Aging and Climate Change: Karl Pillemer, Leslie Wharton, & Ruth McDermott-Levy

To my teenagers, climate change is an existential crisis.  It’s the end of the world as we know it.  They decry the lack of serious attention and prioritization this issue has in the US.  My kids ask - why don’t adults care about this issue the same way that they and their friends care about it?  My kids have taught me that the emphasis on personal responsibility (reduce your carbon footprint!) was supported by the fossil fuel industry, because it shifted responsibility for change from industry to individuals.  Voting and emailing congress to advocate for systemic change (e.g. less reliance on fossil fuels) likely has a greater impact than recycling your newspaper.

Today we find inspiration for my kids: there are adults who care deeply about this issue, particularly for older adults who are much more vulnerable to health effects of climate change. Karl Pillemer is a sociologist and gerontologist who studies this issue and has created a platform called, “Aging and Climate Change Clearinghouse,” that is a wide tent with room for older adults, researchers, and organizations.  As a researcher, I found the bibliography fascinating, including this gem by the gerontologist Rick Moody on the moral obligation of older adults to address climate change. 

Leslie Wharton is a leader in the 26,000 member grassroots organization Elders Climate Action, which organizes older adults to create communities engaged in making a difference at local, state, and national levels.  As she notes, these volunteer activities can bring meaning and purpose, in the face of a seemingly insurmountable problem, to the elders in her organization. 

And we talk with Ruth McDermott-Levy, who wrote a practical guide for discharge planning in the era of climate change (example - a generator safety checklist).  Ruth advocates for and teaches about aging and climate change at Villanova, and calls on nurse scientists and other health researchers to study climate change.

-@AlexSmithMD 

 

Additional links:

JAMA paper on clinical research risks, climate change, and health

Geriatric medicine in the era of climate change 

Health Care Without Harm: https://noharm.org/

Practice Green Health: https://practicegreenhealth.org/

Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education: https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/research/programs/global-consortium-climate-health-education