Climate change
From the President
Dr. Tomecki served as Academy president from March 2021 to March 2022.
By Kenneth Tomecki, MD, FAAD, December 1, 2021
Climate change is an existential threat to the planet, its inhabitants, and the environment. If unchecked, the changes will affect all of us in time, especially our children, grandchildren, and future generations. If unchecked, over time, the planet may no longer be inhabitable. Time to sound the alarm worldwide… "code red for humanity," in the words of the UN Secretary General.
Climate change/global warming is a real phenomenon with significant import, but a clear picture is often absent, so I try. Envision a blanket covering the globe, trapping heat, and warming the planet. In time, oceans become warmer, sea levels rise, ice-caps melt, and fish and other sea creatures die. Land masses erode and shrink, warm areas become hot and perhaps uninhabitable, and cool areas become warmer. With changes in temperature, migration may follow. Then what? Invariably, extremes of weather, e.g., hurricanes, flooding, drought, wildfires, all of which occurred rather dramatically through the U.S. during the last few years. Where’s the blame? Who's to blame? Why the blanket? Burning of fossil fuels is the main culprit; those fuels add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
The evidence is clear. Climate change is here and now; it will continue and worsen as the planet warms, with appreciable impact on all of us, regardless of occupation/livelihood or locale. As an example, Hawaii, the first state to declare a climate emergency, has already lost 20% of its beaches. Disease patterns will change, especially vector-borne infectious diseases, and the impact on health and general well-being will be appreciable. Skin disease will not be spared; it will probably be more pronounced, perhaps more prevalent.
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The alarm has sounded, and the medical community is aware. The AMA and ACP have issued position statements encouraging members to be more informed about climate change and more involved, addressing it vis a vis medical care. A recent report in Lancet stated that 90% of participants are worried about climate change and 60% are very worried, but only 40% stated that the issue is important to them personally. What are we dermatologists doing? How are we reacting? JAMA Derm recently had a publication re: wildfires and atopic dermatitis. The WDS Int J Women’s Derm dedicated an issue to climate change. DermWorld has covered the topic as well and the Academy has an Expert Resource Group (ERG) devoted to Climate Change and Environmental Affairs which meets regularly during the year.
To its credit, the Academy has begun to reduce its environmental footprint, by making its meetings more eco-friendly, by reducing the amount of plastic and paper use, hosting meetings at LEED-certified centers, recycling leftover food, and reducing shuttle bus use near meeting centers. Two Academy members have been at the forefront of the effort — David Fivenson, MD, FAAD, who joined MyGreenDoctor to reduce the carbon footprint in his practice; and Sandra Marchese Johnson, MD, FAAD, and Brad Johnson, MD, FAAD, Arkansans who built the first-ever LEED medical clinic in their state. And the Academy has two visible and vocal authorities on the topic: Misha Rosenbach, MD, FAAD, UPenn, and Mark D. Davis, MD, FAAD, Mayo Clinic.
But more needs to be done, much more. As such, a few suggestions:
- Enhanced, continued education whenever possible. The Academy has addressed the topic at its Annual Meeting and at the 2021 VMX meeting, but it needs to do so more regularly, more concertedly. Other big derm meetings need to do likewise, to remind registrants of its importance, ditto local meetings and derm training programs, via derm and medical grand rounds. The derm journals need to hit the topic more heavily and more often.
- Dedicated AAD task force devoted to the topic and its implications for the specialty, its members, and patients. That maneuver should generate more interest, more study, perhaps even funding, to explore what the Academy and its members can do.
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- Academy member survey to assess members’ awareness, perceptions, and interest/activities to date re: the topic and its implications. AAD advocacy efforts would hopefully follow.
- Better, more active member engagement on the topic locally and nationally, with family, friends, patients, public health officials, the government, schools, etc. The Academy has linked with MyGreenDoctor, a "green team" model to help members make environmentally friendly changes in clinics and offices.
- Re: Organizational engagement…consider joining the AAD ERG or at least attend the group’s next educational session at the Annual Meeting; alternatively, join the climate change committee of the International Society Dermatology (ISD).
Climate change is real. It is a global concern, a crisis that we cannot ignore. Its impact is universal, affecting everyone to some degree worldwide. The recent UN Climate Change Conference, AKA COP26, was "a call to arms," a plea for action. Given that, all of us need to "sign on" and join the climate brigade in some fashion. Inaction and indifference are unacceptable. My thanks to Drs. Davis and Rosenbach for their insight and comments.
