Climate Clinic

Welcome back to Be the Expert! The article we are bringing to you today was first published in the journal “Science of the total environment”, in February this year, titled, “California's early transition to electric vehicles: Observed health and air quality co-benefits”. Authors were; Erika Garcia, Jill Johnston, Rob McConnell, Lawrence Palinkas, and Sandrah P. Eckel. In previous episodes, we have spoken about air quality in the urban environment and some of the strategies to mitigate this, including transitioning to electric vehicles. In this study, the authors looked at whether respiratory health and air quality co-benefits are already noticeable at the relatively low levels of zero-emissions vehicles (battery electric, plug-in hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle) adoption in California.  Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36739036/

Dr. Terry O'Connor, Dr. Nuzhat Islam, and MD-PhD candidate Douglas Fritz walk with us through their clinical case highlighting the impact of climate change on arboviral infectious disease. Check out their written case (adaptable for medical school curricula) at Climate Resources for Health Education here: https://climatehealthed.org/course/arboviruses/ Dr. O'Connor is an instructor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Washington and Director of the Diploma in Climate Medicine at the University of Colorado Climate and Health Program. Dr. Islam is a second year internal medicine resident at the University of California in San Diego and a co-founder of the Planetary Health Report Card. Douglas is a second year MD/PhD student at the University of Colorado and one of the vice chairs for Medical Students for a Sustainable Future.

In this episode, we speak with medical student James Sullivan from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University about the process of creating an integrated climate-health curriculum at the medical school. If you want to learn more, check out this journal article about the Cleveland Clinic's climate-health curricular design: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004376 Episode written by Genny Silva, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis

In this episode, the Code Green team speak with Dr. Heather Whelan, Kelsey Barter, and Hossein Moein Taghavi about the connections between heat, air pollution, and neurodegenerative disease. Dr. Whelan is a Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco, Kelsey is a medical student at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Hossein is a research assistant at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Whelan, Kelsey, and Hossein wrote this case as part of the Climate Resources for Health Education (CRHE) initiative (Case OSS9.2). Join us as we dive into this patient case! To learn more about CRHE head over to climatehealthed.org.  Episode written by Genny Silva, Produced by Natasha Sood, and Edited by Liana Haigis

In Episode 10, Adesh speaks to Dr Aletha Ward (co-Founder of Climate Action Nurses (CAN)), who talks about the organisation's role in enabling rapid healthcare decarbonisation through climate education for nurses in Australia. https://www.climateactionnurses.org/

In our latest show, Marc and Adesh discuss the findings from a scoping Review that was published recently in the journal, 'Neurology'. The article was titled "Impacts of Climate Change and Air Pollution on Neurologic Health, Disease, and Practice". The authors were Shreya Louis, Alise K. Carlson, Abhilash Suresh, Joshua Rim, Mary Ann Mays, Daniel Ontaneda and Andrew Dhawan. Article: https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000201630

In this fascinating episode, tune in to hear from Dr Melissa Frick, who is a chief resident in Radiation Oncology at Stanford University and serves as co-chair on the Greening the Clinics Initiative of the Stanford Healthcare Resident Safety Council. Find out about the exciting initiatives Melissa and her team have been undertaking at Stanford, and what Radiation Oncology can be doing to move towards zero-carbon care. Resources: ARRO Climate Health, Equity, and Sustainability Taskforce (CHEST) interest form: https://forms.gle/o6tCvC3xL86trJPi6 NorCal Brachytherapy Waste Audit Toolkit (fill out form to gain access to toolkit): https://forms.gle/o6tCvC3xL86trJPi6 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) Sustainability Committee on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPEMEnvironment GreenHealth Lab (co-founded by radiation oncologist); https://greenhealth.ucsf.edu/ Scientific letter that documents energy consumption of LINAC per patient course, and identifies “Standby” as phase with greatest energy consumption: https://www.advancesradonc.org/article/S2452-1094(22)00275-5/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_aip_email

