Australian coal worker of 40 years embraces renewables: Climate Council video

Tony Wolfe has worked in coal for over forty years. But he knows it's time for a change - it's time to embrace renewables. Australia needs clean jobs to reboot its economy. That's why we created the Clean Jobs Plan. 

 

Learn more about it here: https://climc.nl/3hAZdSW -- 

 

 The Climate Council is Australia's leading independent, community-funded climate change communications organisation. We're a catalyst propelling Australia to take bold, effective steps to address the climate crisis. We're made up of some of the country’s leading climate scientists, health, renewable energy and policy experts, as well as a team of staff, and a huge community of volunteers and supporters who power our work. 

 

Find out more and connect with us here: → Website: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au → Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/climatecouncil → Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclimatec... → Twitter: https://twitter.com/climatecouncil

Far-reaching climate change risks to Australia must be reduced and managed: Aigroup

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"The Australian Climate Roundtable (ACR) is a forum that brings together leading organisations from the business, farming, investment, union, social welfare and environmental sectors. Since 2014 we have sought and found common ground on responding to the challenge of climate change."
28 Aug 2020

"What the experts say

Climate change is already having a real and significant impact on the economy and community. Australian temperatures are increasing, extreme climate-related events such as heat waves and bushfires are becoming more intense and frequent, natural systems are suffering irreversible damage, some communities are in a constant state of recovery from successive natural disasters, and the economic and financial impacts of these changes continue to grow.

Sea Level Rise will affect our cities

Even with ambitious global action in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, Australia will experience escalating costs from the climate change associated with historical emissions. These costs will be significant and will require a concerted national response to manage these now unavoidable climate related damages.

Health risks for children because of climate change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change advises that global emissions will need to reach net-zero by around 2050 to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. If the world fails to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, and instead continues its current emissions pathway, climate change would have far-reaching economic, environmental and social effects on Australia. It is unlikely that Australia and the world can remain prosperous in this scenario.

Australia requires a risk assessment for climate change.

These effects include but are not limited to:

* Unprecedented economic damage to Australia and our regional trading partners from acute (e.g. extreme events) and chronic (e.g. sea level rise) changes in climate. Significant impacts on coastal regions, agriculture, human productivity and infrastructure. The economy-wide costs of not achieving the Paris Agreement objectives far outweigh the costs of a smooth transition to net-zero emissions.
* Risks to financial stability and particularly the insurance industry. The ability of the insurance and reinsurance markets to support Australian investments and communities would be compromised.

Drought

* Major acute and long-lived human and community social andhealth impacts. This includes both loss of life and livelihood from extreme events through to long-term medical conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Many communities and regions will suffer a constant cycle of natural disaster and rebuilding or face relocation.

* Irreversible damage to Australian unique natural heritage, including Australia's iconic and internationally significant ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu National Park.

* Significant threats to agriculture, forestry, nature-based tourism

Destroyed forests

and fisheries. Unconstrained climate change is a risk to Australia's domestic food security.

The impacts of climate change will also put many governments under fiscal stress. Tax revenues will fall dramatically and increases in the frequency and severity of weather events and other natural disasters, which invoke significant emergency management responses and recovery expenditures, indicate that pressure on government budgets will be especially severe.

Related: Australia fires: Similar or worse disasters 'will happen again' (excerpt): BBC

WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19: Video

The WHO Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19 lists six steps to create a healthier , fairer  and greener world while investing to maintain and resuscitate the economy. 
 

More information: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature...

 

Related:  Why COVID deniers and climate skeptics paint scientists as alarmist (excerpt): Grist

Can there be social distancing whilst fighting wildfires?

PREPARE FOR CHALLENGES TO HEALTH SYSTEMS

Climate Change will overload health systems. Climate change affected disasters (hurricanes, wildfires, floods) will cause disease control measures such as social distancing and restrictions on movement to break down. Disaster caused injuries will further overwhelm health systems.  COVID 19 and other infectious diseases will spread like wildfire. 


"Hurricane season starts June 1. We will still be in the coronavirus pandemic period, hopefully looking at a flat curve or a lowering of transmission and death. But.....the southern US states have been the last to impose restrictions on movement, and some have not yet done so. Hurricanes typically strike the coasts of those states, so we might be reading about really ugly situations developing down there. We all hope not, because we have enough tragedy this year."
RJ Zimmerman

 








'AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, said today that the evidence is in on climate change - and it is irrefutable.


“The AMA accepts the scientific evidence on climate change and its impact on human health and human wellbeing,” Dr Bartone said.'

