AS GLOBAL warming heats the Earth, diseases will become more severe and widespread, affecting everything from trees and marine life to birds to people. That’s the dark vision spelled out by a respected team of researchers this week.
While they accept that their findings are controversial, they say there is already enough evidence to justify fears that diseases will sweep north into higher latitudes, infecting people, disrupting fragile ecosytems and possibly wiping out some species. “We don’t want to be alarmist, but we are alarmed,” says team member Richard Ostfeld from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York.…
