Climate Health: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility

I was running through Forest Park in Portland when the thought hit me. No headphones. Wind in the trees. A creek below the trail. And then, out of nowhere: my two boys might never get to hear this if we let climate change go unchecked.I remember thinking: I’m just an Emergency Room doctor. What can I do about this? It turns out — quite a lot. And in this episode, Dr Cois — Emergency Physician and creator of drcois.com — walks you through the evidence, the framework, and the action. In this episode: --- The clinical disease burden of climate change: air pollution (9 million premature deaths annually), heatwaves (14,800 excess deaths in France in 2003 alone), wildfire smoke, zoonotic infectious disease, and natural disasters — with real emergency department data throughout --- The equity layer: why minority communities, low-income populations, the very old and the very young absorb the greatest burden — and why this belongs in our clinical frame --- The healthcare sector’s own footprint: 8.5% of US national greenhouse gas emissions, the virtual interview carbon savings study from OHSU, and why every procurement decision is a climate decision --- Educate, Mitigate, Advocate: a practical, evidence-based framework for clinicians at every career stage — from the 30-second bedside conversation to tabletop disaster drills, QI sustainability cycles, and vendor contract negotiations--- Diet and deforestation: the EAT-Lancet Commission, red meat, and the co-benefit of eating more plants — for your health and the planet --- Myth 1: EVs are more emissions-intensive than petrol cars — the cherry-picking technique explained, and what cradle-to-grave lifecycle data actually shows--- Myth 2: Regenerative or grass-fed beef is a net environmental benefit — why false balance makes this sound reasonable, and why the full accounting doesn’t support the claim--- Three things this month: for healthcare professionals and for the general public This is not a doomism episode. The physics of this problem is not on our side if we do nothing. But the evidence on what happens when communities and healthcare systems commit to action is genuinely hopeful. We just have to start. There are no healthy humans onan unhealthy planet. Let's chase fewer bad days and more gooddecades together.  Companion blog post + fullreferences at drcois.com