Discussing the health impacts of climate change is a critical approach for furthering medicine’s mission—to improve health and accelerate equity. Health professionals are increasingly learning how climate change is harming their patients’ health. And, unsurprisingly, most respondents to a 2020 multinational survey felt a responsibility to educate the public and policy makers. In most nations “left” or “right” political ideology is a weak predictor of support for climate taxes or laws. Health professionals can contribute to collective action by reflecting and building on the existing consensus on climate change.

Residents, community organizations, and health care practitioners organized for over a decade to protect the health of residents on the front lines of urban oil extraction in L.A. In January 2022, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to draft an ordinance to prohibit all new oil and gas drilling and to phase out existing drilling operations throughout the City of Los Angeles. This resource is based on an interview with Wendy Miranda (she/they), a community leader with Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) and resident, about the historic victory. The organizing strategy to get this victory involved various lobbying efforts, rallies, press conferences, petition collections, a wide range of community/organization endorsements, phone banking, and social media outreach. Overall, frontline residents providing public comments and sharing their personal experiences were some of the strongest and most powerful tactics. STAND L.A. will continue to be part of the process to help draft an ordinance and direct the City of Los Angeles on how to lead a genuine community participation process. Miranda shares that this victory is proof that frontline communities can lead the change toward a just, equitable transition to a clean energy future.

Health professionals are the most trusted voices in society and our collective voices are needed to prepare communities to effectively respond to the climate crisis. This 5-session series of videos discuss strategies for health professionals to effectively channel their voice and action to address the climate crisis. Videos include: “Find your story,” “Find and connect with your audience,” “Find your election,” “Find your climate community,” and “Find your power.”

Climate change increases the incidence of practically all forms of human disease. This series of lectures features field leaders in various aspects of climate change and human health, focusing on how different types of extreme weather events and patterns cause both acute, and chronic, morbidities and mortality. Scientists, clinicians and public health policy experts to generate an integrated and comprehensive picture of health threats posed by climate change.

Most California voters consider air pollution and extreme heat to be serious threats to the health and safety of their families; the majority also support the new state law requiring composting of all food waste. 64% of voters in the state say that extreme heat poses a “very” or “somewhat” serious threat to the health and safety of themselves and their family, and 63% say the same about air pollution. The poll also finds a great deal of support for the new California law requiring the composting of food waste in order to reduce pollution in landfills, with voters favoring the new policy by a 68%-24% margin.

The Axios-Ipsos Hard Truths Environmental Racism poll finds that while all Americans are experiencing much the same climate-related challenges, minority Americans are much more likely to experience poor environmental conditions.  Along similar lines, Americans across the board report similar experiences with severe weather, but Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to experience prolonged power outages or water safety issues.

This resource maps various greenhouse gas emissions sources (and their types) around the U.S., allowing for user interaction with the geography. Data from EPA.