Climate change also demands an ethical response in that its causes are systemic and related to many other woes. Modern societies, in their combustion of fossil fuels, not only release carbon dioxide, the most common of the “green house gases,” but a host of other toxins including nitrogen-oxides, mercury, sulfur-dioxide and particulate matter. Publications by the American Lung Association, Center for Disease Control, Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Environmental Protection Agency point to research showing that a number of respiratory illnesses, some fatal and many primarily affecting children, are caused by industrial pollutants. It would seem that our political and economic systems, our very lifestyles, are severely threatening the health and well-being of local populations as well as the global environment.