Calling a Family Meeting for Patient Earth

If you have ever thought "This global warming/climate change/peak population/oil dependency thing is a big deal, but how does it relate to my identity as a health care professional and how do I get involved with my busy schedule?" then come to Calling a Family Meeting for Patient Earth, a special event on Monday, November 23rd, at the UCSF Parnassus Campus, Medical Sciences Building S-214 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Food will be served.

During the session, we will explore the strengths and ideas that students and health professionals already possess that can be a massive boon to the movement for clean energy and environmental stewardship, which in turn represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve human health across the spectrum of disease, both physical and mental. 

The "family meeting" component of the event will include a town hall-like forum where people are invited to speak intimately and honestly about their personal experiences, feelings and visions for a future where global climate change and sustainable, clean energy communities are both realities, a state of affairs too often obscured by scientific information overload and disaster journalism. 

This town hall will be run according to the same principles that make a family meeting meaningful, therapeutic and effective. Come as a family member if you believe that today’s children and grandchildren should inherit a rich natural world with the same wonders we’ve grown up with. Come as a student, clinician or scientist to learn why framing climate change and clean energy as a health issue is one of the most psychologically powerful and motivating perspectives to bring to discussions that are often mired in the politics of denial, shame and blame. Come because calling a family meeting for Patient Earth, our Diabetic Gaia, can help bring the full strength of our collective talents and authentic selves onto our campus and into our world.

The time is ripe to stop and come together in a family meeting for Patient Earth: ahead of Thanksgiving, when many of us will be uniting with family and engaging in a long tradition of showing gratitude for Earth and the seasonal harvests it provides; and ahead of the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, which will be starting the week after and represents a pivotal global moment when we as whole nations could set our industries and our societies on a path to a sustainable, healthier and happier future. Invite along your UCSF friends and colleagues to meet at the S-214 auditorium in the Medical Sciences Building (Parnassus) on Monday, November 23rd from 5:30pm - 7:00pm for this special event.

If you'd be interested in lending your voice or otherwise helping out and learning more about the event, please email Alex.Schrobenhauser-clonan@ucsf.edu, MS4 and UCSF Fellow for the UC President’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative.