Resources about Climate Change, Sustainability and Health

Page content:

1. Background to Climate Change
2. Information on Climate Change and Health
3. Information on Sustainability and Health co-benefits
4. Information on Sustainable Healthcare
   
5. UK and International Health and Environment organisations
6. Organisations working to create a healthier and more sustainable UK
   
7. Other articles and tools of interest (carbon calculators etc)
8. More general climate change and UK legislation-related information:
9. A selection of videos/animations we hope you'll find useful/informative
10. Information on diet and lifestyle changes
11. TED talks and other lectures that are worth watching
12. Teaching resources for sessions in schools

1) Background to climate change

• The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (2007) and IPCC site
• Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change (2006) - a comprehensive investigation into the predicted economic costs of action and inaction on climate change.
  
• This collection of 101 the web's best climate change information and commentary websites - from NASA and DeSmogBlog to Grist.org and Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN) - which was compiled by Michell Barney of environmentalsciencedegree.com.
• Generally the UK Youth Climate Coalition have some great resources so have a look through their site. 
• SkepticalScience.com has the science on the most used climate myths and a mountain of great resources to help you get to grips with climate science and the key issues and misunderstandings/myths - a great site!
• In the same vein, the Met Office's guide is a very useful site for background information about climate science.
  

2) Information on Climate Change and Health

• The Lancet series on Climate Change and Health: http://www.thelancet.com/series/health-and-climate-change.
• The IPCC Chapter on Health
• The Health Effects of Climate Change in the UK (2001) - an updated version is due to be published soon. 
  
• For more general background information the World Health Organisation's site is also useful.
• Climates and Change – the Urgent Need to Connect Health and Sustainable Development (2007)[pdf]  
• These lectures from a conference held a few years back at the Royal College of Physicians
• A Google Talk on climate change and health by Prof Paul Epstein, one of the world's experts on the subject.  
• An overview of climate and health - talk by Mike DePledge

3) Information on Sustainability and Health co-benefits

• Taking the Temperature – Towards an NHS Response to Global Warming (2007)
• Building Health: Creating and Enhancing Places for Healthy, Active Lives (2007)
  
• HEAL and HCWH’s report, Acting NOW for better health: A 30% reduction target for EU climate policy 
  

• The UK's Faculty of Public Health's webpage on Sustainable Development
• The EcoHealth Student association has lots of good links and resources related to ecology and health more generally.
• The Lancet co-benefit series
  
• This Lancet paper summarises the economic co-benefits of the strategies with public health co-benefits analysed

4) Information on Sustainable Healthcare

• The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and its subsidiary sites have several very useful resources as well as a network of engaged people in the UK.
• The NHS SDU has links to several key publications at http://www.sdu.nhs.uk/publications-resources/key-reports.aspx 
  
• Sustainable Development: Environmental Strategy for the National Health Service (2005)

• Francis Mortimer's article 'The Sustainable Physician'.
  

• A recent paper on 'Medical Students, Climate Change and Health
• Best Foot Forward's GP Footprinter tool - this requires GMC registration to use, but allows GPs not only to track the carbon savingscost savings achieved within their surgery.
• The Act On CO2 carbon calculator for individuals
• The CSH's 10:10 GP Checklist

5) Other UK and International Health and Environment organisations:

• Doctors for the Environment Australia          

• The Climate and Health Council are the leading international organisation in mobilising the health profession against climate change and international advocacy.
  
• People’s Health Movement (has a climate change circle)
• The Health and Environment Alliance ( HEAL)
• Health Care Without Harm - see also their Healthy Hospitals Initiative
  
• Climate Action Network Europe
• International Society of Doctors for the Environment
• Health and Climate Foundation
• For others, see the full list of signatories to the Doha Declaration on Climate, Health and Wellbeing
  

6) Organisations and campaigns working to create healthier and lower-carbon environments·in the UK

• Sustrans – transport www.sustrans.org.uk
  
• Active Travel - www.activetravel.org.uk
• Sustain – food www.sustainweb.org
• Part-time carnivore - http://www.parttimecarnivore.org/
• Meat-free Mondays - http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/
• NUS Green Impact - http://www.green-impact.org.uk/
• People and Planet - http://peopleandplanet.org/
• Natural England – benefit of green spaces for health, www.naturalengland.org.uk
• Commission on Architecture and the Built Environment www.cabe.org.uk
• Transition Movement – branches in towns, villages & now even some Universities www.transitiontowns.org
  The NHS Forest programme - http://nhsforest.org/
• Permaculture - www.permaculture.org
• Care Farms UK - http://www.carefarminguk.org/
• The London Cycling Campaign
  

