sustainability in health

Question 1

what is the significance of the decade from 2010 and the years 2016 and 2019 in particular?

Answer 1

the 2010 decade is the warmest decade since before 1850 and 2016 and then 2019 were the two warmest years since 1850

Question 2

what are predictions of warming based on?

Answer 2

pre industrial averages - on average global temperatures are 4.1 degrees warmer than pre industrial ages

Question 3

what are the main oceanic and coastal climate issue?

Answer 3

harmful algal blooms
coral bleaching
plastic pollution
sea ice reduction

Question 4

what is the hazard associated with algal blooms?

Answer 4

they are not all harmful however those that are can kill wildlife and pose a threat to human life - normal but can be increased by human activity

Question 5

what is coral bleaching?

Answer 5

as the sea temperature rises by 1/2 degrees there is mass events to the deep and superficial coral - they die by starvation

Question 6

what is the issue with plastic pollution?

Answer 6

harmful to ecosystems - there is 50 trillion pieces in sea - expected to outweigh fish by 2050

Question 7

how is sea ice reduction measured?

Answer 7

by a satellite in september for averages as this is when it is smallest as is the line between arctic summer and winter

Question 8

what aspects of climate changes affect human health?

Answer 8

air quality 
flooding 
mental health 
vector borne 
climate migration 
heatwaves

Question 9

how does air quality affect human health?

Answer 9

burning fossil fuels - CVD, respiratory and cognitive decline as well as health inequality

Question 10

how can floods affect human health?

Answer 10

direct aspects as well as contamination, hygiene diseases that are worse in LEDCs

Question 11

how can heatwaves affect human health?

Answer 11

dehydration - effect on CVD and heat stroke

Question 12

how are vector borne diseases changing with climate?

Answer 12

as the globe rises in temperature these will spread such as malaria and viral haemorrhagic fever

Question 13

what is climate migration?

Answer 13

large influxes of people due to changes in climate

Question 14

how can mental health be affected by climate change?

Answer 14

eco grief

Question 15

how does the NHS affect climate change?

Answer 15

1.6m employed by the NHS which is 5% of the total work force
this accounts for 40% of total public sector admissions, 590000 tonnes of waste in 2016/17, 9.5bn miles of NHS related travel - plus particulates, mortality and societal costs due to air pollution, 2.23bn m3 of water and 6.3% of englands carbon footprint

Question 16

what is an anchor institution?

Answer 16

the NHS. it is a large institution that sits within a local community that is unlikely to migrate out - it is dependent on the community for sustainability - they are usually public services and have a massive impact on the wellbeing of the community

Question 17

the NHS being an anchor institution provides opportunity - how so?

Answer 17

opportunity for improvement - encouraged to take action through locally produced goods, recruitment and reducing environmental impact

Question 18

what are the three parts to the NHS environmental responsibility plan?

Answer 18

direct - cut down carbon emissions
leadership - air quality improvement action
influence - individual actions of employees

Question 19

what is used to measure the NHS impact and sustainability?

Answer 19

the WWF environmental footprint calculator - carbon footprint and water footprint are being reduced, waste is diverted from landfill, recycling is increased and incineration is for energy production

Question 20

what are the aims of the NHS sustainability ?

Answer 20

to engage with sustainability actions, NHS forest and sustainability in quality improvement