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March 31, 2025
Earth Month Activities
Throughout April, the SHE Center will be partnering with MCWell360 to host a variety of Earth Month activities to support planetary health. See below for everything you can look forward to and participate in!
Earth Day Celebration
On April 24, from 11:00a.m.-1:00p.m. in the Alumni Center, join us for an Earth Day event featuring the seedling swap, recycling drop-off, information booths, and community partners as guest speakers. On-campus and external partners will host tables to highlight opportunities for the MCW community to engage in environmental stewardship. If you are present and participate in the seedling swap or battery recycling, you will also be entered into a raffle to win a basket of sustainability-related prizes! Light refreshments will be available as well. To register to attend the event in person or virtually, please follow this link.
One Healthcare Ecochallenge
Throughout the month of April, we invite you to join MCW’s team in the One Healthcare Ecochallenge. Sustainability does not have to involve major life changes. Small decisions made through collective action can add up quickly to make a positive impact on the environment. If you would like to learn more and join the MCW team in some healthy competition with our peer institutions in academic medicine, follow this link!
Seedling Swap
Taking care of plants has been shown to improve mental health, so as a part of MCW’s Earth Day celebration on April 24, the SHE Center and MCWell360 will host a seedling swap! A seedling swap is an event where plant owners can trade pest-free houseplants or fruit/vegetable seedlings with other plant-loving peers. Interested? Click here to see more information on Infoscope.
Get Involved: MCWell360 to Host a Clothing Swap
The MCWell360 team will be hosting a clothing swap on April 3, 11:00a.m.-2:00p.m. in the cafeteria lobby, from all the gently used clothing that was collected in March. A clothing swap is an event where people can exchange used clothing to promote sustainable consumption without incurring additional financial costs. You are more than welcome to attend the swap and take clothing even if you have not brought your own items! With any questions, please contact kcorcoran@mcw.edu or wellness@mcw.edu.
News & Updates
MCW Trainee Presents Climate & Nutrition Findings at MS4SF Conference
On March 1, Department of Medicine resident Elizabeth Auckley, MD, presented a poster at Climate Health Equity Day: Our Patients, Our Planet, Our Future, the annual Medical Students for a Sustainable Future conference. The poster, “Integrating Climate Change into Medical Education: a GI/Nutrition Lecture’s Impact on First-Year Medical Students,” focused on the impacts of a 50-minute lecture on climate and nutrition delivered by Dr. Auckley and MCW M4 Christopher Gitter, with mentorship from Drs. Joanne Bernstein and Christa Wagner. Surveys administered before and after the presentation indicated that the content was well-received and improved students’ comfort when describing the relationship between climate and nutrition. Notably, 41 (22%) of respondents expressed interest in further engagement in institutional climate efforts at MCW.
New Survey Data Shows Nationwide Support for Clean Energy
The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication on March 17 released its latest Yale Climate Opinion Maps (YCOM), now current through its latest survey from December 2024. This tool identifies the diversity of public opinion across the United States, including belief that global warming is happening, is human-caused, and levels of public worry about it. The newest version also adds a new measure regarding support for the U.S. economy transition from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050.
Key Findings:
- Majorities in 47 states support a U.S. transition from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050
- Urban areas are more supportive of the clean energy transition than rural areas
- Majorities of Americans in all 50 states think that global warming is affecting the weather in the U.S.
- On a six-point scale, 26% of Americans are Alarmed about global warming, and the Alarmed outnumber the Dismissive (10%) by a ratio of about 2.5 to 1 (see more in George Mason University’s Global Warming’s Six Americas, Fall 2024 - Center for Climate Change Communication).
"Estimated % of adults who are somewhat or very worried about global warming (nat'l avg. 63%), 2024."
Image Courtesy of University of California Santa Barbara, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and Utah State University.
State of the Global Climate Outlines Data from 2024, Warmest Year on Record
The World Meteorological Organization has released its State of the Global Climate 2024 report, which indicates that last year was the warmest year on record. The global surface temperature was 1.55 ± 0.13 °C higher than pre-industrial temperatures, which was associated with other impacts such as sea level rise, ocean warming and acidification, disrupted precipitation, and increased frequency of extreme weather events. These changes have led to observable impacts on human health. Millions of people experienced displacement due to extreme weather, such as cyclones and wildfires, and millions more dealt with food insecurity resulting from disrupted food systems. Climate scientists expressed concern and exasperation at the lack of urgency in global responses. “While a single year above 1.5 °C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and the planet,” stated Prof. Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization.
Upcoming Events
National Academies of Medicine Climate and Health Summit
On Earth Day, April 22, starting at 10:00a.m., the National Academy of Medicine will host its second annual Climate and Health Summit, which will feature panels on innovative climate and health programs across the country. The event will be held virtually. Click here to learn more and register.
Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Cleanup, April 26 9:00a.m.-12:00p.m. CST
Milwaukee Riverkeeper will host their 30th annual spring cleanup at various sites along Milwaukee’s waterways on April 26th, from 9:00a.m. to 12:00p.m. Pollution in our waterways impacts local ecology and ultimately is transported back to Lake Michigan, the city’s primary source of drinking water. Please feel free to participate individually at the site most convenient to you, or alongside other MCW staff and faculty at the County Grounds Park near main campus. This will also be an opportunity to stop by campus to drop off prescription medications at the Health Research Center for Drug Take Back Day; see below for more! For more information on the Spring Cleanup and to register for other locations, please click here.
Drug Take Back Day, April 26
Unused drugs frequently end up in unintended places, such in waterways or being used by people to whom the drugs were not prescribed. The Drug Enforcement Administration holds National Prescription Drug Take Back Days to help prevent pollution and medication misuse. Froedtert & the Medical College will offer take back sites at MCW's Health Research Center from 8:00a.m.-12:00p.m. as well as the Froedtert Community Hospital - New Berlin, 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m., and the Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital, 10:00a.m.-12:00p.m. Read more on the accepted forms of medication and find the take back site closest to you using this link. Different locations may have their own hours; please review the map for the availability at your site.
On Our Radar: Research, Podcasts, and More
Funding Opportunities
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants:
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is accepting applications for grants of $2,500-$50,000 focused on climate change and human health, with rolling deadlines starting Jan. 23, 2025 and extending through July 24, 2026. The Fund plans to dedicate $1 million during that time to projects that pilot ways to reduce healthcare’s climate impact, explore connections between basic science approaches and planetary health, and prepare for climate-related natural disasters. For more information, review the grant details on the Fund website.
Resources & More
MCW is a member of several consortia and membership organizations with different resources to support engagement in climate action in academic medicine. Contact us for any assistance in signing up!
Global Consortium for Climate and Health Education (GCCHE) aims to unite health professional training institutions, health societies, and regional health organizations to create a global climate-ready health sector, prepared to mobilize and lead health promotion and response in the era of climate change, while restoring the health of the planet. Learn more and join here.
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Climate Action Virtual Community provides meaningful connection to the myriad people in academic medical centers working across mission areas to address the climate crisis and improve institutional resiliency. Request an account using your MCW email address here. Once your account has been approved, click here to join the Climate Action and Sustainability group.
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals. Learn more.
Interested in learning more about the SHE Center at an upcoming MCW departmental, institute, or center faculty and/or staff meeting? Email Dr. Wagner to schedule.
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