Dr. Gaurab Basu from Harvard Medical School and the Cambridge Health Alliance Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy has a good article in Grist.
In it he talks about the interconnection of climate change and zoonoses (infections transmitted from animals to humans), and how both the COVID-19 crisis and the climate change crisis are disproportionately impacting communities of color due to structural injustices in our country. He states “The suffering is not random.”
He points out the health problems caused by climate: food insecurity, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires, increased burden of disease, and all the forced migration and political conflict these events will cause.
But, he says, it doesn’t have to be this way. He says if we can connect climate and health, we can garner enough political will to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. He notes that doctors are bound by an oath to protect their patients lives, and this includes climate work.
Please read the full article in Grist here, it’s really worthwhile.
