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Prepared by Kim Perrotta MHSc, CHASE Executive Director, November 20, 2020
In a few weeks, the Federal Government will release its new budget; a budget that will help us respond to, and recover from, the COVID-19 pandemic. As public health professionals, we see this as a pivotal moment; as an opportunity to re-create our society into one that is healthier, green and just.
While many of our colleagues are focused on the immediate threat posed by the pandemic, we know that they are deeply concerned about both, the climate crisis which threatens the livability of our planet, and the inequities in our society that have been thrown into sharp relief by COVID19.
We all understand the need to address the funding shortages in our public health and health care systems, but let us not lose sight of the imperative to shift our economy away from the extraction and use of fossil fuels which are destroying the ecosystems upon which all life depends. We know that global warming is fuelling heat waves, hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires. We know it is melting glaciers, increasing sea levels, and driving plant and animal species into extinction at an alarming rate. We know it is reducing agricultural yields in countries that are already struggling to feed their people, while disrupting populations of salmon and other animals that we rely upon for food.
Click here to keep reading.
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Article: Navya Singh. The Logical Indian Crew. Air Pollution Linked With 15% Coronavirus Deaths Worldwide. Oct 27, 2020.
Nearly 15 per cent of deaths due to COVID-19 could be related to long-term exposure to air pollution. (https://lnkd.in/eFNZ-zc) The global mean contribution of fossil fuel use to these deaths is 56%, being highest in North America (83%), West Asia (75%), and Europe (68%).
For the following countries, contribution of air pollution to COVID-19 deaths was estimated to be:
29 % Czech Republic
27 % China,
26 % Germany,
22 % Switzerland, and
21 % Belgium
20 % Canada
18 % US
14 % UK
3 % Australia
The authors suggest that many of these deaths could have been avoided by adopting more stringent air quality standards such as in Australia which has an annual PM2.5 limit of 8 mg/m3.
https://thelogicalindian.com/trending/air-pollution-covid-report-24533
Summary prepared by CHASE Associate Ronald Macfarlane.
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Article: Zoe Drewett. Newsweek. Air Pollution Kills Almost Half a Million Babies Around the World. Oct 21, 2020.
This article reports on a new study which has estimated that globally, air pollution was responsible for the early death of nearly half a million babies in the first month of their lives last year.
Two thirds of these deaths occurred in the developing world due to indoor air pollution from the burning of wood, coal or animal dung. Multiple studies have demonstrated that polluted air has an impact on babies while they are still in the womb and can lead to premature birth or low birth weight - both factors have been associated with infant mortality.
"Babies born too small or too early are more susceptible to health problems such as lower-respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, brain damage and inflammation, blood disorders, and jaundice."
The report found that over 90% percent of the world's population are exposed to air levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) that exceed the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines.
https://www.newsweek.com/air-pollution-kills-almost-half-million-babies-around-world-1540900
Summary prepared by CHASE Executive Director Kim Perrotta
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Article: Judy Fahys. Inside Climate News. Clouds of Concern Linger as Wildfires Drag into Flu Season and Covid-19 Numbers Swell. Oct 24, 2020
Researchers have long known that wildfire smoke can produce significant acute health impacts and that long-term exposure to low levels of air pollution can produce significant chronic health impacts. However, it has not been clear if short-term exposures to high levels of air pollution caused by wildfire smoke can produce long-term health impacts.
This article reports on a new study published in the journal, Toxics, which followed 100 residents of Montana who were exposed to wildfire smoke for two months in 2017, and found that lung function declined the year after the fires, and was still compromised the year after that.
With the fire season in the western US expanding into the flu season this year, concerns are growing about the triple impact of wildfire smoke, flu season and COVID19 on the health of 78 million people who live in the smoky West.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23102020/wildfire-smoke-health-coronavirus?utm_source
Summary prepared by CHASE Executive Director Kim Perrotta
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Article: Helen Regan. UN warns that world risks becoming 'uninhabitable hell' for millions unless leaders take climate action. CNN. Oct 13, 2020
The UN has issued a warning indicating that the world must take dramatic action on climate change to prevent the world from becoming a living hell for millions.
“Between 2000 and 2019, there were 7,348 major natural disasters -- including earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes -- that claimed 1.23 million lives, affected 4.2 billion people and resulted in $2.97 trillion in global economic losses, according to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). That's almost double the 4,212 disasters recorded from 1980-1999, the UN said in its new report The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019.”
https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/10/13/world/un-natural-disasters-climate-intl-hnk/index.html
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Article: Leslie Hook. The next pandemic: Where is it coming from how do we stop it? Financial Times. Oct 29, 2020.
This is a great article on what needs to be done to prevent, and prepare for, the next pandemic. It notes that COVID-19 is caused by a zoonotic virus that has crossed from animals to humans, like many of the emerging viruses of the last few decades such as HIV, Ebola, and Zica.
These viruses often arise at the edges of rainforests or other places of great diversity where humans and other species are crossing paths. The 'hotspots', where diseases are more likely to spill over from animals to humans, are closely linked to environmental disruption such as deforestation, and the illegal trade in wild animals. The article explains that climate change is exacerbating the situation by changing the range of vectors that carry zoonotic diseases such as ticks and mosquitoes.
It reports that a recent paper in Science estimated that it would cost about $30bn annually to reduce deforestation and curb wildlife trafficking BUT concludes that these actions would pay for themselves many times over by decreasing the risk of the next pandemic.
https://www.ft.com/content/2a80e4a2-7fb9-4e2c-9769-bc0d98382a5c
Summary prepared by CHASE Executive Director Kim Perrotta
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BLOG: Wealth and Health in a Sustainable Future
Prepared by CHASE Associate, Ronald Macfarlane, Sept 2, 2020
click here.
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MEDIA RELEASE: Public Health Organizations Calling for a Green, Healthy and Just Recovery
Released by CHASE, CPHA, OPHA and Alliance for Healthier Communities
click here.
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OP-ED: COVID-19 Recovery can Help in Climate Crisis. Hamilton Spectator, June 23, 2020.
Prepared by Dr. Charles Gardner, MOH for SMDHU, Ian Culbert, Executive Director for CPHA, Kim Perrotta, Executive Director for CHASE.
click here.
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BLOG for NCCEH: Responding to Climate Change as Public Health Professionals
Prepared by CHASE Executive Director, Kim Perrotta for the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, June 16, 2020
click here.
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BLOG: COVID-19 Reminds us that Nature is Essential to Health
Prepared by CHASE Associate, Ronald Macfarlane with CHASE Executive Director, Kim Perrotta, May 29, 2020
click here
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BLOG: COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Climate Action
Prepared by CHASE Associate, Ronald Macfarlane, May 8, 2020
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OP-ED: Green Investment and Resilient Communities Lead to a Brighter Future. Hamilton Spectator, April 20, 2020.
Prepared by CHASE Executive Director, Kim Perrotta
click here.
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OP-ED: Large Grocers should do more to Flatten the Curve. Hamilton Spectator, March 21, 2020
Prepared by CHASE Executive Director, Kim Perrotta
click here.
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