EDMONTON — Bodies and minds are just as affected by climate change as sea ice and forests, says University of Alberta scientist Sherilee Harper.That's why Harper, along with 30 or so colleagues from disciplines as wide-ranging as economics and epidemiology, have banded together into what she calls Canada's first university hub to shift the view of climate change from an environmental problem to a threat to human health.
"There's a lot of power in framing climate change as a health issue," Harper said."There's research showing that if you frame as a health problem, it inspires more action than if you frame it as an environment problem or economic issue." A 2022 report from the Public Health Agency of Canada called climate change"the single biggest health threat facing humanity and the livability of the planet."
There are mental health impacts as well, from the acute stress suffered by those forced to flee by flames to the pervasive sense of loss and grief as people mourn a familiar environment that has changed into something else. Often, the physical and mental effects occur at the same time, compounding each other."I have two young kids. We were stuck inside all summer. That was really hard.