January 12, 2023 My grandchildren will be at least 77 by the end of the century. Will there be any true ‘Nature’ left in the world by then? The alarm raised by this question is not helped, I fear, by the celebrations over the UN Biodiversity Charter signed by 196 nations at Montreal last month. The predominant model of development
Read moreCredit: Public Health Notes If there’s anything that defines the 21st Century it is perhaps the disturbing rise of evidence-free decision-making, ‘not driven by reason at all but by emotion’ as the influential British novelist Jonathan Coe has it, or that people “have had enough of experts” as UK MP Michael Gove has claimed. Instead of reasoned argument, decision-makers seem
Read moreOne current use of the word trauma evolved from the study of adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) that began in the 1970s. That study[1] began at the Kaiser Permanente Clinic in San Diego where Dr. Vincent Felitti was using supervised fasting to help control rising obesity in his patients. Under clinical conditions he was able to get some patients to lose a
Read moreLet’s explore what being of low birthweight does to brain development. In my September Blog (#9) on early life I explained how conditions in your early life from conception to age two (first thousand days) are when perhaps half of your adult health is programmed. This suggests that the impact of personal health-related behaviors we practice in later life may
Read moreThe UN Biodiversity Conference at Montreal in December will be concentrating on the 30:30 proposal – every country and all the seas to have 30% in ‘protected areas’ by 2030 – with as many governments as possible to ‘pledge’ support. As I indicated in a previous blog, I am unconvinced that ‘pledges’ agreed at these conferences advance actual performance at
Read morePlease excuse the perhaps heavier-than-usual tone of this blog, but we are dealing with very serious issues; indeed, our children and grandchildren’s futures depend on them. As I am about to become a grandfather, I am more aware than ever of our failures in respecting nature across the world. The much-delayed UN Biodiversity Conference will finally meet at Montreal in
Read moreBiodiversity is adversely affected by the torrent of plastic pollution in every aquatic environment from the smallest stream to the depths of the ocean. What can be done about it? A recent news report from the Food Packaging Forum (a trade paper) proclaimed the news that ‘drafting of the International Plastics Treaty is now underway’. Wonderful! I nearly ran outside
Read moreThis blog presents data on health, as measured by mortality rates, for those in the United States to suggest that no one in America can claim the best health possible. One of the most challenging concepts to get people to understand and accept is that their individual health is to a large part beyond an individual’s control. We believe we
Read moreHI KETAN!! and thanks so much for all your work on the climate crisis, and in particular for the piece I just read about carbon offsets. It’s great and very much appreciated. I sense that you do most of this work as a ‘volunteer’ which would be like me, a retired prof of health management, global health and ecology. I
Read moreSeptember 15, 2022 By Stephen Bezruchka Last month we closed the coffin lid on economic inequality. It is not good for our health, nor for the environment. What should we do with the proceeds that will come from reigning in inequality? Spend it on early life. As we go from the erection to the resurrection how we are ushered into
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PLANETARY HEALTH WEEKLY 