Covid has reminded us that living is a delicate balance of harmony and disharmony with our environmental partners – most recently, viruses. It has only been a couple of decades since our last major epidemic, HIV, was untreated and unpreventable. But things have changed and while Covid is on the way to becoming the equivalent […]
Category: Environmental protection
Everyone is worried about our planet. Whether it is the billionaires trying desperately to exit it, the environmentalists and heads of governments trying to manage expectations or the public health pundits trying to minimise the impact of the COVID epidemic. In health care we strive to keep people alive and healthy. In prior centuries, we were […]
In times of overwhelming disaster and limited resources, ingenuity and repurposing can save lives. For example, the use of stapling wounds on the suture-poor battle fields more than a century ago was game changer. It worked because the purpose of a suture and a staple were similar – to hold two opposing surfaces together. Wrap […]
In the Western world, the festive season is in full swing and our focus remains on food and drink – most of which is not produced locally. Despite our best intentions, our plates around this time of year are crammed with highly refined cheap foods distributed by a small number of producers. Ten food processors […]
Every year around this time lettuce gets bad press. Since 1995 there have been 35 outbreaks of E coli infections related to leafy greens. Last year it was cos lettuce. This year it’s romaine. The problem isn’t with the humble leaf, after all, it is nearly all water, It’s the water that’s the problem. The […]
Ecological doctors, like environmentalists generally, are conflicted about population growth. On one hand, in a crowded world, creating genuinely sustainable societies can be supported by medical practices that support limitations on population growth, such as first-class sex education, adequate contraception and access to termination of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. Conversely, clinicians with fundamental religious beliefs […]
Today’s medical practitioners are expected to perform more than clinical roles. They are expected to act as resource managers, clinical standards arbitrators, educators, researchers, and patient advocates. If all these weren’t enough, now tack on the additional role of green advocate. Little is known about the processing of less toxic waste once it leaves health […]
The Thinker 