Green Newton board member Brita Lundberg, M.D. and colleague, Philip J Landrigan, M.D. and Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H (Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health) recently authored an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this article, they express their deep concerns about climate change and pollution, as well as the consequences. They consider expansion of the natural-gas infrastructure to be a grave hazard to human health.
The three health experts recommend that state and federal subsidies for natural gas be reduced over the next 2 years and then eliminated. The International Monetary Fund has made similar recommendations. They also recommend that new residential or commercial gas hookups not be permitted, new gas appliances be removed from the market, further gas exploration on federal lands be banned, and all new or planned construction of gas infrastructure be halted. The three physicians believe an ill-conceived proposal announced recently by the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back limits on methane pollution needs to be blocked. At the same time, they are calling for the creation of new tax structures, subsidies, and incentives such as carbon pricing that favors wind, solar power, and other non-polluting, renewable energy sources and policies that support energy conservation, clean vehicles, and expansion of public transit.
To read the full article visit https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1913663
Headline photo by Ken and Margaret Mallory
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