Cytes in the Climate Change project

They then removed the "y" to change the final emphasis to "our hands"

"There may, indeed, be some marginal health gains from warmer weather in some populations" says Professor McMichael. "But these objectors are missing the real point. Climate conditions are fundamentally important for all manner of things that our health and lives depend on. Mosquitoes and salmonella bacteria also like hotter weather, and rice yields decline by 10 per cent for each additional 1 deg C rise in temp. Slight warming of the sea surface heightens the intensity of cyclones, and, on land, increase the severity of droughts."

So it was a change of pace to interview the ANU's Professor Tony McMichael, a medical graduate and epidemiologist with vast credentials who is regarded as one of the world's leading authorities on the health impacts of climate change.

He speaks quietly, calmly. "The politicians have not got the message that the stakes in all of this go beyond economic inconvenience or disruption. The stakes are about the stability of human society and the health of the human population," he says.

His message is simple. Climate change will make us sick. The effects in Australia can already be seen, he says. More deaths and hospitalisations during heatwaves and more exposure to potentially fatal extreme weather events such as bushfires, floods and storms.

There are also indirect effects such as a greater incidence of diarrhoea which increases by 5 per cent for every 1 degree temperature rise as well as more debilitating mosquito-borne diseases such as Ross River virus and dengue fever. North Queensland recently suffered its worst outbreak of dengue fever in 50 years with more than 1,000 people infected from November last year.

"And there are problems for rural Australia where many communities are bearing the brunt at the front-end of climate change. I'm running a range of studies looking at the mental health consequences for people in eastern and south-eastern Australia which looks like it's facing long term drying and changed environmental and economic circumstances," says Professor McMichael.

There are longer term concerns that the potential displacement of millions of people from more vulnerable nations because of flooding or other severe climate change effects would break down authorities' ability to monitor the spread of various diseases. Or the arrival of new ones.

There is a growing body of work in this area. A report on the Copenhagen conference website states "there is growing evidence that ongoing deforestation, rising temperatures and unusual rainfall patterns have already expanded the risk of diseases being transmitted from animals and insects to humans."

These include malaria-carrying mosquitoes now found in South Korea and ticks that transmit Lyme disease now spreading in to Sweden and Canada because of warming temperatures.

Australia has some of the most magnificent and biodiverse forests in the world. New science also shows they are some of the largest carbon banks on Earth, helping to reduce climate change as well as maintain our water supplies. Yet many of these ancient forests, particularly in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, are clearfelled, burnt, and turned into millions of tonnes of woodchips for paper and cardboard every year.

Forests help halt climate change by sucking in and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide. Approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from clearing, logging and degradation of the world's intact forests.

By signing this pledge, countries and Non-Government Organisations have promised to support inclusion of text for protecting intact natural forest and restoring degraded natural forest as a core objective of a REDD mechanism. This includes protecting the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and forest communities in such forests. A REDD mechanism will only be effective at reducing emissions if helps indigenous peoples to protect their local forests and recognizes that such forests have historically been cared for by them.

Global temperatures may be 4 degrees Celsius hotter by the mid-2050s if current greenhouse gas emissions trends continue, a new study says.

conference - Green New Deal: ecology economy democracy

Climate Camp 09 is simultaneously a place to learn, a sustainable community, and an opportunity to take action on climate change and environmental destruction. It is built on four principles: popular education, sustainable living, movement building and non-violent direct action.

“Switch off Hazelwood. Switch off Coal. Switch on Renewables” is a day of fun, creative and inspiring direct community action at Hazelwood coal power station. This march and protest at the front gates of the Hazelwood Power Station, is organised by community members who care about climate change - and are willing to take peaceful community action.