Obama says climate change is harming Americans' health

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says climate change isn't just affecting the nation's weather, it's harming Americans' health.

Obama says, for example, that increasing wildfires are putting more pollution in the air, allergy season is growing longer and insect-borne diseases are on the rise.

Obama spoke Tuesday at Howard University Medical School, where he was announcing a series of steps that Google, Microsoft and other private entities are taking to better prepare the nation's health systems for the changing climate.

Obama says some families are especially vulnerable, but the problems affect everyone.

He says, "You can't cordon yourself off from air."