In Episode 18, Marc and Adesh dive into an article recently published in the Lancet Planetary Health, titled "Hospitalisations for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among older adults living near unconventional natural gas development: a difference-in-differences analysis". The authors were Kevin Trickey, Zihan Chen and Prachi Sanghavi. Tune in to find out how the fracking boom in Pennsylvania affected the health of residents and why using natural gas as a bridging fuel detrimentally affects our health. Article: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00009-8

In this landmark study published in the Lancet Planetary Health by Altman and team, titled "Associations between outdoor air pollutants and non-viral asthma exacerbations and airway inflammatory responses in children and adolescents living in urban areas in the USA: a retrospective secondary analysis", the authors link specific air pollutants to unique molecular pathways of airway inflammation and also demonstrate that air pollution exacerbates asthma independent of any triggering virus. Join Adesh and Marc to find out more! Article: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00302-3

In this episode, Adesh speaks with NHS Consultant Dr Alex Wilkinson on the environmental impact from asthma care, and more specifically metered dose inhalers. Dr Wilkinson shares his thoughts on what respiratory medicine needs to be doing in order to move towards zero or low carbon care. Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9056443/ Website links: 1. https://www.greenerpractice.co.uk/high-quality-and-low-carbon-asthma-care/ 2. https://greeninhaler.org 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4952075/

In this episode, Adesh and Marc discuss a recent paper published in the Royal Society Publishing (Biology Letters) by Colin Carlson, Ellen Bannon, Emily Mendenhall, Timothy Newfield and Shweta Bansal, which was titled "Rapid range shifts in African Anopheles mosquitoes over the last century". Tune in to hear about the potential implications for Malaria transmission in Africa over the coming century!  Paper: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0365

In this new episode, hosts Marc Futernick and Adesh Sundaresan explore how climate change is driving increases in rates of preterm deliveries around the world, using a brilliant Review article recently published by Luis Federico Bátiz, Sebastián E. Illanes, Roberto Romero, María del Valle Barrera, Citra N.Z. Mattar, Mahesh A. Choolani, Matthew W. Kemp, titled "Climate change and preterm birth: A narrative review"in the journal Environmental Advances. Article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100316

In Episode 14, our hosts bring you an original article published in the Lancet Planetary Health in May 2022, titled “Long term exposure to wildfires and cancer incidence in Canada: a population-based observational cohort study”. The authors were Jill Korsiak, Lauren Pinault, Tanya Christidis, Richard T Burnett, Michael Abrahamowicz and Scott Weichenthal. Tune in to hear how your risk of lung and brain cancer might be impacted by repeated wildfire smoke exposure over periods of time! Article: DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00067-5

In this episode, we speak to the founders of the world's first ever 100% compostable isolation gown, Jonathan Mustich and John Sharpe. Jonathan and John discuss their new company, Biogown, and the unique product they are taking to markets around the world - which rivals many of the existing plastic gowns both in function and cost. Find out more at the website below: https://thebiogown.com

In part two of our dive into how droughts affect human health, our hosts bring you an article published in the British Medical Journal (October 2020), titled "Protecting health in dry cities: considerations for policy makers". The authors were Howard Frumkin, Maitreyi Bordia Das, Maya Negev, Briony C Rogers, Roberto Bertollini, Carlos Dora, Sonalde Desai. Tune in to learn what is meant by a 'healthy dry city' and hear about some of the challenges of living in dry cities. You will also hear about ways in which we can conserve and promote health in these dry cities. Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2936 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In this episode, Adesh talks with trailblazer emergency physician Dr Stefan Wheat. Stefan has recently launched Climate Rx, an innovative tool to help healthcare providers and health professionals educate their patients on the impacts of climate change on their health, ways to protect their health in a changing climate, and how to get more involved. ClimateRx provides tools, training, peer-reviewed information, and opportunities to take action. You can find out more on their website below: https://www.climaterx.org/ Host: Dr Adesh Sundaresan Guest: Dr Stefan Wheat

