MSPA Statement on Global Climate Strike

September 2019

Medical Student Pride Alliance stands in solidarity with this week’s Global Climate Strike, a movement led by young activists demanding that political entities and world leaders take immediate action to address the climate change emergency. We stand behind the calls for climate justice, for the world and for our patients.

The climate crisis has already begun to affect the health of our communities - especially  vulnerable communities already grappling with the impact of poverty, racism, sexism, and marginalization. Recent weather crises have disproportionately caused harm to low income persons - those without adequate resources to prepare or escape inevitably suffer more during extreme weather events, and live in areas with more pollution, leading to long-lasting health effects (Morello-Frosch 2009; Holden 2019).

The LGBTQ community at large faces greater economic disparity, including housing instability and unemployment, putting our LGBTQ patients at greater risk for environment-related health conditions. Further, “transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary Black and Brown people are disproportionately affected by high rates of homelessness, trauma, criminalization, under-employment, and incarceration, which are inextricably linked to chronic poverty” (Hunter 2018). Chronic poverty, in turn, makes members of our community vulnerable to adverse effects from climate change.

MSPA thus recognizes the climate emergency as an LGBTQ+ issue, a social justice movement, and a serious threat to our patients’ health. We proudly support the Global Climate Strike, and urge you to get involved in your communities. 

References:

• Dr. Rachel Morello-Frosch, “The Climate Gap”

• Dr. Lourdes Ashley Hunter “Intersecting Injustice: Addressing LGBTQ Poverty and Economic Justice for All: A National Call to Action”

• Emily Holden, “'Like a sunburn on your lungs': how does the climate crisis impact health?”

• Global Climate Strike