Regardless of whether the influences are man-made or due to predictable geological vicissitudes, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Atmospheric and Space Administration (NASA), we are assured to be in a period of global temperature change that is trending upward for our foreseeable future. The drivers influencing this change are immaterial to our discussion and better left to those with particular interests or positions to promote or protect. Since this trend is expected for the foreseeable future, taking measures to understand basic human physiology can better prepare us to prevent injuries, illnesses and incidents that an exposed workforce could encounter. While doing so allows our efforts to rest on the solid ethical foundation of preventing pain and suffering to those who count on us for protection, we can also reap the obvious benefits of saving our industries countless amounts of wasted expenditure reacting to immutable factors that simply could have been avoided.
To wit, climate data as presented by NOAA in Exhibit 1 and NASA in Exhibit 2 suggests we will be exposing our workforce to increasing heat in all non-climate controlled environments.
