Climate Change in the Flathead Watershed

Adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our risks from the harmful effects of climate change (like sea-level rise, more intense extreme weather events, or food insecurity). It also includes making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate change (for example, longer growing seasons or increased yields in some regions).

Reducing climate change – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these gases (such as the oceans, forests, and soil). The goal of mitigation is to avoid significant human interference with Earth's climate, “stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner” (from the 2014 report on Mitigation of Climate Change from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, page 4).

Review of Montana’s health profile reveals that our state’s rural nature—including limited access to healthcare facilities—has a wide-reaching impact on our citizens’ well-being. Montanans suffer from chronic disease, inadequate maternal and childhood healthcare, a high rate of vehicular deaths, and mental illness, suicide, alcoholism, and substance use disorders. We next consider what concerns result when climate-related impacts are added to these existing health conditions. The remainder of this section describes ten groups in Montana having particular health vulnerabilities to climate change.