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Fossil-Fuel Pollution and Climate Change – A New NEJM Group Series

06/15/2022 | New England Journal of Medicine

To call attention to rising global greenhouse gas emissions that harm our health, Dr. Renee Salas, our Yerby Fellow and ClimateMD leader, co-authored an editorial in NEJM announcing a broad effort by the journal to address the health consequences of air pollution and climate change.

Dr. Salas and her co-authors notably write, “The primary barrier to an equitable transition away from coal, oil, and natural gas is a lack of political will, underpinned by the influence of the fossil-fuel industry.”

NEJMs goals are to:

  • Inform clinicians and health system administrators about the consequences of fossil-fuel extraction and use that are increasingly affecting patients and care delivery systems
  • Provide information about effective strategies for reducing the associated risks
  • Clarify the roles of the medical and public health sectors in addressing this crisis and stimulate research to guide the development of equitable adaptation and mitigation policies

NEJM is committing to:

  • Publish at least one article in a NEJM Group journal each month related to fossil-fuel–driven health harms and will subsequently plan ongoing coverage of related content
  • Further engage trainees and educators through their Resident 360 website, which is launching a discussion about incorporating a climate lens into medical training
  • Encourage submissions for this series, especially — but not limited to — high-quality original research

The initiative is launching with articles addressing different aspects of this unprecedented challenge in each of the NEJM journals.

Read the editorial

'We Don't Have To Live This Way': Doctors Call For Climate Action

A sprawling analysis published by The Lancet focuses on public health data from 2019, and finds that heat waves, air pollution and extreme weather increasingly damage human health.

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Challenges and opportunities to sustainably scale up surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia care globally

Strategies for the surgical, obstetric, and anaesthesia community to sustainably scale up SOA care to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address health equity and social justice issues.

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A pathway to net zero emissions for healthcare

Dr. Renee Salas charts a path to net zero emissions for healthcare.

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The first residency curriculum to better prepare doctors for climate change

New framework can teach medical residents how climate changes affects health, clinical care, and health care delivery.

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The climate crisis and COVID-19—A major threat to the pandemic response

Strategies for local communities and states to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission during climate-related extreme events like heat waves, hurricanes, and wildfires.

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Climate Change and Cancer

Climate actions can make cancer treatment facilities more resilient and improve cancer outcomes.

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The climate crisis and clinical practice

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The climate crisis and clinical practice

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Harvard and NEJM to tackle the clinical impacts of climate change in Boston, Australia and across the U.S.

Six health systems across the U.S. and one in Australia commit to convening local providers to explore how the climate crisis impacts care delivery.

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Despite climate change threats, few medical schools teach it

Climate change poses threats to public health and concerned health care professionals call for medical schools to incorporate it into their curriculum.

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Rx for the planet's fever

A physician makes a call to action to his colleagues to treat climate change as a critical health issue.

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Viewpoint: Encouraging health professionals’ civic engagement to address health impact of climate crisis

Health professionals who want to address the effects of the climate crisis on the health of people and the planet should become more civically engaged.

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Green resolutions

How you can do right by your health, your wallet, and the planet in 2020.

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A focus on news about the environment

The Australian bush fires, the politics of climate change, and sea level rise in Boston’s disadvantaged neighborhood were among the topics discussed in a new environmental news roundtable on the WGBH radio show “Under the Radar with Callie Crossley.” One of the panelists featured in the roundtable, which premiered on January 12, 2020, was pediatrician…

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A doctor's guide to health in a changing climate

Connecting health, health care, and climate change and offering actions families can take to protect their health.

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The rising health threats of a hot planet

Patients are already feeling the health effects of climate change, and physicians play an important role in providing information and advocating for policies that put less stress on the planet.

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Why physicians see climate change as a health emergency

Research Fellow Renee Salas on how climate change disrupts patient care.

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Dr. Renee Salas

Renee N. Salas MD, MPH, MS

Renee's work focuses on the intersection of the climate crisis, health, and healthcare delivery.

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