Science communicators are making original, entertaining, and educational content that is reshaping the climate narrative and empowering people to feel hopeful about their future, their health, and their planet. They are using social media for good by combating misinformation and inspiring others to take action.
The first Let’s Talk Climate episode of the year gave us lots of hope and inspiration through the topic, “Welcoming 2022 with Climate Optimism” with our guests Dr. Cecilia Sorensen, Director of the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education at Columbia University and Dr. Jay Lemery, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine & co-Director of the Climate & Health Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
In the last Let’s Talk Climate episode of 2021, The Planetary Health Alliance co-hosted a great discussion with Climate for Health about global initiatives and local actions that advance climate solutions for planetary health. Just in the fourth quarter of 2021, we saw the launch of the São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health, The Lancet Countdown 2021 report, and COP26. All of these initiatives are framed at a global scale and highlight the urgent need for climate and planetary health solutions that eliminate carbon emissions, restore natural systems, and center justice and equity. So what does this mean for our neighborhoods and communities, and how can we use these frameworks for bold action in 2022? Watch the full episode to find out.
Our most recent Let's Talk Climate episode features lead authors of a recent special article in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics to hear more about the impacts of climate change on human reproduction and the urgent need for action to improve health. Join lead authors Santosh Pandipati, MD, Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at O’Connor Hospital and Tracey Woodruff, PhD, MPH, Director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at University of California San Francisco to learn more about the strong call for bold climate action from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO).
The American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica are pleased to offer Mental Health and Our Changing Climate: Impacts, Inequities, Responses. It shares the latest and best knowledge on the many ways that climate change impacts mental health individually and community-wide, how structural inequities cause certain populations to be impacted first and worst, and the spectrum of solutions available to build resilience, strengthen care, and inspire engagement for transformative progress. It is intended to further inform and empower health and medical professionals, community and elected leaders, and the public to understand and act on solutions to climate change that will support mental health and well-being.
The 2021 Lancet Countdown U.S. Brief was released on October 21, 2021. In our most recent Let’s Talk Climate episode, we were joined by three pediatricians - Dr. Lisa Patel, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine; Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Interim Director of The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and Dr. Rebecca Philipsborn, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine, Emory University - who were on the writing team to discuss key findings, and using this recent dataset to advocate for children's health in a changing climate. This fun, inspiring, and motivational conversation covered youth advocacy on climate, medical training, and engaging your colleagues on climate, health, and equity.
Well designed, implemented, and communicated initiatives can be like a pebble in a pond. They can ripple out to affect initiatives by other environmental health professionals, organizations, and communities, ultimately leading to national impact. All environmental health professionals can amplify their impact by broadening their perspectives and outreach.
Children's Environmental Health Day is an annual celebration of children’s environmental health successes and a day to raise the visibility of issues and challenges in the field. It’s also a day to drive collective action to address the big challenges facing our little ones. In a special episode of Let’s Talk Climate, Climate for Health Director, Rebecca Rehr, sat down with Hannah Grose, Program Assistant at the Children’s Environmental Health Network to talk about Children’s Environmental Health Day Proclamations as tools for Climate Action.
Nurses are the most trusted leaders on climate solutions. As the 2021 school year starts, we have an incredible opportunity to support youth leadership on climate action, and incorporate climate education and health equity into curricula. Tune into this episode of Let's Talk Climate, co-hosted with the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) with special guest host, Dr. Katie Huffling, Executive Director of ANHE, as she is joined by Linda Mendonça, an ANHE Environmental Health Nurse Fellow 2019-2020 and President of the National Association of School Nurses and Andrea Lapuz, member of the ANHE Student Nurse Committee and active member of the National Student Nurses' Association.
On Monday, August 30, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE). This is the first national office to address climate change and health equity as its core mission, and was created in response to President Joe Biden’s Executive Order Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. ecoAmerica's Executive Director, Meighen Speiser, said of the announcement, "The HHS establishment of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity is a historic and exciting moment. We know Americans are personally concerned about climate change, and trust health leaders for information. We applaud the Biden Administration's approach to lead climate solutions with health equity, and will be keeping an eye on the office's activities and accomplishments to accelerate climate action." And Climate for Health Leadership Circle Members reacted to this announcement with enthusiasm for the elevation of climate change as a top priority for HHS, and for the framing of equity as the core of climate solutions.
This week, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released the first two pieces in its new series of case studies that examine efforts by states or localities to conceptualize and implement climate-adaptation policies and programs that center equity. TFAH aims to help make health equity a foundational principle of policymaking at all levels, including in climate policies. The series is meant to spotlight and spread awareness of useful models for peer practitioners to tailor and emulate in their own locations, as well as inspire additional ideas. It’s organized around two primary dimensions of equity: (1) procedural equity, which relates to the inclusiveness and accessibility of the process employed to conceptualize, design, and administer programs; and (2) distributional equity, which relates to the level of fairness in allocating program benefits and burdens.
