Think asthma is bad in Memphis now? Wait until global warming worsens it - along with the storms

Storms like the one that recently uprooted ancient trees and, at one point, plunged nearly 200,000 Memphians into a hell of heat and darkness are poised to worsen.

As is the asthma that so many suffer from.

President Donald Trump, in his contempt for science and global cooperation, will share much of that blame for that misery – because he withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Accord. That agreement was a pledge among 195 nations to curb the impact of climate change largely through reducing reliance on fossil fuels like oil and coal.

Because the U.S. emits a third of the carbon that is heating up the planet, its abandonment of the accord could reset other nations’ commitments to curb emissions that are heating up the planet and causing climate instability – like sudden, intense storms like the one that ripped through Memphis on Memorial Day weekend.

But global warming is doing more than destroying trees, homes and cars with storms and floods here. It is also destroying people’s lungs – because it is whipping up more allergens that spread asthma.

And Memphis is already the asthma capital of the U.S.

Fourteen percent of the children here have asthma, and it’s the single, most common reason for admissions to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. And, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Chattanooga and Knoxville also rank in the top 10 cities where asthma has people fighting to breathe.

But back to Memphis.

While it’s true that much of Memphis’ asthma problem is tied to the poverty of many of the sufferers who live in deteriorating housing plagued with water leaks, rodents and roaches that leave dander behind, as well as the fact that Memphis has a high number of smokers, this city also has an above-average pollen count.

That’s because it has an abundance of allergy-triggering trees like ash, mulberry and hickory, and persistent windy weather.

As global temperatures rise and carbon emissions increase, warm weather will last longer, the Memphis winds will become more extreme and pollen counts will soar. On top of that, evidence suggests that people who didn’t already have allergies are beginning to develop them because of climate change.

What’s also troubling is that, as in the aftermath of the recent storm, Memphis’ poorest communities will likely struggle more with asthma ratcheted up by climate change.

That means more misery. And more deaths.

“Besides the Paris Accord, so many things, like the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] are being gutted by this administration,” said Robert Bullard, dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University who is known as the “father of the environmental justice movement.”

“All of this is really bad news for most communities…in the Mid-South, global warming will increase the number of unhealthy air quality days. You’re going to have more people going to the hospital, more children getting sick…you’re going to have a lot of bad air days.

“We’re talking about severe weather events, extreme storms, droughts, tornados and heat waves that are going to hit poor communities harder. And, at the same time, we’re talking about people being pushed off health care.

“It’s going to be really bad for them…”

Of course, withdrawing from the accord will take four years – and Trump might be history by then. On top of that, many cities, states and municipalities are vowing to continue to fight climate change and to follow the agreement – even preparing a statement to be submitted to the United Nations signaling their intent.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s office, in fact, issued a statement saying that the city supported the goals of the Paris Accord, and that, among other things, climate action would be part of Memphis 3.0 – the city’s comprehensive plan.

Nonetheless, what’s clear is that too many lives are at stake for Memphians to be apathetic about – or in denial of – the power of climate change to sicken and kill each other. The recent storm – one of the worse in history – was a reminder of that.

And even if it wasn’t, all the wheezing from the asthma that plagues people here should be.