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Michael Bastach reports that the White House wants doctors and other medical professionals to teach Americans about global warming and how climate change could make their health worse. At a summit the White House called to bring together health and medical professionals, academics, and other stakeholders to empower people and communities with the information and tools they need to protect public health in the face of climate change, Obama told medical professionals in a taped address that he needs "doctors, nurses and citizens, like all of you to get to work to raise awareness and organize folks for real change." The central message: doctors should warn their patients that global warming could make their health worse. "We need to engage medical students themselves," said Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, "to demand the curriculum change" to prepare them for a warmer future."
Critics of the White House summit argued the event highlighted the collusion between the Obama administration and activist groups and called out the White house for teaming up with the American Lung Association (ALA) to promote the link between global warming and public health. "The involvement of the ALA in promoting and organizing today's White House summit on climate change and health is yet another sign that the Obama administration has been co-opted by outside pressure groups, and has politicized the EPA's decision-making process," wrote Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council."
Original Submission
(Score: 5, Insightful) by physicsmajor on Saturday July 04 2015, @05:03PM
Physicians have far more to accomplish at essentially every visit - office or specialty - than is physically possible. Patients are already more distrustful of their doctors than ever before, and this includes very important healthcare issues. Skepticism abounds, from the very counterproductive anti-vaccine folks (who cannot be reached by logic), to those who have more nuanced understanding, e.g., a 28-year-old virgin planning to become sexually active wants Gardasil to be protected from HPV, but it's only officially labeled through age 21 for men and 26 for women because 28-year-old virgins are rare and the pharm corp didn't want to pay for labeling in that age group.
Conflating completely unrelated issues in this environment is absolutely unwanted and unwarranted.
I believe the only way to fix these issues is to make society at large trust in positions of authority again. This trust is well and truly broken at present, and revelation after revelation have driven this home from Snowden to revolving-door regulatory capture to companies visibly buying legislation to Obama's complete about face compared to his pre-presidency claims (transparency? get money out of politics? fiscal responsibility? yeah, right). In short, if you want to fix the population's beliefs about global warming, vaccinations, and things that matter - put people who are worthy of trust in charge.
(Score: 2, Informative) by frojack on Saturday July 04 2015, @05:28PM
if you want to fix the population's beliefs about global warming, vaccinations, and things that matter - put people who are worthy of trust in charge.
And how is that supposed to happen when people are elected based solely on the color of their skin?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @05:50PM
Watch out, in this strange new world, those kinds of comments can get YOU listed as a racist.
(Score: 2, Informative) by aristarchus on Saturday July 04 2015, @06:20PM
Labeled as a racist? Well, if the shoe fits, might as well call a spade a spade. Does a racist by any other name not smell as rank!
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 05 2015, @12:10AM
Not only is the color of their skin an issue, but their genitals, their sexual orientation, and the god they worship are all considered "important issues" in determining who is electable. Only bigots make a big deal about the president being "black", or the possibility of the next one being "female", or that we have had "non-Christian" candidates in the past.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 05 2015, @11:29AM
Who was elected based solely on the colour of their skin? Do you really think that is why Obama was elected? Did you not look at the other options? Most of them were a lot worse, and the ones that weren't had no real chance at being elected anyway.
(Score: 2, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 04 2015, @05:40PM
I agree. Besides which, I most certainly DO NOT want my doctor preaching to me about climate change, gun control, domestic violence, gay marriage, or any other damned liberal agenda item. I pay the doctor to fix my boo-boos, not to preach at me. If I want to pay a preacher, I can go to church on Sunday, and drop a quarter in the collection plate. Or a dime. Or, nothing if I don't like his preaching. Or, I can even stay home, and not listen to his preaching at all. Doctors? O'Bummer and all the rest of the liberals have figured out that I CANNOT just stay home to ignore a preaching doctor.
Fok 'em all.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @06:00PM
Did you read about this or just using the clickbait news site to form your option? Clickbait thought so.