7) Other articles and resources of interest

• Several items of interest on the new economics foundation's website - www.nef.org 
• CGIAR's 'Big Facts' site  which has a series of facts and infographics about food, agriculture and climate, all from peer-reviewed research
  
• Gapminder.org - see how carbon footprints internationally (and over time) are related to eg. GDP, life expectancy etc.
• Great infographics and pictures/videos of stunts on 350.org's facebook page
  
  

8) UK Policy

• The UK Government's 2008 Climate Change Bill
• The draft Energy Bill from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
• The UK Climate Change Programme (2006)
• A series of 4 interactive web modules about UN negotiations put together by Danny Hutley  http://un.ukycc.org/info-resources/youngo-training/

9) Some videos/animations you might find useful or informative:

• Prof. Hugh Montgomery on Climate Change and Health at the COP negotiations in Durban: http://youtu.be/nFKaH2vQAdw
• Sustainability in a nutshell (disclaimer: the narration is a bit annoying and American...)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5NiTN0chj0
• 'Wake up, freak out, then get a grip'  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T_3WJPYY9g
• Trailer for the Age of Stupid:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZjsJdokC0s (you can get a free copy of this to screen to NHS audiences - see).
• Climate Code Green -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqMaDc4G_vs - a (now slightly out-of-date) video made by Australian medical students.
• Trailer for the film 'No Impact Man'  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ctt7FGFB
• The Peninsula Public Health Network have prepared several presentations on topics within Climate Change and Health:
  

                    Climate Change and the Spread of Infectious Disease - Dilys Morgan
                    Sustainable Transport and Health - Jim Woffenden 
                    Flood Risk Management – Strategies for the South West - Duncan Struggles
                    Building Sustainable Communities - Jackie Young


10)  Info related to diet and lifestyle choices
The Climate & Health Council's 2013 Resolutions for Climate and Health
A page from nutirition-resource.org on sustainable & ethical nutrition: http://www.nutritionist-resource.org.uk/articles/eco-nutrition.html)
Info on meat and climate change:

• This brilliant infographic from the International Food and Policy Research Institute
  
• There is an excellent document called 'Common Drivers, Common Solutions' from Iowa State University that you can download here.
• An article in Time magazine that sums up the evidence on meat and climate change

• This UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) document estimated that livestock account for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions - well over half emissions from all food (approx. 30%) and more than all transport.
  This paper published Weber and Matthews in 2008 compares the relative impacts of food miles and red meat and dairy as well as meat in generalLand use and land use change accounts for approx. 35% of all GHG emissions since 1850 .
  
• This study by Louise Aston and co-researchers modelled health and environmental benefits of reducing red and processed meat (RPM) consumption.
• C3 Collaborating for Health's resources on Physical Activity (primarily about the health benefits, but also discusses the environmental benefits) 
  

Sustainable seafood guides at :

• eartheasy.com/eat_sustainable_seafoods.htm
• www.goodfishguide.co.uk (related to Hugh's Fish Fight Campaign which seeks to reduce the fact that Half of all fish caught in the north sea are thrown back overboard dead or dying).
  
• A WWF Guide  (especially useful if you're not UK-based as it's organised by country)

11) TED and other talks worth watching:

• David MacKay (Chief Scientific Adviser to DECC)'s 'reality check' on renewables
  
• Al Gore on the latest climate trends (2009) 
  
• Charles Moore on marine plastic pollution
  
• Barton Seaver on the challenges of producing sustainable seafood 

• 1 hour of talks and panel discussion from the BMJ's conference on the Health and Security Implications of Climate Change last year on the Health Impacts of Climate Change (see also this playlist for other videos).

12) Teaching resources:

• Project Genie - http://www.projectgenie.org.uk/
  
• Roots and Shoots - http://www.rootsnshoots.org.uk/
  
• The Ecoschools WasteWatch scheme
• A TED talk by 11 year old Birke Baehr on what's wrong with our food system 11-year-old Birke Baehr 
  
• Harvard's Centre for Health and the Global Environment has some great educational materials

If you know of other good links or resources you think should be here, please let us know!