Health Professionals for Clean Air Stories

Linda Rudolph, M.D., MPH, We know what we need to do to chart a new course to prevent catastrophic climate change: stop burning coal, oil, and gas, as quickly as possible. But time is short.

Laren Tan, M.D., As a pulmonologist, I've witnessed firsthand the effects of climate change and poor air quality on my patients with chronic respiratory diseases. Taking a stand to reduce climate pollution is what our children and patients deserve.

Karen Jakpor, M.D., When you can't breathe, nothing else matters. Forget the "controversy"-- fighting for clean air results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions and benefits the health of all.

Josephine Mei, M.D., Clean air cannot be taken for granted. The quality of the air we breathe is critical to everyone's health, but in particular, to persons with respiratory and cardiac limitations and to children, who have developing lungs.

Jose Joseph-Vempilly, M.D., We are what we breathe. The Central Valley has been consistently ranked one of the regions with the worst air quality in the nation for over a decade. It's high time we clean up our act and the air we breathe.

John R. Balmes, M.D., As a physician and researcher, I know that climate change is an urgent health issue that affects my patients now and future generations.

Hassan Bencheqroun M.D., FCCP, We know that even when people improve their health by kicking smoking and exercising more, air pollution can slow that progress, and lead to more pulmonary and cardiovascular consequences.

Gary Pace, M.D., The wildfires are a wake-up call. The devastating wildfires in our communities served as a wake-up call. The unfolding climate crisis is impacting human health now and will become even more of a factor in the future.

Daya Upadhyay, M.D., Climate change imposes a serious threat to human health and our environment. We must act now and raise our voices to fight climate change and support strong clean air policies.

David Tom Cooke, M.D. and Lung Surgery Team, Fighting for a healthy climate. Too many of our patients surviving lung diseases are being sickened by air pollution.

David Pepper, M.D, The patient - our planet - has a fever. In addition to increased temperatures, the acid level in the oceans has increased 0.15 units in the last 100 years.

Cindy Russell, M.D., To do so we need to extract ourselves from the use of oil, gas and coal, implementing cradle to cradle clean energy systems in concert with conservation measures.

Catherine Sonquist Forest, M.D., MPH, FAAFP, Fighting climate change is crucial primary care medicine. Climate health is crucial for public health. Science continues to demonstrate that we must join together with the rest of the world to slow climate change.

Bruce Krawisz, M.D., Climate Change is a Health Emergency: One of the biggest threats to children’s health is destabilization of Earth’s climate.

Bruce Bekkar, M.D., We must act decisively, and now. The food patients eat, the water they drink, and the air they breathe are all crucial for their well-being.