Policy
Courses tagged with "Policy"
Electric vehicles (EV) drastically reduce tailpipe pollution. While transitioning to a zero emissions transportation system is critical to reduce emissions from the transportation sector, the extraction and mining process to obtain the critical minerals needed for EVs creates concerns relating to environmental health impacts for communities near these extraction sites. As demand for critical minerals is growing, it is important for nurses to be aware of the potential for health impacts and what can be done to reduce harm. In this presentation, Jordan Brinn from the Natural Resources Defense Council provides a general overview of the relationship between electric vehicles and the reliance on mining of these minerals. Jordan also discusses how we can improve the mining process and reduce the need for mining, as well as the potential actions nurses can take to ensure health is protected in the transition to a zero emissions future.
PFAS are commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ due to their extreme persistence in the environment and human body. PFAS cross the placental barrier, accumulate in the growing fetus, are excreted in breast milk, and have been linked with a wide range of health effects including high cholesterol, several cancers, infertility, and low birth weight. This webinar discusses the scope of PFAS exposure in Michigan as well as resources for the clinician, including ANHE’s PFAS Toolkit, as well as advocacy opportunities.
This presentation discusses the information provided in ITRC Coordinator Bob Doppelt’s new book Preventing and Healing Climate Traumas: A Guide to Building Resilience and Hope in Communities (Routledge Publishing). It describes the urgent need, methods, and multiple benefits of using a public health approach in communities to build population mental wellness and resilience for the climate emergency. During the presentation, Doppelt also describes how the “Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act of 2023” that has been introduced in Congress would fund and support these community initiatives.
Climate change is impacting the health of our communities. From increasing temperature, to more extreme weather events, to rişing sea levels, health impacts are being felt globally. Nurses, as the most trusted professionals, are in a unique position to advocate for climate health.
Plastic pollution harms the climate, wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. It is estimated that of the 14 000 tons of waste generated daily in US health care facilities, about 20% to 25% is plastic. Yet, the majority of plastics, including those used in health care, are not recycled and have created a plastics crisis for our environment. This webinar will provide an overview of the health harms from plastics and how plastic is a hazard at every stage of its life cycle - beginning with extraction of the coal, oil and gas from which nearly all plastics are made, production and use, and to the disposal of plastic waste. Speakers will also discuss how medically unnecessary plastics in the healthcare sector are contributing to the plastics crisis.
This presentation describes the work of "Keep Antibiotics Working," a national coalition that works to ensure that untreatable super bugs resulting from overuse of antibiotics on farms do not reverse the medical advances of the past century. Presenters teach about the issue of resistant super bugs, use of antibiotics on farms, and describe past and future policy work.
This webinar presents information on noise as a public health hazard. It describes sources of noise, the physiological mechanisms it activates in the body, and its contributions to numerous diseases, health problems, and learning disorders. We summarize the results of numerous studies in the US and around the world documenting these effects of noise. We also discuss noise exposure as an environmental justice issue; low income and minority populations are disproportionately affected by noise due to road, train, and air traffic, as well as nearby industrial areas, predisposing them to poorer health and learning outcomes. The webinar concludes with a discussion of actions to be taken to reduce noise exposures, in order to prevent disease and promote health.
Historic investments made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), present an opportunity to make lasting, positive health outcomes for all Americans. The Inflation Reduction Act offers incentives for businesses, school districts, governments, and health systems to transition to zero-emission vehicles and renewable energy. This webinar will provide examples of programs implemented through IRA funding, specifically relating to electric school buses and clean energy programs in health systems.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) together represent the largest investment in climate resilience in the nation's history and are providing much-needed resources to communities across the country. The IRA alone delivers nearly $400 billion in federal investments to rapidly accelerate the transition toward zero-emission vehicles, reduce climate pollution and carbon emissions, improve air quality, and strengthen communities. These historic investments present an opportunity to make lasting, positive health outcomes for all Americans. This webinar provides an overview of how climate investments improve health outcomes, examples of local benefits to communities, and opportunities for nurses to promote implementation at a state and local level.
In this webinar, our expert panel addresses how extreme heat impacts health and our healthcare system, explores the burden on the communities most at risk, and discusses the recently released OSHA heat standards. We also share advocacy opportunities and resources for health organizations and individual health professionals to engage in this important work.
PFAS have recently been recognized as contaminants in agriculture and are growing as a contaminant of concern for the food supply with PFAS contamination negatively impacting farmers and communities. PFAS are commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ due to their extreme persistence in the environment and human body. PFAS cross the placental barrier, pass to the growing fetus, and are excreted in breast milk. PFAS have been linked with a wide range of health effects including high cholesterol, several cancers, infertility, and low birth weight. This webinar discusses how Maine’s farmers, policy-makers and scientists are collaborating to solve this problem. This webinar is intended to discuss the scope of PFAS exposure in Maine’s agricultural community. The webinar will also list resources for the clinician, including ANHE’s PFAS Toolkit, as well as discuss advocacy opportunities.
Video replay of the Policy and Advocacy Forum monthly call on Oct. 3rd 2024. We were joined by guest speaker Dr. Vivienne Pierce McDaniel, DNP, MSN, RN, FADLN, adjunct nursing professor, and the Ambassador for Inclusive Excellence at James Madison University School of Nursing. Dr. Pierce McDaniel is the vice chair of the NBNA Health Policy committee and chairs the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action Council for Health Equity and Climate Justice. Committee. She recently participated in ANHE's White House Nursing Roundtable and will be sharing her perspective on that event as well as highlighting the Health Policy work of the Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action.
