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Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health

May 2, 2013, N Engl J Med 2013; 368:1335-1343April 4, 2013DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1109341
By Anthony J. McMichael, M.B., B.S., Ph.D.
Excerpt from the article:

The global scale, interconnectedness, and economic intensity of contemporary human activity are historically unprecedented, as are many of the consequent environmental and social changes.

These global changes fundamentally influence patterns of human health, international health care, and public health activities. They constitute a syndrome, not a set of separate changes, that reflects the interrelated pressures, stresses, and tensions arising from an overly large world population, the pervasive and increasingly systemic environmental impact of many economic activities, urbanization, the spread of consumerism, and the widening gap between rich and poor both within and between countries.

In recent decades, international connectivity has increased on many fronts, including the flow of information, movements of people, trading patterns, the flow of capital, regulatory systems, and cultural diffusion. These exponential increases in demographic, economic, commercial, and environmental indexes have been labeled the Great Acceleration.

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