Introduction

Heat Advisory ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan H. Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Freedom From Disease ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Health, a state of complete physical, mental, social well-being and freedom from disease, depends on the ecosystems in which we live. For example, climate change results in increased temperatures that lead to heat illnesses, drought, crop failure, undernutrition, the spread of disease etc. To focus on the maintenance of ecosystems and health the UN published Sustainable Development Goals, while health professionals have enumerated causes of death and health risk factors susceptible to a changing climate. To mitigate climate change, and hence risk factors for disease, we must adapt to climate change. This requires political will, stakeholder involvement, education, research, and adequate funds.

Heat Advisory

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan H. Lockwood, M.D.
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Tackle Climate Change ◽  
Broad Cross Section ◽  
Broad Public Health ◽  
Economic Considerations

In Heat Advisory I examine climate change from a broad public health perspective, where health includes mental and social well-being in addition to climate-related changes in diseases. I begin from baselines defined by worldwide selected causes of death and risk factors for disease as seen partially through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to discuss how climate change will affect health. I draw primarily on a broad cross-section of the peer-reviewed literature and governmental reports. In addition to heat-related illnesses, I discuss infectious diseases including dengue, malaria, and Zika; effects on agriculture and the potential for famine; rising sea level, severe weather, and environmental refugees; anticipated effects of climate change on air quality with a focus on ozone and asthma; the influence of climate on violence, conflict, and societal disruption; and, finally economic considerations related to health. Following fundamental public health and medical practices, I discuss, primary prevention in terms of mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and secondary prevention, by adapting to climate change. Health professionals have a professional responsibility to affect political will and foster the extensive stakeholder involvement required to tackle climate change, the “greatest public health opportunity” of this century.

Planetary Health, Climate Change, and Lifestyle Medicine: Threats and Opportunities

2021 ◽  
pp. 155982762110081
Author(s):  
Neha Pathak ◽  
Amanda McKinney
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Noncommunicable Diseases ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Lifestyle Medicine ◽  
The Face ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Global environmental degradation and climate change threaten the foundation of human health and well-being. In a confluence of crises, the accelerating pace of climate change and other environmental disruptions pose an additional, preventable danger to a global population that is both aging and carrying a growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Climate change and environmental disruption function as “threat multipliers,” especially for those with NCDs, worsening the potential health impacts on those with suboptimal health. At the same time, these environmental factors threaten the basic pillars of health and prevention, increasing the risk of developing chronic disease. In the face of these threats, the core competencies of lifestyle medicine (LM) present crucial opportunities to mitigate climate change and human health impacts while also allowing individuals and communities to build resilience. LM health professionals are uniquely positioned to coach patients toward climate-healthy behavior changes that heal both people and the planet.

scholarly journals CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIONS: CRITICAL FACTORS TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS Authors

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-210
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Respiratory Illnesses ◽  
Vector Borne Diseases ◽  
Impact Reduction ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Developmental Goals

Climate change has been deemed the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Multiple factors contribute to this global phenomenon including anthropogenic causes. This review is to explore causes of climate change and recognise the impacts on population health as well as to look at strategies to mitigate climate change. This narrative review included articles searched through databases of SCOPUS, PubMed and PROQUEST from the year 2006 to 2018. Climate change is mainly due to man-made activities such as fossil fuels combustion, livestock farming and deforestation. The public health effects include increased vector-borne diseases, heat-related illnesses and respiratory illnesses. Strategies such as strengthening the adaptations to climate-related hazards, climate change integration into national policies, education, awareness-raising, impact reduction and early warnings have been put in place to tackle this crisis. The climate change agenda has been given an important platform as it is the 13th goal of the 17 United Nations Sustainable developmental goals (SDG). In conclusion, climate change has been going on for decades and is threatening the earth. Multi sectoral collaboration and working together towards a common goal is crucial as the wellbeing of our planet is our collective responsibility.

scholarly journals Safety vs. Sustainability Concerns of Infant Food Users: French Results and European Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10074
Author(s):  
Amélie Kurtz ◽  
Rallou Thomopoulos
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Infant Food ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Responsible Consumption ◽  
Development Goals

