Green Is the Healthy Way to Go

Admittedly, mitigating climate change is an extremely complex issue requiring action on many levels, but it does fall to each individual to reduce his or her carbon footprint, Dr. Cotton said. Physicians have a responsibility to fully understand the link between energy consumption, climate change and public health, he said.

Admittedly, a barrier to going green in hospitals is getting the executive level to buy into it. Commitment from the top is needed before formal environmental policies and the concomitant change can occur.

Physicians must be instrumental in the development of an environmental mission statement and benchmarks. As educators, we must work toward filling in what we can of the mental education of our future physicians by developing an environmental awareness and instilling in them a sense of environmental responsibility. We must cohesively chart a course toward sustainable hospital practices, he said.

Getting involved is clearly the right thing to do, he said.

©2009 The Triological Society