Where We Work- Greening without Guilt

I think all of us who worry about climate change also worry about our own contribution. At times, this can be crippling. I find immense joy and energy and inspiration from gathering as a community of physicians or coming together with others wanting to tackle climate change but also worry about the climate impact of travel. I’m editing this post and its associated podcast from the University of Chicago, where I was speaking at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth Climate Fronteirs conference. It was an incredible day that brought together employers in clean energy with students and faculty doing ground breaking research in how to tackle the climate crisis while improving and growing economic opportunity. To me, this was absolutely worth the travel. There is nothing that can replace coming together as people and the power of in person connection and inspiration.

However, we know that overall, we have to find places in our lives and our world to reduce climate-warming emissions. Guilt and whattaboutism can sometimes stop us in our tracks, but it doesn’t have to. I have become increasingly engaged in looking at the greenhouse gas emissions from my own profession, which is healthcare. In the United States, healthcare contributes to an eye-popping 8.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is both stunning but also an opportunity. I participated in a workshop with other lung and ICU doctors looking at what we can do in our own job to continue saving lives, and even getting better at it, while also tackling the climate crisis, which is causing so many people to need healthcare in the first place.

The more I looked into this, the more I realized that this applied to all of our work. I think we focus too much on the individual and worry about our own climate footprints rather than the larger scale way we can bring down overall emissions. There is so much low-hanging fruit, from supply chains to commutes to the energy sources of our buildings. This is not limited to those in healthcare- if we all look at our workplaces, we can often together make them places that are healthier to work both for us and our co-workers. It is a great way to connect and can also be a way to effect significant climate improvement and incentivize a greener economy. A great co-benefit, is often this makes our workplaces more competitive. The hospital where I work has great leadership on the environmental front, and I have been amazed at the amount of money they are saving while decreasing waste and improving patient care. It is a great win-win when you can save money and lives, which is one of the main points of the Air Health Our Health project.

I thought this workshop report and the associated podcast conversation, originally recorded for the ATS Breathe Easy podcast, serves as a good example covering how we can all tackle the emissions from our own workplaces. My guests for this podcast episode were Dr Jared Radbel of Rutgers University and Dr Emily Brigham of the University of British Columbia. On the episode, they review emission scopes, interventions at all stages, and provide concrete examples of what can be done.

I appreciate how the paper breaks things down into the micro, meso and macro levels. At our recent conference of the American College of Chest Physicians, I had also participated in a session revieiwing climate events as mass casualty events, and what we can do about them. I couldn’t help but think how these interventions in reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions from the healthcare sector can also help make us more resilient in the face of climate catastrophes and also decrease our own contribution to the harm requiring patients to need our help in the first place. It truly can be a virtuous cycle.

Too often those concerned about pollution and climate change are bogged down by guilt- I have to say, I have often been afflicted by this. I worry about choices I’ve made that have an adverse climate impact, but the reality is that we are all in this together, and we all have things we can do. We share one planet, and those of us in the United States and other wealthy countries have benefited from an economy that has emitted more than our share of greenhouse gases, but we can also have a significant impact on reducing emissions if we all look at where in our lives and workplaces they are not necessary.

This episode goes into the nitty gritty of what those in a specific healthcare field can do, but it certainly has wider applicability, and I hope introduced you to the concept of emission scopes, supply chain possibilities and more if you were not already familiar with them. This is worth pursuing for all of us. We don’t need to be bogged down by the idea that if we can’t do everything then doing anything isn’t worth it. That’s not true. Better is good. We can all start by starting.

So what can you do?

Form a green team wherever you work- just send out a text or an email and ask people to share a cup of tea or coffee whether in person or virtually to start to look at what you can all do together. The World Wildlife Foundation actually has a general guide to get started. Check it out at this link.
If you work in healthcare, check out Practice Greenhealth and Healthcare without Harm. Of course, those in my field, pulmonary and critical care, should read the ATS Workshop report we discussed in this episode.
If you need to learn more about health impacts of climate change and how to engage in advocacy more generally at the state and local level, check out the “Bypass Toxic Politics” episode from the Air Health Our Health podcast feed.
Consider a donation to the American Thoracic Society, who is helping people understand links between climate change and human health. You can also consider a donation to the University of Chicago’s Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, which is working to ensure a better climate future is one in which we all thrive.