FAU Climate and Health: A Changing Climate and our Mental Health
by Avanthi Puvvala | Thursday, Apr 07, 2022
Like many, when you hear the words “Climate Change”, you might think of the recent news showing icebergs breaking away in rising temperatures or crops on some foreign farm withering from their vivid state. However, the most worrisome and overlooked element of climate change is the catastrophic effect on human health, something that manages to stay absent from all the trending hashtags and breaking news reports.
To see the widespread impact of climate change on health we only need to look at the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - its main headline was that climate change is acting as a driver for “irreversible severe impacts of nature” that are a “threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet." The alarming nature of this warning has left many scientists and countries with a newfound sense of urgency regarding climate health.
But what does climate health specifically mean? For me, it's an interdisciplinary interweave that exists within global health that fascinates me. From connecting a community’s particulate matter intake to its redlining history to drawing social norms from inaction against climate change, the ability to explore a variety of fields in a real-world context, and create impactful change at the same time is why I started FAU Climate and Health (FAUCH) in the Spring 2022 semester.
Currently, we are working on a project with El Sol, a local neighborhood resource center for Jupiter’s labor workers to highlight mental health resources for teens and families in the community. The work of these members often spans long hours completing arduous tasks in the scorching heat. With increased temperatures and reduction in air quality seen in many industrial work environments, it is clear that as the climate worsens, the difficulty of work increases for many blue-collared workers. There is no doubt that these worsening conditions can exacerbate a feeling of hopelessness or self-doubt. However, the availability of mental health resources for this demographic is not growing at the rate it needs to as demanded by the climate crisis. This matter is made worse by the fact that other demographics are also starting to feel the effects of this mental health crisis.
A recently published study looked specifically into what many researchers consider a growing epidemic, climate anxiety in youth. Surveying over 10,000 youth from 10 countries, researchers found significant levels of psychological distress associated with climate change, provoked even more by the government’s failure to act quickly. As the climate crisis disproportionately affects underserved communities, it is important that the world figures out how to effectively apply resources to all populations, including those that have social stigmas against mental health in the first place.
If you, like many others, are finding yourself overwhelmed or anxious by the climate disasters that scientists have predicted in the coming years, it may be time to contact a climate-aware therapist. We, at FAUCH, are dedicated to combating and educating about health inequity that stems from climate instability. If health inequity work interests you or you would like to learn more about what we do or how to join, feel free to contact fauclimateandhealth@gmail.com or me, the President, Avanthi Puvvala at apuvvala2021@fau.edu for more information.
To see the widespread impact of climate change on health we only need to look at the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - its main headline was that climate change is acting as a driver for “irreversible severe impacts of nature” that are a “threat to human wellbeing and health of the planet." The alarming nature of this warning has left many scientists and countries with a newfound sense of urgency regarding climate health.
But what does climate health specifically mean? For me, it's an interdisciplinary interweave that exists within global health that fascinates me. From connecting a community’s particulate matter intake to its redlining history to drawing social norms from inaction against climate change, the ability to explore a variety of fields in a real-world context, and create impactful change at the same time is why I started FAU Climate and Health (FAUCH) in the Spring 2022 semester.
Currently, we are working on a project with El Sol, a local neighborhood resource center for Jupiter’s labor workers to highlight mental health resources for teens and families in the community. The work of these members often spans long hours completing arduous tasks in the scorching heat. With increased temperatures and reduction in air quality seen in many industrial work environments, it is clear that as the climate worsens, the difficulty of work increases for many blue-collared workers. There is no doubt that these worsening conditions can exacerbate a feeling of hopelessness or self-doubt. However, the availability of mental health resources for this demographic is not growing at the rate it needs to as demanded by the climate crisis. This matter is made worse by the fact that other demographics are also starting to feel the effects of this mental health crisis.
A recently published study looked specifically into what many researchers consider a growing epidemic, climate anxiety in youth. Surveying over 10,000 youth from 10 countries, researchers found significant levels of psychological distress associated with climate change, provoked even more by the government’s failure to act quickly. As the climate crisis disproportionately affects underserved communities, it is important that the world figures out how to effectively apply resources to all populations, including those that have social stigmas against mental health in the first place.
If you, like many others, are finding yourself overwhelmed or anxious by the climate disasters that scientists have predicted in the coming years, it may be time to contact a climate-aware therapist. We, at FAUCH, are dedicated to combating and educating about health inequity that stems from climate instability. If health inequity work interests you or you would like to learn more about what we do or how to join, feel free to contact fauclimateandhealth@gmail.com or me, the President, Avanthi Puvvala at apuvvala2021@fau.edu for more information.