HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2010
1. IMPORTANT NETWORK NEWS
The Health and Sustainable Development Network (H & SD Network) was set up in 2006 by Alison Hill, Jenny Griffiths and Jackie Spiby. The initial focus was on the development of a manifesto on the links between health and sustainability: individuals and organisations were invited to become signatories to the manifesto and members of the Network. We have about 200 members mainly in the wider public health community. A website www.healthandsustainability.net was set up in 2007 and newsletters have been circulated every 2-3 months. We held a successful workshop for activists in early 2008; a second workshop in early 2009 was planned but not held.
Since the H & SD Network was established, the Campaign for Greener Healthcare, the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, the Climate and Health Council and other groups and websites have been set up. As we have mentioned in previous newsletters, we believe it makes sense to consolidate our resources and communications, preventing duplication of work and simplifying the process of accessing the best information.
For the H & SD Network, the Campaign for Greener Healthcare (CfGH) http://www.greenerhealthcare.org/, a programme of the charity Knowledge into Action, is a natural partner. We have now agreed in principle that we will merge:
· Our newsletters: the CfGH publish a very good newsletter every month which, not surprisingly, often features some of the same items as ours. In future, we will make a contribution to the CfGH newsletter. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter from February onwards, please let us know (alison.hill@sph.nhs.uk or GriffHobbs@aol.com) by the end of January at the latest.
Please continue to send us items for the newsletter. Two important items in this newsletter have come from Network members.
· Our websites: Our website www.healthandsustainability.net will be merged mainly with SHEBA (Sustainability for Health: An Evidence Base for Action from the CfGH) www.sustainabilityforhealth.org – you will note the similarity of the names! We shall be working with colleagues at the CfGH in January and February to transfer material to the CfGH website and the SHEBA website. SHEBA will have a new “Promoting Health” section. Visitors to the H & SD Network website will be redirected to the CfGH website.
Jenny and Alison will make an active contribution to the Campaign for Greener Healthcare. We shall ensure that the focus of our network on public health and health promotion is not lost. We welcome comments on our future work programme at any time.
OUR SELECTION OF ITEMS FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
OCTOBER – DECEMBER 2009
2. DEFENDING THE SCIENCE BASE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
The Met Office: In response to media coverage of “Climategate”, The Met Office published on 10 December a statement of confidence by 100 institutions (1,700 signatories) in the science base:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climatechange/news/latest/uk-science-statement.html.
Useful for helping to convince doubtful folk!
“We, members of the UK science community, have the utmost confidence in the observational evidence for global warming and the scientific basis for concluding that it is due primarily to human activities. The evidence and the science are deep and extensive. They come from decades of painstaking and meticulous research, by many thousands of scientists across the world who adhere to the highest levels of professional integrity. That research has been subject to peer review and publication, providing traceability of the evidence and support for the scientific method.
“The science of climate change draws on fundamental research from an increasing number of disciplines, many of which are represented here. As professional scientists, from students to senior professors, we uphold the findings of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, which concludes that ‘Warming of the climate system is unequivocal’ and that ‘Most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations”.
USA Environmental Protection Agency: An important announcement was made at the beginning of December by the USA Environmental Protection Agency, that “Greenhouse Gases Threaten Public Health and the Environment; science overwhelmingly shows greenhouse gas concentrations at unprecedented levels due to human activity”. http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/08D11A451131BCA585257685005BF252
3. THE 10:10 CAMPAIGN
Just in case any of you have not yet joined the 10:10 campaign as individuals or organisations, we do recommend it. To achieve a 10 per cent reduction in carbon emissions in 2010 is eminently doable: which is why lots of acute trusts, mental health trusts, primary care trusts and GP practices and medical centres have signed up. Altogether over 50,000 individuals and nearly 1,000 organisations have joined. For information, checklists etc. go to: http://www.greenerhealthcare.org/1010-health
Best Foot Forward have created free Standard and 10:10 versions of Footprinter carbon management software for businesses and organisations http://www.footprinter.com/
4. POPULATION GROWTH AND ITS IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
At the end of this newsletter is a letter to the Network from our member Richard Swann, who wants to promote much more open debate on the subject of population growth. What do you think? Send your contributions to us, and/or share your views on the Faculty of Public Health’s sustainable development network group http://new.fph-groups.org.uk/
RESOURCES
5. LOWER CARBON SAVES LIVES
Policies for health, development, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions should be integrated—that is the central message from an important series of papers “Public health impacts of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” published in The Lancet on 25 November 2009 and launched at a major conference at The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which included a satellite link to the USA. In the first major study of its kind, the Climate Change Mitigation and Public Health Task Force, an international team of 55 researchers from 9 countries chaired by Professor Sir Andy Haines, Director of the LSHTM, has modelled the health effects of different policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in high and low-income countries. The Climate and Health Council, sponsored by the BMJ, was instrumental in making the case for the programme of work. The project was funded by the Wellcome Trust with a consortium of other funders. The Series Comments and the “Overview and Implications for Policy-Makers” are well worth reading.
http://www.thelancet.com/series/health-and-climate-change- available free of charge
Jenny and Mala Rao, Director of the Indian Institute of Public Health in Hyderabad, had an editorial in the British Medical Journal the same week based on the themes in The Lancet Series.
