Week 1: Orientation

Key Takeaways

• Excessive consumerism drives a lot of waste production

• Plastic comes from petroleum

• Some communities bear the burden of pollution more than others

• The lifecycle of the products that we use can lead to health problems at every step-- extracting natural resources, processing those raw materials, producing goods, transporting goods, then disposing of goods after use

• Microplastics and nanoplastics have been found throughout the human body and have negative health consequences

Announcements

• Next class, we will welcome José Vasquez, an MD/PhD student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine as a guest speaker

Key Takeaways

Contributions by Tala W.

Planetary health, climate change, and the Anthropocene

• Planetary health is the recognition that the health and quality of the air, water, land, and other species is intertwined with human wellbeing

• Planetary health is not a new idea but is a new term that describes a way of interconnected living, which is what many Indigenous cultures have been practicing for thousands of years

• Not every community is equally affected by climate change and other infrastructural problems 

• Anthropocene is the time period we are all living in, characterized by human activity directly changing Earth's systems

Agriculture

• Agriculture is the main reason for deforestation, which releases carbon into the atmosphere and clears habitats

• Industrial agriculture uses a lot of water for crops and livestock-- fertilizer and manure from agriculture contaminates waterways 

• Pollinator populations influence our food supply

• Local solutions are starting to emerge to combat problems identifed within agriculture

• Accessibility to fresh, affordable foods impacts diet

Climate change and pollution worsens societal problems

• Climate change -> changing rainfall patterns -> droughts and floods in off seasons -> food insecurity -> conflict 

• Overcrowding in urban areas, such as parts of Tijuana, can increases the spread of infectious diseases

• In low-income countries, girls and women are often more impacted by climate change because they may have to travel farther to carry water or travel more frequently

• Natural disasters impact physical, emotional, and mental well-being

• Those who are unhoused are more vulnearble to climate change impacts both directly (ex. extreme heat) and indirectly (ex. rising grocery prices)

CalEnviroScreen

• Data only tells part of the story of what is going on in a particular location

• Consider what data is missing and investigate questions that arise from the data

• CalEnviroScreen shows higher percentiles of pollution near some bodies of water

• Wealthier areas have less pollution

Selected insights from José Vasquez

• Research or medicine may not be for you and that's OK. Take your interests and let them shine through

• Try a little bit of everything until you figure out what you like to do

• You may not be the smartest in the room but you can stand out by asking questions, being present, showing interest

• You are capable of much more than you think, just stick through it

Announcements

• Free admission to the City Heights pool all summer! Check out their hours here. Thanks, Hugo, for letting us know!

• Keep a lookout for an email about signing up for one-on-ones and the weekend partner activity