PSR-LA-Fall-Newslett

Fall 2014 Prescription for Action A newsletter from Physicians for Social Responsibility - Los Angeles A Message from the Executive Director By Martha Dina Arguello | Executive Director Second, our staff has been working tirelessly up in Sacramento I am excited to announce the return of our newsletter, “Prescription to protect your health and create for Action.” Over the course of the last year, the team here at PSR- health-promoting environments. LA has been hard at work, and we have exciting updates to share. PSR-LA spent the last year champi- First, let’s start with this newsletter, put together by our new Mem- oning prevention-based legislation bership and Communications Coordinator, Shazia Manji (check out that addresses the root causes of her staff profile, pg 8). In addition to overseeing our electronic and environmental health harms, and printed communications, Shazia will be working to grow our mem- is now celebrating many successes. bership and help train, engage, and mobilize our health professional Through our Air and Health Program we helped prevent the pas- members. Look forward to an improved website with a new look, sage of SB 4’s “doctor-gag rule.” This provision, lobbied for by the oil but more importantly with a special membership section, educa- and gas industry, would have barred physicians from disclosing to tional resources, and new ways to impact critical environmental their patients the identities of harmful chemicals used in fracking health policy. operations that are also causing patient illnesses. Continued On Page 3 a look inside this issue... pg 2 Building Healthy Communities in the Wake of Climate Change pg 8 Nov 8 - The Health Professional Role in Creating a Nuclear Weapons-Free World pg 4 In Memory of Richard Saxon, MD pg 8 Welcoming New Staff Member, Shazia Manji pg 5 Program Update: Regional Air Quality pg 9 Member Profile: Dr. Quinton James pg 6 Environmental Health Challenges Facing South Los Angeles pg 11 Introducing PSR-LA’s Health Ambassador Program Building Healthy Communities in the Wake of Climate Change PSR-LA promotes equitable climate adaptation at California Climate Resiliancy Conference By Monika Shankar | Health & Environment Associate Nearly 700 people died from heat exposure in the United States in 2013. In July 2006, California experienced unrelent- ing heat for several days, which led to the death of an estimat- ed 333 people. According to the United Nation’s Intergovern- mental Panel on Climate Change, heat waves will kill about ten times more people in the Eastern U.S. in 45 years than they did at the turn of the century. And if these findings aren’t sobering enough, there are a plethora of additional impacts to consider as climate change unravels into the future, such as vector-borne disease, severe drought, uncontrollable wildfires, and sea-level rise. This was the topic of conversation at August’s California Adaptation Forum – the first ever California-focused conference that brought together adaptation leaders across the state From “Climate Change and Extreme Heat Events.” CDC, 2013 to address the most pressing climate change issues facing our local communities, thanks in part to the work of academic regions. PSR-LA was invited to participate in a panel on how institutions such as the UCLA Institute of the Environment to advance health equity in climate adaptation, specifically in and Sustainability. Their research shows that Los Angeles will the Los Angeles region. be warmer by mid-century, with average annual temperatures We know that climate change has the power to vastly change rising 4-5 degrees Fahrenheit. When citing specific case studies, our environmental landscape (think Hurricane Katrina, Hurri- the facts are jarring. For example, the average annual days ex- cane Sandy) and impact our economic development. But there ceeding 96 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-century in Porter Ranch also exists a strong link between the unpredictable impacts will rise from 55 to 100. In Sylmar, they will increase from 54 of climate change and the health of our communities. For to 96 days. The region will also continue to experience severe example, rising temperatures can aggravate already poor air droughts and increased instances of wildfires due to drier con- quality, primarily by increasing ground ozone pollution and ditions. All of these factors will contribute to the already poor other toxic air pollutants in heavily populated urban areas. air quality that exists in Southern California. Pollutants such as particulate matter 2.5 has been known to Over recent years it has become more and more apparent that increase asthma attacks, lower birth weight, slow child lung low income communities and communities of color will be growth, and cause premature death. Heave waves can cause hit first and worst by climate change, making it necessary to heat cramps and exhaustion, heat stroke, and worsen pre-ex- address climate change as an issue of environmental justice. isting cardiovascular disease. For example, mothers