The Health of Our Grandchildren is at Risk
When we think about climate change, we may think of it as something that will happen in the future and which really doesn’t impact us. Unfortunately, the future is now and its victims are our grandchildren.
Yes, climate change is already causing measurable harm to children throughout the United States. For example, climate change has a direct impact on air quality, increasing ground-level ozone, which damages young lungs. Wildfires, such as those we have been seeing in California, produce smoke and particulate matter that can affect children living many hundreds of miles away. Earlier and more virulent pollen seasons are affecting children, more of whom are suffering from sometimes life-threatening asthma and allergies. Then there are diseases like West Nile virus and Lyme disease carried by mosquitoes and ticks that are expanding their geographic range with changes in temperature and precipitation. Climate change isn’t something happening in the future; it is hitting us now by threatening the health and well-being of those we love. Do not despair! We can do something to protect those we love!
We can mobilize now as Elders to have our voices heard for the planet, for our grandchildren and all future generations!
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Leslie Wharton
Elders Climate Action, Co-Chair
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Click on the infographic above for more information and detailed view.
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND YOUR HEALTH
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Submitted by Cynthia Mahoney, MD, ECA Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Contra Costa Chapter Group Lead
The Medical Society Consortium on Climate Change and Health brings together associations representing approximately 500,000 clinical practitioners to carry three simple messages:
- Climate change is harming Americans today and these harms will increase unless we act;
- The way to slow or stop these harms is to decrease the use of fossil fuels and increase energy efficiency and use of clean energy sources; and
- These changes in energy choices will improve the quality of our air and water and bring immediate health benefits.
This is especially important to vulnerable Americans and communities who are experiencing a disproportionate impact today from climate change.
The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change concluded that addressing climate change is the greatest public health opportunity of the 21st century, and failure to adequately address it could undo most of the progress in global health over the past century.
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Consensus Statement of The Medical Society Consortium On Climate and Health
We – the undersigned medical societies – support the international scientific consensus, as established in multiple national and international assessments, that the Earth is rapidly warming, and that human actions (especially burning of fossil fuels) are the primary causes. As established in the 2016 U.S. Climate and Health Assessment – The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment – the resulting changes in our climate are creating conditions that harm human health through extreme weather events, reduced air and water quality, increases in infectious and vector-borne diseases, and other mechanisms. While climate change threatens the health of every American, some people are more vulnerable and are most likely to be harmed, including: infants and children; pregnant women; older adults; people with disabilities; people with preexisting or chronic medical conditions, including mental illnesses; people with low-income; and indigenous peoples, some other communities of color, and immigrants with limited English proficiency.
We know that addressing climate change through reduction in fossil fuel use will lead to cleaner air and water, to immediate health benefits for Americans, and will help to limit global climate change.
Dr. Cynthia Mahoney was the guest speaker on the October National Call, to watch her presentation Fossil Fuels, Climate and Health click the button below.
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Left: Incredible video of patients being evacuated from Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa during the Napa Fire. Click the image on the left to watch the video on Jason Martinez's Twitter feed.
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Download Dr. Cynthia Mohoney's Info Sheet
Fossil Fuels & Climate Change Damage Our Health
This is a great resource when speaking to government officials.
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Northern California (NorCal) Chapter
Fossil Free CA recently asked our chapter to support the Buy Clean California Act AB 262 which sets a low carbon standard for certain industrial products purchased by the state, such as steel and glass. They requested that we contact Governor Jerry Brown to let him know we support the legislation and ask him to sign it. We asked our members to do this.
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A few days later, we received this note from Fossil Free Legislative Chairs, Janet Cox and Christine Shewmaker. “Thank you for your support of this bill and climate action in general. You will be pleased to know the Governor signed the Buy Clean California Act this afternoon. See
Rob Bonta's statement
on the signing of this bill. Thank you again for your efforts.”
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ECA Is Coming to a Community Near You!
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Thinking about starting an ECA network in your area? You have seen the devastation caused by global warming and wonder if there is anything one person can do. Perhaps you have thought about joining with 3 or 4 friends and neighbors to discuss what a small group could do together. Don’t know where to start? ECA will help get the conversation going! We will do a webinar for your local area and answer your questions about starting a group of Elders who want to take action! If you would like more information on scheduling a webinar, email
info@eldersclimate.org
.
Together we
will
make a difference!
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NorCal ECA Members Josephine Withers & Shirley McGrath meeting with Quaker Earthcare Witness General Secretary Shelley Tanenbaum, Albany, CA
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ECA Monthly
National Call
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November 28th, 2017
7:00 PM EST | 4:00 PM PST
Join us for a conversation, “What We as Individuals Can Do”. This will be an opportunity to share ideas and learn from each other.
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Mark Your Calendars!
Elders Climate Action will be Participating in
GivingTuesday, November 28th
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Elders Climate Action is excited to announce that we will be participating in GivingTuesday! Annual rituals, like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. are days dedicated to getting the best deals on consumer goods. On the flip side, GivingTuesday is a day dedicated to doing good and giving back. Together, people are creating a new ritual for our annual calendar, GivingTuesday is a reminder of the “reason for the season.” Every act of generosity counts, and each means even more when we give together. Together, millions of people demonstrate our common capacity to give on GivingTuesday.
On November 28th we will contact you via email with an invitation to participate in GivingTuesday, we hope you will consider a tax-deductible gift to Elders Climate Action on that day!
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A Heartfelt Thank You to All Those Who Support the Important Work of ECA!
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Send a letter to your Member of Congress and urge them to take action on climate change legislation TODAY.
We've made it easy for you. Click the link to send a letter and add a personal message to your Member of Congress.
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