“The scientific reality is that climate change affects health and wellbeing by increasing the situations in which infectious diseases can be transmitted, and through more extreme weather events, particularly heatwaves.

“Climate change will cause higher mortality and morbidity from heat stress.

“Climate change will cause injury and mortality from increasingly severe weather events.

“Climate change will cause increases in the transmission of vector-borne diseases.












“Climate change will cause food insecurity resulting from declines in agricultural outputs.

“Climate change will cause a higher incidence of mental ill-health.

“These effects are already being observed internationally and in Australia. There is no doubt that climate change is a health emergency.

“The AMA is proud to join the international and local chorus of voices urging action to address climate change on health grounds,” Dr Bartone said.



The AMA is calling on the Australian Government to:

• Adopt mitigation targets within an Australian carbon budget. 
• Promote the health benefits of addressing climate change.
• Develop a National Strategy for Health and Climate Change.
• Promote an active transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
• Establish a National Sustainable Development Unit to reduce carbon emissions in the healthcare sector. https://ama.com.au/media/climate-change-health-emergency
•  

Further Suggested Actions by Followers

• investment in research and development to prepare or epidemics of diseases once confined to tropical locations 

• a dramatic development of mental health facilities 

• improvement of child health facilities

• ensure all have access to affordable healthcare 

• "At-risk communities should be given access to economical renewable energy; programs for affordable, climate-friendly heating or cooling options; and strong resilience measures to better cope with climate impacts." https://time.com/5672636/climate-change-public-health/  


 health jailclimatecriminals gaolclimatecriminals mosquito smokepollution children disease mental heath support

See also:  Prepare for likely food shortages
 

Climate change is a health emergency, RACGP declares: News GP

..... ‘There is a substantive and compelling body of medical and scientific evidence supporting the position that this is a health emergency,’ she said.

‘In Australia, strong voices are calling for the mitigation of climate impacts on the health of current and future generations, including in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, rural and remote communities.

‘We acknowledge the serious threats posed to the health of children, older Australians and those in rural and remote communities. Climate change disproportionately affects the health of Australians with asthma, respiratory conditions and heart disease. The research demonstrates that women are at higher risk of death from climate change, in particular from climate-change-linked natural disasters.’

Dr Roeske said more deaths from heatwaves can be expected, with young generations likely to have their mental health affected.

Health impacts in Australia are also likely to include more deaths from the spread of infectious disease such as malaria and dengue, with diarrheal illnesses also expected to grow.

‘This is a signal to our members and to our patients and communities that GPs recognise climate change as a health emergency and are ready to respond to the multiple health challenges ahead,’ Dr Roeske said.

‘We believe the Australian Government should recognise and help address the health impacts of climate change.’

Read the original News GP article 

#criminales climáticos de la cárcel  #criminalesclimáticosdelacárcel

#jailclimatecriminals  #gaolclimatecriminals

#buyfromthebush 

Related:
Air pollution is much more harmful than you know: ...

Air pollution is much more harmful than you know: Vox

"The Trump administration is making a bad problem worse. 

Air pollution — mostly fine particulates, but also ozone and nitrogen oxides — has risen in recent years, in part due to ongoing rollbacks of regulations relating to air pollution, leading to what a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon estimate is nearly 10,000 extra deaths per year. 

Policymakers in the Trump administration seem determined to

ABC

continue down this course. On November 11, Lisa Friedman of the New York Times reported on a draft memo circulating among Environmental Protection Agency officials that, if enacted, would sharply limit the kinds of scientific studies the agency can use to consider the impact of air pollution. Yet there’s good reason to believe the EPA and other global public health agencies should be moving in the opposite direction and considering a wider range of studies about the harms of air pollution. 

That’s because in addition to its impacts to lung and cardiovascular functioning, it seems increasingly clear that pollution has a significant effect on cognitive function over both the short and long term. A spate of studies released in recent years indicate that people work less efficiently and make more mistakes on higher-pollution days, and that long-term exposure to air pollution “ages” the brain and increases the odds of dementia. 

These consequences are not nearly as dramatic as dying, of course. But they are spread across a huge swath of the population. And since cognitive function is linked to almost everything else in life, the implications are potentially enormous. 

Many current EPA documents don’t mention the impact of air pollution on brain functioning, and landmark Obama-era regulatory efforts like the Clean Power Plan don’t cite cognitive benefits as part of their cost-benefit analysis. But a growing body of research indicates that the harms of air pollution are more wide-ranging and systematic than we’ve realized.

The new research on pollution and cognition ......"

