positive impacts will get you kicked out of polite society,” Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Travis Fisher told the DCNF. “If we’re only allowed to speak in terms of global doom, of course that will damage mental health.”

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The NASEM report concluded that the current and future harm inflicted on human health and the environment by GHGs is “beyond scientific dispute,” and that increasing GHG levels are exacerbating the effects of climate change. NASEM also documented the potential connection between climate change, air pollution and mental health problems.

The NASEM report states that PM2.5, or fine inhalable particles with diameters generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller as defined by the EPA, have been linked to increased rates of “mood and psychotic disorders” as well as suicide. “The climate’s impact on mental health was not addressed in EPA (2009). Extreme weather events have been associated with increased rates of anxiety, depression, and mental health disorders. Air pollution (PM2.5) has been associated with increased prevalence of mood and psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) and suicide,” the report states. “Heat waves and high temperatures are associated with increased cases of suicide, hospital visits for mental health issues, crime and violence. Sleep (particularly deep sleep) is also affected by ambient temperature and humidity, which may be impacted by climate warming, and can further exacerbate mental health declines.” Several energy experts explained to the DCNF that the association between air pollution and mental health is not well supported and that highlighting the issue within this report is a prime example of aggravating the public’s climate fears. Notably, severalrecentpolls and articles have documented the anxiety many young people feel over climate change. “These types of adverse health impacts often get thrown around but have very little evidence supporting them. Two main points: the argument is affiliated with PM2.5 pollution, not greenhouse gases. Activists often conflate the two issues — air quality and climate,” Mandy Gunasekara, former Trump EPA chief of staff, told the DCNF. “The science used to suggest PM2.5 causes adverse health effects is the result of deceptive research tactics, testing biases, and irreproducibility. There are similar criticisms regarding heat waves. Claims of direct cause are questionable as they often do not account for pre-existing medical or physical conditions.” Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate and Environment Diana Furchtgott-Roth told the DCNF that PM2.5 is “regulated under a different statute, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. That’s not greenhouse gasses.” The EPA

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