Climate … my, how you’ve changed

Right now, a glance at your newsfeed may not resemble sunshine and lollipops and rainbows everywhere. You may feel a little helpless, a little hopeless and a lot humourless (unless you’re Alec Baldwin … then you milk this for comedy gold!).

The non-alternative fact is, there’s work to do on many fronts. With that, we focus on a not-so little thing called climate change. Our organization has joined with very wise folks at Healthcare Without Harm for the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge. As we vow to do no harm, that extends to the earth beneath our feet (which affects the patients coming through our emergency rooms). We are pleased as pie to achieve Gold for Climate Leadership and Climate Resiliency! We join a great group of Hospitals and Health Care Institutes on every continent except maybe Antarctica (though the penguins appreciate it too, I’m sure).

Climate science has shown us some shock and awe … and sometimes it stops us dead in our tracks. Kudos to the creative talents at the Government of Ontario, of all places. They realized we need to keep our sense of humour. They also realized that sometimes the big picture is just too big to digest. So they brought it down to size and made climate messaging fun, funny, palatable and personal. Don’t take my word for it … you be the judge…

Save the kid’s snow shoveling empire! (cuz warming temperatures)

Save the pizza! (cuz crop impacts)

Save the fish stories! (cuz some like it hot, but not fish)

Save the man-caves (cuz rising seas flood your state-of-the-art sound system)

Luckily, there are some suggested actions to go with the videos…

Be part of the solution

Small changes in your everyday life can make a big impact.

1. Choose local
Made-in-Ontario food and goods don’t travel far and cut down on pollution, processing and refrigeration.

2. Choose clean travel
Hybrid and electric cars, public transit and bikes mean fewer emissions and cleaner air.

3. Choose tap water
Filling a glass or reusable bottle helps cut back on plastics and pollution.

4. Choose to conserve
Caulking and weather-stripping can save energy and keep your home warm.

And for a look at healthcare and the climate, we love this infographic by our friends across the pond at the NHS…