This letter to the editor was written by Healthy Air is Healthcare Champion Dr. Earl Stewart and originally published in the Marietta Daily Journal.
During Helene, extreme weather unleashed heavy rain, tree damage, and chaos upon Georgians, disproportionately impacting my hometown, Augusta, where many were left without power and experienced water issues for days. There are heart-wrenching stories of Georgia families affected by these events, such as in Washington County, where five- and seven-year-old siblings lost their lives when a tree fell on their home, which caught on fire.
Climate change is already affecting today’s children, elderly, those with physical disabilities, those with mental disabilities, and those of lower socioeconomic status. We know that the more the world warms, the worse this will be. The climate crisis is a health, a quality of life, a financial, and a mental health crisis. It leads to extreme heat, and this is associated with a rise in heat-related deaths among infants, more frequent asthma exacerbations as ozone levels increase, and greater rates of depression in children impacted by the devastating effects of hurricanes. As a physician, I worry about this for children and other vulnerable populations in our community, who all deserve a world with clean air and water, safe neighborhoods and homes, and a livable environment. It’s ultimately up to our policy makers to ensure that today’s youth get to live this reality.
The science is clear: climate change is strongly linked to human activity. The policies made today impact the world we all experience tomorrow, and voting, a social determinant of health, remarkably influences that. Our best way to stop the issue is to decrease emissions by taking advantage of programs such as the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, enabling the replacement of fuel-burning school buses with electric school buses. By pledging to vote in every election, we can make a difference. Voting for candidates who take climate change seriously is a key step toward safeguarding the health and future of entire communities.
Dr. Earl Stewart, Jr, MD, FACP is an internal medicine physician and the Medical Director of Health Equity at Wellstar Health System Marietta. Dr. Stewart is a Healthy Air is Healthcare Champion.