This isn't about having them preach about climate change but to tell you the effects that it might have on you. This isn't about placing blame for climate change its about understanding what it will do to the heath of the population of this nation. You don't want doctors preaching about this or that but guns in the house is a valid thing for a doctor to ask about if he feels your becoming mentally unstable. Domestic violence, well if he asks about it might prevent you from being pushed or pushing someone down some stairs. People forget its better to try and fix a problem before it blows up in your face.
People want to blame someone else for your problems but you never want to take them on yourself. Doctors should ask questions about your personal life and explain things that have been studied. Drugs that they prescribe today have lots of side effects and without some of those questions he might prescribe the wrong thing for you. Think for yourself and read what is really happening.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by deimtee on Sunday July 05 2015, @02:01AM
A major asteroid impact would have even worse effects, and the average person's ability to make a difference is about the same.
So why not have doctors lecture about how important it is to stop asteroid impacts?
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by penguinoid on Sunday July 05 2015, @04:06AM
This isn't about having them preach about climate change but to tell you the effects that it might have on you.
Also known as preaching about climate change. How about the doctor spend an extra minute examining you or talking to you about your condition or general health, rather than some random nonsense that politicians asked him to talk about to help change public opinion.
It's not like doctors have been giving much in the way of weather-related travel advice -- and the changes climate change will bring are even smaller than visiting a different climate. People are already suspicious enough of doctors, imagine how much worse it would get if the doctors start telling you to cut your carbon emissions. How about they encourage a little exercise and proper diet, plus vaccines and regular checkups, which will have a way bigger effect on health than CO2.
RIP Slashdot. Killed by greedy bastards.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 05 2015, @05:35AM
Who said anything about CO2? Climate change is higher temps or outside of the normal weather for a area. Explaining that the extra hot summer might "effect" your blood pressure and then say if you start to feel this effect call me because this med makes you feel weak because of the heat isn't preaching about climate change, its doing their job. All the White House requested is that climate changed be studied and effects of it passed onto doctors. Again nothing is being said about having the doctor tell you about climate change and how to stop it only its effects on you.
So what you say about little exercise and proper diet is just the kind of advice this is to bring about. Heat and cold effect people in different ways. Some of the drugs I have warn me to stay out of direct sunlight for extended time frame. One says something about not being out in the heat when above 90F because of its side effects. And these are the ones they warn you about.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @07:53PM
the liberals have figured out that I CANNOT just stay home to ignore a preaching doctor.
Could be more insidious than that. Maybe they want you to just stay at home, and not get health care. Makes Obamacare cheaper for the rest of us. And I too just hate it when my physician preaches at me about quitting smoking, drinking less, losing weight, and exercising more. And hoo-boy when he gets started on blood pressure and cholesterol levels! Doctors should just do their job, and leave health to sovereign citizens!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @10:30PM
I note that Obama isn't offering the healthcare professionals any funding to perform these additional tasks, yet he is asking them to do more work. This is classic government destruction strategy: Underfunded mission creep. The long slow slide to worthless healthcare marches on.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @10:43PM
What logic do you use?
(Score: 5, Informative) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday July 05 2015, @02:15AM
Relax. It is the "Daily Caller", a right wing wingnut blog, that is claiming "Obama Wants Your Doctor to Teach You About Global Warming". If you read the rest of the articles linked you'll find a far less invasive agenda. The most you'll get from this in a doctor's office is maybe another brochure in a rack.
(Score: 3, Informative) by krishnoid on Sunday July 05 2015, @09:44PM
Physicians have far more to accomplish at essentially every visit - office or specialty - than is physically possible. Patients are already more distrustful of their doctors than ever before, and this includes very important healthcare issues.
And legitimately so. So, a comic strip artist provided this handy script [washingtonpost.com] so doctors can quickly present a short, useful explanation of the issue.