PUBLIC HEALTH CHAIRS, MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS EMPHASIZE FEDERAL DECISIONS MAKE CONNECTICUT ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION VITAL

Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) and State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey (D-Fairfield) led the Connecticut Health Professionals for Climate Action in calling for Connecticut to take stronger action in passing legislation to protect the environment amid increasing extreme weather incidents not only threatening the state but compromising public health as well.

Representatives from CHPCA, including Chair Sanjiv Godse, MD; Anne Hulick RN, JD, a career nurse; Sarah Evans PhD MPH, assistant professor of environmental medicine at the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Jennifer Wang, the executive director of the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, and Stefan Marczuk, a UConn medical student, drew attention to the increasing connections between extreme weather and public health.

Wildfire smoke that has impacted the state in 2023 and 2024 worsened health outcomes for people with heart and lung maladies, Godse said, while longer periods of hot weather overstress the body and foster further spread of mosquito-borne diseases and air pollution, which is worsened in hot weather, places strain on lungs and worsens chronic conditions like asthma.

The need for state action is even more important given the Trump administration’s actions to dismantle and end climate protection programs nationwide.

“Every year, we are raising the alarm regarding climate change and health, and I know many of my colleagues are hearing it,” said Sen. Anwar. “This year, this issue is an even more critical one because the federal government is making policy decisions with the belief that they do not believe climate change is real. The intersection of public and climate health is unfolding in front of our eyes every year and it is getting worse in every part of the world. Every year, the mortality rate of climate disasters in underdeveloped countries grows by 30%. This represents millions of people. It can be prevented, but if we do not act, we contribute to these challenges.”

“Climate change poses an existential threat to Connecticut agriculture, wildfires increase the need for hospital admissions and we are seeing infectious diseases and hospitalizations grow,” Sen. Anwar said. “We have a responsibility to build resiliency and have a prevention policy in place. This is the moment – let us act with urgency and ensure the future we leave is one for generations to come.”

“Everything is connected. The bottom line is, we understand how important it is to talk to our colleagues in different communities,” said Rep. McCarthy Vahey. “We are talking about things that harm and impact people, we understand the urgency of this moment and we know the need to act in this moment.”

“Climate change is slow, relentless, and indifferent to political election cycles. It’s here to stay,” Godse said. “Just in 2024, we had the hottest summer in recorded history, record-setting heat waves, devastating floods and severe drought conditions. Rising temperatures are a problem no matter where we look. The consequences go beyond property loss or infrastructure damage. It’s a serious health issue and poses serious problems. Flooding can cause trauma, bodily injury and drownings. Heat increases the spread of infectious diseases. Climate is a health issue and we need to focus on it in two ways: prevention and harm reduction. This year, the legislature has introduced critical bills to address these things – solar power, enhanced climate resilience – and with federal climate aid uncertain, state climate action is more important than ever.”

In her time as a nurse, Hulick said medical professionals didn’t directly connect the impacts of climate and health and couldn’t consider proactive options to help these issues. “We know what’s causing these issues, we know what’s causing this existential crisis, and we have the tools to preserve and improve public health and our environment,” she said. “Nurses are on the forefront demanding policy makers take action, and this is the year to get it done.”

“Children’s physiologies and behaviors leave them vulnerable to climate impacts,” said Evans. “Children breathe more rapidly, so they take in more pollutants. They’re less able to regulate body temperature and recognize when they’re thirsty. They’re the highest-exposed age group to tick-borne illnesses and excessive heat playing outside. For these reasons, an estimated 88% of illnesses from climate change are seen in children under the age of 5. Children living in underserved and underprivileged communities are at even higher risk. Children also experience strong levels of anxiety over climate change. Connecticut residents already feel the impacts of climate change, but there’s still time to act. We need strong policies improving community resilience and to allow residents and businesses to reduce their carbon footprints. I urge our elected officials to take action now to preserve the health of our most vulnerable residents.”

The full press conference is available in on-demand livestreaming here.

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Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969