M12.9 - Climate Change

What I find most troubling about climate change is that it is causing our planet to destabilize, affecting almost every aspect of people's lives whether it is losing homes to fire or hurricanes, air pollution filled with pm2.5, changes in food security, or affecting water. With the increased fires, increased storm and hurricane activities, and more leading to increased morbidity and mortality, our current government still doesn't acknowledge how much it has/is/will affect everyone (Especially today's Camp Fire becoming the most destructive wildfire in CA history, and Trump just blaming it on "mismanagement of the forests").

As a public health professional, what I think needs the greatest attention right now is educating more people with ways that climate change affects our present and future and also the ways that people of low-income are affected the most. What should happen is promoting and publicizing ways to protect yourself from today's climate change effects, such as everyone should be wearing n95 masks right now with all the smoke in the air, along with the best easy and simple ways/actions for everyone to make changes immediately. For example, taking public transportation, encouraging others to use public transportation, and fighting for better public policy regarding emissions, pollutants, and more. Basically more social media activism, making simple easy ways to improve everyone's individual health, friends and family's health, local city's health, nation's health, and the world's health. I believe more people should be able to know and understand current public health issues other than students.

If I were visiting with a long-lost relative who had never heard about climate change, I would describe it as the long-term temperature rise/increase in the planet's climates that leads to multiple effects such as increased sea levels, drought, worsening of storms, and more.

Comments

  1. Angela GNovember 15, 2018 at 8:49 PM

    Hi Matt,

    I like your suggestion on educating others being a priority for PH right now. Not just on what climate change is, but on specific, tangible things we can do to help. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

    ReplyDelete

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