State climate plan is a public health priority
As physicians, part of our professional responsibility is to advocate for policies that will improve the health of all our patients. It is not simply, “Do no harm” on an individual level, as many know from the Hippocratic Oath. We must also “do no harm” when we consider broader aspects of health, including the health of our planet. And in addition to giving our patients the best care possible, we need to arm them with the information they need to lead healthy lives. Unfortunately, misinformation on many topics presents significant challenges to achieving these goals.
The COVID-19 pandemic of the past 18 months has demonstrated how remarkably interconnected we all are on this planet. We are impacted by those around us and beyond our shores, whether it is the spread of contagious diseases or the climate in different regions across the world. Our ongoing struggles against COVID-19 have led us to think about our health through a more global lens.
On Oct. 21, another big report was issued, “The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change,” highlighting how climate change is a “threat multiplier” to many aspects of our health and health system capacity. The local paper included the story in “Reports: Health problems tied to global warming on the rise.” Just consider the climate-fueled extreme weather events (extreme heat and drought, hurricanes and flooding, wildfires) and their direct effects on individual health as well as the impact on power outages, transportation and the now-widely-talked-about supply chain that touches all of us.
Components of pending federal legislation around policies and programs related to climate change seem to be in jeopardy. Stunning, yet true. And that should make us all wonder: What can be done at our state level?
As physicians, every day we treat patients with asthma and serious respiratory diseases that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Exposure to infectious disease from vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes has and will continue to escalate and is impacted by climate. Increasing ozone levels and higher concentrations of particulate matter have a challenging effect on patients of all ages with lung disease. In fact, in 2019, the American Lung Association ranked Connecticut as the 10th worst state for smog (ozone pollution).
The good news is that Connecticut, much like our professional organization the American College of Physicians and the broader Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, has taken a leadership role when it comes to improving our collective health and wellbeing by supporting the Transportation Climate Initiative. TCI is a 13-state effort that will prioritize the needed investments to reduce air pollution and improve overall air quality by capping polluting emissions from transportation.
Specifically, TCI would make critical investments in our transportation system to reduce the number of fossilfueled vehicles, and increase clean transportation options. With less traffic congestion and fewer internal combustion engine vehicles, our state’s smog levels would decrease, leading to better air quality for our communities.
The benefits of TCI are clear. According to estimates from the Harvard
School of Public Health, once fully implemented, TCI would prevent over 300 deaths per year, reduce the incidence of childhood asthma, and prevent thousands of children from having asthmarelated problems. Additionally, TCI would guarantee that transportation and infrastructure investments would be made in underserved and overburdened municipalities, thus helping to ensure that, regardless of ZIP code, all of Connecticut’s residents would have better air quality and access to clean transportation.
We were impressed to learn that it was our former Republican governor, M. Jodi Rell, who originally had the foresight and conviction to involve Connecticut in TCI back in 2010. Gov. Rell seemed to recognize just how critical this effort would be to the future of our state, the region and the planet.
While Connecticut pondered what to do next, our air quality continued to decline, the temperature continued to rise, and our state was impacted by epic storm after storm.
Gov. Ned Lamont has recognized the need for action, joining Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., in implementing the program. Eight more states have committed to moving forward, as well.
COVID-19 has shown us what can happen without a good plan of action or concrete strategy in place to address a global pandemic. The science is clear on climate change. Connecticut should continue to lead and pass the necessary legislation now, so that as physicians we have all the tools necessary to ensure the health and well-being of our patients and our planet, as we continue on our quest to “do no harm.”
Every day we treat patients with asthma and serious respiratory diseases that are exacerbated by the effects of climate change.
Dr. Robert McLean, past president of the American College of Physicians and currently chair of the Steering Committee of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, is a practicing physician in New Haven. Dr. Ruth Weissberger is the Connecticut ACP chapter governor and is the internal medicine residency program director at Waterbury Hospital.