The climate emergency IS a health emergency and it’s about time we started treating it as one.

by Dr Karine Knor In 2019, supported by all Parties,  the Government declared ‘a climate and ecological ’emergency’. But any ‘emergency’ response has been woefully inadequate.  When we compare this to the time of the Covid pandemic, also declared as a public health emergency, a year later,  and we remember the Prime Minister’s recurrent ‘addressContinueContinue reading “The climate emergency IS a health emergency and it’s about time we started treating it as one.”

Cradle to Grave: The Health Toll of Fossil Fuels and the Imperative for a Just Transition

by Dr Karine Nohr Whilst practising as a doctor, the imperative to provide evidence for any intervention was always forefront.  So it was with great interest that the report just published by the Global Health and Climate Alliance on the Health Consequences of fossil fuels laid bare, with overwhelming evidence, what many of us alreadyContinueContinue reading “Cradle to Grave: The Health Toll of Fossil Fuels and the Imperative for a Just Transition”

Your heart will thank you: and so will the animals.

Karine Nohr Standing on the periphery of a Sheffield protest about the environmental crisis, and in my capacity previously as doctor, a question that often arose was “Yes, but what can I, as an individual, do? I am worried about the environmental crisis, I am very worried about what the future might hold for myContinueContinue reading “Your heart will thank you: and so will the animals.”

We need the right houses, built in the right way, in the right place.

A guest blog by Karine Nohr Recently, a young friend, Ayesha, whilst walking through the Winter Gardens, passedanother young woman in tears (let’s call her Maria). Being the kind person that she is,Ayesha stopped and asked Maria what the matter was. Maria explained that she had been made homeless and had slept under a bridge.ContinueContinue reading “We need the right houses, built in the right way, in the right place.”

Our Congolese brothers are being persecuted for trying to save the forest

A guest blog by Karine Nohr The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is facing a crisis of unimaginable proportions. For decades, conflict has ravaged communities, leaving over 6 million people displaced. Despite the people of Eastern Congo being hugely impoverished, it is resource-rich, with rare earth metals such as cobalt and coltan,  essential for batteries,ContinueContinue reading “Our Congolese brothers are being persecuted for trying to save the forest”

New Community Energy Projects in and around Sheffield: A Call to Action!

A guest blog by Karine Nohr Following on from the Telegraph article “Want to make your Home Cosy?”, regarding a project at ‘Our Cow Molly’, the article highlighted the concept of Community Energy schemes. The climate and environmental crisis means that not only do we need to reduce the amount of energy that we consumeContinueContinue reading “New Community Energy Projects in and around Sheffield: A Call to Action!”

Ways to protect our increasingly  threatened food supplies

A guest blog by Karine Nohr It seems counterintuitive to talk about food shortages this week, but the unraveling problems surrounding the  food supply chain are beginning to show how woefully unprepared we are for the unfolding food crises. Increasingly, many UK households are struggling to put a regular healthy meal on the table. AtContinueContinue reading “Ways to protect our increasingly  threatened food supplies”

Plastic is polluting our bodies

A guest blog by Karine Nohr I have written about plastics in this column before, and I thought that I knew quite a lot about the dangers of plastic pollution, but a recent interview that I listened to, with Gynaecologist Dr Jane van Dis, brought me up short.  In my early medical career, I tooContinueContinue reading “Plastic is polluting our bodies”

The benefits of strong, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs of not acting.

A guest blog by Karine Nohr With the General Election looming, what are political parties saying about the Environmental Crisis? I made the mistake of turning on the radio to hear Farage displaying complete ignorance about the economics of the issue. Nearly 20 years ago the very important Stern Review, released by the UK Treasury.ContinueContinue reading “The benefits of strong, early action on climate change far outweigh the costs of not acting.”

Plastic-wrapped food? Not if I have a choice!

A guest blog by Karine Nohr Previously, food could not be stored for long periods and so was available only at harvesting times. It was eaten fresh and seasonally, with limited use of preserving methods, such as bottling, fermenting or drying. But now, food preservation includes chemical processing, preservatives and packaging. The development of plastics,ContinueContinue reading “Plastic-wrapped food? Not if I have a choice!”