In Episode 12, Marc and Adesh delve into a Review published in the Annual Review of Public Health in December 2022, titled "Public Health Implications of Drought in a Climate Change Context: A Critical Review". Learn about how droughts affect our health, from worsening infectious diseases and air pollution, to causing undernutrition and malnourishment. Article: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071421-051636 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In Episode 5 of Be the Change, Adesh has an insightful conversation with dentist Dr Laurie Houston from Ontario, Canada. Dr Houston shares her experiences with pushing for regulatory changes as well as her thoughts on healthcare waste including micro plastics. https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/features/covid-and-the-failure-to-challenge/ https://cape.ca/the-life-cycle-of-plastic-is-a-death-spiral/ Host: Adesh Sundaresan Guest: Dr Laurie Houston

In Episode 11, Marc and Adesh talk us through a study from 2020 that was published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, which looked at the association between climate change and suicide, titled "Climate Change and Risk of Completed Suicide", by authors Caroline Dumont, MD, Elizabeth Haase, MD, Trygve Dolber, MD, Janet Lewis, MD, and John Coverdale, MD, MEd. DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001162 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In our first episode of 2023, Dr Preeti Jaggi and Adesh explore a Review titled "Climate change and child health: a scoping review and expanded conceptual framework", that was published in the Lancet Planetary Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30274-6 Hosts: Preeti Jaggi, Adesh Sundaresan

In the final episode of this series on climate, urbanisation and health, Adesh and Marc delve into a recent study published in the Journal of Climate Change and Health (JCCH) titled, "URBANIZATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH VULNERABILITIES IN SLUM COMMUNITIES IN GHANA". DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100189 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In part three of this series, our hosts look at an article titled "The impact of greenspace or nature-based interventions on cardiovascular health or cancer-related outcomes: A systematic review of experimental studies". Tune in to learn about how just exercising with a virtual green screen, might improve cardiovascular outcomes in select patients! Article: Bikomeye JC, Balza JS, Kwarteng JL, Beyer AM, Beyer KMM. The impact of greenspace or nature-based interventions on cardiovascular health or cancer-related outcomes: A systematic review of experimental studies. PLoS One. 2022 Nov 23;17(11):e0276517. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0276517. Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In this episode, Kristie Hadley speaks with Dr Norma Patricia Muñoz and Dr Saroj Pachauri, for a deep dive on the health impacts of Sargassum (a type of macroalgae). Hosts: Kristie Hadley, Adesh Sundaresan Guests: Dr Norma Patricia Muñoz, Dr Saroj Pachauri

In part two of this series, our hosts bring you a Review titled "Climate change and opportunistic pathogens (OPs) in the built environment", published in the Journal of the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors. Learn about how three key OPs are making themselves at home in our premise plumbing and posing a serious risk to our health. Article: Juliette O'Keeffe. Climate change and opportunistic pathogens (OPs) in the built environment. Environmental Health Review. 65(3): 69-76. https://doi.org/10.5864/d2022-016 Hosts: Adesh Sundaresan, Marc Futernick

In part one of "No urban legend", Marc and Adesh explore a recently published Review that looks at the health impacts from urban air pollution and the urban heat island effect. This Review, titled “Urban Air Pollution, Urban Heat Island and Human Health: A Review of the Literature”, was published in the journal Sustainability, in July 2022. The authors also looked at some innovative urban planning and technological solutions that might improve the health of people living in urban environments, as well as mitigative strategies to tackle the urban heat island effect. Article: Piracha A, Chaudhary MT. Urban Air Pollution, Urban Heat Island and Human Health: A Review of the Literature. Sustainability. 2022; 14(15):9234. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159234 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In this episode, we speak with Gastroenterologist Dr Todd Sack, executive Director of the My Green Doctor Foundation. Todd shares with us his decades of experience in the field of climate and health, and introduces us to My Green Doctor - a transformative, efficient, cost-reducing programme available to all practices and organisations (link below). https://mygreendoctor.org

In Episode 5, Marc and Adesh explore two articles published in the Lancet Planetary Health, that look at climate anxiety amongst the global youth, as well as the methodology of studies that assess the links between climate change and mental health outcomes. Articles 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00278-3 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00012-2 Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

It has only been 6 weeks since our launch, and Climate Clinic has already heard from some incredible speakers! Hear our bitesize October highlights, featuring Dr Hina Shan, Professor Hugh Montgomery and Professor Raymond Vanholder.

