Climate Solutions for Health Lab

Want to learn more about how air pollution and colonialism are intertwined? One of our PhD Students, Dorothy Lsoto, presented her research on air pollution in Uganda during the American Geophysical Union’s annual conference last week! An article was published following her presentation detailing the impact that colonialism has had on potentially harmful air quality in Kampala, Uganda. “The way the city was designed is going to keep reinforcing the disparities of air pollution,” Lsoto said. “She noted that Europeans lived on the tops of hills, pushing Africans into crowded urban slums in the valleys next to polluting industries. Pollutants such as PM2.5 tend to settle in valleys. Low air-mixing rates and cool air sinking into the valleys at night trap the particles.” To read the full article, check the link below! #AGU2024 #airquality #uganda

The American Geophysical Union’s annual conference kicked off this week in Washington D.C.! On Tuesday morning, our team leader Jonathan Patz presented a talk about climate change and infectious disease. Lab researchers Jenny Bratburd, Nicholas Mailloux, and Dorothy Lsoto will be presenting later this week as well. To see the topics and schedule for their presentations, use the link below! #AGU2024 #climatechange #infectiousdisease

Want to learn more about climate-smart agriculture? Climate Solutions for Health Lab researcher Valerie Stull and Margaret Krome, Policy Program Director Michael Fields Agricultural Institute co-authored an op-ed earlier this year on conservation opportunities of the Farm Bill. The article starts off describing the threats of climate change to farming, including droughts and flooding, and then details how climate-resilient farms and supporting the conservation programs on working farmlands can make a positive difference for farmers. As of now, congress has not passed a new Farm Bill.To read the full article and see their three key recommendations, click the link below! #farmbill #climatefriendlyfarming #conservation

Do you want to learn more about decarbonization? Released in fall 2023, the report on decarbonization by NASEM , Accelerating Decarbonization in the United States: Technology, Policy, and Societal Dimensions, focuses on the technological aspects of climate change mitigation and, compared to the previous version of the report, considers a more holistic view of decarbonization. The report also examines the necessity of clear communication surrounding climate change. Numerous experts across the country contributed to the 13-chapter report on differing aspects of decarbonization. Jenny Bratburd and Jonathan Patz directed the health chapter for the report. The chapter focuses on air quality, energy access, diet, physical fitness, water quality, greenspace, and transportation. Despite many co-benefits of climate change mitigation, the chapter also considers potential problems, such as the mining of minerals for batteries and solar panels. Bratburd said, “We want to maximize the health benefits and avoid problems, thinking about these new technologies and how we can source them sustainably.” Read the article below on our website to learn more!

Dorothy Lsoto has been named one of the 2024 recipients of the Next Generation Fellowship - diversity, equity, and inclusion track - by UCAR - The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research! “I have entered spaces that seemed impossible and it’s my duty to make it possible for others to see themselves in those spaces too,” said Lsoto. “In my experience working with communities, if people do not see scientists who reflect their own backgrounds and experiences, they are less likely to trust and engage with their scientific findings.” As a UCAR fellow, Dorothy hopes to learn from other experienced researchers so she can design curricula that are more inclusive. By including perspectives from people of different cultures and backgrounds, Dorothy believes her teaching and research can make deep-rooted change. Read the full article below!

On Monday, lab leader Jonathan Patz sat down with Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss climate change and how it affects our health. With #COP29 beginning this week, Patz highlighted the enormous human health benefits of tackling the climate crisis and noted that last year at #COP28 there was Health Day organized with the World Health Organization and other partners. “The climate discourse needs to recognize the centrality of health, and health should not be politicized. It is absolutely about our health today and the health of future generations,” Patz said. Read the article and listen to the full interview with the link below! #climatechange #publichealth https://lnkd.in/gaKYnsvF

Exciting news - a new center has just launched in Wisconsin that will study the health and equity impacts of climate policies! The Health-First Climate Action Research Center, among the first climate change and health research centers in the country, launched on September 20, 2024, with a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The center will be led by Jonathan Patz, team leader for The Climate Solutions for Health Lab. Researchers Jenny Bratburd and Sam Younkin will be working for this center as well. “Recognizing the threat of climate change, societies are now motivated to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels,” says Patz. “Our new center will provide evidence to help guide this energy transition in order to maximize human health benefits alongside climate change mitigation goals.” Read the article below to learn more! #publichealth #climatechange #climateaction

Do you know about the multiple health benefits of active travel (i.e., biking and walking)? Dr. Samuel Younkin of the Climate Solutions for Health Lab researches how active travel improves health in two ways – improving physical health through exercise and improving environmental health by emitting less air pollution as well as less greenhouse gases. In researching active travel, Younkin and lab leader Jonathan Patz started the Health-Oriented Transportation (HOT) Initiative in 2018. The HOT Initiative uses a model that provides quantifiable results by estimating the public health co-benefits, that is human health benefits plus climate change mitigation, from increasing active travel. The HOT model was instrumental in a recently published paper investigating how different socioeconomic characteristics affect active travel across the United States. Read the full article on Dr. Younkin’s research here! #climatechange #activetravel #publichealth

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia published a paper in Frontiers in Medicine on integrating planetary health education into medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health disciplines. Of the 11 authors, three (Vijay Limaye, PhD, Michael Kamp, and Jonathan Patz) are from the Climate Solutions for Health Lab. Check out the story on our website to learn more and read the paper! https://lnkd.in/gqMM98rr

Are you interested in climate change and public health? Then check out the 2nd edition of Climate Change and Public Health edited by Barry Levy and Jonathan Patz! The textbook contains contributions from many experts, including Jenny Bratburd, Nova Tebbe, MPA, MPH, Nicholas Mailloux, Natalie Ann Levine, Valerie Stull, and Olivia Dyrbye-Wright of the Climate Solutions for Health Lab. Chapters range from heat-related disorders to waterborne diseases to energy policy. #climatechange #publichealth #climatesolutionsforhealth