In Fall 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a plan to pursue the Biden administration’s priority of replacing all lead service lines in the next ten years. Nurses know that access to safe lead-free drinking water is essential for families to live healthy and productive lives, as there is no safe level of lead. Communities across the country should be protected from exposure to lead and health care providers are a key part of lead exposure prevention. This webinar provides resources for the clinician and highlights areas for nursing advocacy and action. 1 hour CE is be offered by ANHE. Registration is required for CE.
The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized national primary drinking water standards for 6 PFAS. This is the first-ever national, legally enforceable, scientifically supported drinking water standard to protect communities from exposure to harmful per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as ‘forever chemicals.’ Most people are exposed to mixtures of PFAS and there is sufficient evidence that certain PFAS are associated with health outcomes including decreased antibody responses and dyslipidemia in both adults and children as well as decreased infant and fetal growth and increased risk of kidney cancer in adults. As public drinking water systems come into compliance with the new standards, nurses and health care providers will likely be asked by patients and those in their communities, about the health effects of PFAS and about PFAS in drinking water. This webinar is intended to discuss resources, including ANHE’s PFAS Toolkit, and advocacy opportunities for the clinician. This will be a 1 hour panel webinar including 3 speakers who are well-established successful PFAS advocates.
This seminar discusses climate concerns specific to Nevada, how these concerns impact public health, and what nurses can do about it. Network and learn strategies from ANHE staff and local Nevada health care providers and public health advocates on how to advocate for healthy patients and healthy environments.
In celebration of Labor Day, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments hosted a special webinar event, Just Transition as a Health, Climate, and Workers Rights Solution: Lessons from the Labor Movement, on September 6th, 2022 at 3 - 4 pm ET/12 - 1 pm PT. The urgency of the climate crisis is creating a need to swiftly transition in an equitable way to clean and renewable energy to limit climate impacts. Doing so at the pace required calls for a just transition - a plan to move the economy away from its current extractive, fossil-fuel reliance to one that is robust and sustainable and places the health of people, workers, communities, and the planet as its priority.
On this webinar, speakers from the Labor Network for Sustainability share more information about their recent work around just transition in California and nationwide. This will include an overview of the Young Worker Listening Project, a survey and interview process of workers across economic sectors who have been mobilizing their co-workers, pushing their union locals, and showing up in their communities to take action at the intersection of workers’ rights and the climate crisis. Complete the webinar to learn more about how nurses can support a just transition framework and build and strengthen relationships among the labor, climate, and environmental justice movements as they engage in climate solutions.
The Alliance of Nurses for Health Environments hosts a special launch event of the “Global Nurse Agenda for Climate Justice” ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Climate justice has become a driving force for innovation in science and is at the forefront of the environmental justice movement and nurses are in a key position to advance climate justice in collaboration with the communities we practice in. In the development of this agenda, nursing organizations around the world have gathered together to stimulate a global dialogue on climate justice, center marginalized voices in climate justice decision making, and collaborate through research, education, and practice to advance climate justice action globally. On this webinar, speakers share more information about the Agenda, how nurses are collaborating on a global scale, and their stories at the intersection of climate justice, health, and nursing.
In this webinar, Arizona nurses discuss the intersection of climate and health. The presentation outlines climate concerns specific to Arizonans, how they impact public health, and action steps that nurses can take.
In November 2021, EPA and the Army Corps announced a proposed rule that would put back into place the pre-2015 definition of “waters of the US,” updated to reflect Supreme Court decisions. This would replace the Dirty Water Rule, the previous administration’s definition of “waters of the US,” which was invalidated by two federal courts, until the Biden Administration creates a new, durable rule. We encourage nurses to consider weighing in on the importance of EPA moving swiftly to this second step to create strong, long-lasting protections for our water resources across the country. Our speakers in this seminar provide an overview on the state of clean water in the United States and the most pressing health-related concerns. They also discuss upcoming advocacy opportunities that will be critical for nurses to engage in, including submitting comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency to call for strong clean water protections.
As the recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasizes, we need to swiftly transition to clean and renewable energy to limit climate impacts. Doing so at the pace required calls for a just transition - a plan to move the economy away from its current extractive, fossil-fuel reliance to one that is robust and sustainable and places the health of people, workers, communities, and the planet as its priority. For the last century, workers across the country have brought us the "power" (coal, oil, and gas) to develop into a modern society and it is critical that these communities are part of discussions focused on how we move towards 100% clean energy. On this webinar, speakers from the Labor Network for Sustainability share more information about their recent report, "Workers and Communities in Transition: Report of the Just Transition Listening Project." This report was based on interviews with workers who currently work in the fossil fuel industries around the country. The overwhelming message from these workers makes it clear that we need a just transition plan. Watch the webinar to learn more about how nurses can support a just transition framework as they engage on climate solutions. We also explore the questions: As a nurse in a community that might see an industry and employees disrupted by our transition away from all things fossil fuels, what kinds of health, mental health and behavioral health issues might we expect to see? What would you want to make sure is in place ahead of time in order to keep the workers and community healthy and secure during and after the transition?