In the third episode of Be the Change, we speak with Dr Rengaraj Venkatesh (Chief Medical Officer at Aravind Eye Hospital, Pondicherry), about what makes Aravind a global leader in delivering Sustainable eye care, and the steps that Ophthalmic care units around the world need to be taking in order to tackle the climate crisis.

For episodes 1-6 of Code Green, please visit their Spotify page here: Code Green: The Climate-Smart Health Professional. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Gaurab Basu about how climate change, at its core, is a health inequity multiplier and a human rights issue. Dr. Basu is a physician and the founding co-director of the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is also an instructor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Join us as we discuss all of this and more! To learn about Dr. Basu's initiatives, head over to: Gaurab Basu | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Hosted by Natasha Sood Written by Natasha Sood & Sarah Hsu Edited by Liana Haigis Referenced Resources: C-CHANGE | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Climate Change Effects On Public Health | Yale School Of Public Health

In the second episode of Be the Change, we hear from Professor Hugh Montgomery (University College London) about the urgency of the climate crisis, and how health professionals across the globe must make the necessary changes over the course of the coming months (and certainly well before 2050 targets), to avoid impending catastrophic losses to our health from ecological collapse.

In our fourth episode of Be the Expert, Marc and Adesh bring you a recently published article from the British Medical Journal (BMJ), titled "Reducing the health impacts of ambient air pollution". The World Health Organisation states that over 90% of humans live in regions where air quality is harmful to our health. Tune in to hear how air pollution affects health, and how we can minimise these impacts through adaptation and mitigation. Article: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-069487

In our first episode of Be the Change, we hear from Professor Raymond Vanholder (President of the European Kidney Health Alliance) on the exact steps that kidney care needs to take, in order to go green as part of a zero carbon future.

In this episode, we look at how hundreds of infectious diseases that affect human health, are being driven by climate change, through various pathways - including the thawing of ice! This podcast features a great article published in nature climate change, titled "Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change". Article: Mora, C., McKenzie, T., Gaw, I.M. et al. Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 12, 869–875 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01426-1 Find the links to featured articles on our show notes: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/global-consortium-climate-and-health-education/be-expert Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

In Episode 2, Adesh and Marc explore a paper published in the Journal of Climate change and Health, which focused on the impact that climate drivers are having on women's health in the US. This Review included some great original articles, which you will hear further details about in this podcast. Check out our website for detailed show notes and links to the articles discussed! Article: Emily Sbiroli, Julia Geynisman-Tan, Natasha Sood, Ben Allan Maines, Justin Hyuck-Jin Junn, Cecilia Sorensen, Climate change and women's health in the United States: Impacts and opportunities, The Journal of Climate Change and Health, Volume 8, 2022, 100169, ISSN 2667-2782, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100169. Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

Our first episode takes us to Pakistan, where you will hear about the impacts of the unrelenting monsoon rainfall and subsequent flooding, from Dr Hina Shan (Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health, National University of Medical Sciences) and Ikram Ullah (a community member whose family have been affected by the devastating crisis). Hosted by Dr Kristie Hadley (guest interviewer: Adesh Sundaresan).

IT'S LAUNCH WEEK for our new podcast, “Climate Clinic” – bringing you breaking climate and health headlines in “Be the Expert”. In Episode 1 of “Be the Expert”, our hosts Adesh Sundaresan and Marc Futernick will dive into a Review article from the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst on how extreme heat events affect health systems, followed by a modelling study on 28 East Asian cities, which explored the impacts of nighttime warming on mortality. Articles: 1. NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery 2022; 07. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1056/CAT.21.0454 2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00139-5. https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/global-consortium-climate-and-health-education/be-expert Hosts: Marc Futernick, Adesh Sundaresan

GCCHE is proud to present Climate Clinic, a brand new podcast that will bring the latest climate and health headlines to you each week. Through four unique podcast streams, we will bring you breaking climate and health headlines, in depth discussions with experts and professionals from situations unfolding around the world, mobilize and share perspectives from the powerful student body and finally, help all health-related professionals to be the change, starting today. Stay tuned for our first podcast, coming to you this Autumn.