Connecting COVID-19 and climate change

Today’s guest blogger is Rachel McMonagle, climate change program manager for APHA’s Center for Climate, Health and Equity.

APHA recognizes the hard work of public health professionals everywhere and encourages them to continue educating the public and speaking out for funding and support to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. For up-to-date resources and information, visit our COVID-19 pages on APHA.org and aphagetready.org and our coronavirus post series here on Public Health Newswire. 

There is a lot of misinformation right now on COVID-19, which our scientific community is working hard to combat. APHA’s Center for Climate, Health and Equity is sharing resources for our climate community to learn from some of our trusted messengers. To explore the connections between climate change and COVID-19, check out these recent articles about how the two global forces are related.

• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment | Coronavirus, Climate Change and the Environment: A Conversation on COVID-19 with Dr. Aaron Bernstein, Director of Harvard C-CHANGE
• YaleEnvironment 360 | Coronavirus Holds Key Lessons on How to Fight Climate Change
• TIME | 5 Lessons From Coronavirus That Will Help Us Tackle Climate Change

To flatten the curve of COVID-19 infections, we must all do our part to practice social distancing. But with additional time at home, it can be challenging to stay busy and feel engaged with the global community. Consider participating in these climate and health activities to foster a sense of empowerment and make a difference from the safety of your home:

• Read an ECO Bookworms selection with your little one. Our ECO Bookworms book club invites parents, caregivers and educators to start conversations about climate change and the environment with their young children. Check back each month for a new featured book and discussion questions. Learn more about why we started the book club.
• Write and submit a Tiny Climate Chronicle. Our 100-word story series features reader-submitted stories that highlight the health impacts of climate change and illustrate the ways we cope and overcome. Check out Climate Storytelling: A Quick Guide for more on the power of stories and guidance on good storytelling techniques.
• Create a state or regional fact sheet to educate and advocate for climate action on behalf of a community you love. Climate change affects people's health differently throughout the country, so location-specific resources are critical. APHA’s main climate change webpage offers eight pre-made fact sheets, a fact sheet template and two guides to help you create climate change maps and draft your own fact sheets.

As social media becomes a more critical means of communicating, the Center for Climate, Health and Equity would love to connect. Tag your climate and health actions with #ClimateChangesHealth and follow Surili Patel, the director of our center, on Instagram at @ClimateHealthEquity.