Global Warming for Kids

This past weekend I spent the afternoon with my niece who informed me that she had recently learned about climate change in her science class. After discussing what climate change meant for her I did some research on climate change educational materials for children and found this video and noticed how informative it actually is for children.

I remember discussing in a sexual health seminar, the importance of teaching children about sexual health because they not only have an influence over their behavior, but that of their families. My niece is now what some would call "socially awake." Instead of gifts she wants an outdoor compost bin for the garden, and she has requested family volunteer outings to farms, and beach clean-up crews (programs that she learned about in school). She, like the other children in her class who wrote letters to Governor Brown are reminders of who we are supposed to be working for.

Link to Video: LINK

An Ocean of Problems (Ocean Acidification for Kids!!)

Learn about how climate change is impacting our oceans by watching this very entertaining and very child-friendly (who says learning about adverse effects needs to be hard!?). The Alliance for Climate Education is the nation's leader in climate science education and this short on ocean acidification is perfect. 

Link to Video: LINK

For more about ACE, visit their website:  http://acespace.org

Before the Flood (Movie Review)

Before the Flood is one of those documentaries that makes you think about a very unpleasant subject, our own demise. As a climate documentary, in a field that is quite depressing, it is well put together in the information that it provides its viewers around where we are now (doomed), how we got here (our own greed and denial), and how we can make changes (there might not be a chance). It's interesting to see in the film how human behavior has driven the issue, and who we are all in some way or another just victims of our own circumstance. 

Our own denial of the evidence of climate change parallels the approach used by cigarette companies all those years ago where bad science was used to put together arguments that can't really hold up under scrutiny, but the power players push through the agenda regardless. But what was the difference between Big Tobacco and the increasing of our global climate? What are the ramifications of continued warming? I guess the difference is that fossil fuels underpin entire economies, whereas cigarettes never did. The vested interests at play for short term political careers is a significant problem that can only be addressed at a grass roots level.

Before the Blood left me with many questions, as does anything having to do with climate change. There is a saying in French, "Après moi le deluge," meaning 'after me, the flood." I think of that saying every time I go to the store, or when I use my microwave. It doesn't matter anymore what level of consciousness I have because we have made it to the place where we are all just circling the drain the hopes that the stopper will just magically appear. I say that knowing I'm completely misguided in my attempt to just "give in." 

The truth of the matter is that it is not too late. It is not so late that all we can do now is just circle the drain, or wait on the corner with our kayak in hand (as many San Franciscans joke). There is still time to create true change that promotes our own well-being. 

Growing Anxiety in Agriculture

Growing Concerns: Trump's Immigration Rhetoric Sows Anxiety in Agriculture
Nicole Erwin; Resource
December, 2016

What does the new presidency mean for agriculture in the United States? For most, the uncertainty of the United States' future is too much to handle.  The promotion of anti-immigration policies leave many wondering about our food supply and what will happen should undocumented workers no longer be allowed to provide labor to the US.

It has been projected that the removal of undocumented labor would cause a $4 Billion+ loss in the US and that as a result, their will be a loss in supply and a natural increase in the price of produce.

So what does one do when the facing a possible of risk of increased food insecurity? The agricultural industry is one that affects everyone, especially those who's legal status has provided them a level of privilege in the backward argument of "who stays and who goes." Trump's ideology of immigration is not not that is realistic and while one can say, "make them go," it is very hard to imagine 70% of the agricultural labor not showing up for work.

The New Age

Catalyst: The New Age of Humans
Link to video: LINK

We are living in a new era. An era where we as human beings have finally been able to proclaim victory in the battle of Man vs. Nature. This geological age is one where human activity has been the dominant influence in environmental shift, which in turn has not only affected the climate (which is all everyone is talking about nowadays), but also our own behavior in acknowledging the now very present issue...our future as a species.

Caring About Your Meds...Wherever You Are

I recently began working with a homeless patient who reported that they would like to start taking their HIV medication. After being homeless for over 10 years, this was what I sometimes would call a social breakthrough only because many patients find taking medications while on the streets next to impossible. Whether this is due to their insecurity of being able to stay adherent to the regimen while not stably housed or if it's just a way to avoid their disease, I do not know. When I asked them what had caused this change, they responded that their living conditions were not going to improve and therefore they felt that it was time to take the next step in making sure that their health, as opposed to finding a stable home, became their top priority. After unpacking many of the profound statements made by the patient we ended our conversation on starting meds on the importance of caring for oneself in their own environment. When taking into account the fact that they are homeless, living under an overpass, and only accessing about two small meals per day via the homeless shelter and open kitchen a couple of blocks away, this patient had come to the conclusion that they were ready to take this next step in their health journey and that they could, in theory, reach viral load suppression in a very unwelcoming environment.

I have often counseled patients with various addictions on the importance of taking anti-retrovirals and that they with their addictions could take heir medicine with no issue. I provide them with stories of other patients, other substance users, who manage to reach viral load suppression and who manage to engage in the health clinic even though their behavior in one that is socially unacceptable and stigmatized by most of the health industry. The patient mentioned above is a substance user of many years, their addictions is what lead to the losing of their home, as well as the contracting of HIV. Overtime this patient has managed to navigate their way through their addiction, social services, and healthcare. The patient has managed, in the environment, to build the necessary network of support needed in order to accomplish their new goal, becoming healthy.

Their environment is not one that is welcoming. Their environment is one that causes pain and sadness and creates major hardship. The stress of having to be without a home is immense, and yet here they are. Two months after working with the patient they report 100% adherence and are demonstrating overall improvement in regards to their mental and physical health. They chose to care for themselves in a harsh environment, but the level of care was one that was thought of and profound because it was one that was self-adopted.

We Can All Prevent Forest Fires (Article Review)

Climate Change Behind Surge in California Wildfires
Climate Central
John Upton
October 10th, 2016

For the first time scientists can finally prove that human influence was the cause of  the "new normal" regarding the now constant presence of wildfires during California's dry season. What has always existed, wildfires that is, now seems to have constant presence during the state's dry months. Many veteran firefighters have wondered why; asking themselves questions as to why on earth are they suddenly seeing a change in the magnitude of the fires they are now working to stop-efforts which are just causing issues in regards to their own professional capacity and bandwidth.

The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that more than a century of fossil fuel during, deforestation, and commercial farming has moved California to what can be called an "explosive climate." Which the exact rate of blame is one that cannot be measured, the acknowledgement that human influence has played a role has been made and is now a stable argument. In this regard the study primarily focused on the the states dryness and the relationship in the increase of fuel aridity, fires days, and fire extent. Their analysis showed that temperature caused rising levels of greenhouse gases have had a drying effect, which in turn has had an effect on over 10 million acres. Their review of the land affected concluded that 44% of it was associated to global warming (in acres that's anywhere between 6 and 16 million acres).

The graph below demonstrates their findings:



So what do we do now? What level of work is going to be needed in order to address this and the other issues that are marking global shifts in the ecosystem? For one there's the reminder that for every degree of warming there is an even bigger impact on the warming that has already negatively affected the environment.  It's also a reminder of the importance of ditching coal energy in favor of cleaner alternatives.

Link to Article: LINK