Leaders of the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association made a case for taking action to limit greenhouse gases in the name of improved public health, at a teleconference sponsored by the APHA.

“The scientific evidence indicates that our climate clearly is changing” and with that come public health consequences, said Dr. Cecil Wilson, president of the AMA and one of the four participants on the panel. Extreme heat in the summer and colder and snowier winters are the result of climate change, with the heat affecting the broader public and especially people with chronic conditions, he said.

The teleconference was held as members of Congress consider legislation that would keep the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing rules to limit the emission of greenhouse gases into the air. The House passed such legislation Feb. 18. “We believe we should follow the science” and allow the EPA to implement the rule, said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the APHA. (Read more about health groups' views on EPA regulations.)