According to AP;We've rebutted the claim of increased deaths due to "extreme weather" (hint, it ain't happening), and "heat-related deaths" (more people die of cold than heat) previously, but the asthma thing is new. From the NIH, fairly respectable for a government agency:
Warning of the perils to the planet has gotten the president only so far; polls consistently show the public is skeptical that the steps Obama has taken to curb pollution are worth the cost to the economy. So Obama is aiming to put a spotlight on ways that climate change will have real impacts on the body, like more asthma attacks, allergic reactions, heat-related deaths and injuries from extreme weather.
Obama said spending on health — such as preventing asthma — can save more money than it costs, as well as alleviate pain and suffering.
What Causes Asthma?Do you see anything in this list (after the honest "The exact cause of asthma is not known"), that even begins to relate to "climate change"?
The exact cause of asthma isn't known. Researchers think some genetic and environmental factors interact to cause asthma, most often early in life. These factors include:
If asthma or atopy runs in your family, exposure to irritants (for example, tobacco smoke) may make your airways more reactive to substances in the air.
- An inherited tendency to develop allergies, called atopy (AT-o-pe)
- Parents who have asthma
- Certain respiratory infections during childhood
- Contact with some airborne allergens or exposure to some viral infections in infancy or in early childhood when the immune system is developing
Some factors may be more likely to cause asthma in some people than in others. Researchers continue to explore what causes asthma.
The "Hygiene Hypothesis"
One theory researchers have for what causes asthma is the "hygiene hypothesis." They believe that our Western lifestyle—with its emphasis on hygiene and sanitation—has resulted in changes in our living conditions and an overall decline in infections in early childhood.
Many young children no longer have the same types of environmental exposures and infections as children did in the past. This affects the way that young children's immune systems develop during very early childhood, and it may increase their risk for atopy and asthma. This is especially true for children who have close family members with one or both of these conditions.
It's probably unkind to call the President's comments a lie. I'm sure someone he trusted told him that global warming might cause an increase in asthma. I don't care. If the president is going to say it, he ought to subject it to a minimal level of fact checking.
I had asthma as a kid, and it turned out to be a house dust allergy (really an allegy to the feces of dust mites which live in bedding and feed on sloughed off skin).
For Obama to invoke this in his attempt to gain complete control over the economy for the Federal Goverment is equally disgusting.
That's what you get when a anti-science ignoramus goes off teleprompter. It's all about control and power ... truth is an impediment to our worthless ruling political class.
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