The United States Environmental Protection Agency warned of the effects of climate change on our health, summarizing in a new report the conclusions of tens of scientific studies on the issue. The Environmental Protection Agency said in there are serious and wide-ranging implications of global warming on the well-being and health of Americans. The 149-page document presents the grave health problems that global warming poses to people, affecting also the food and water that are indispensable to human life.

Warmer temperatures will exacerbate heart and lung problems, and will lead to more extreme weather conditions, triggering floods, intense storms, long droughts and extended hot-weather seasons. Warming of the water will reduce by 50 percent cold-water habitat in 11-16 states. Diseases will spread more quickly and people will be prone to asthma or other pulmonary ailments, as health problems will take a heavy toll on the poor, elderly and young.

The document appeared on EPA’s Website trying to prove that there was a clear link between public health and climate change. The presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama both said they would take some measures regarding this important problem should they be elected president. The Bush administration has refused to acknowledge that the warmer weather could pose risks to people, backing polluting industries such as car manufacturers.

Some industry representatives said that the link between climate change and health was not that strong.

The North Pole is among the regions that are likely to be greatly affected by climate change, and with temperatures that increase three times faster than on the rest of the globe (due to the fact that water absorbs the sun's energy), the events in the Arctic region could turn dramatic.

Last year alone, the most dramatic loss of ice ever recorded shocked scientists and triggered alarm signals on the rapid decrease in ice. This is the reason why scientists also warned that a complete loss of the sea ice could happen this year, if things continue to evolve at this pace.

The changes wouldn't just affect the animals living in the region, which are already considered to be among the most endangered species in the world at the moment, but also people living on coast lines (a melt of the Arctic ice also means an increase in the sea levels).

Tom Brikowski, an associate professor with a specialty in hydrology in the department of geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, recently predicted that as the planet warms there will be more people suffering from kidney stones most probably due to dehydration that comes by either not drinking enough liquid or losing too much because high heat conditions.

Kidney stone disease or nephrolithiasis is not the only condition scientists have predicted to come together with global warming. Many scientists already think global warming will increase the reach of tropical disease such as malaria.

Global warming is also expected to take a very heavy toll on the economy. It will diminish the availability of natural resources and will cost more the government as medical and other costs will skyrocket.