Green is Health

It is becoming clearer that climate change is not merely another matter humanity needs to cope with in this decade, but perhaps the most crucial one. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has delineated the next ten years as being crucial to keeping global warming within 1.5°C beyond pre-industrial levels.

Lack of ability to do so will have catastrophic and irreversible consequences in the form of geographical changes (For example, rising seawater and disappearance of coastal cities and islands, an extension of deserts, and disappearance of forests), natural disasters, food shortage, disease, and political unrest.

Not only are technological abilities and organizational difficulties hindering our progress, but also political forces who dispute scientific facts within the consensus. As a whole, we need to be transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry.

As physicians who swore the Hippocratic oath, and who joined our profession in order to contribute positively to society, we cannot, in good conscience, stand aside without making our best effort to navigate society to a positive and hopeful future.

About Green is Health 

As a medical interest group, our aim is to:

• Become a reliable, evidence-based, source of information to the general public
• Collaborate with existing organizations to centralize the Ontario medical community’s climate action and become a pragmatic resource for physicians and other health professionals
• Lobby for patients and environmental health

About the chairs

Dr. Kim-Chi Tran, co-chair

I am a urologist working within the Scarborough Health Network. My area of subspecialty is uro-oncology, and I completed my medical training at the University of Western Ontario. I was fortunate to have many powerful and impactful mentors throughout the years, and upon graduation, I wanted to likewise help to influence others; be it trainees, patients, peers, or family.

Over the past few years, climate change has come to the forefront, as we are faced with a reality that we can no longer ignore. While the task of creating climate justice is daunting, I am hopeful that by educating ourselves we can reduce our fear of climate change so that we may combat it head-on. It is my hope that the Green is Health MIG will become a trusted resource for green healthcare.

Dr. Caroline Newman, co-chair

I grew up in Toronto and graduated medical school in 1987 at the University of Western Ontario. I interned at Scarborough General Hospital and have managed a family practice ever since. My career is also an avenue to tackle the environmental problems we face today.

I became an opposer of the manufacture and sale of the single-use disposable plastic water bottle. The millions opened every day are devastating beaches, waterways, oceans, natural areas, and cities with no end in sight. They are absolutely everywhere.

It appears Big Bottlers are stopping at nothing until all the freshwater sources and aquifers are depleted, causing misery to communities, and to the animals which consume the waste. I have always attempted to avoid creating single-use waste. To me, it never made sense except in a medical setting (i.e. needles and syringes, gloves). However, society has taken this concept to such an extent that it runs our lives.

We produce enormous amounts of trash. We then spend huge amounts of money and time finding ways to dispose of it. In addition, the many factors leading to climate change present a new host of problems to solve, or simply leave to the next generation. I feel we created it and that we should solve it.

Dr. Gili Adler Nevo, co-chair

I am a child and adolescent psychiatrist, lead the MGH (Michael Garron Hospital) Child and Adolescent Anxiety Clinic, and am an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. I feel fortunate to have found a meaningful vocation in which I can help youth find their voice and overcome anxiety.

In November 2016, when Donald Trump was elected the leader of the free world, I felt a heaviness fall over me. To clarify, this was not about political parties, right or left, liberal or conservative. My first thought was: “what about climate change?!”

Leaders of competing ideologies and varying competencies have come and gone, but it was clear to me that a climate change denier in such a powerful position could cause irreversible damage, especially during this critical time period in history. That night I bought a URL called “earth to trump,” I later purchased an electric car, I joined my hospital’s green committee, and have now joined forces with like-minded people to co-chair the Ontario Medical Association Climate Change MIG.

Each active step, although small, is empowering. Seeing that there are many concerned and informed people like me and that the movement is growing, is inspiring — together we can make a difference!