Context. In line with Sustainable Development Goals 3 “Good health and well-being” and 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”, this paper is concerned with the fragile population of the less-than-3-years-old children. More specifically, it investigates how infant food safety is perceived at the household level and at the level of childhood and health professionals directly in contact with them. Objective. The paper aims to analyze consumer priorities and perceptions of hazards in infant foods qualitatively and quantitatively. Methodology. To do so, a survey was carried out in France on 1750 people representative of the general population. A hybrid method is proposed to analyze the results of the survey, mixing artificial intelligence and statistics. Main insights. Within the declared priorities when choosing infant food, health comes first, with a top ranking for the absence of harmful substances, followed closely by nutritional balance—far ahead of environment, ease of use and price. The results show that the rankings of the hazards that cause the most worry are globally homogeneous throughout the populations (families, professionals, etc.) and higher for chemical contaminants from agricultural practices and packaging. For health professionals, concerns are higher than in the general population for all categories of contaminants, and specific concerns such as risk related to environmental and unknown contaminants are much more prevalent. The perception of risk varies with the food considered. For infant formula in particular, users seem puzzled by somehow contradictory messages. Perspectives. The study is intended to be generalized to Europe.

The Ocean Acidification Challenges Facing Science and Society

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Turley ◽  
Kelvin Boot
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Positive Gain ◽  
History Of ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Over Exploitation

Human development, inspiration, invention, and aspiration have resulted in a rapidly growing population, with each generation aspiring to greater wealth and well-being, so having greater needs than the previous generation. Amongst the resulting negative impacts are over-exploitation of planetary resources and the build-up of gases in the atmosphere and oceans to the extent that they are changing earth’s climate and ocean chemistry (IPCC 2007). However, the history of humanity’s relationship to the environment has shown that, if threatened, society can respond rapidly to environmental risks, introducing better practices, controls, regulations, and even global protocols, for example the reduction of city smog, the move from leaded to unleaded petrol, and reduction of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) production to reduce loss of the ozone layer. Nearly all of these changes have led to direct and obvious positive gain to human health and well-being which has been a driving force in the production, agreement and implementation of the policies and laws that have brought them about. The spatial scale or ‘ecological footprint’ of these risks has increased with time, such that international agreements and protocols, like the Montreal Protocol for CFCs, have been increasingly necessary for reducing them. Along with the globalization of agriculture, business, industry, and financial markets and the expansion of the human population goes the globalization of risk to the environment. Climate change and ocean acidification are global issues with solutions that are only possible through global agreements and action. Substantial proportions of nations’ gross domestic product (GDP) were used to secure the banks and major industries in the economic crises that have swept the world in the last few years, far greater than the 1 to 2% per annum estimated to be required to mitigate climate change (Stern 2006). However, the response to the economic crisis does show that global society can react rapidly when it believes it is necessary. The question is, when do society and governments deem it necessary to act, and to act together? One issue may be time, the perceived immediacy of the crisis.

A national ‘safe and just operating space’ for all in India: Past, Present and Futurea

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajishnu Roy ◽  
Kousik Pramanick
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
National Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Operating Space ◽  
Per Capita

AbstractWith 1.3 billion populaces on the commencement of the 21st century, India is currently impending towards upholding a subtle equilibrium between persisting social development and well-being without depleting existing biophysical resources at the national level or surpassing global average per capita obtainability. In this paper, we have structured a top-down per capita framework to explore national ‘safe and just operating space’ (NSJOS) to apprehend not only past fluctuations that bring about the present conditions but also the plausible future consequences, with India as a case study. Coalescing 27 indicators, all pertaining to Sustainable Development Goals (except – SDG 17), accompanied by their corresponding environmental boundaries or preferred social thresholds, present study probes into both biophysical (for environmental stress) and social development (for social deficit) attributes of India. This analysis shows India has already crossed three of seven dimensions of biophysical boundaries (freshwater, nitrogen and phosphorus use). Also, at the existing rate, India is going to cross the remainder of the boundaries within 2045-2050 (climate change, arable land use, ecological and material footprint). Of 20 indicators used for social development, only five have already or will meet corresponding desired thresholds of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015. Using tendencies of past variations, the results indicate that if lowest per capita consumption can be attained and uphold, even with projected population growth, total consumption of four biophysical resources (climate change, nitrogen use, ecological and material footprint) can be slashed from today’s level in 2050. Adaptations in national policy are indispensable if India wants to accomplish sufficiency in biophysical resources whilst bestowing social equity in access and exploitation of those resources towards the continuance of social developments in forthcoming times.

