Action as an Antidote – Climate for Health

The caption on one of my favorite cartoons reads: ”My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”

Published in the New Yorker in 2017, David Sipress aptly describes the endless stream of bad news that many of us experience daily in the world of climate change and COVID-19. As a health care worker these past few years, I’ve felt increasingly burdened by this bad news–and I’m not alone. In 2020, nearly one in every five healthcare workers quit. Many of them cited burnout and significant pay cuts with increased risk to their health and the health of their families. For several, this was compounded by a baseline, pre-pandemic state of emotional exhaustion. As stories of worldwide death and devastation from the pandemic swirled around us, we watched patients suffer in front of us. We also saw historic inequalities become glaringly

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The United Nations, Climate Change, Environmental Health, and You

ecoAmerica’s most recent contribution to the National Environmental Health Association’s Journal of Environmental Health, “The United Nations, Climate Change, Environmental Health, and You” by Nicole Hill, MPH, and Bob Perkowitz is now available in the October 2022 issue.

The leading authority globally on climate change is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) within the United Nations. Every 5 years, the panel releases an extensive 3-part assessment on climate change that explores the science, the impacts, and the solutions. In February 2022, IPCC released findings from Working Group II as part of its Sixth Assessment Report. The Working Group II report—3,675 pages long itself—focused on climate change impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities. So, what do these findings mean for environmental health and you?

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Addressing climate change to be a top global priority for world leaders

This past month, I attended my first United Nations General Assembly in New York. As a UN Liaison for Sigma Nursing, I was granted special access to the assembly hall where world leaders gathered to discuss challenges we face as a global community. Climate change was a common concern. I listened intently as leaders from across the globe enumerated the negative effects of climate change (such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and flooding) to their countries.

Sigma Nursing UN Liaison Janice Hawkins at the UN General Assembly

I also attended a General Assembly side event on Sustainable Surgical Systems and Planetary Health. The guest of honor, Prime Minister Bainimarama of Fiji, opened the event by sharing his concerns for the impact of sea level rise. Prime Minister Bainimarama has frequently called on the support of the world to help address urgent issues of climate change. Parts of Fiji are

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Let’s Talk Climate: How Kaiser Permanente is Leading and Engaging on Climate Solutions

National health organizations understand that climate change is affecting their patients, that goals of health equity are undermined by climate change, and that caring for community health requires climate action.

In this episode of Let’s Talk Climate, two leaders from Kaiser Permanente join us to discuss how patients and providers have experienced climate change, and the actions that they are taking: Seema Wadwha, the Executive Director of Environmental Stewardship at Kaiser Permanente and Dr. Colin Cave, the Medical Director of External Affairs, Government Relations and Community Health of Northwest Permanente. We are excited to see these partnerships grow and build momentum.

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Additional Resources

Climate for Health – Kaiser Permanente Ambassador Training (Use code: KPCfHAmbassador)

Climate for Health Resources

American Climate Leadership Awards

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Healthy Eating For Pregnant Girls

Do you like bagels? Mmmm, heat, crunchy bread with comfortable doughy facilities. It is hard to go wrong with these delicious, breakfast and snack-time circles of pleasure. The one thing better than a bagel is a bagel topped with one thing tasty. The truth is, I by no means eat a bagel plain, even a flavored one. I all the time put either cream cheese, peanut butter, or on the very least butter, on mine.

Wow, I had no idea that cheese can be on that listing. Thanks so much for this Hub. Awesome information and fairly instructional as effectively. My canine may not agree since I am now taking cheese off her deal with listing. No worries, I will not inform her where I heard it! I am a big fan of lemons for health. They’re additionally a great fruit for serving to with problems of inflammation.

For each …

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