Monthly Newsletter
JANUARY 2021
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In this issue:
Welcome & Announcements | Educate, Empower, Engage | This Month's Checklist | Friday Note's Summary | Upcoming Dates & Events
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WELCOME
Next meeting: January 22nd, 12pm- 1pm EST
Greetings! We wish you a healthy and peaceful New Year! Welcome to MiCCA's fourth issue of our monthly newsletter. We're so excited to see what we accomplish in the New Year. Below, find some logistics to get us off to a good start as well as exciting previews of the year to come. Happy reading!
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Announcements
Our next meetings will be held January 22 from 12 to 1 pm EST.
Zoom line here. Meeting password: 123
This is a different time than our previous meetings in response to the feedback we got from last month's poll. There wasn't a lot of response, but those who did respond said noon would be better for them. If this is a conflict for you please reach out or fill out the survey. We would like to stick with this time but will adjust if it doesn't work for the majority.
Thank you to those who have donated! There's so much more work to do, and we encourage anyone who is in the position to do so to consider a donation. This money will be used to apply for 501c3 status, pay our administrative director, and start a website independent of the Consortium page. Link here to donate.
The purpose of this newsletter is to keep us on the same page between meetings and serve as a resource for this community. If there is anything you would like to include (upcoming events, a riveting climate health article, or something to add to the announcements), please do not hesitate to reach out to Lauren or submit suggestions to this google form.
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Thank you to MiCCA member, Dr. Jerry Walden, for all he does for our organization and his community!
Jerry co-founded Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence, as well as Packard Community Clinic, a non-profit practice committed to quality care regardless of ability to pay, where he also serves as the medical director. He also serves as a board member for the Advocacy Committee of the Michigan Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) and for Washtenaw County Medical Society, two organizations that are beginning to back climate action. When he's not serving in one of these many roles, Jerry likes to run, to be outdoors, and spend time with his wife, family, friends and dog.
He has extended his gifts as a physician and advocate to many causes over the years, and we're so grateful to have his passion backing ours. We greatly appreciate his tireless outreach to prospective members and for connecting us with the MAFP and the Michigan State Medical Society. Thanks, Jerry!
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Educate
The Great Lakes Regional Webinar will launch January 26th, 6 PM CT/ 7PM EST:
Health issues do not stop at state lines. The Great Lakes emphasize our regional water connection, but what about our shared climate connection? Join MiCCA, as well as our regional Consortium affiliates for our webinar series “Great Lakes Climate and Health: Facing Crisis and Creating Solutions Together”, launching January 26th and continuing monthly through May.
This first webinar will feature Dr. Jonathon Patz, and Dr. Lisa Del Buono, as well as other panelists, who will share their expertise as doctors and advocates. Come to this webinar and build a toolkit to apply to the issues we'll learn about in the following weeks.
See the complete list of topics and dates in the poster below, and click to follow the link to register!
(P.S. Thank you to MiCCA member Kate Johnson for the wonderful graphic design work that went into the poster below!)
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Empower
Our next meeting will feature our first round of committee reports. Most, but not all, of the committees were able to hold their first monthly meeting! If you didn't have the opportunity to join a committee and would like to, please fill out the poll found here.
List of Committees:
- Climate Education
- Policy and Advocacy
- Chapter Development & Fundraising
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- Healthcare Decarbonization
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Engage
Stop Line 3
2020 brought racial reckoning, health emergencies and climate disasters. Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline is a pressing opportunity to show that we learned from the experiences of 2020, and that we'll do better in 2021.
Follow this link for information on how to get involved by donating, signing petitions, or joining the frontlines. See the post on our Facebook with more ways to get involved.
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- Our own Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health has put together recommendations to the new Biden/Harris administration (link here). You can sign on as an individual or an organization (MiCCA has already signed) here. Please distribute widely to individuals and organizations who you think might also want to endorse.
- The University of Michigan President's Commission on Carbon Neutrality is welcoming comments by U of M staff, students and community members on its draft of recommendation regarding scaling the University to net-zero emissions. From now through Jan. 22, 2021, the draft recommendations can be reviewed at this link and comments can be submitted here.
- Please sign the petition on Line 3 put forth by Health Student for Healthy Climate. This will be shared with the President-elect before inauguration. For more information about the health impacts of Line 3, please see MN health professionals' work in The Guardian. See also a recent New York Times Oped by Louise Erdrich outlining the risk to Native communities. Right now, people are putting their bodies on the line in direct action trying to stop the destruction of water and forests in Minnesota. Consider pitching in how you can!
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A message from Lisa:
The disturbing events of January 6th bring home the fragility of our democracy, and the need for honest communication based on fact rather than inflammatory rhetoric. Let’s hope that this attack on our Halls of Democracy will issue in a new spirit of compromise that will allow the passage of meaningful bipartisan climate legislation.
Because both the House and Senate are so evenly split, it will continue to be necessary to work in a bipartisan fashion. Fortunately, this is the strength of our trusted voices raising up the health message.
On the bright side, the run-off elections in Georgia empower a Democratic majority in the Senate, which will increase the likelihood that climate legislation will be brought to the floor for a vote.
So now is the time to channel our “best selves” and engage compassionately with those who see the world differently. It is critical that we seize this moment to empower policy-makers to make meaningful change that ensures a healthy and equitable world for those suffering today and for generations to come.
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Friday Notes Summary
Follow this link to see the notes from the 12/4/20 , which summarize the new committees and their goals and members.
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Upcoming Dates & Events
- Jan. 11th: Application deadline for Eco Center Health Leaders Fellowship Program (link here)
- Jan. 14th, 2:00-4:00 PM EST: The second event in the UP Clean Energy Conference series is happening next week (link here)
- Jan. 22nd, 12:00-1:00 PM EST: Monthly MiCCA Meeting (ZOOM line here)
- Jan. 26th 7:00 PM EST: Great Lakes Webinar #1- "The Climate and Health Connection: Advocacy Toolkit", hosted by MiCCA and Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action
- Feb. 12th, 3:00pm: A Discussion About U.P. Propane Delivery Without Line 5 (link here)
- Feb. 23rd, 7:00 PM EST: Great Lakes Webinar #2- "Cutting Across the Great Lakes: Health Threats of Pipelines", hosted by Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate (MN)
- March 23rd, 7:00 PM EST: Great Lakes Webinar #3 - "Farm without Harm: Agricultural Impacts & Solutions", hosted by hosted by Ohio Clinicians for Climate Action and WHPCA
- April 27th, 7:00 PM EST: Great Lakes Webinar #4 - “Sustainable and Resilient Healthcare in the Midwest”, hosted by MiCCA
- March 25, 7:00 PM EST: Great Lakes Webinar #5 - "Social Determinant of Health and Environmental Justice", hosted by Illinois Clinicians for Climate Action
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"A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor."
—Laudato Si
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