14: Pandemic Diseases and Drug Discovery - Under Construction

How can I use this chapter?

Many might think that biochemistry and climate change are unrelated. They are with respect to causation.  However, the effects of climate change on the biosphere need to be understood for many reasons.  Knowing these effects might convince people to support actions to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.  Understanding biochemical responses to climate change gives us an opportunity to make the biosphere more resilient to increased temperatures and conditions such as drought and floods.  We could develop strategies to lessen the potential for future pandemics that are likely with a changing climate.   

The primary cause of present climate change is the burning of fossil fuels and the release of CO₂ into the atmosphere, which warms the planet and causes collateral climate effects. Other causes include CO₂ release from cement production, and methane release, another greenhouse gas, from fossil fuel production.   Burning fossil fuels also causes pollution which sickens and kills millions each year.  Other human activities such as corporate farming, deforestation, habitat changes, production of plastics, and widespread use of herbicides and pesticides all synergize to have negative effects on what is now called "One Health", the collective health of humans, animals, and the biosphere.  We know and need to act on the fact that harm to any part of the biosphere affects us all.

This chapter is divided into four main parts. 

• Part 1 (Sections 01A, 01B, 2, and 3) offers a deep dive into the causes of climate change and how we construct past and predict future CO₂ and temperature values.  These sections contain little biochemistry per se. They are presented so students can understand how we know the relationships between climate, CO_2, and temperature.  A second goal is to allow students to rebut common misconceptions and disinformation that minimize the causes and extent of climate change.  In reality, people are not moved by mere data and information, so Part 1 can be presented just as background for interested readers. The rest of the sections focus on using biochemistry to understand the biological effects of climate change on organisms and ways to mitigate its worst effects.
• Part 2 (Sections 4-10) focuses on the production and use of biofuels to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels.  The basic hope for many forms of biofuel is that CO₂ can be removed from the atmosphere (by organisms or chemical means) as a feedstock for biofuels and then converted to fuels (like ethanol), which, on burning, return an equivalent amount of CO₂ to the atmosphere. 1 CO₂ is removed, and 1 CO₂ is returned to the atmosphere with net zero emission!  Unfortunately, this accounting is inadequate, as the net CO₂ emissions over the whole life-cycle of production and burning of biofuels must be considered, and when that happens, it may be that corn bioethanol (for example) is not much better or possibly even worse than burning fossil fuels. Of course, it would cause zero net emissions if the CO₂ emitted on burning is captured, but this would apply to fossil fuels as well. In addition, opportunity costs, such as the removal of potential croplands to feed people, are not often considered.  These "applied" sections have a great deal of biochemistry as well as some organic chemistry that students have previously encountered.
• Part 3 (Sections 11-14) focuses more on the biological effects of higher temperatures, pollution from fossil fuel use, and other climate effects on biomolecules, organisms, and, ultimately, human health.
• Part 4 (Sections 16-18) offers how we can use biochemistry, molecular biology, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology to capture more carbon, use less fertilizers, make plants more robust to climate change, and make manufacturing green.

This text is complementary to the material presented in Chapter 32:  Biochemistry and Climate Change, which illustrates that interdisciplinary solutions are needed.

To facilitate access for both instructors and students to climate change-relevant examples in Chapter 32, this clickable Climate Change and Biochemistry icon will be placed throughout Fundamentals of Biochemistry by climate change-relevant topics.

Other important climate change books

Bending the Curve: Climate Change Solutions by et al. Ramanathan, Veerabhadran et al. is a text that presents 10 climate change mitigation strategies using science, societal transformation, governance, economics, technology, and ecosystem management. "Bending the curve" was first used during the early years of the COVID pandemic.  In climate change, it means bending the curve of CO_{2 atm} and resulting global temperatures after a peak value is reached to reach values less detrimental to human and biosphere life.  Key themes emerge from the book:

• "There is still time to bend the curve.
• Bending the curve will require interdisciplinary solutions.
• Bending the curve requires a radical shift in attitude.
• Technology, market mechanisms, and policy need to be a part of the solution"