Resources

• Mobilizing Public Health Action on Climate Change in Canada. Chief Public Health Officer of Canada's Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2022
• Lancet Countdown. Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change
• Climate Change Toolkit from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. This includes a module on environmental actions for health care institutions
• Green Office Toolkit from the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare
• Sustainability Health Care Guide for Boards, Executive Leaders, and Medical Staff: Meeting Standards and Beyond, developed by PEACH and CCGHC
• Advocacy Toolkit. Samantha Green, MD, CCFP, Faculty Lead in Climate Change and Health, Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto
• How to talk about climate change
• 'Bring a bag and use refills': how to cut down on plastic waste
• The New Climate War, by renowned scientist Michael Man, as antidote to despair and inaction
• It's us, it's real, experts agree, it's bad, there's hope. An inspiring message from the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
• Great interactive tool from the NYT to compare air pollution levels in several cities across the world, and standards
• Why the rewilding movement needs art

Additional suggestions for a green laboratory with examples of solutions:

• Recycle solvents
• Recycle specimen containers.
• Recycle gloves
• Recycle general waste in offices and lunchrooms.
• Ban plastic water bottles, paper cups and plastic cutlery from social events.
• Use electronic documents, and have paperless meetings.
• Green commute by walking, cycling and using public transport.
• Tele- and web conference rather than travel.
• Offset travel emissions: bullfrogpower.com & less.ca
  • Also offered by several major airlines, including Air Canada, KLM etc
• Browse the net while planting trees
• Reducing the Environmental Impact of Clinical Laboratories.
  • A great paper listing ways to reduce environmental impact of clinical laboratories
  • Lopez, J. B., Jackson, D., Gammie, A., & Badrick, T. (2017). Reducing the Environmental Impact of Clinical Laboratories. The Clinical biochemist. Reviews, 38(1), 3–11.

Suggestions to make meetings more sustainable and eco-friendly:

• Encourage carbon offsetting flights.
• Air Canada offers 10% discount if you register an event with them. Attendees could consider paying for carbon offset with their savings.
• Ask attendees to bring lanyards from previous conferences.
• Provide sustainable swag/gift, such as:
  • A water bottle and bamboo cutlery set that attendees keep, instead of providing plastic water bottles or plastic cutlery
  • A small seedling
  • Serve local food at events.
  • Reduce meat options.
  • Avoid bag lunches in disposable containers.
• Avoid disposable food wrapping.
• For refreshment services, provide:
  • Mugs instead of disposable cups
  • Glasses for water instead of plastic water bottles
  • Milk and cream in jugs instead of those little throwaways
  • Metal spoons for stirring

Links

• Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
• My Green Lab

Podcasts

• The Origins of Specious: Climate Change Denialism from Ideas on Apple Podcasts

News

• The first Earth Day - archive, April 1970
• Earth Day: Greta Thunberg calls for 'new path' after pandemic
• Health Professionals Call to Action Endorsed by the CAP-ACP
• Inspired TED Talk by Greta Thunberg
• "If the global health care sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, according to Health care's climate footprint: How the health sector contributes to the global climate crisis and opportunities for action", A report by Health Care Without Harm in collaboration with Arup.
• Academics' action to reduce their impact from air travel
• How to explore the world without harming it: Guardian climate pledge 2019
• Naming and Shaming the Polluters from Today in Focus on Apple Podcasts
• Helpful suggestions for managing climate anxiety from the Guardian
• CAPE Call to Climate Action, endorsed by the CAP-ACP and 25 other health care organizations
• National Report on Planetary Health Education from CFMS HEART.
  • A linked report and video are available on Twitter.
  • From their website: The Health and Environment Adaptive Response Task force (HEART) is a group within the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) that was established in 2016 to help coordinate advocacy efforts among Canadian medical students regarding current issues in environmental health and climate change..
• Global Climate and Health Alliance (GCHA) Scorecards
• What the five hottest years on Earth look like in pictures
• Humans have made 8.3 billion tons of plastic since 1950. This is the illustrated story of where it's gone.

Carbon Offsetting

• https://www.offsetters.ca/