This may not be high on your list of global warming fears, especially when compared to the increase in droughts, floods, and storms that are expected in a warmer world, but researchers' prediction of an increase in kidney stones means that many Americans will feel the pain of climate change inside their own bodies. Linking climate change to kidney stones seems odd, but it's based on the solid medical finding that people in warm regions develop the condition at increased rates. Sweating in warm weather removes fluid from the body and increases the salt concentration in urine, which can spur the growth of kidney stones.... The new study predicts about 2.2 million additional climate-related kidney stone cases each year by 2050
In the report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [subscription required], researchers say that warmer temperatures in the United States will
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