This special episode of Let's Talk Climate digs into research from the Environmental Defense Fund that explores the local impacts of air pollution, and the resultant health disparities. Dr. Elena Craft, Senior Director of Climate and Health, outlines findings, and provides examples for climate action that improves air quality & increases health equity.
In the spirit of the National Environmental Health Association’s (NEHA) Annual Educational Conference theme, “Together a Safer and Healthier Tomorrow,” we co-hosted our most recent Let’s Talk Climate episode with NEHA with the same topic. Our guests, Natasha DeJarnett, PhD, MPH, & Steven Konkel, PhD, MCP joined us to discuss the environmental health role in climate action and solutions, diversifying the environmental health workforce, and advice for students entering the environmental health field.
The time is now to invest in our communities and build equitable, sustainable climate solutions. Solutions that have benefits that will last decades longer than our attention spans. We know what we need to do, and we need to build the drumbeat to make it happen.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and ecoAmerica hosted the virtual National Children’s Health and Climate Leadership Forum in October 2020 to: 1. Share information, ideas, opportunities and best practices in addressing children’s health and wellbeing amidst increasing impacts of climate change; 2. Increase awareness and inspire action on climate change and children’s health; and 3. Build leadership, capacity, and collaboration to address just and equitable solutions that prioritize children’s health and youth engagement. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s also a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. Thank you for taking this on... We all have an important role to play in protecting children.” — V. “Fan” Tait, MD, FAAP
In a recent article, Krystal Vasquez, PhD Candidate at the California Institute of Technology, wrote about her experience studying air pollution from wildfires and her experience as a disabled researcher. She wrote, "while the fires themselves don't discriminate, there are systems in place that do." Krystal joined Climate for Health Director, Rebecca Rehr, and Adriane Griffen, Senior Director of Public Health and Leadership at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), to discuss disability rights as an important tenet of environmental justice, climate solutions, and disaster planning. You can watch their full conversation now.
Listen to your mother! The age-old saying can be true for advice on balancing work and home life, getting over a cold, on losing a loved one, and increasingly on how to act on climate. Last month, we were joined by three phenomenal moms in the climate movement for a Let’s Talk Climate episode that provided a range of ideas for getting involved in climate action, talking to your kids about climate change, electing climate champions, and building equity into climate solutions.
For the special Let’s Talk Climate episode, “The Biden-Harris Administration’s First 100 Days: How Did they Fare on Climate, Health, and Equity?” Climate for Health Director, Rebecca Rehr, was joined by Jessica Wolff, U.S. director of climate and health at Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth, and Kineta Sealey, Policy Counsel at the Black Women’s Health Imperative.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In 2021, NAMI will continue with the theme “You Are Not Alone” for Mental Health Awareness Month. This has become an incredibly important and resonant message for us in the past year. That’s a message we also use in climate communications. You are not alone. Majorities of Americans, 74%, are concerned about climate change, with 45% being very concerned. But when you ask those same people whether others around them are concerned, few think others around them are concerned. In fact, it’s about half in that “very concerned” category. What this means is that people feel alone in their concern about climate, which limits their willingness to act. We can be part of climate solutions by talking to others about climate solutions and building the connections between climate, health, and equity.
coAmerica’s most recent contribution to the National Environmental Health Association’s Journal of Environmental Health, "Denial: Our Biggest Environmental Health Threat?" was published in the May 2021 issue.
Over 100 health professionals and organizations are supporting new Climate, Health, and Equity Recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Coming out of a year of multiple crises and a decisive election, 2021 is our moment to forge a path forward to a stable climate starting with ambitious American leadership on solutions. The American Climate Leadership Summit (ACLS 2021), celebrating its 10th year,will bring game-changing future-shaping…
A growing number of public health professionals find themselves responding to the urgent health impacts of climate change, whether they are prepared for this work, or not. We co-hosted this Let’s Talk Climate episode with the American Public Health Association’s…
Our health and our families’ health motivate us to act on ambitious and equitable climate solutions. Health is also at the root of climate justice. Black and Brown communities often contribute the least to climate pollution but suffer disproportionately from…
This year is the 30th anniversary of the 1991 People of Color Environmental Summit, where the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice were set forth. These principles, preceded by the 1987 Toxic Waste and Race Report and followed by the creation…
Health and medical experts agree that climate change is a health emergency – one of the greatest threats to human health that America has ever faced. Our nation’s health professionals are witnessing the health harms of climate change now, and…
Last week, we hosted the first health-focused Let’s Talk Climate episode this year, Hindsight is 2020: Our Climate & Health Goals for 2021. As a new administration takes the helm, we discussed opportunities to support health professional leadership and center…
On December 2, the 2020 global report of the Lancet Countdown on Health & Climate Change was released, along with the Policy Brief for the U.S. Each year, the Lancet Countdown tracks more than 43 indicators on links between health…
