Review: iv "Climate Change and the People's Health"

Climate Change and the People's Health

Whatever your educational philosophy when a book offers new concepts that is welcome learning. Learning enhanced when the concept, as is often the case, is a hybrid of terms.

Chapter 2 It's a Consumptagenic World looks at the veritable production of climate change. Our dependence on fossil fuels not just for our transport, but the transport of food and agricultural products is explored. Perhaps there is a political irony in the former slogan of education, education, education amid relentless growth, growth, growth. At least now there is a constant message regards there being "No Planet 'B'".

If chapter 1 considered food security, this chapter attends to the industrial food system. Once again the themes are first introduced and related back. Very interesting here is the rise of urbanisation and the drivers for this. In chapter 1 I noticed the word shift. Nurses are one occupational group that recognise this word only too well. Here though it is the shifts in population that is very worrying. Especially so when many people may be putting themselves in harm's way as chapter 1 described. It is encouraging to see references going back to the 1940s. There is an evidence trail.

Current economic systems seems to reward monopolies and creates externalities (p.60). Unfortunately there is a lack of evidence in the production of pollution if remediation is to be sought. The emission of greenhouse gases where products are produced may be remote from where they are consumed. Friel argues for accountability at the origin of products not where they are consumed. Such externalities are 'out of the box' and need to be put back in the box and properly accounted for - (ecological governance). Often industrial concerns also follow the cheapest ('best value?') labour markets, relocating when needed.

Friel really annoyed me. Yes, in a positive way. Figure 2.2 compares a range of consumer goods and how their cost has changed over time; food, housing, health care, versus technology, media goods for example (p.68). The need for sustainable health care services is a constant topic it seems (Centres of research, journal special issues, conferences, twitter chats...), but when the essentials of living are so expensive does this not undermine and load - displace the disparity - the inequity no-less on to the health sector, its workforce and funding? It is as if the scientific-economic-industrial complex is saying to the health care (and social care) sector "Carry This!". There is no choice. It is a consequence of the society in which the bulk of us live. As Friel writes, processed foods lend themselves to concentrated control of supply chains which can introduce pricing volatility (p.78). The price of good quality nutritional food is a health inequality (p.76); figure 2.3  (p.77) illustrates the system.

While reading I thought of how amid the emotional, social and economic ravages of dementia we talk (well some of us ...) of organisational memory, while having forgotten what 'local' means. The rise of glocalism and the pursuit of growth - at any price it seems - in some quarters even prompts a re-evaluation of philanthropy in the 21st relative to the 19th and 20th? I found myself wondering how we would recognise a shift (the shift) in the market's thinking when watching the business TV channels CNBC, Bloomberg and similar ilk? The consumptagenic system has an effect on organisational memory, it is a behaviour known as perseveration; repetition of the word: profit. For all the thoughts provoked in me, this book is not a capitalism bashing exercise. Far from it, it deals objectively with what remains a sad and dangerous reality.

If it were not for the realist and critical perspectives that must also be present, the efforts of technologists, policy makers and researchers (urban informatics) and others to create Smart cities would seem to guarantee success. The discussion on cities (pp. 93-112), their sustainability, projected populations and the health inequities arising from them is very illuminating. In a teaching situation there is a lot to engage students, not just in the 'city' but in the text overall.


Chapter 1. Climate Change, Global Justice, and Health Inequities

Chapter 3. Challenges and Future Prospects


Friel, S. (2019) Climate Change and the People's Health, Oxford University Press, New York