Happy Earth Day!

In the midst of this climate crisis it is important to take some moments to celebrate the earth. I like to do so by hiking in the Camden Hills on the coast of Maine. Over the last year, many cities and states have taken the lead in addressing climate change. I know this firsthand, as I serve as mayor of a small city in Maine. In the last year, our city has installed free public electric vehicle chargers, turned on our third solar array and are now powering almost 90% of our municipal electricity with solar, and created a city climate change committee to study the effects of climate on our community.

The most pressing public health challenge of this century.

As nurses we intimately know the communities that we serve and are aware of the potential physical and mental health effects of environmental factors. As the most trusted health profession, our voice is important in communication related to health and climate change.

As the nation moves towards a transition to renewable energy, nurses can join the conversation to ensure that all people are supported and included. Nurses know the importance of considering health in policy making. This includes ensuring that the communities who have been historically left out of environmental policy conversations are at the table.

Climate resilience occurs when communities and health systems are organized to withstand and thrive in the face of a changing climate. Nurses may participate in creating economic, social, communications, and political systems that are responsive to the effects of climate change, specifically looking at the health effects of extreme weather patterns, food and water insecurity, emerging diseases, and displaced people. How can nurses best communicate the health risks of climate? In each locality, what are the most pressing risks? How can we foster community resilience?

Currently there are only three nurses who serve in the United States Congress: Rep Johnson (D-TX), Rep Underwood (D-IL), and Rep Karen Bass (D-CA). Comparatively, 33% of U.S. House of Representative members have a prior career in law. Electing more nurses to congress would mean policy decisions informed through a lens of health.

Climate change: 12 years left to turn the train around.

As we celebrate Earth Day and think about climate successes, nurses must reflect on what the future brings. According to the UN, we have 12 years to turn the runaway train of climate change around. We urgently need policy makers at local, state, and federal levels to make decisions based on climate. Nurses are well poised to serve in elected office and ensure that 50 years from now we still have a healthy earth to celebrate.

Happy Earth Day from the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments!

Samantha Paradis, MPH, BSN, RN, CCRN, FNP-S, is a staff nurse at Waldo General Hospital, in Belfast, Maine, where she is also the mayor.

(Editor’s note: see also “Nurses and Climate Action” in AJN’s April issue, and our environmental health and issues collection.)