Brian Drummond
Feb 6, 2025
Hope everyone had a great holiday break with family and friends.
I am combining the Dec/Jan letter as I found I needed to disengage from work emails and enjoy time with my family with 2 boys back from college. Doing this work especially as volunteers, we need to make sure we recharge our batteries because the working on climate change and healthcare issues are never ending it seems. Hope everyone was able to have good laughs, food and sleep!
We welcome Bryce to our group and please share the invitation below with others to encourage them to join.
Updates:
-As part of work informing people about the IRA did some video shoots in December that will be turned into 30 and 60 second videos. Will share these once finished and each is linked to our solutions webpage.
-We opened our BLUE SKY account for AZHPCA and have 1000 followers! Â
 I understand social media is not for everyone but if you are looking for ways to learn more about what is going on there is even a Climate Health Starter pack and AZHPCA and myself (@bsdrum.bsky.social) are included in that group! I am up to 600 followers and find it a great way to share thoughts or articles with a community. Â
Attached are two documents from Nick which detail Why Blue Sky?
and How to create an account?
-This is an alternative to X for people with a more academic/climate friendly stance.
 -Our National Organization also joined and here is there handle:
Follow Us: We're Expanding Our Social Presence to Bluesky |
In the wake of the election, many are seeking new platforms to connect. While we’ll continue posting on X, we’re excited to expand to Bluesky to stay connected with our community. Follow us @docsforclimate.bsky.social.  Plus, check out this climate and health starter pack to get connected with others in this space! |
-I am going to be working with other states to look at creating a national database of climate health webinars/articles/videos so that we can share them out to anyone who is interested. If you are interested in this project let me know. We are meeting next week to come up with a gameplan.
-University of Arizona Medical Student Course on Climate and Health is renewed for 2025! Dates are March 17-28th. If you are interested in being a part of it (thank you Eve for your interest), reach out to bsdrum@gmail.com. I will be finalizing the curriculum this month.
-Check us out at AZHPCA.org website and AZHPCA LinkedIn .Â
Education Opportunities:
Save the Date for 2025 Annual Convention MeetingÂ
March 2 - 3, 2025 with visits to Congress on March 4. Location: Washington D.C. Registration should be launching in the next few weeks. Check out the convention webpage to see which sessions we are seeking speakers for.
March 1st 2025: Climate Health Equity Day- Medical Students for a Sustainable Future is hosting its first conference and this the day before the Medical Societies Consortium for Climate and Health's Conference, so make it a two for one!Â
News:
Climate Power Publishes the State of the Climate Crisis 2024 ReportÂ
This year, climate change-fueled disasters hit harder than ever — and Latino communities were among the most impacted. Climate Power recently released the State of the Climate Crisis 2024 Report finds that the U.S. experienced 24 extreme weather events, each costing over $1 billion, with total damages exceeding $61.6 billion; in 2024, 418 people lost their lives to direct climate-related disasters; the summer of 2024 shattered heat records, with over 6,000 new highs recorded. Additionally, the report reveals that extreme heat disproportionately impacts Latinos as many work outdoor jobs, and outdoor workers are 35 times more likely to die of heat-related illness than the general population. This report summarizes the devastating toll of climate-fueled disasters in 2024 and their impact on Latino communities. Please consider reading the report and sharing its findings with your network.Â
Here is a list of all the EVs that qualify for the federal tax credit in 2025. EVs are a part of sustainable transportation options improving air quality especially paired with renewable energy sources. Clean air is something we can all get behind
Renewable energy continues to be the majority of new capacity in the US (~90%) and by 2027 may be a higher percentage of natural gas. Great momentum! We need to keep pushing this transition. Must reduce the biomass % in renewables and match gains with storage capacity.
ACTION ITEMS:
Sign the open letter to AstraZeneca requesting the introduction of their Symbicort DPIÂ to the U.S. market.Â
This is an important opportunity to meaningfully reduce the climate impact of the healthcare sector! If you want to learn more about this check out this link from Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility.Â
Sign letter to congress:
Join fellow health professionals and sign our Stand Strong for Climate sign-on letter to urge Congressional leaders to safeguard our health and oppose any effort to roll back climate protections!
-Due Jan 10th
AZHPCA Steering Committee (at 1200pm):
AZHPCA Sustainability Committee Meetings (at 1200pm):
Will chat soon and share the invite to join AZPHCA with anyone who is interested.
Thanks so much for your interest and passion.
Brian Drummond