humanities.philosophy.objectivism

On Feb 28, 3:19 pm, TC wrote:

> The issue is not deaths from heat spells or cold spells as
> most seem to assume, but the effect or hotter climate
> or colder climate on overall health.
> Mosquitoes, diseases, mold, that sort of stuff.

The issue is whether heat kills more people than cold, since that's
the claim I made and that's what you disputed. If you factor our heat
spells and cold spells, what you're left with is that in almost every
country except those very close to the equator, more people die when
it's cold than when it's hot. (Of course the issue then becomes
whether it's the cold that killed them.)

In any event, you can certainly make this very complicated if you want
to. (And if you want to argue about how global warming will affect the
human death rate, you do have to.) But, it is a very simple and
obvious fact that more human beings die due to cold than to heat.

FWIW, I don't think anyone can reliably predict the affect of global
warming on the human death rate. I can list the many problems involved
with making such a prediction, even if you start by assuming a
particular temperature profile. My gut sense is that almost any change
in climate will, at least in the short to medium term, result in
increased deaths. In general, stability is best for humans.

DS