of color are already disproportionately Here in L.A., we have made significant strides in better exposed to toxic air pollution. As the weather heats up, air understanding the impacts that climate change will have on Continued On Page 3 2 Message from the Executive Director Continued policies. When the Health Chapter was approved on August 14th, it included issues such as mental health and poverty, living wages In July, Governor Brown signed into law SB 1167, a bill co-spon- and economic justice, the rehabilitation of existing housing stock, sored by PSR-LA that promotes the use of Integrated Pest Man- and displacement as a health issue. agement in housing developments. Rather than simply treating infestations when they occur, SB 1167 requires building owners to And of course, PSR-LA remains committed to the cause upon address the underlying conditions causing the infestation, prevent- which we were founded – protecting public health from nuclear ing future occurrences and reducing use of toxic pesticides in the threats. Locally, this has meant continuing our decades-long effort home. to ensure full cleanup of the nuclear and chemical contamination at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Furthermore, we are also And most recently, PSR-LA has been focusing on strengthening participating in the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons California’s approach to climate change by advocating for the campaign, a movement with international support for a treaty regulation of short-lived climate pollutants. These pollutants – that would ban all nuclear weapons, in the same way that other such as methane and black carbon – have real and immediate discriminate tools of warfare are banned. impacts on the health of Californians, while also contributing to global warming. This September, Governor Brown approved SB Our efforts to protect your health would not be complete without 605, legislation requiring California’s Air Resources Board to de- the active participation of our members. The unique and credible velop targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and short-lived voices of health professionals are key to driving policymakers climate pollutants beyond 2020. and the public toward solutions that protect all communities. By engaging your voice in the planning of our cities, the cooling of PSR-LA has taken a similar approach to promoting health in our planet, and the clearing of our air, we infuse health and equity our physical environment. In February, the LA City Planning into state and local policy-making and planning. In the months Department introduced a chapter of the General Plan devoted ahead, PSR-LA will be making a big push to recruit, support, and to addressing health. While this was the first health chapter of train the health professionals that make up our member base. By its kind in the U.S., the initial draft did not fully address health investing in you, we are investing in the health of all Californians. realities in our communities. As part of the Community Adviso- ry Board, Monika Shankar, the head of our Built Environment Thank you for your time and support of Physicians for Social Program, spent seven months advocating for more comprehensive Responsibility – Los Angeles. We couldn’t do it without you. Building Healthy Communities Continued tion first. By organizing at the state, regional, and local levels, we quality will worsen, exposing these mothers to increasing health have seen how state-level decisions impact local outcomes. That’s detrimental circumstances. Our panel at the Climate Adaptation why we work both vertically and horizontally in the policy advo- Forum discussed how vulnerable populations are often left out of cacy space. From our work with the AB 32 Environmental Justice the climate mitigation and adaptation debate, and how their voic- Advisory Committee to our work promoting healthy land use at es are not always considered when crafting policies and programs. the local level (such as pollution-free and walkable communities), Equally as important as framing this reality is proposing poten- our goal is to identify and implement policies that deliver multiple tial solutions. That’s why we need to unite the powerful voice of benefits and address the root causes of health and social inequity. impacted communities with the credible voices of physicians and Our climate work is currently focused on the recently appropriat- other health professionals. To identify and implement effective ed dollars in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which houses policy and systems change, health professionals have an import- monies collected from the state’s cap and trade auctions. Per state ant role to play in the climate change debate. The physician-based law, these funds must be partially invested in the most polluted message of prevention and protection resonates with both deci- communities. California’s Air Resources Board is in the process of sion makers and the public.

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