OPINION: New concentration part of medicine’s push to incorporate climate change into health care
The planet is sick, so says the environmentalists, but here comes Harvard University heal it.
The Ivy League university, where freshmen need refresher courses on algebra, will now offer a concentration (fancy word for “major”) in “Climate Change and Planetary Health.”
“The idea is that we move from an understanding of planetary health to training planetary healers,” Professor Christopher Golden told The Crimson.
“We see climate change as one of the most important existential threats that is affecting public health,” the faculty co-director also told the student newspaper.
Healing the planet includes confronting “structural racism,” too.
“Students in this concentration will also learn about the health inequity born out of environmental degradation,” the Chan School of Public Health description states.
“Structural racism and international economic policy have exacerbated the climate crisis, with communities of color, poor communities, and the Global South being disproportionately impacted,” the website states. “You will be equipped to use research, leadership, advocacy, and policy to implement solutions that better serve these populations.”
The new concentration is not the only attempt to infuse climate change concerns into healthcare.
For example, The College Fix recently reported on doctors and students who want climate change part of the medical school curriculum.
Other academics have said there should be “universal health codes” for “climate-sensitive health conditions.”
The hysteria ends up creating its own ailments, such as “climate anxiety” or “climate grief.”
“In 2017, the American Psychological Association defined climate anxiety as ‘a chronic fear of environmental doom,’” NPR reported recently. “Three years later, a survey by the association found that as many as two-thirds of Americans have suffered from it.”
“Climate anxiety” is a perfect example of a manufactured crisis. First, a medical organization created a term. Then, gullible people fell for it and said they had climate anxiety. Now, we need insurance to pay for “climate anxiety” and Harvard to train “planetary healers.”
But at least Harvard students will benefit from it.
“More than 70 students are registered for the concentration,” the student newspaper reported.
“By having a concentration when you get your degree, you can say, ‘I have a concentration in climate and planetary health,’” Harvard doctoral student Amber Afelin told The Crimson.
“That’s pretty valuable for a new and budding field, to be able to have that qualification listed on your diploma,” Afelin said.
She’s probably correct, as the market for “planetary healers” will grow as leading institutions push for unfounded fears about climate change.
MORE: CU Boulder professor dresses like butterfly to fight ‘climate anxiety’
IMAGE: Cryptographer/Shutterstock
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