Read more. Original Vox article

#criminales climáticos de la cárcel   #criminalesclimáticosdelacárcel

#jailclimatecriminals  #gaolclimatecriminals

Related: Climate change forcing millions out of homes: report: 9 NEWS

Related: Sydney smoke three times worse this NSW bushfire season, but health effects from 'medium-term' exposure unclear

Clean Energy Produces Billions in Health Benefits, Study Finds : EcoWatch

States that invest heavily in renewable energy will generate billions of dollars in health benefits in the next decade instead of spending billions to take care of people getting sick from air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, according to a new study from MIT and reported on by The Verge. 

In fact, 10 states across the Midwest could see massive savings. Ohio stands to gain $4.7 billion in health benefits by 2030 if they stick with their current renewable energy standards. The research shows that as states make their demands for renewalble energy more stringent, the health benefits and cost savings increase. 

Read the article in EcoWatch

See also:

Australia's PM Scott Morrison blasted by Pacific heat: The Guardian

Corporate America Is Getting Ready to Monetize Climate Change: Bloomberg

Not OK to profit from wrecking the climate

"Bank of America Corp. worries flooded homeowners will default on their mortgages. The Walt Disney Co. is concerned its theme parks will get too hot for vacationers, while AT&T Inc. fears hurricanes and wildfires may knock out its cell towers.

The Coca-Cola Co. wonders if there will still be enough water to make Coke.

As the Trump administration rolls back rules meant to curb global warming, new disclosures show that the country’s largest companies are already bracing for its effects. The documents reveal how widely climate change is expected to cascade through the economy -- disrupting supply chains, disabling operations and driving away customers, but also offering new ways to make money."

Read the Bloomberg story 

See also: Latest: Pentagon Warns of Risk to Bases, Troops From Climate Change

New U.S. Climate Assessment Forecasts Dire Effects On Economy, Health: NPR

"The Trump administration released a major climate assessment on Black Friday, the culmination of years of research by the country's top climate scientists. It's well over 1,000 pages and touches on a daunting range of topics.

President Trump said Monday that he has read parts of it. "It's fine," he told reporters at the White House, although he said he doesn't believe the report's assessment that climate change will cause devastating economic impacts for the U.S."

Read the NPR article 

#trump  #infrastructuredamage  #healthrisks  #climatecatastrophe

Mental health added to impact of climate change as global damage grows: The Age

Rising temperatures are leading to increased levels of stress, worsening anxiety and depression, and even suicide in the most extreme cases in Australia.


Scientists have identified for the first time an association between mean annual maximum temperatures pushed higher by climate change and suicides for both males and females across states and territories, according to a paper published by The Medical Journal of Australia on Thursday.

Read the article 

#mentalhealth  #climatecatastrophe  #suicide  #healthrisks  #health  #risingtemperatures  #climateactionnow

NSW is most coal dependent Australian state

"We have such a long way to go! 

Doctors for the Environment Australia

Our government needs to listen to the wise voice of humanity, take the brakes off, move out of the Fossil Fuel Age and into a Healthy Planet, Healthy People future. They need to be yelling out "Bring it on" when it comes to Renewables, and they need to demand the new generation of Environmental Laws. Who dares wins!

Email Premier Berejiklian and Opposition Leader Michael Daley and
get them to get serious on clean energy and climate change @ https://www.nature.org.au/…/nsw-politicians-its-time-for-a…/

Take the Pledge to Protect our children and our future health from Climate Change @ https://notimeforgames.dea.org.au"

 #NSW #Morrison-McCormackgovernment #coalmining #coal, #health #climateaction

The Guardian: Climate change already a health emergency, say experts

"Deadly heatwaves and spread of diseases affect people’s health today – report.

People’s health is being damaged today by climate change through effects ranging from deadly heatwaves in Europe to rising dengue fever in the tropics, according to a report.

Billions of hours of farmwork has been lost during high temperatures and global warming has damaged the ability to grow crops, it said."

Read The Guardian article 

Related:

Australia shamed – again – on climate, as UNEP report calls for urgent action

Children Face Unique Health Risks Due To Climate Change: by Climate Reality

The medical profession has sounded the alarm on the potential health risks of climate change. And one demographic in particularly is vulnerable to the threats arising from a warming planet. Climate change disproportionately affects children. A recent paper in the  Pediatrics journal estimates that children will bear 88% of the burden of climate-related disease.

When the world gets warmer, the results impact real people’s lives. It’s a truth that too often gets lost amid data points and science jargon, late-breaking news, and heated political handwringing. But we must not let it.

Real people just like you (and us!) are suffering right now because of our changing climate. And some of us are unfairly impacted more than others.

Those with modest incomes. The elderly. And worst of all, children.

Read the original article