[From Emerson Collective] MacArthur Fellow Gary Cohen explains how the healthcare sector contributes to public environmental health hazards and what hospitals are doing about it.
Twenty years ago, Gary Cohen began to take action against a glaring contradiction: healthcare, an industry made up of professionals who have taken the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, was one of the biggest contributors to environmental pollution impacting the public’s health. This year, Cohen is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius Grant” for his efforts to transform global healthcare into a leading sector for environment-related health and sustainability. Recently, Healthcare Without Harm hosted an event at the global Conference of Parties (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, to discuss steps the healthcare industry can take to reduce its impact on climate change.
Emerson Collective’s Lucas Oliver Oswald spoke with Cohen about how Health Care Without Harm is addressing a range of issues, from toxin contamination, climate change and inefficient energy use, to unsustainable, unhealthy hospital food. (Continue reading)
