The awful fires in the Northwest Territories can light the way to a better, healthier future
by Dr Courtney Howard, Dr Nicole Redvers and Dr Sarah Cook
Yellowknife doctor feels pain of N.W.T. wildfires while attending Ottawa conference
“I research wildfires and health, so I have been keeping close tabs on the situation, speaking with practitioners and the media, ever since May.”
Smoke 101: An intro to a new summer reality
“It’s here. It’s become a part of summer in most areas of Canada. It’s bad for you. But there’s a lot more to it than that. What exactly makes wildfire smoke harmful to breathe? And what about the mental health impact of hazy skies and a darkened future?”
Summers of smoke: Planning and response does good and feels good
“On Aug. 2, 2014, six weeks into the wildfire season that would come to be known as the Summer of Smoke, we woke up to haze over Back Bay in Yellowknives Dene territory. It was my daughter Vivi’s first birthday and we’d planned a party in the park.”
The Current with Matt Galloway— How wildfire smoke affects your health
“Wildfires have created smoky skies across much of Canada, with air quality and smog warnings in various parts of the country. Matt Galloway talks to a doctor and a meteorologist about the health risks, and whether climate change means these hazy skies are the new normal.”
A post to mark the passing of legendary Yellowknife nurse Martha Codner.
“If you can alleviate the fear of a child just by your presence or your caring and comforting, that’s a job done right there…It’s the most rewarding job that I think anyone could choose. When you can make a difference and help somebody, whether it be minute or major. It’s rewarding. You don’t have to have a thank you, you just walk away and say, ‘A job well done.” Martha’s voice, taken from an interview with Loren McGinnis upon her retirement a few years ago, starts off both of these interviews.”
Oxford Policy Pod : Health, climate and COPs
“COP27, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, was expected to be the ‘Implementation COP’ that would translate previous commitments into tangible action. Our host, Vitor Tomaz, is joined in this episode by Dr Courtney Howard to discuss her intellectual journey into climate advocacy, how global health advocacy and organisations can also push forward climate goals, and what a civil society participant aims to achieve at a global climate conference like COP.”
Woefully inadequate: Dearth of funding for biomedical health research reflects our environmental racism
“On the heels of COP27 and as delegates debate the biodiversity crisis at COP15 in Montreal, heat domes, atmospheric rivers, flooding and air pollution from forest fires continue to intensify in Canada.”
‘Coinciding crises’ increase the urgency for action on climate health impacts
“Climate change is causing global insecurity across sectors and worsening health outcomes, and a new report from The Lancet cautions putting “health at the mercy of fossil fuels.”
Clean air shelter policy could help N.W.T. communities breathe through wildfire season
“Dr. Courtney Howard, an emergency room physician in Yellowknife, said it was an important decision that gave residents a space to exercise and socialize after a month of being told to limit outdoor activity and to keep windows closed because the air quality was poor.”
Information Radio – MB with Marcy Markusa
“Dr. Courtney Howard is an emergency physician in Yellowknife and the advocacy co-chair for a WHO working group on climate and health. She is pushing the Canadian government to face the climate crisis head-on.”
Cabin Radio : Do we know enough to release Alberta’s treated tailings?
“A federal plan to release treated tailings overlooks large gaps in our understanding of how that could affect human health, some experts and advocates say.”
Real Talk Ryan Jespersen : Vaccine Equity
Dr Howard speaks about vaccine equity on the Real Talk Ryan Jespersen show.
More needed to prevent deaths from climate-change driven heat waves, fires: report
More needed to prevent deaths from climate-change driven heat waves, fires: report
Statement about Annamie Paul stepping down
“Thank you to Annamie Paul for your service to Canada. It meant a lot to my daughters and I to have a strong, intelligent, articulate woman on the stage. Many have asked about my plans at this juncture. The NWT is currently being rocked COVID19. For the moment my focus is on my work in the Emergency Department and on helping the local, national, and international health communities respond to the converging health crises of COVID19 and climate change in a manner that recognizes that on an interconnected planet, for any to thrive, all must have the opportunity to be well.”
