1) What do you personally find most troubling about climate change?
After learning about climate change throughout this module, I find that food waste and trash are the most troubling issues contributing to climate change. The fact that 40% of fresh food will end up in landfills is upsetting, especially when there are individuals in this country that struggle to put food on the table. These foods and trash end up in landfills to decompose and emit gross amounts of methane in the atmosphere. In addition to the methane, the carbon foot print that it takes to produce the 40% of food waste also seems like an unnecessary waste of resources.
2) As a public health professional, what do you think needs the greatest attention right now?
Besides our reliance on fossil fuels, I believe that food waste needs our greatest attention right now because eliminating food waste seems like an attainable goal for individuals. With a national effort to shop local and produce their own foods, our reliance on mass production of food will decrease and, in turn, food waste will decrease as well. As a public health professional, I would strive to have a national health campaign to disseminate the benefits of shopping local and organic; and partner with small scale farmers to teach backyard farming techniques. This effort would ensure a decrease in our individual demands on foods with a large carbon foot print.
3) If you were visiting with a long-lost relative who had never heard about climate change, how would you describe it and its attendant human health and ecological threats?
If I were to explain climate change to a long lost relative, I would keep it simple. I would explain to him/her that there is a global change in climate due to the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere. I would explain that these greenhouse gases create a blanket in our atmosphere that capture heat on our planet, resulting in extreme changes in climate. I then would explain that these man-induced changes to our environment are not natural and force untoward changes in our environment that affect many ecological regions and behaviors.
Great post. As public health professionals, I believe we can increase public awareness of the many effects derived from climate change. That may require to be well informed about climate change, educate the public in general, and actively participate in the development of policies that protect the health of the community and the environment. We can also implement prevention programs and develop strategies that target those group of populations more vulnerable to hazardous effect of climate change such as the elderly, young children, pregnant women, minorities and low income communities.
ReplyDeleteHi Avin, great post on climate change. To be honest, when I never really connected the dots about where our food comes from and how this affects climate change. But I agree with you, one way we can reduce our carbon foot print is by buying local foods. Though, this may not be available to everyone, we can definitely encourage this type of behavior to those communities who have access to local farms.
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