APHA to Create Major Climate Change Initiative
APHA to Create Major Climate Change Initiative
November 7, 2007 (Washington, DC) — "There is a direct connection between climate change and the health of our planet," American Public Health Association (APHA) Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD, said here yesterday at a news conference during APHA's 135th Annual Meeting. The organization is about to become engaged in climate change in a big way.
"Until now...most of the public dialogue has focused on ecological devastation. As a result, few Americans are aware of the very real consequences of climate change on their daily lives today," Dr. Benjamin said. "Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing our world, and public health needs to have a seat at the table for this conversation."
Between now and April 2008, APHA will be "coordinating a national conversation among public health experts and policy makers" to develop a series of practical recommendations that public health practitioners can use to begin to address these issues. The recommendations will be released during National Public Health Week in April 2008 under the theme "Climate change: our health is in the balance."
Dr. Benjamin said most climate change documents to date have made people think, " 'Oh my god, the end of the world'; they have not made people think about what they can do in their daily lives." He said that APHA wants people to start thinking, "What can I do today?" about climate change.
"Those most vulnerable to the risks of climate change are the least responsible for the problem," said Jonathan Patz, MD, an associate professor of environmental studies and population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He reminded the audience of the increased interconnectedness of the world and that an emerging infection in one location can quickly spread globally.
Multnomah County (Oregon) Health Department Director Lillian Shirley said concerns range from better urban design that will encourage reduced use of cars and greater physical activity, to the regional effect of snow melts and how they affect the mosquito population and thus diseases borne by that vector.
"We can't allow the scope of the problem to paralyze us," she said, noting that the group wants to identify simple actions for individuals and business in the community that will mitigate the effect of climate change. "We are protecting ourselves, and we are protecting our neighbors — that is what this is all about."
The APHA will be holding meetings and consulting with numerous individuals and groups over the next few months. In December, the organization will launch a blog to facilitate participation in the process by its 50,000 members.
Dr. Benjamin said the initiative will be "trying to create a series of steps, a roadmap for public health practitioners to effectively engage their communities" on climate change.
A reporter for Medscape Public Health & Prevention pointed to experiences with HIV prevention and tobacco control as among the many examples, where the provision of information alone has been a necessary but not sufficient factor in changing behavior, and asked how people are going to be moved to make the necessary changes in their behavior.
Dr. Benjamin said it would be important to make the recommendations "bite-sized pieces" that people can more easily adapt into their daily lives. He hoped that they might draw lessons from recent work in preparedness where the affected communities have been asked and involved in formulating change. He also acknowledged the need for investment in research on changing existing patterns of behavior.
John Balbus, from Environmental Defense, said there is a growing effort to "internalize the external costs" so that people are more fully aware of the costs of their actions. He believes "the prospect of $200 a barrel oil," more than twice the cost today, "is a very powerful incentive for major change."
"The role of the public health community in this kind of a world is to delineate and promote those activities that accentuate public health and also help protect the vulnerable populations that are going to be most hard hit by some of these economic changes," Mr. Balbus said.
American Public Health Association 135th Annual Meeting. Presented November 6, 2007.
November 7, 2007 (Washington, DC) — "There is a direct connection between climate change and the health of our planet," American Public Health Association (APHA) Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD, said here yesterday at a news conference during APHA's 135th Annual Meeting. The organization is about to become engaged in climate change in a big way.
"Until now...most of the public dialogue has focused on ecological devastation. As a result, few Americans are aware of the very real consequences of climate change on their daily lives today," Dr. Benjamin said. "Climate change is one of the most serious public health threats facing our world, and public health needs to have a seat at the table for this conversation."
Between now and April 2008, APHA will be "coordinating a national conversation among public health experts and policy makers" to develop a series of practical recommendations that public health practitioners can use to begin to address these issues. The recommendations will be released during National Public Health Week in April 2008 under the theme "Climate change: our health is in the balance."
Dr. Benjamin said most climate change documents to date have made people think, " 'Oh my god, the end of the world'; they have not made people think about what they can do in their daily lives." He said that APHA wants people to start thinking, "What can I do today?" about climate change.
"Those most vulnerable to the risks of climate change are the least responsible for the problem," said Jonathan Patz, MD, an associate professor of environmental studies and population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He reminded the audience of the increased interconnectedness of the world and that an emerging infection in one location can quickly spread globally.
Multnomah County (Oregon) Health Department Director Lillian Shirley said concerns range from better urban design that will encourage reduced use of cars and greater physical activity, to the regional effect of snow melts and how they affect the mosquito population and thus diseases borne by that vector.
"We can't allow the scope of the problem to paralyze us," she said, noting that the group wants to identify simple actions for individuals and business in the community that will mitigate the effect of climate change. "We are protecting ourselves, and we are protecting our neighbors — that is what this is all about."
The APHA will be holding meetings and consulting with numerous individuals and groups over the next few months. In December, the organization will launch a blog to facilitate participation in the process by its 50,000 members.
Dr. Benjamin said the initiative will be "trying to create a series of steps, a roadmap for public health practitioners to effectively engage their communities" on climate change.
A reporter for Medscape Public Health & Prevention pointed to experiences with HIV prevention and tobacco control as among the many examples, where the provision of information alone has been a necessary but not sufficient factor in changing behavior, and asked how people are going to be moved to make the necessary changes in their behavior.
Dr. Benjamin said it would be important to make the recommendations "bite-sized pieces" that people can more easily adapt into their daily lives. He hoped that they might draw lessons from recent work in preparedness where the affected communities have been asked and involved in formulating change. He also acknowledged the need for investment in research on changing existing patterns of behavior.
John Balbus, from Environmental Defense, said there is a growing effort to "internalize the external costs" so that people are more fully aware of the costs of their actions. He believes "the prospect of $200 a barrel oil," more than twice the cost today, "is a very powerful incentive for major change."
"The role of the public health community in this kind of a world is to delineate and promote those activities that accentuate public health and also help protect the vulnerable populations that are going to be most hard hit by some of these economic changes," Mr. Balbus said.
American Public Health Association 135th Annual Meeting. Presented November 6, 2007.