The Weather Network : Does breathing in wildfire smoke mean lung issues for life?
“After a record summer of heat and a dramatic season for wildfires, many Canadians have been forced to think about the future. Will unbearable heat and fires become a summertime theme in Canada, and if so, what does this mean for our health?”
Dr Kwadwo : Environmental Impact on Health, Advocacy & more, with Dr. Courtney Howard
“This is a truly inspiring episode.
Emergency physician and planetary health expert, Dr. Courtney Howard and I discuss how the environment is impacting global health and why it’s worth investing in. We also discuss the importance of physician advocacy.
Courtney is a legend!”
The Weather Network : Canada faces a smokier future, and health systems need to prepare: Report
“A new report into the rising health toll of longer and more intense wildfire seasons warns Canadian governments to take preparations seriously.”
The Globe & Mail : The future of wildfires in Canada
“Experts say smoke from the fires can have widespread and devastating implications for human health”
The National Observer : In the climate emergency, don’t forget to stop and take your own pulse
“Broken temperature records and deaths from heat and wildfires. This past week, the climate emergency got real, and it doesn’t feel very good. The world seems unstable. What do we do first?”
Western Canada’s deadly heat wave is driven by climate change. Will it be a wake-up call?
The Globe and Mail explores some key questions as Canadians endure weather that one climatologist described as ‘almost biblical’
The National Observer : Forest fire season in Canada set to get worse — along with the health implications
Ashley Wohlgemuth remembers smoke, haze and chaos during the 2003 forest fires in her hometown of Barriere in British Columbia.
“During the fire here, it was like driving through a war zone. Everything was hazy. And all you could see was army vehicles and fire trucks everywhere,” said the fire chief.
Statement from Facebook— June 2021
I’ve had a lot of people approach me in the past day or so with questions about potential near-term political involvement, and given the wonderful energy and support I had with the campaign, that as it happens, I launched a year ago today, I feel I ought to post a brief message.
PROJET DE LOI C-12 : PRESCRIPTION POUR UNE PLUS GRANDE RESPONSABILITÉ CLIMATIQUE
En tant que médecins œuvrant à l’intersection de la santé humaine et de la planète, nous avons été ravies de voir le National Health Service (NHS) du Royaume-Uni s’engager à atteindre la carboneutralité d’ici 2040, avec l’ambition de réduire de 80 % son empreinte environnementale avant 2028-2032.
The National Observer : Climate action can save lives — it’s time to go big
Discussions and plans of action around climate change are too rarely informed by the devastating health impacts of a rapidly warming planet. But if we truly seek to build a society that is resilient and prepared for public health challenges, we must apply hard-won lessons from one health emergency to our management of the next.
Châtelaine : This Is Where Canada Dumps Tons Of Its Toxic Waste, Tailings Ponds—And Racism
“Environmental racism is when unwanted hazards are imposed on Indigenous and Black communities. Industrial projects have made COVID-19 the latest pollutant—in places where people and the land are already under stress”
The Narwhal : ‘I can feel your breath’: when COVID-19 and environmental racism collide
“From toxic waste to tailings ponds, Canada’s environmental hazards are often imposed on Indigenous and Black communities. Industrial projects have made COVID-19 the latest pollutant — in places where people and the land are already under stress”
CBC : Cleaner air during pandemic lockdowns shows what’s possible, say researchers
“‘It’s a moment of crisis, but it’s also a moment of opportunity,’ one doctor says”
TORONTO STAR : Indigenous people had some of the highest rates of ER visits during 2014 Yellowknife wildfires: study
“Melaine Simba will never forget the months she spent inside her home on Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation, south of Yellowknife, with her windows tightly shut to prevent wildfire smoke from seeping in. It was the summer of 2014 and she was following public health orders to stay inside during the Northwest Territories’ worst wildfire season on record.”
CBC : N.W.T.’s 2014 ‘summer of smoke’ led to twice as many emergency room visits for asthma: study
“Concrete example of the impact of a warming planet on health and health systems, says Yellowknife ER doctor”