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Consulting the Genius of the Place
While the last sixty years have brought many astounding advances in public health and healthcare, in many ways our health has actually gotten worse. Our air and our waterways are generally cleaner, but our own bodies are now filled with chemicals and toxins. We've made driving safer, but we also now drive so much — and walk and bike so little — that adult and childhood obesity have become national epidemics.
The big global sustainability crises also threaten our health in various ways. Climate change promises to bring more extreme weather events, floods and droughts, destroying essential agricultural land and increasing the spread of infectious diseases. Rising costs for fuel will hinder access to health services, and may jeopardize emergency services in some places. Economic crises push people out of jobs, making it harder for them to maintain their health. Looking at the big environmental, social, and economic challenges facing the world today, the threats to public health and our health systems hit closest to home.
Post Carbon Institute Public Health Fellow Brian Schwartz is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he is also currently Co-Director of the Program on Global Sustainability and Health.
In this short video, Brian discusses what inspired him to devote his life to public health and how the realization that energy resources are finite led him to a deeper understanding of what will be the largest public health challenges in the future.
Cindy Parker and I, the Post Carbon Institute’s two Health Fellows, have partnered as co-editors with Jeremy Hess at Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control, and Howard Frumkin, … >>
YOU ARE HERE: THE OIL JOURNEY Thanks to your support, we have just completed "You Are Here: The Oil Journey." This is a customizable presentation *you* can use to … >>
EXCERPT: Climate change and the threat of energy scarcity now pose serious challenges to our "health system," specifically health care services and public health services. … >>
How do population, water, energy, food, and climate issues impact one another? What can we do to address one problem without making the others worse? The Post Carbon Reader features … >>
Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. Richard Heinberg proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history.
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meet our fellowsPCI has gathered 29 of the world's leading experts on a wide range of interdependent social and scientific issues.
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what is pci?Founded in 2003, Post Carbon Institute is leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world. The Institute has gathered 29 of the world's leading experts on a wide range of interdependent social and scientific issues.
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