ecoAmerica’s most recent contribution to the National Environmental Health Association’s Journal of Environmental Health was published in the December 2020 issue, “Ambition, Restoration, and Justice: A Path Forward on Climate Solutions.” Working at the intersections where people live, work, learn,…
In a recent opinion piece in Scientific American, Drs. Howard Frumkin and Richard J. Jackson make the case for creating a National Institute of Climate Change and Health. “It would deliver needed insights to protect the public from the ravages of…
On our most recent Let’s Talk Climate episode, we were joined by Dr. Neelu Tummala, an ear, nose, and throat physician and clinical assistant professor of surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She is…
Time is harder to keep track of these days, and we continue to face compounding crises assaulting our health, environment, democracy, and economy. But, just around the corner is that glimmer of hope we continue to look for. October starts…
In the midst of a global pandemic, with climate disasters raging across the country, many Americans are laser focused on one date: November 3. “The most important thing we can do in this point and time is vote for leaders…
Last month, as part of American Climate Leadership Summit 2020, 17 national organizations publicly announced the Social Climate Leadership Group (SCLG), a newly formed effort to address the mental health aspects of climate change. The launch also included the group’s…
On a recent Let’s Talk Climate episode, I sat down with Surili Patel from the American Public Health Association (APHA) to discuss one of their newest priorities, energy justice. As Surili reminded us, “If it’s harming people, it’s our problem.…
On this special episode of ecoAmerica’s Let’s Talk Climate series, I had a conversation with Gloria Barrera, RN, and Jerome Paulson, MD, about engaging their peers, community, and policymakers on climate action. This 20-minute episode is jam packed with advice…
On June 11, I had the honor and privilege to engage in an energizing and powerful conversation about “Environmental Racism, Climate Justice, and Health” with Vernice Miller-Travis, Senior Vice President at the Metropolitan Group and environmental justice advocate. We started…
We premiered our Let’s Talk Climate webcast series with a trio of speakers sharing information and insights on the impacts climate change is having on motherhood, pregnancy, and birth outcomes in a changing climate and what we can all do…
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics and ecoAmerica took a moment to reflect on our partnership and collaboration to protect children’s health through climate solutions. You can watch the virtual forum…
The last few months have posed a unique challenge for all of us: stay away from each other in order to stay healthy. Physical distancing is the best method we have to combat the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. For many of…
We’re all trying to orient ourselves to a new world. We are amidst a fast-moving pandemic and economic contraction, and immediately concerned about our families and communities, and our future. As our perspectives are narrowed by the urgency of COVID-19,…
Climate for Health was thrilled to host the webinar, Mobilizing Action for Climate, Health, and Equity, as part of National Public Health Week 2020. We heard from health leaders from around the country working at the forefront of climate solutions.…
In the interest of our individual and collective health and wellbeing, ecoAmerica is rescheduling the American Climate Leadership Summit to August 26-27, 2020. Given current guidance on COVID-19, and the input from ACLS 2020 partners and speakers, we believe this…
The National Children’s Health and Climate Leadership Forum will bring together more than 100 leaders from organizations dedicated to children’s well-being to increase awareness, inspire action, and build capacity and collaboration to address climate change and children’s health. Hosted online…
Climate change is the greatest health threat of our time, and in response, health professionals across the U.S. and around the world are stepping into leadership on climate solutions. Changes to our climate are already impacting communities. These changes reach…
For almost 50 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been fulfilling its mission to protect human health and the environment. In fact, before the EPA was established, rivers were on fire! The EPA works to ensure that we have…
By biking, walking, and rolling you are improving your physical and mental health and addressing one of the biggest contributors to climate change – emissions from transportation. Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to our changing climate, resulting in increasing temperatures and extreme weather.…
Last week, we joined more than 70 health and medical groups to launch The Call to Action on Climate, Health and Equity: A Policy Action Agenda to protect the health and safety of all people in the U.S. From exposure to extreme weather…
Today the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE) and Climate for Health announced that the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice, and Health, a nurse-led initiative at MGH Institute of Health Professions graduate school in Boston, has become the first academic…
On Tuesday, June 11 Climate for Health co-hosted a live Tweetchat with Salud America! on the topic of air quality and pollution. We used the hashtag #SaludTues on Twitter to make the connections between air pollution, climate change, and our health and…
I live in Washington, DC and every morning when I walk outside, there is a thin layer of pollen that has accumulated…everywhere! I have a little tingle in my throat and my eyes are itchy. I am not alone in my…
The Lancet, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical journals, published “A Call for Clinicians to Act on Planetary Health” on April 19, 2019, just ahead of Earth Day on April 22. This global call-to-action, led by the Planetary…
The voices of health professionals on climate solutions have been steadily rising and the health sector is stepping up to mitigate our own climate impact as an integral part of our commitment to improve human health. On September 12, 2018,…
Isaac Newton’s third law of motion is: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Recalling our physics lessons might give us some insight into Pew’s January 2018 polling results, which found a seven point increase in just the…
