•HRES 1081 IH 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing of the week of April 7, 2008, to April 13, 
2008, as ‘‘National Public Health Week’’. 
Whereas the week of April 7th, 2008, is National Public 
Health Week, and the theme is ‘‘Climate Change: Our 
Health in the Balance’’; 
Whereas since 1996, the American Public Health Association, 
through its sponsorship of ‘‘National Public Health 
Week’’, has educated the public, policy-makers, and pub-
lic health professionals about issues important to improv-
ing the public’s health; 
Whereas according to the World Health Organization 
(WHO), climate change is a significant and emerging 
threat to public health and the WHO estimates that 
human-induced changes in the Earth’s climate lead to at 
least 5,000,000 cases of illness and more than 150,000 
deaths each year; 
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change (IPCC), climate change contributes to the 
global burden of disease, premature death, and other ad-
verse health impacts due to extreme weather events, and 
changes in infectious disease patterns, air quality, quality 
and quantity of water and food, ecosystem changes, and 
economic impacts; 
Whereas according to the IPCC, the United States will be 
challenged by increased heat waves, air pollution, and 
forest fires during the course of the century, with poten-
tial risk for adverse health impacts, such as heat stress 
and increases in asthma, allergies, and chronic obstruc-
tive pulmonary disease; 
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•HRES 1081 IH 
Whereas the Director of the United States Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention, Dr. Julie Gerberding, testi-
fied in October 2007 that, ‘‘Climate change is anticipated 
to have a broad range of impacts on the health of Ameri-
cans and the nation’s public health infrastructure’’; 
Whereas according to the World Health Organization the 
negative public health impacts of climate change will like-
ly disproportionately impact communities that are already 
vulnerable; 
Whereas these communities include developing countries, 
young children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses 
or otherwise compromised health, people in underserved 
communities, communities of color, traditional societies, 
subsistence farmers, and coastal populations; 
Whereas it is estimated that more than 900,000,000 people 
worldwide live in slum-like conditions and are particularly 
vulnerable to the possible health impacts of climate 
change due to a lack of access to health care, sanitation, 
and vulnerability to displacement; 
Whereas future vulnerability to the health impacts of climate 
change will depend not only on the degree of climate 
change the Earth experiences, but also on development 
and adaptation measures; and 
Whereas the public health system will be a first-line re-
sponder to emergency conditions related to impacts of cli-
mate change and plays a key role in informing, edu-
cating, and empowering local communities: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) recognizes ‘‘National Public Health Week’’; 
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•HRES 1081 IH 
(2) recognizes the efforts of public health pro-
fessionals, first responders, States, municipalities, 
and local communities to incorporate measures to 
adapt health care systems to address impacts of cli-
mate change; 
(3) recognizes the role of adaptation in pre-
venting impacts of climate change on vulnerable 
communities, the improvement of health status and 
health equity through efforts to address climate 
change, and the need to include health policy in the 
development of climate responses; 
(4) encourages further research, interdiscipli-
nary partnership, and collaboration between stake-
holders to understand and monitor the health im-
pacts of climate change, for preparedness activities, 
and for improvement of health care infrastructure; 
and 
(5) encourages each and every American to 
learn about the impact of climate change on health. 
Æ 
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