6. BRISTOL PEAK OIL REPORT
Work led by Angela Raffle, Consultant in Public Health with the Public Health Network serving Bristol, Bath, Somerset and Gloucestershire, on linking public health and the transition movement can be found on our website http://www.healthandsustainability.net/17.html
Angela has recently sent us the Bristol Peak Oil Report: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/sustainability/file-storage-items/peak-oil-report.en;jsessionid=48B2D1F6C2F9B003F4F83A4E2FD39824.tcwwwaplaws2
It is a great piece of work – calm, factual, clear. Angela writes: “I’m hoping that we can use it to create a shift in approach across the City. Behind the scenes it was actually people in the transition Bristol team who were instrumental in making this report happen – by being on the Green Capital Momentum Group and doing the annoying squeaky wheel thing of going on and on about fuel depletion, by arranging for Daniel Lerch of post carbon institute to deliver a seminar to key staff in Bristol City Council, and by tendering to do the report – Simone Osborn is the main author and has been working for Transition Network to organise the conferences, and for Transition Bristol as volunteer, for a long time. Inez who wrote the scenarios is also a transition volunteer.”
There is a link to the Bristol Peak Oil Report on our website now. As Angela says, no doubt other places are doing something similar: if so, let us have them and we will get the documents on the website.
7. THE LATEST CABE REPORT
CABE, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, have published a steady flow of high-quality documents on the inter-relationships between good design and sustainability. The latest is “Future Health: Sustainable Places for Health and Well-Being” which explains how good design makes healthy places, by bringing together what CABE knows about sustainable, health-promoting design with the latest thinking about individual health and well-being.
8. WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
The World Medical Association has been stepping up its profile on climate change in recent months, including the WMA Declaration of Delhi on Health and Climate Change (October 2009), which contains sections on advocacy, leadership, education and capacity building and surveillance and research. http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/c5/index.html
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From: Richard Swann (Email: rswann@doctors.org.uk) 30th November 2009
To: Members of the Health and Sustainable Development Network
Population Growth and its impact on Climate Change and more generally
I am writing to ask Network Members to encourage our Faculty to become more active in promoting open debate on this subject.
In summary population growth has the potential to increase carbon emissions and climate change adaptation needs, increase resource depletion and competition and increase global poverty. Both climate change and population growth are likely to have their greatest effect on the poor of developing countries. Wide discussion about these issues is thus of the greatest importance.
However there seems to be a widespread view that public debate of these issues is best avoided, and a number of reasons have been suggested for this. There are sensitivities about family size, and a false assumption that any attempt to stabilise national population size will be accompanied by compulsory measures. Population is considered a ‘small’ problem in the UK. Stabilising or reducing population size will worsen the imbalance between working and retired people. Immigration levels are also involved with perceived discrimination a concern. Some may believe that global economic systems are better served by an enlarged market. Political parties do not see this issue as a vote gainer.
These sensitivities may deter many organisations, including those involved with climate change activities, from engaging with population growth. This year has seen some notable exceptions, such as reports from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health1 or the United Nations Population Fund 2, but generally there has been little debate or publicity.
The Faculty of Public Health is in a strong position to promote debate and publicise any concerns about population growth. It is a scientific body with an excellent reputation. Population matters are core to its remit. It has media and governmental department links. It has been very active in addressing climate change.
Population stabilisation generally requires a long lead time. We are only 40 years from the 2050 climate change targets. While climate change is now freely discussed, population growth including its impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation remains largely excluded from open debate. It may take 5-10 years to reach the situation when population growth, both globally and in the UK, has been debated widely and in depth and UK government policy formulated. Network members will be well aware of the concerns outlined in this letter. Individually we only have a small sphere of influence whereas input from our Faculty can make a substantial contribution to the recognition of the likely consequences of continued population growth. Network members are asked to encourage the Faculty to fully engage with population growth concerns.
Richard Swann FFPHM (retired), MSc Environmental Conservation
(1) All Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health
(2009) Return of the Population Growth Factor: Its impact upon the millennium development goals.
London. Unspecified.
(2) United Nations Population Fund (2009) State of the World’s Population 2009. New York, UNFPA.