Healthy Pop- Climate Change and Sustainability

What is the biggest global threat of the 21st century according to the WHO?

climate change

What are some manifestations of climate change?

warming temperatures, more extreme weather events, increased/decreased precipitation

What is the climate driver?

the specific climate change that leads to an environmental condition

What is the environmental condition?

what arises in response to a specific climate change

What is an environmental hazard?

what will lead to a negative health effect

How is our health harmed by climate change?

extreme temperature

outdoor air quality

extreme events

food-related infection & agriculture

water-related infection

mosquito and tick borne infections

wildfires

mental health & well-being

How does climate change create more pathways for zoonotic disease transmission?

direct contact between species increases

geographical ranges of host animals and insect change

disease host thrive in more favorable conditions

new diseases emerge

human resistance to disease weakens

What are some direct animal health impacts of climate change?

heat stress

reduced feed intake

What are some indirect animal health impacts of climate change?

vector distribution

contaminated feed

What is in the agenda to situate the veterinary community as an active player in climate change?

1. promoting animal health

2. investigating and communicating the implications of climate change for animal health

3. bridging the knowing-to-doing gap

4. strengthening links between veterinary practice with health sectors

5. making animal health knowledge accessible

6. bringing climate change into veterinary undergraduate and graduate curricula

7. expanding thinking of animal health and climate change from only risk management to also capacity building

What is a veterinarian’s role in mitigation (primary prevention)?

Minimize GHG emissions

research

advocacy

What is a veterinarian’s role in adaptation (secondary prevention)?

treatment of animals affected by climate related threats (extreme weather, emerging infectious diseases)

client education

welfare

According to AAVMC what is a veterinarians role in climate change?

encourages its member institutions to develop and incorporate climate change and related topics into their curriculums, consistent with the missions of their respective institutions

What is adaptation?

a variety of actions that are meant to reduce or compensate or adapt to the adverse impacts that arise from changes in the Earth’s climate

What is mitigation?

actions or changes in societal behavior taken to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and to remove GHG from the atmosphere to prevent significant adverse climate effects

What are some animal health managements of climate change?

provide medical services to lessen climate change impacts

provide preventive health services to decrease ‘carbon pawprint’

What are some resilient veterinary systems?

enhance resiliency of veterinary systems and infrastructure to better cope with climate change impacts

What are some mitigation of veterinary related climate hazards?

lessen contributions of animal healthcare sector to climate change

What are some broad community engagement on climate change?

consider influence of veterinary voices within community conversations, solutions planning, and policymaking

What is a mitigation of animal health?

promote and maintain health → healthy animals have smaller carbon footprint

What are some animal health adaptations?

analyze climate change and health vulnerabilities for patients and clients

consider current and future climate risks in animal care and management plans

incorporate climate-related diseases and other health effects into diagnostic and treatment plans

What are some recommendations for client education?

on hold-recordings

monitor displays in lobby

poster and fliers

intake sheets/patient history

invest in low-cost monitors and display outdoor air quality metrics at clinic

What are some veterinary resilient systems adaptation?

business continuity to preserve animal health/welfare

pre and post event phase of disaster management cycle

proactively developing capacity to respond to surges in unexpected disasters, emergencies, or disease outbreaks

What are some mitigation of veterinary-related climate hazards?

energy use

waste generation

transportation

enteric fermentation

land conversion

What does the UN define sustainability as?

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs

What are some primary sustainability sectors?

energy efficiency, waste, water, sustainable procurement, and transportation

What are the 5Rs?

rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, & research

What are the types of waste quantified?

pharmaceutical, linens, food, chemicals, radiological, electronic, landfill, biohazard, clinical vs cytotoxic vs radioactive

What are the 3 commonly reported gases with global warming potential?

CO2, CH4, N2O

What was the methods for estimating the waste produced by the veterinary field?

waste collected from individual ovariohysterectomy surgeries, categorize and quantify waste by materials

What was determined to be significant?

difference between procedure emissions based upon differences in the cumulative distance traveled by staff and clients

difference between total waste generated between canines and felines

difference in procedure duration between canines and felines

What are some steps that can be taken to limit waste?

1. reducing number of trips per patient

2. sourcing more sustainable veterinary supplies

3. reusable, sterilizable textile products

4. increased proportion of facility energy use

5. reduce anesthetic duration

6. education surrounding appropriate recycling and landfill diversion

What are some recommended actions to measure waste emission?

perform an energy audit

perform a waste audit

establish tracking protocol/procedure

perform co2 emissions estimate

identify sustainable energy resources

utilize lower carbon anesthetic gas techniques