When we take care of our planet, we’re also taking care of ourselves! As we navigate the health havoc on our planet, remember that taking action on our planet is crucial for protecting our livelihoods.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Climate change has serious health consequences. From extreme weather events to resource depletion (and so much more ), our planet’s changing health impacts us personally, interpersonally, and systemically. Here’s what we’ll cover step-by-step:
When we take care of our planet, we’re also taking care of ourselves! As we navigate the health havoc on our planet, remember that taking action on our planet is crucial for protecting our livelihoods. However, you don’t have to do it alone. We have your back.
🎯 Action step 1 of 4: READ — Let's start by looking at a few articles together.
Climate change is putting the health of billions at risk. According to our friends at Grist (aka our #1 preferred news partner for Soapbox Project because they focus on solutions and hope), climate change is impacting our health through:
🥵 Heath deaths
Global warming may lead to a 370 percent increase in annual heat-related deaths.
😭 Food insecurity
The confluence of climate-driven heat and drought have put 127 million people at risk of moderate or severe food insecurity.
🦟 Ugh, mosquitos
With 2 degree Celsius warming, we might see a 37% increase in the spread of dengue, a deadly mosquito-borne virus.
Despite these Not So Fun Facts, we like to hold onto this quote from the article:
“None of these impacts is inevitable. Reducing the world’s reliance on fossil fuels is a surefire way to lessen the future effects of climate change on public health. And providing poor countries with funding to protect their residents from the health consequences of disasters, disease, and other climate-fueled health impacts can save lives. Right now, less than 1 percent of international climate adaptation spending goes to funding health-related projects.”
None of these impacts are inevitable.
This future CAN BE CHANGED and it’s in our hands. Gathering the political and cultural will to heal the climate crisis will depend on building community resilience. We have the technology, research, and the money to create change. We just need to start.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 1 of 4: READ.
🎯 Action step 2 of 4: LISTEN — we'll watch a short video or listen to a podcast to further expand on our topic.
We do NOT need to accept a 370% rise in heat deaths as the new normal. In fact, communities around the world are taking immediate action with a joyful and optimistic approach!
Pacoima, an urban heat island in Los Angeles, decided to NOT accept that our planet would simply be too hot to handle. Instead, they decided to invest in a technology that already exists: cool pavements! Fun fact—the material used to paint surfaces makes a HUGE difference to the health havoc we're causing through climate change. This video shares the story of Pacoima transforming 10 blocks of pavement with a paint that diffuses heat instead of trapping it. Who knew that paint can reduce the risks of heat-related health problems? How artsy. 🎨
You’ll learn that:
Climate solutions seem like a long game and many of them truly are. However, Pacoima showed us that we can still take immediate action to save ourselves! All it takes is research, community collaboration, cross-industry partnerships, time, and resources. 😉
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 2 of 4: LISTEN.
🎯 Action step 3 of 4: ACT — Now it's time to do something. Let's go!
As we’re seeing, there are SO many things we can do to mitigate the health consequences of climate change. Both public health and climate change have long-term and short-term risks, so below are a few immediate and upstream actions that you can get involved to help create a more resilient future.
1. Prepare yourself and your community for extreme heat.
Heat kills. You can’t build a better world if you’re not sticking around for it, so please go through this extreme heat checklist (whether or not you live in a place where heat is currently an issue). There are printable PDFs too!
2. Meet your neighbors!
Eric Klinenberg (who wrote this incredible book called Palaces for the People) studied the 1995 Chicago heat wave in his paper called “Denaturalizing Disaster.” He discovered that natural disasters aren’t necessarily all that natural and social infrastructure MATTERS. Although you can’t build a park or a library or a community center overnight, you CAN knock on your neighbor’s door today! Or, if you’re not feeling courageous, you could simply write a note on the back of an extreme heat readiness checklist for them. So, print that PDF!
3. Sign up for Important, Not Important.
This newsletter has a lot of great content on science, climate change, and public health. Go get your copy!
4. Join your local mutual aid group.
You can use this map, but most mutual aid groups are a bit hard to find on the internet. First, you can search “mutual aid + [your city]” into your web browser. Second, if you live in an urban area, walk around and be nosy! Your local chapter of 350 is also a great place to plug in first—many of those folks are involved with mutual aid around the world. Mutual aid groups are often the ones passing out food, water, and PPE in disasters. They’re not “official” groups most of the time, so they can mobilize quickly without bureaucracy.
5. Donate to Climate Resolve or other local climate resilience organizations.
Climate Resolve is the organization we shared above. They repainted 10 city blocks in Los Angeles, which contributed to the city’s positive climate effects. They’re currently working on cool surface projects through their Shine On initiative, so you’ll know a donation to Climate Resolve supports real, effective resilience.
The organization does most of their work in LA, but it’s worth searching “local climate resilience near me” to see if you want to find an organization in the city you live in!
6. Put ClimaHealth on your radar.
The World Health Organization and the World Meteorological Association launched ClimaHealth, a portal for global info on health and climate change. They have a bunch of public-facing events you can go to.
7. Practice healing, babe.
The climate crisis affects us on personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels. We’ve got to start looking at our healing more holistically. Whether you take training with the Native Wellness Institute or attend a YES! World Jam, find a collective care format that works for you where you can make time and space to ✨heal ✨.
8. Help Soapbox Project build climate resilience hubs.
You know how Soapbox’s whole thing is to build joyful community spaces to connect, learn, and take action on the climate crisis? Well, this kind of community space could be a climate resilience hub. We’re calling it a vibrary though, which is a term our founder, Nivi, made up that describes any social space for social change where people can get together and do something meaningful. Vibes are mandatory, of course. We’re seeking funding for our first location in Seattle. Regardless of where you live, we NEED your input!
If you have time and resources to help, we really need you to join our membership community, since that’s how we can financially sustain ourselves while meeting people who are building a better world. (If the membership is really not for you but you want to help with our climate vibrary, reach out to team@soapboxproject.org. We’d love to help)
Death and climate change are depressing, but you know what’s not depressing? FRIENDSHIP! On a non-jokey level, building connected communities is truly life-or-death. We all have a role to play in mitigating the health consequences of climate change. When we take action together, it’s a lot scarier than doomscrolling alone.
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 3 of 4: ACT.
Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!
🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?
To wrap up, reflect on how health and climate change play a role in your daily experiences.
Your reflection is yours and yours only, but we recommend setting your timer for 3 minutes and writing down a response to at least one of these prompts.
The health consequences of climate change are serious and scary, but we can turn this thing around. If Pacaoima can do it in community, we can too!
🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.
Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!
Get our free bite-sized climate action plans before you go!