Global warming, climate change and the increase in wildfires, weather events, emissions from fossil fuels and hotter temperatures will have a negative health impact, according to Lauren Koch, the Sustainability Program Manager for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Marium Husain, MD, a James medical oncologist who specializes in treating patients with soft tissue and bone sarcomas. In this episode, the two discuss how global warming and climate change could increase the cancer risk for people, but quickly add that scientific research into the specifics are in the early stages. The particles from wildfires and carbon emissions “break down into smaller particles, nanoparticles,” Kock explained. “A lot of data shows that when they are inhaled into the lungs it causes problems down the road.” Koch added that the increased number of wildfires, that are burning longer and hotter, and the continued reliance on fossil fuels are “a recipe for disaster” and will lead to more nanoparticles in the air. “We’ve already seen this in Beijing, the connection between increased particles and lung cancer,” Koch said, adding the number of skin cancer diagnoses could also increase. “As more of the sun’s ultraviolet light is trapped in the atmosphere … that could lead to more exposure to ultraviolet light and that could lead to higher rates of skin cancer.” Despite the realities of global warming, Koch and Husain remain optimistic. “I find hope in the people who are here, like Lauren, and the investment we’re making in these people,” Husain said.