PSR Monitor

Global Climate Strike Calls Attention to Health Emergency

Millions of young climate activists around the world marched and protested to call attention to the climate crisis and demand action from their governments as part of the September 20th Global Climate Strike. PSR members joined in around the country to draw attention to the health emergency posed by climate change, including chapter contingents in Boston, Iowa City, Portland, OR, San Francisco, and Seattle.

PSR was also pleased to witness the important testimony of 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg before Congress on September 18. Thunberg told lawmakers to listen to scientists and urged immediate action to respond to the climate crisis.

Help Your Patients to "Go Meatless"

This month, PSR's My Green Doctor offers a one-page handout explaining why eating less red meat is good for their health and for the planet. You can add your logo, print it, and give this to your patients.

And as we finally enter Fall, leaving the summer heat behind, you may wish to reflect back on how to protect your patients from the heat with this report on "Extreme Heat" (reading time: 4 minutes).

My Green Doctor is a free benefit that is saving members money as their offices adopt wise environmental practices and share these ideas with their patients. My Green Doctor adds just five minutes to each regular office staff meeting. The "Meeting-by-Meeting Guide" explains what to say and do at each meeting so there is nothing for the office manager to study or prepare. My Green Doctor is how health professionals can address climate change. Ask your office manager to register at MyGreenDoctor.org.

By the way, if you are looking for a more comprehensive report on the health effects of extreme heat, we recommend Heat, Fire, Water: How Climate Change Has Created a Health Emergency, by PSR board member Alan Lockwood, MD.

Join PSR and UCS on Sept. 25 for a webinar on Back from the Brink

Union of Concerned Scientists and PSR are proud to be co-hosting a webinar to highlight the Back from the Brink Campaign on September 25. Back from the Brink: The Call to Prevent Nuclear War is a national grassroots initiative seeking to fundamentally change U.S. nuclear weapons policy and lead us away from the dangerous path we are on. The Call lays out five common-sense steps that the United States should take to reform its nuclear policy.

Join us on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 5 Pacific/8 Eastern. For questions, please email [email protected].

Senator Elizabeth Warren Leads Senate Fight to Stop Deployment of "Low-Yield" Nuclear Weapons

You may have been following PSR's updates on recent developments in the House of Representatives regarding zeroing out funding for so-called "low-yield" nuclear weapons. Thanks to the great leadership of House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (WA), the House voted to zero out funding for low-yield nukes.

Interviews with Oregon PSR and Washington PSR Staff Highlight the Power of Coalition Work

Coalition work is a vital part of PSR and PSR chapters' efforts to connect our core work on nuclear weapons issues to broader social justice issues and social justice work in communities around the country.

PSR spoke with two key coordinators of coalition work, Kelly Campbell from Oregon PSR and Carly Brook from Washington PSR, who each shared their insights into the importance and value of their engagement with coalitions, what they hope will result from that engagement, the specific projects they've worked on with coalitions, and the ways that justice forms a component of their work.

An Interview with Dr. Helen Caldicott, 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

This year at the 2019 PSR Visionary Leaders Awards, we are honoring outstanding contributions to the advancement of nuclear weapons abolition and addressing environmental hazards to health, including the climate crisis.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, a past PSR president and highly influential advocate who played a pivotal role in PSR's work for many years, will be honored with PSR's distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award.

PSR interviewed Dr. Caldicott about how she came to do this work, what inspires her, and her advice for young people just starting to get involved in advocacy.

In the news

Commentary: Get rid of nuclear weapons
Olivia Alperstein, PSR Media Relations Manager, The Chicago Tribune - Sep 20

'They can't stop all of us'
Canton Daily Ledger - Sep 19
References PSR as participating in the Climate Strike

On Climate Strike Eve, 450+ Activists and Groups Urge United Nations to Back Global Fracking Ban
Common Dreams - Sep 19

Norton Announces More Than 100 National Advocacy Groups Have Endorsed H.R. 51 Ahead of Historic Statehood Hearing
Press release from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton - Sep 18

LNG 'bomb trains' ignite nightmare scenario for South Florida
Florida Bulldog - Sep 18
References Washington PSR

Environmentalists Pressure PA's Governor For Faster Action On Methane Emissions
WKSG - Sep 18

REPORT: Replacing Arizona's Coal Fleet with Solar Power Would Save Customers Billions of Dollars
Sierra Club press release - Sep 17
Quotes Dr. Eve Shapiro, PSR Arizona

Don't be fooled about Kalama plant
The Columbian - Sep 14

Physician says bad science is behind permit process for LNG plant in Tacoma
Lisa Johnson, MD, Washington PSR, The Olympian - Sep 14

Hundreds gather to weigh in on F-35s at Alliant Energy Center meeting
The Cap Times - Sep 13

APCC joins national outcry over proposed Clean Water Rule repeal
The Barnstable Patriot - Sep 13
Letter signed by Philadelphia PSR

The other existential threat candidates must confront
Irwin Redlener, MD, former PSR board member, CNN - Sep 12

From heat to mosquito-borne disease, climate change is already hurting our health
Lisa Doggett, MD, Texas PSR, Dr. Gina Fowler, and Dr. Julia Graves, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Sep 12

Look with clear eyes at danger
Hasan Seede, medical student and Texas PSR board member, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Sep 12

Move Over, Kim Jong Un: It's Time to Talk about South Asia
The National Interest - Sep 9
Quotes Ira Helfand, MD, PSR board member

Near and far, Tacoma's natural gas plant is bad for human health
Maia Syfers, ARNP, Washington PSR, and Melissa Lem, MD, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Crosscut - Sep 9

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry tours contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Ventura County Star - Sep 6
Quotes Denise Duffield, PSR-Los Angeles

96 Organizations Join Call to Suspend NRC Pilgrim License Transfer
Cape Cod Today - Sep 3
Mentions Greater Boston PSR

Smog Standard Too Weak To Protect Forests, Court Rules
Southern Maryland Chronicle - Aug 30

Trump EPA's Reckless Attempt to Undo Key Health and Safety Protections Regarding Methane Emissions and Leaks
Global Research - Aug 29

New U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Race is Both Dangerous and Costly
Between the Lines - Aug 28
Interview with Jeff Carter, PSR Executive Director

Puyallup Tribe tells agency to deny Tacoma LNG Permit
Indian Country Today - Aug 28
References Washington PSR

Testing Finds Arsenic, Lead, Radium in Drinking Water Near Consumers Coal Plant
Sierra Club press release - Aug 27
Quotes Steven Ashmead, MD, PSR member

New Mexico Law Gives Private Utilities Unchecked Power Over Shift to Renewables
Truthout - Aug 27
References PSR New Mexico

Let's Move "Back from the Brink" of Nuclear Apocalypse
Robert Gould, MD, San Francisco Bay Area PSR, Journal of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society - July/August, 2019