Add health concerns to the long list of issues affected by global warming. A long-term study of climate change’s impact on medical needs was conducted by Australian researchers in order to help that country’s health system plan for the future.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, researchers found that “heat waves - defined as a periods of three days or more in which the average temperature exceeded 35 degrees - produced a seven per cent increase in admissions to hospital and a four per cent increase in ambulance trips.” The Herald adds that “the number of people admitted for kidney disease increased by 17 per cent (during heat waves), and the number admitted for mental illness increased by seven per cent.”

Melbourne’s Herald Sun (ironic name, that) quotes the study’s lead researcher, Prof. Kevin Parton, as saying that mosquito-borne diseases will also be on the upswing as the result of warming trends.

Hey - not that it'a all bad news! If you're an investor who doesn't care how long we're all going to live, this opens up some great investment opportunities for related medical products - including antibiotics, antidepressants, dialysis technology, and bug repellent.

I wish I were kidding.