{"id":844,"date":"2009-10-12T12:06:19","date_gmt":"2009-10-12T11:06:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=844"},"modified":"2009-10-12T12:06:19","modified_gmt":"2009-10-12T11:06:19","slug":"tony-waterston-on-an-inspirational-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/10\/12\/tony-waterston-on-an-inspirational-lunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Waterston on an inspirational lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/columns\/icons\/tony_waterston.jpg\" alt=\"Tony Waterston\" width=\"160\" height=\"111\" align=\"left\" \/>Can a book launch set the mind afire? Unlikely \u2013 sounds more a chance to get cheap copies and the author\u2019s autograph and maybe some nice canap\u00e9s. But the launch I attended this week for the \u2018<a href=\"http:\/\/www.earthscan.co.uk\/?tabid=74742\">Health practitioners\u2019 guide to climate change<\/a>\u2019 (Jenny Griffiths et al, published by Earthscan) was indeed inspirational. It was partly the inspired speeches \u2013 and partly the perceptive audience, specially invited so no doubt especially knowledgeable.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Speeches came from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.defra.gov.uk\/\">Defra<\/a>, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lshtm.ac.uk\/\">London School of Hygiene<\/a>, the author (of course) and the climate and health council, which has worked closely with the BMJ to raise climate awareness among health professionals. In a sense, such speeches could be horribly depressing \u2013 where is the good news in climate change? But these speakers did offer a positive vision \u2013 in two memorable ways. First, we need to assert to politicians the supremacy of health over economics as the driving factor for our country\u2019s future. And second, the health benefits of a low carbon society are huge, and should be talked up much more. These health benefits \u2013 strongly described in the book \u2013will particularly affect the young, through more exercise, less pollution and a less meat-based and more locally produced diet.<\/p>\n<p>It was also made clear that the NHS must move towards decarbonisation. This idea will need much advocacy to enter the demoralised, over-managed world of hospitals and Trusts in which we live.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion lived up to the level of the invited audience. The DFID rep asked, what should their policies be in poor countries? The answer \u2013 stop supporting roads building, which is not likely to lead to less carbon use. How are we to persuade politicians that growth is the problem not the solution? No answer to this except that the publishers of the health guide are producing another book on this very subject..<br \/>\nAnd finally, to the questioner who said we cannot be optimistic and must speak up about the grim scenario we face ahead \u2013 the answer was \u2013 we need a positive vision: Martin Luther King\u2019s words were not \u201c I have a nightmare\u201d, but \u201cI have a dream\u201d..<\/p>\n<p>And the book itself? A very fine \u2013 and informative \u2013 read with lots of good ideas for practical action. I recommend buying three now, one for yourself and one each for your clinical director and CEO. We don\u2019t have too long to get the message over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tony Waterston<\/strong> is a paediatrician in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, working mainly in the community with long term conditions, disability, child abuse and social and mental health concerns. His interests are in child public health, children\u2019s rights and global child health and he leads the RCPCH teaching programme in the occupied Palestinian territories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can a book launch set the mind afire? Unlikely \u2013 sounds more a chance to get cheap copies and the author\u2019s autograph and maybe some nice canap\u00e9s. But the launch [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/10\/12\/tony-waterston-on-an-inspirational-lunch\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14757],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-change"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tony Waterston on an inspirational lunch - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/10\/12\/tony-waterston-on-an-inspirational-lunch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tony Waterston on an inspirational lunch - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can a book launch set the mind afire? 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