(IR) Although I cannot be certain, I suspect that humans are unique amongst animals in the ability to contemplate their own death. We all know that death is waiting. We might rage against the dying of the light but we know that the darkness will win. We scrutinize death solemnly and earnestly as we would […]
Tag: Carbon
Richard Smith: How to get people in the NHS to act on environmental sustainability?
“There’s a 50% chance that humans will be extinct by the end of the century because of climate change,” said Hugh Montgomery, director of the UCL Institute for Human Health, at last week’s conference on environmental sustainability. I’d heard that before, but it made me think of my daughter, who can expect to live for […]
David Pencheon: Saving money can save lives and improve quality, if we know what quality is…
It’s easy to say that the NHS should do better, not more – but what does that actually mean? Well, it means investing resources (money, people, buildings…) in healthcare which delivers outcomes that people both want and need. Unlike many private organisations whose objectives may be a little simpler (e.g. maximising shareholder value, obeying the […]
Tony Waterston on climate change, Colombia, and the G20
As the G20 visitors flew in to their meeting on 1 April, paediatricians were gathering in York for a similar reason – to find a way of tackling the health effects of climate change. But we went one better by having a minimal carbon footprint for our meeting, despite hosting 10 countries and 20 organisations. […]
David Pencheon on the NHS carbon reduction strategy
We have no right to steal from future generations. At the end of this month, the consultation will close on the proposed carbon reduction strategy for the NHS in England. This country is the first in the world to start legislating on climate change, the most serious and urgent health threat to current and future […]