Welcome to Fireside Chats Climate Change and Health

Welcome to Fireside Chats Climate Change and Health – What role do nurses play? Friday November 30, 2007 1: 00 – 2: 30 PM Eastern Time Advisor on Tap: Nicki Sims-Jones Environment Manager, Canadian Nurses Association

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Today’s ‘chat’. . . • Issue: – Human activity has resulted in changes to our climate that will have a profound impact on the health and well-being of populations worldwide. – What is nursing’s role? • Objectives: – Increase knowledge of climate change and health – Increase understanding of climate change and social justice – Describe adaptation to climate change – Identify mitigation strategies – Discuss potential nursing responses

Advisor on Tap Nicki Sims-Jones • Nicki is the Environment Manager at the Canadian Nurses Association. She is responsible for the environmental health project that the CNA is planning as part of its centenary activities. The main goals of the project are to increase nurses’ awareness of environmental health issues, and provide them with the tools and information they need to support environmental health in the domains of nursing practice, education, research and policy. • In addition to a BSc. N from the University of Ottawa, and an MSc. N from the University of Toronto, Nicki has a Diploma in Environment and Health from Mc. Master University. She worked in maternal child health in hospital and community settings, as a staff nurse, clinical nurse specialist and manager of the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children program before joining Health Canada in 2001. While working in the Teaching Health Unit in Ottawa she was also an Investigator with the Community Health Research Unit. In the federal government she has worked as a policy analyst both in the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch and in the Office of Children’s Environmental Health. Nicki is cross-appointed to the University of Ottawa and has published on a variety of topics in peer-reviewed and other journals. She is presently on interchange with the CNA from Health Canada and is enjoying working with nurses on environmental health issues

Climate change “Climate change is not just an environmental issue, as too many people still believe. It is an all-encompassing threat. ” - Kofi Annan, 2006

Why an issue for nurses? • It is going to affect the health of the people we work with; • It is a social justice issue as the negative effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those who have low GHG emissions; and • We have the skills to make an impact in supporting people to adapt to their changing climate.

Nursing’s role in climate change • Adaptation – Emergency planning/preparedness – Warning systems for heat waves – Protective technologies – Behaviour changes • Mitigation – Energy efficient, homes, appliances and automobiles – Walking, cycling, transit to work – Urban planning to decrease commutes – Less travel for business – Eating local foods etc.

© Environment Canada: http: //www. msc. ec. gc. ca/education/scienceofclimatechange /understanding/greenhouse_gases/index_f. html

Climate Change 2007, The Physical Science Basis, Summary for Policymakers, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Impact of climate change on health • In Canada: – Temperature extremes – heat waves – Extreme weather events and natural disasters – Air quality – Food and water – Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases – Stratospheric ozone depletion – Social and economic impacts on community health and well-being

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Health (2005).

Climate change and social justice © Greenpeace: http: //weblog. greenpeace. org/climatesummit/climate_images. html

Deaths attributed to climate change NOW 150, 000 per year xxx Patz, J. , et al. (November, 2005). Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature, vol. 438. 16

Adaptation to climate change • Depends on: – Population density, level of economic development, food availability, income level and distribution, local environmental conditions, preexisting health status, and the quality/availability of public health care • “No regrets” responses address these issues without making climate change the determining factor in decision-making • Planning for emergencies and heat waves

Mitigation of climate change • International agreements – Montreal protocol on ozone – Kyoto Protocol • Turning the corner – Impose mandatory targets on industry to reduce production of GHGs in half by 2015 – Regulate fuel efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks beginning 2011 – Strengthen energy efficiency of products – Different from Kyoto in that base year 2006, not 1990

Canada’s GHG Emissions 1990 -2005 (Environment Canada, 2006)

© Transport Canada http: //www. tc. gc. ca/road/vehiclesafety. htm#top

Mitigation Strategies • GHG emissions can be cut in four ways: – Reducing demand for emissions-intensive goods and services – Increasing efficiency, which can save both money and emissions – Acting on non-energy emissions such as avoiding deforestation – Switching to lower-carbon technologies for power, heat and transport.

Some Policy Debates • Absolute cap on emissions versus intensity • Leadership by developed world versus BAU until developing world signs on to targets.

Nursing’s role in climate change • Adaptation – Emergency planning/preparedness – Warning systems for heat waves – Protective technologies – Behaviour changes • Mitigation – Energy efficient, homes, appliances and automobiles – Walking, cycling, transit to work – Urban planning to decrease commutes – Less travel for business – Eating local foods etc.

World Wildlife Federation: Activities to Reduce GHG Emissions At Home • If you're buying a washing machine, refrigerator, dishwasher or oven, buy the most energy-efficient model you can afford. They might be more expensive but they pay for themselves through lower energy bills. • If living in Ontario or Alberta, buy non-polluting green electricity from Bullfrog Power. • Replace the lights you use most with compact fluorescent lights. They cost more than ordinary lights but you end up saving money because they use only around one-quarter of the electricity to produce the same light. And they last four times as long as a normal light bulb! • Turn off lights, televisions, videos, stereos and computers when they are not in use. • Eliminate drafts that lose energy from your home. Plug holes around doors and windows. • Insulate your hot water tank, attic, floors and walls. • Fit solar panels on the roof of your home. • Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when you have a full load. Use energy efficient cycles. • Don't leave taps running. • Set your water thermostat for 50 degrees - this is plenty warm enough for bathing and washing and will save money too.

World Wildlife Fund…cont. At work or at school: • Buy the most energy-efficient office equipment: computers, copiers, and printers. • Get your company to do an audit of all its energy use, including production processes and vehicles, and to look for more ways of saving energy • Turn off computer screens when you take a break • Save paper (and the energy used in its production) by printing on both sides and by recycling used paper • Start a project at your school to track down and eliminate energy waste Out and about: • Leave the car at home when you make short journeys • Use a bicycle for short trips and local shopping. • Make more use of public transport, such as buses and trains, for longer journeys. • Car pool with work colleagues or friends. • If you have to buy a car, buy a fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly one. This will save you money and keep more CO 2 from going into the atmosphere. • Don't idle your vehicle.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stöckli http: //visibleearth. nasa. gov/view_rec. php? id=2429

“Courage my friends, it’s not too late to make the world a better place. ”

Comments/ Questions from Participants Your comments and questions please. . .

Key Messages. . . • Nurses have a very real choice of whether to become involved now with climate change, or to wait until we are dealing with its potentially catastrophic effects on individuals, families and communities. • Climate Change will not go away on its own – and nurses have the skills to make a difference. • For more information: http: //www. cnaaiic. ca/CNA/issues/environment/websites/default _e. aspx

Final Discussion Questions. . . • What can ‘next steps’ be to address this issue? • What opportunities for action are on the horizon? (what, when, where, how to take advantage of these opportunities) • Who do you need to hear from next on this issue/topic? • What other information would help?

Thanks for joining in! For more information about CHNET-Works! and future Fireside Chats www. chnet-works. ca • Please contact the CHNET-Works! Animateur if you are interested in collaborating on future fireside chat discussions