Andrew.T@NN (Flikr)
Perhaps the most effective forum for influencing public opinion on environmental health is the medical community. Championing the dangerous health issues of climate change for physicians nationwide, Dr. Donald Arnold recently worked with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy to publish a dynamic opinion piece for The Tennessean. In it, he calls air pollution an “imminent threat” to the health of children, and encourages other medical professionals to publicize the effects of environmental issues on health.
Arnold was a featured speaker at the Vanderbilt Clean Power Plan forum in May, where policymakers, scholars, and physicians from around the country gathered to affirm the clinical health effects of climate change from varied medical perspectives. Arnold addressed a topic for which he is well known: childhood asthma.
“I’ve been a pediatrician for several decades and have witnessed firsthand the adverse effects of air pollution on children, particularly with asthma,” Arnold said. “I was grateful for the opportunity to speak at Vanderbilt, because there can be few opportunities to speak to broader audiences, yet we need to reach the public most.”
As a medical professional, Arnold said he strongly believes in encouraging the medical community to speak up about the ties they witness between health and the environment, because of the great trust patients and the public put on doctoral opinion.
Arnold has been emphasizing importance of focusing on the Clean Power Plan because it represents the health trends of the next generation.
“Not only are our children our future, but they are, in a sense, the canary in the coal mine,” Arnold said. “We’ve proved that the adverse health effects of pollution directly affect children by putting them in the emergency room and giving them asthma.The lifelong effects of pollution result in substantial human suffering.”
Chris Ann Lunghino, an organizer for the Vanderbilt CPP forum and the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said Arnold’s voice and the support of the medical community is invaluable.
“Health experts are a powerful voice in Tennessee for ensuring the adoption of a strong final Clean Power Plan and a strong State Implementation Plan that maximize energy efficiency and solar and wind power,” Lunghino said. “Tennesseans care about their health and the health of their children.”
Lunghino pointed out that a recent Energy Foundation Poll indicates that over two-thirds of Tennessee voters support the Clean Power Plan, and that improving public health by reducing air pollution is one of the most persuasive reasons for that support.
Other speakers at the Clean Power Plan forum included Bob Martineau, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Dian Grueneich, former California public utility commissioner; Joe Hoagland, vice president of stakeholder relations, Tennessee Valley Authority; and Scott Henneberry, vice president of smart grid strategy, Schneider Electric.