Is now the time for health & wellbeing in the Transition
Movement (part 4/4)
The negative impacts on health and wellbeing of climate
change are many and varied. Furthermore it might not come as a surprise that
often vulnerable people and communities are the most at risk from climate
change and extreme weather events. This was powerfully demonstrated in England
during the floods of last winter (2013/14). Adaptation isn’t just flood
barriers and defences, but could include Transition-type activity of building
resilience and support for people who experience flooding. This may protect
against the physical and mental health impacts of damp housing and disrupted
infrastructure. With particular health needs in mind, as residents in
Cockermouth in 2009 found when the river flooding caused disruption of the pharmacist
and GP practice, access to drugs can become an emergency. Can Transition
Initiatives encourage or enable emergency access to drugs such as insulin for
diabetics or oxygen for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). This may mean stockpiling certain products on which members of the
community are dependent, or somehow preparing transport links for supply of
these, despite disrupted infrastructure.
Wider political aspects
I’m going to try to not end on a negative note, but
penultimately, it is important to acknowledge the wider political aspects of
health and social care. Again similar to climate change, huge vested interests
are at work, within healthcare and within the determinants of health; food,
transport, housing, finance... Political issues and corporate interests which
may impede a community enjoying sustainable healthy lifestyles may have to be
tackled in future. But in the meantime, or on the way, we can bring many
benefits within our projects and these should be explicitly valued, as part of
the ‘Impact of Transition’.
Language is critical
And this is where Transition can really show the health
people what to do. Communication about health issues is often at risk of being
turned into pejorative headlines in the media, which may lead to negative
attitudes and even stigma against particular health conditions. Advocacy for
healthy lifestyles can often be perceived as having moral overtones. Therefore
it is important to apply the values that I consider to be at the core of the Transition
Movement; positive action and inclusivity. Let’s make sustainable health and
wellbeing a party to which everyone is invited!
