GBPSR Spring 2022 Newsletter
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Effects of Nuclear Weapons and Avenues for Clinician Advocacy
GBPSR Board member Joe Hodgkin, MD, presented in a webinar during Grand Rounds at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for the Environment and Health. You can view it here.
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Dr. Ryuki Kassai to Give the Brief Educational Presentation this Monday!
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Dr. Ryuki Kassai will be joining us at our monthly meeting on June 6th at 7pm. Dr. Kassai is a Professor and Chair of the Dept of Community and Family Medicine at Fukushima Medical University in Japan and will talk to us about his experiences traveling to the Marshall Islands to study the health effects following nuclear bomb detonation on island populations, and as a physician during the Fukushima disaster. To hear Dr. Kassai’s talk, email abaker@gbpsr.org for the Zoom link.
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In regards to our nuclear program, GBPSR has been working to engage students from schools across the region. Two Boston Latin School students, Jack Trapanick and Emma Lu, who are Topol fellows focusing on advocating non-violence and peace, have been leading the charge at their school in terms of the Back from the Brink work. Jack's organizing work — in getting the 300 student signatures — was instrumental in getting the Boston City Council to pass their resolution. Since both Jack and Emma are graduating this year, our nuclear program committee is working with them to pass the torch to the incoming Topol fellows. Thankfully, Jack and Emma are both heading to Harvard next year so they can remain engaged in local advocacy efforts! Read more about our nuclear program…
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On May 3rd and 5th, the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) held public hearings on the Future of Gas. Seventy-six people spoke against continuing to pipe methane—or any other explosive gas—into people’s homes. GBPSR members Andee Krasner, Susan Donaldson, and Steve Jones testified against the utility plans to maintain the status quo, despite evidence that methane causes outsized harm to the climate as well as to human health.
Their testimony was reinforced by a 100-page submission from the Attorney General’s office, covered the next day in the Globe, asking the DPU to reject the utility plans. Next steps are uncertain in this process. The DPU could approve the utility plans or the legislature could intervene. Read more about the Future of Gas proceeding….
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What the Gas Companies Propose
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The gas utility plans are in, and they call for maintaining the status quo:
- Continuing to build and replace infrastructure as the core business model
- Growing their customer base
- Keep piping methane, along with biomethane, hydrogen, and syngas (synthetically made methane), all priced at a premium
- Read more about gas company proposals…
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2021-2022 Accomplishments
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Our membership made strides over the past year!
We were one of six chapters of Physicians for Social Responsibility that received Energy Foundation funding to advance the understanding of the health benefits of electrification, specifically for induction stoves and air-source heat pumps. We’ve worked with allies, updated our website, presented on electrification, and published op-eds. Read more about our accomplishments this year….
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More Members, More Impact
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Climate change and nuclear war are threats not just to human health, but to human survival. By joining forces as health professionals, we’re able to get the word out about how these two threats affect each of us personally.
We can expand our efforts with more people. Ask a friend to join GBPSR today. GBPSR membership is free and keeps you up to date on actions you can take. We have a speaker’s bureau you can call on for events, or if you’d like to become a speaker, please contact us and we can provide you with the resources you need.
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GBPSR Addresses the Climate and Health Threats of Piped Hydrogen
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Gas companies are talking about replacing some of the fossil gas delivered to our homes with hydrogen. When hydrogen burns, it makes water, which sounds good for the climate, but there are serious problems with using hydrogen in homes.
For example, depending on the burner temperature, hydrogen can make more nitrogen oxides than methane does. When combined with indoor air pollution, these nitrogen oxides exacerbate asthma and other respiratory conditions. Indoor air pollution is often worse in low income and environmental justice areas, and rates of asthma are consequently higher in these areas. Read more…
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GBPSR Helps Pass Emissions Legislation
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Emissions from large buildings are responsible for 60% of emissions in Boston, so last year the City developed legislation to measure and reduce these emissions.
The Boston City Council asked Andee Krasner, GBPSR Climate Program Manager, to speak on the health impacts of natural gas at a hearing on the legislation: Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) 2.0. Read more….
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It's Summer, and We Have Interns!
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For those of you who have been attending our monthly meetings, you'll know we just hired two new student interns. We just added them to the About Us page of our website, and you can read more about their bios here…
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Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
PO Box 470563
Brookline, MA 02447
United States
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