Read pieces written by our members or featuring their work for a sustainable future!
Available below are featured articles either from our members or about our organization in the following subject areas:
- Equity and Justice
- Impact of Climate Change on Health
- Healthcare’s Contribution to Climate Change
- Activism and Engagement
- Medical Education
Equity and Justice:
A Real Health Problem: Insurers Must Divest From Fossil Fuels
This article by Mattie Boehler-Tatman, Julia Rothschild and Angela Zhang demonstrates the hypocrisy of health insurer investment in fossil fuels, particularly regarding the impact of fossil fuels on marginalized populations. March 4, 2021.
The Climate Crisis in Hawai’i
An article in SAEM Pulse by Anna Brandes on the impact of the climate crisis on her home of Hawai’i, and other Pacific Islands, which is being disproportionately borne by indigineous people. March, 2021.
When Band-Aids Won’t Cut it: The Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis
A post by Sarah Hsu with a patient-focused look at the disproportionate impact of climate change on children and low-income communities of color; and how doctors can support policy-based solutions. September 20, 2020.
Casting Shade: Shade Inequity, Health, and Spatial Justice
A podcast by Angela Zhang on how shade inequity was caused by racist policies and how doctors can address this form of racial injustice while advocating for the health of our patients. July 20, 2020.
Is Medical Waste … Racist?
An Op-Ed by Genevieve Silva, Pallavi Sreedhar, and Hannah Green demonstrates how disproportionate adverse outcomes in minority and low-income populations result from the waste generated by the healthcare industry, and how to mitigate this. July 6, 2020.
Medicine and Social Justice
MS4SF Founder Harleen Marwah was profiled in this piece in Medicine + Health for her participation in the 45th Committee on World Food Security. Spring 2019.
Impact of Climate Change on Health:
From wildfires to disease, here are the top 5 ways climate change is already hurting your health
A news article on ABC by Ramie Fathy describing five key aspects that climate change is actively harming the health of our population with a call to action for health professionals to become involved in the solution. November 25, 2020.
Wildfires: Effects on Health and Care Delivery
A blog by Raj Fadadu on the intersection of climate change and wildfires in Northern California, and the effects on the health and healthcare delivery to these communities. August 31, 2020.
The Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis
Karly Hampshire, Nuzhat Islam, Colin Baylen, Bennett Kissel, and Advocacy Co-Chair Sarah Schear of UCSF School of Medicine were featured in this article and Video in UCSF Magazine. December 16, 2019.
Preparing for Disease in the Era of Climate Change
Jordan Emont and Curriculum Co-Chair Sarah Hsu of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University authored this Op-Ed in Doximity. October 25, 2019.
The 92 Percent: A Look at City Air Quality
MS4SF Founder Harleen Marwah created this video on urban air pollution, climate change and health, published in Planet Foward at GW. March 9, 2018.
Healthcare’s Contribution to Climate Change:
Clinical Environmental Stewardship Amidst the COVID-19 Era: Ethical Considerations and Reformative Solutions
An article by Ranveer Vasdev and colleagues regarding the dramatic increase in medical waste due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the health impact of this waste, equity concerns about those impacts, the ethics surrounding medical waste, and what can be done. 2020.
Working Toward the Triple Bottom Line in Surgery
Emily Johnson’s publication in the New England Journal of Medicine describes focusing on the triple bottom line in surgery and how this relates to climate change. January 25, 2021.
Is COVID a turning point for sustainability in hospital supply chains?
Genevieve Silva dives into lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of how this is an opportunity to restructure the supply chain in a sustainable way, while being better prepared outbreak situations. October 19, 2020.
Greening Healthcare Systems
Communications & Partnerships Co-Chair Genny Silva authored this proposal for greening the health care system. April 22, 2020.
Activism and Engagement:
Texas’ next looming health crisis is climate change
This op-ed by Canaan Hancock and Michael Tee discusses severe impacts of climate change on the health of Texans’ and advocates for passage of HCR 22, HB 1044 and SB 243 to combat the climate crisis. April 28, 2021.
Health Insurance Companies Shouldn’t Invest in an Industry That Makes us Sick
This op-ed by Anna Brandes discusses the billions of dollars in investments the health insurance industry has, as well as the health impact related to this investment, particularly on low-income areas, communities of collar, and future generations. April 9, 2021.
Professional Engagement with Climate & Health
This webinar by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine includes talks from Climate Change & Health fellows and Harleen Marwah. February 1, 2021.
Dear medical community, it’s time to engage in the climate movement
In this feature on The Podcast by Kevin MD, Derek Wolfe discusses the need for medical professionals to become engaged in the climate movement, diving in to why it is not only relevant, but critical, to our patients and our practice. January 12, 2021.
Pressured By Students, Medical Schools Grapple With Climate Change
This article in Health Affairs discusses MS4SF’s work in advocating for medical school engagement in addressing climate change and how it affects our patients, especially those most vulnerable. December 2020.
Planetary Health Talk
This panel hosted by the University of Washington includes a variety of discussions on the interconnection between climate and population health, including a talk from Harleen Marwah . November 5, 2020.
Make the climate crisis your own research priority
This editorial in Nature Medicine highlights the need for biomedical researchers to investigate how the climate crisis is affecting their research, to invest in being green, and the importance of research in “building back better”. November 5, 2020.
