Climate Clinic – Details, episodes & analysis

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, 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