This week, President Obama is launching a slew of new initiatives to focus on how climate change affects community health and how those effects can be better addressed. He kicked it off by declaring April 6-12 National Public Health Week to emphasize the importance of engaging the public health system as well as private companies and local governments to take action to mitigate the health impacts of climate change.
"We know climate change is not a distant threat," said the White House press release. "We are already seeing impacts in communities across the country. And while most Americans see climate change hitting their communities through extreme weather events—from more severe droughts and wildfires to more powerful hurricanes and record heat waves—there are other threats climate change poses to the American people. In the past three decades, the percentage of Americans with asthma has more than doubled, and climate change is putting these individuals and many other vulnerable populations at greater risk of landing in the hospital. Certain people and communities are especially vulnerable, including children, the elderly, the sick, the poor and some communities of color. Rising temperatures can lead to more smog, longer allergy seasons and an increased incidence of extreme-weather-related injuries."
To meet those challenges, the White House is kicking off a series of actions to engage various stakeholders, identify solutions, provide wider access to climate and health data and other significant information and make sure the next generation of medical professionals is trained to address the ways in which climate change is making people sick.
The President appeared Tuesday at a forum at Howard University with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Gina McCarthy to call attention to the initiatives he's announcing this week, as well as more than a dozen public-private partnerships to address community health issues caused by climate change, including commitments from Harvard University, Google, Microsoft and the City of San Francisco.
"We've got to do better in protecting our vulnerable families," said Obama. "You can't cordon yourself off from air."
Obama announced the White House Climate Change and Health Summit later this spring, which will bring together medical and health professionals, academics and other stakeholders to look for ways to reduce climate-related medical issues, and he unveiled a series of executive actions focused on providing informational tools to communities, health professionals and the public.
They include the release of Adaptation in Action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Public Health Association (APHA); highlighting how seven cities and states are using the CDC's Building Resilience Against Climate Effects framework; and a Health Care Facilities Toolkit from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to serve as a guide for decision-making by health care workers. And, as part of the White House's Climate Data Initiative launched last year, the Obama administration Tuesday made available more than 150 meta-tagged data sets relating to health resilience.
“Fifty years ago, the Surgeon General under President Johnson’s administration first warned the public about the devastating health effects of tobacco use," said Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune. "Today, the Obama Administration is bringing the same spotlight to recognizing the dangers that climate disruption poses to the health of our children and our communities. We applaud the Obama Administration for not just recognizing what the best public health research indicates, but taking action by bringing medical experts to the front of the fight for climate action. Even better, the Administration is acting to curb the dangerous conditions that cause these threats by cleaning up carbon pollution from dirty power plants for the first time with the Clean Power Plan and strengthening protections from dangerous smog later this year."
The administration is also promoting a series of events leading up to the summit, including a Community, Culture and Mental Health Workshop at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to discuss what makes communities resilient to climate change. They're also launching a Climate Change and Health Data Challenge to invite coders, analysts and researchers to use the newly released health resilience datasets to find new ways to look at issues and problems and offering data and expertise for the National Day of Civic Hacking June 6 to encourage people to contribute their skills and ideas to solving climate-related health problems.
On Thursday, White House Senior Advisor Brian Deese will host a roundtable discussion with some of the 30 deans of medical, public health and nursing schools that have committed to training their students for a future in which they have to deal with climate change health impacts.
While this week's announcements and events deal with mitigating the results of climate change that is already occurring, the White House press release also made it clear that it was not a substitute for mitigating climate change itself, saying "This week’s actions build on a series of steps we are taking across the administration through the President’s Climate Action Plan to reduce the dangerous levels of carbon pollution that are contributing to climate change, prepare our communities for the impacts that cannot be avoided, and lead internationally."
The Heartland Institute also responded to President Obama's announcement:
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Here are three new films to watch this Earth Week that will transport you from pole to pole and introduce you to the scientists and activists working to save our shared home.
1. The Year Earth Changed
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
When to Watch: From April 16
The coronavirus pandemic has brought home the stakes of humanity's impact on the environment. But the lockdowns also proved how quickly nature can recover when humans give it the space. Birds sang in empty cities, whales surfaced in Glacier Bay and capybara roamed the South American suburbs.
The Year Earth Changed captures this unique year with footage from more than 30 lockdowned cities between May 2020 to January 2021. Narrated by renowned wildlife broadcaster David Attenborough, the film explores what positive lessons we can take from the experience of a quieter, less trafficked world.
"What the film shows is that the natural world can bounce back remarkably quickly when we take a step back and reduce our impact as we did during lockdown," executive producer Alice Keens-Soper of BBC Studios Natural History Unit told EcoWatch. "If we are willing to make even small changes to our habits, the natural world can flourish. We need to learn how to co-exist with nature and understand that we are not separate from it- for example if we closed some of our beaches at for a few weeks during the turtle breeding we see that it can make a huge difference to their success. There are many ways that we can adapt our behavior to allow the natural world to thrive as it did in lockdown."
2. After Antarctica
Where to Watch: San Francisco International Film Festival
When to Watch: 12 a.m. PST April 9 to 11:59 p.m. April 18
In 1989, Will Steger led an international team of six scientists and explorers to be the first humans to cross Antarctica by dogsled. Steger and his team weren't just in it for the adventure. They also wanted to draw attention to the ways in which the climate crisis was already transforming the icy continent and to rally support for the renewal of the Antarctic Treaty, which would keep the continent safe from extractive industries.
In After Antarctica, award-winning filmmaker Tasha Van Zandt follows Steger 30 years later as he travels the Arctic this time, reflecting on his original journey and once again bringing awareness to changes in a polar landscape. The film intersperses this contemporary journey with footage from the original expedition, some of which has never been seen before.
"Will's life journey as an explorer and climate activist has led him not only to see more of the polar world than anyone else alive today, but to being an eyewitness to the changes occurring across both poles," Van Zandt told EcoWatch. "But now, these changes are happening in all of our own backyards and we have all become eyewitnesses. Through my journey with Will, I have learned that although we cannot always control change, we can change our response. I feel strongly that this is a message that resonates when we look at the current state of the world, as we each have power and control over how we choose to respond to hardships, and we all have the power to unite with others through collective action around a common goal."
After Antarctica is available to stream once you purchase a ticket to the San Francisco International Film Festival. If you miss it this weekend, it will screen again at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival from May 13 to May 23.
Tasha Van Zandt
3. The Race to Save the World
Where to Watch: Virtual Cinema
When to Watch: From Earth Day, April 22
While many films about the climate crisis seek to raise awareness about the extent of the problem, The Race to Save the World focuses on the people who are trying to stop it. The film tells the story of climate activists ranging from 15-year-old Aji to 72-year-old Miriam who are working to create a sustainable future. It follows them from the streets to the courtroom to their homes, and explores the impact of their advocacy on their personal lives and relationships.
Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Joe Gantz told EcoWatch that he wanted to make a film about climate change, but did not want to depress viewers with overwhelming statistics. Instead, he chose to inspire them by sharing the stories of people trying to make a difference.
"Unless millions of people take to the streets and make their voices heard for a livable future, the politicians are not going to get on board to help make the changes needed for a sustainable future," Gantz told Ecowatch. "I think that The Race To Save The World will energize and inspire people to take action so that future generations, as well as the plants, animals and ecosystems, can survive and thrive on this planet."
Check back with EcoWatch on the morning of Earth Day for a special preview of this inspiring film!