5 things medical professionals can do to take climate action
A blog by Natasha Sood and Sarah Hsu on five things medical professionals can take action on in order to intervene on the greatest health emergency of the century, with specific resources and organizations that can assist. October 22, 2020.
Mobilizing Medicine Against the Climate Crisis
In this podcast, Harleen Marwah discusses the links between health, healing, and the climate crisis, how people in healthcare can work for a healthier world, and organizing medical students for a common goal in creating change surrounding these issues. October 2020.
It’s Time to Wake Up to Threat of Climate Change, and to Act
A call to action by Sarah Schear, demonstrating the effects of climate change on patients, especially children, and how clinicians can become involved and advocate for climate solutions to help our patients’ health. September 22, 2020.
Dear medical community, it’s time to engage in the climate movement
A blog by Derek Wolfe on the impact of climate change on health, with a focus on mental health, and a call to action to get medical professionals involved with regards to the intersection of the effects climate change and their specialty. September 21, 2020.
An Environmental Opportunity in Recovering from COVID-19
Communications & Partnerships Co-Chair Genny Silva authored this op-ed where she describes an opportunity for Florida to recover from COVID-19 with a strategy to mitigate future health risks. July 2, 2020.
Medical Students are Standing Up in the Fight Against Climate Change
The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences profiled MS4SF’s Earth Day advocacy and quoted members Rose Milando, Samantha Sobelman, and MS4SF Founder & Chair Harleen Marwah. April 22, 2020.
New Power for the Voice of Health Professionals on Climate Change in the Era of COVID-19
This video opens with MS4SF’s message on Earth Day regarding the intersection of COVID, climate change, and voting, followed by a presentation from Harleen Marwah to The Medical Consortium on Climate & Health about MS4SF. April 2020.
How COVID-19 Can Prepare Us for Climate Change
Communications & partnerships Co-Chair Genny Silva authored this Editorial in MedPage Today regarding lessons that can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic for how to respond to climate change. Earth Day 2020.
Flatten the Climate Curve
Curriculum Co-Chair Sarah Hsu authored this piece about medical student climate advocacy in Medicine@Brown. Earth Day 2020.
Readers Write: Earth Day & Climate Change
Aaron Rosenblum of the University of Minnesota School of Medicine wrote this Letter to the Editor published in the Star Tribune. April 21, 2020.
Midlands Voices
Chris Derthlefs, D.J. Maar, Samantha Cox and Thomas Schroeder of the University of Nebraska, & Patrick Marta and Advocacy Co-Chair Ellen Townley of Creighton University authored this Opinion piece in the Omaha World-Herald. April 19, 2020.
In Solidarity with Global Youth Climate Strike
Advocacy Co-Chair Sarah Schear of the UCSF School of Medicine authored this piece about medical student participation in the global youth climate movement. September 30, 2019.
If It’s Not at the Table, It Won’t Be on the Menu: Health
MS4SF Founder Harleen Marwah authored this piece reflecting on the 45th Committee on World Food Security in Planet Forward at GW. December 2018.
Medical Student Travels to United Nations
MS4SF Founder Harleen Marwah of the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences was profiled for her participation in the 45th Committee on World Food Security at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. October 2018.
Medical Education:
Addressing Climate Change and Its Effects on Human Health: A Call to Action for Medical Schools
This commentary in Academic Medicine by Anna Goshua and Jason Gomez describes the health threat of climate change, the lack of education in medical schools on this issue, and calls medical schools to address this gap between this current scenario and what is necessary. March 2021.
Necessity and Implementation of Climate and Health Education for Medical Students and Physicians
This article by Raj Fadadu in The Journal of Climate Change and Health demonstrates the need for comprehensive, longitudinal education on climate change and health for medical students and physicians. This includes impact on patients, vulnerable populations, treatment and patient education implications, and how to foster a resilient health system, among other key areas. March 2021.
The Heat is On
Jordan Emont, Angela Zhang, Jessica Hoffen, Julia Rothschild, and Curriculum Co-Chair Sarah Hsu authored this piece advocating for climate curriculum in medical schools in the Winter 2020 edition of Medicine@Brown.
Are Medical Schools Addressing All Dimensions of Health? A Perspective from Philadelphia Medical Students
This feature by Genevieve Silva and Jeromy Gotschall describes the planetary health approach, how it applies to the city of their home institution of Philadelphia, and the need to apply it to medical curricula in a multidisciplinary fashion. September 14, 2020.
Climate Change Is A Health Crisis, And Doctors Aren’t Prepared
This article in HuffPost illustrates the impending transformative effects on health from climate change, and how medical schools need to address it. May 23, 2020.
Joining more than 50 schools nationwide, medical students aim to integrate climate change and curricula
Minnesota Daily featured Founder Harleen Marwah and Climate-Smart Health Care Chair, Jack Inglis, in this piece about MS4SF’s expansion and our work incorporating climate change into curricula. May 4, 2020.
Medical Schools Must Integrate Climate Change into Curricula
Anna Goshua demonstrates the impact climate change as the biggest public health threat of the 21st century and how this needs to be covered by medical school curricula. March 19, 2019.
Medical Students for a Sustainable Future 