Securing well-being with the advent of climate hazards

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Loh Chia ◽  
Anne Marie Tiani ◽  
Denis Jean Sonwa ◽  
Alba Saray Perez-Teran ◽  
Berenger Tchatchou
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
The Face ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Resource Systems

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the contribution of forests resource systems to the different aspects of community well-being, the implications of climate variability on the different sources of well-being and further identifies direct and indirect social and policy opportunities relevant for communities to enhance their capabilities in the face of climate variability and change in the Tri-National de la Sangha landscape of Cameroon. Design/methodology/approach – It illustrates on data collected from focus group discussions and from 151 households randomly selected in three villages to operationalize the conceptual links between community well-being and vulnerability. Findings – The study shows that vulnerability to climate change interferes with community strategies to achieve well-being, in addition to non-climatic processes which are both internal and external to communities. The study further indicates that healthy forest ecosystems provide opportunities for the local folks to build assets, improve food security, improve health and reduce risks. However, this requires capacity building and the channeling of resources to the local level, in addition to win–win sectoral policy amendments. Research limitations/implications – Biophysical methods required to complement community perceptions on the suitability of forest resource systems to climate variability. Practical implications – This paper argues that appropriate strategies which aim at improving well-being needs to capture the role of forest ecosystems, climate change risks and uncertainty and macroeconomic and social processes. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between climate risk and the well-being of forest communities. This is relevant for practitioners and policy makers to reflect on the risk of climate change and the rationale for conserving forest resources for community well-being in the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals conclusions.

Nurturing hope: From climate-change worriers to eco-warriors

2020 ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
Sally Birdsall
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Young People ◽  
Environmental Education ◽  
Climate Change Education ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Crucial Element ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Political Studies ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change

Young people are worried about the impacts that climate change will have on their lives. Educators need learning programmes that can help students to manage these dark emotions and become more positive about their future. Including emotions in climate-change education is now considered a crucial element and hope, in particular, has been identified as a motivating force which can help young people to become more positive and take action to respond to the climate emergency. Drawing on recommendations from the environmental-education field, as well as peace and political studies education research, eight strategies and approaches are proposed. These approaches and strategies can nurture hope and develop knowledge and skills, so that students can take action to mitigate climate change effects and feel hopeful about their future.

Addressing climate adaptation in education, research and practice: the CLiVIA-network

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo J. Nagy ◽  
Carolina Cabrera ◽  
Genaro Coronel ◽  
Marilyn Aparicio-Effen ◽  
Ivar Arana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Problem Orientation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Climate Change And Variability ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽  
Oriented Research

Purpose Climate change and variability are both a developmental and an environmental issue. Adaptation to climate change and variability has gained a prominent place on global and local policy agendas, evolving from mainly climate risks impacts and vulnerability assessments to mainly adaptation action, imposing new defies to higher education (HE). The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Climate Vulnerability, Impact, and Adaptation (VIA) Network (CliVIA-Net), a South American university-based coalition aimed at achieving a science for/of adaptation. Design/methodology/approach CliVIA-Net is a collaborative effort by academic groups from across the spectrum of the natural, social and health sciences focused on improving climate VIA on education, research and practice. In consonance with international literature and practices, the network shifted from a discipline-oriented approach to an interdisciplinary and Earth System Science (ESS)-oriented one. It seeks to advance fundamental understanding and participatory practice-oriented research and to develop a problem orientation question/solving answering methodology. A set of cases studies illustrates how CliVIA-Net faces adaptation and sustainability challenges in the twenty-first century. Findings Focusing on interdisciplinary graduate education, practice-oriented research and problem orientation practice on climate threats which are already threatening the environment, population’s well-being and sustainability, allows for the co-production of knowledge and solutions, as well stakeholders’ buy-in and commitment. Originality/value CliVIA-Net draws upon the results of evolving interdisciplinary approaches on global change and VIA education, the research partnership with stakeholders and decision-makers to develop environmental and health outcomes, e.g. vulnerability indicators and scenario planning.

Resilience and Sustainability Development

2022 ◽  
pp. 17-43
Author(s):  
Lynn A. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Education Research ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Future Orientation ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Science ◽  
Resilient Communities ◽  
Development Goals

Informed action by the leaders of the future is critical for creating resilient communities. Preparing these future leaders through formal and informal education, research, and environmental/climate change programs that interweave local knowledge with the most current global science positions them to becomes the catalysts that propel community leaders to engage a wider range of possible futures. This chapter integrates findings from a SeaTrust Institute research project with the sustainable development goals in an analysis supporting dynamic and reconfigurable combinations of agents that promote the attributes of elasticity, future orientation, and motivation to address the high stakes choices for resilience to climate and environmental/social change. Author objectives in this chapter are to illustrate the optimum roles of youth in the process and what preparations and conditions are needed to instill and support youth in their ability to flip a process at the point of catastrophe to restore equilibrium and promote resilience.

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