PSR Monitor

Latest Climate Report: Red Light Flashing

The just-released report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offers bad news: We are likely to hit a world average temperature increase of 1.5o Celsius in about 10 years. That's the ceiling for global warming adopted in the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. Exceeding that ceiling will likely result in more climate catastrophes. Read on for some of the ways PSR's members, chapters and national staff worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate over the past month.

Climate Ambassadors Come to Washington

To mark National Public Health Week, PSR Climate Ambassadors and Next Generation Ambassadors came to Washington, DC to advocate for strong clean air and climate policies. The Ambassadors traveled from different parts of the country, from Philadelphia and Boston to Arizona and Jackson, Mississippi. They and PSR national staff met with members of Congress and advocated before the U.S. EPA, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the White House’s climate team. The Lobby Days were organized by the Climate Action Campaign, of which PSR is a proud and active member.

PSR Arizona Fights Fossil Fuels

PSR Arizona continues its long history of fighting fossil fuels with their work to prevent the expansion of Southwest Gas as a utility. Dr. Barbara Warren and her colleagues wrote letters to critically important stakeholders like the Arizona Corporation Commission, attended in person hearings expressing dissent to gas rate hikes, and continues to work hand-in-hand with the Tucson City Council to create the city's climate adaptation plan, which does not include gas at all. Visit their webpage below to learn more about their incredible work.

PSR's new project: Centering our humanity in the nuclear weapons abolition movement

PSR has joined up with other anti-nuclear and anti-racist organizations and experts for a new project that seeks to center the full spectrum of human impacts that nuclear weapons cause. Notes from the Edge of Society is an effort to expand the nuclear weapons abolition movement through a framework that centers the impacts on Black, Indigenous, Brown, poor and working class communities.

Stay up to date on nuclear weapons-related legislation with PSR's NWA Legislative Tracker

There's a brand new Congress in 2023, and with that comes a brand new NWA Legislative Tracker! PSR’s Nuclear Weapons Abolition program tracks key nuclear weapons-related legislation introduced in Congress, with weekly updates and other relevant information. You can access the tracker on PSR’s website at www.psr.org/nwatracker.

Urge Your U.S. Representative to Cosponsor H. Res. 77

With a war raging in Ukraine and rising tensions with China and Iran, it could not be more clear that we need to point decision-makers in a safer and more healthy direction. Rep. Jim McGovern (MA) and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (OR) introduced H. Res 77, which calls on the United States to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to adopt Back from the Brink's common sense recommendations for preventing nuclear war. H.Res. 77 is endorsed by 153 organizations including PSR and 7 PSR chapters. If your U.S. Representative is on the following list of cosponsors, then please use the Capitol switchboard–202.224.3121–to call and thank them: McGovern & Blumenauer, Casar (TX), Chu (CA), Holmes Norton (DC), Jayapal, (WA), Lee (CA), Moore, (WI), Neal (MA), Schakowsky, (IL), Tokuda (HI). If your Representative is not on that list, then please take action and ask them to cosponsor H.Res. 77.

A Fond Farewell

by Jeff Carter, outgoing Executive Director

My final day as PSR's Executive Director was March 24th. In a few weeks I will begin a new professional chapter, as President and CEO of Clean Water Action and the Clean Water Fund.

It has been an honor and a privilege to lead PSR over the last six years. I’m especially grateful for all of the hard work of the outstanding team here at PSR's national office. The staff here is strongly committed to PSR's mission, and does fantastic work. Together, we’ve grown our funding support, launched some exciting new campaigns and initiatives — much of it in partnership with our chapters — and brought outstanding new leaders to our Board. I'm particularly proud to have provided opportunities for a new generation of health professionals to create and lead some of our newest initiatives, and for our team's efforts to ground our work in the struggle to achieve racial and economic justice.

Upcoming Events

Southeastern Pennsylvania Town Hall
Wed. Mar. 29, 7:00 - 9:00 pm EDT
The Barn at Upland Farms, 301 Pottstown Pike, Chester Springs, PA (virtual option)
PSR Pennsylvania and Watchdogs of Southeastern Pennsylvania (WASEPA) are hosting a town hall in Chester County to talk openly, share opinions, and ask burning questions about environmental health specifically affecting Southeastern Pennsylvanians. Register

GBPSR Monthly Meeting
Mon. Apr. 3, 7:00 pm EDT
Greater Boston PSR Monthly Meeting — open to all. Please contact Anna Linakis at abaker@gbpsr.org for Zoom information.

Cutting through the Chatter: Gender Matters in the Atomic Age
Mon. Apr. 3, 7:00 pm EDT
Mary Olson, founder and director of the Gender and Radiation Impact Project (GRIP), will speak on progress in nuclear weapons abolition and her work highlighting disparate radiation impacts on female A-bomb survivors. Register

Induction Cooking Workshop
Fri. Apr. 21, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm EDT
RE Farm Café at Windswept, 1000 Fillmore Rd, State College, PA
PSR-PA is inviting healthcare professionals to learn about DEP’s new Cooking in Healthy Electrified Commercial Kitchens (CHECK) rebate program so they can be spokespeople for building electrification. Register

WNCPSR Chapter Meeting
Fri. Apr. 21, Noon - 2:00 pm EDT
First United Congregational Church of Christ, 20 Oak St, Asheville, NC
Western North Carolina's monthly meeting – all welcome.

Tucson Earth Day
Sat. Apr. 22, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm MST
On the Mall at the University of Arizona Campus, Tucson, AZ
PSR Arizona will be participating/tabling at the Earth Day Event at U of A to educate visitors with literature and information to share on the health hazards of gas stoves.

Asheville Earth Day Celebration
Sat. Apr. 22
Carrier Park, Asheville, NC
Western North Carolina PSR will have an information booth.

IPPNW World Congress
April 26 - 30
Travellers Beach Hotel & Club resort, Mombasa, Kenya (virtual options)
The 23rd World Congress will focus on the intersections of disarmament, the climate crisis and health, and will be preceded by a five-day student bike tour from Nairobi to Mombasa. Learn more & register.

PSR Sacramento Essay Contest Finals Luncheon
Sun. Apr. 30, Noon - 2:30 pm PDT
Hilton Arden West, 2200 Harvard St, Sacramento, CA
Join PSR Sacramento for luncheon at the Hilton Arden West at which the 10 finalists in this year's high school essay contest will present their essays in person and the first, second, and third place winners will be chosen. Registration details coming soon.

Denver Cinco de Mayo
May 5 - 7
Civic Center Park, Denver, CO
Come visit PSR Colorado at our booth at Denver's Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Civic Center Park. Better yet, contact us at info@psrcolorado.org to volunteer to help! This is a fun event and wonderful public outreach opportunity.

More events

PSR Actions

Tell EPA to Set Higher Standards for Particulate Matter

Urge your U.S. Representative to help reduce the risk of nuclear war

Ask your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the People Over Pentagon Act

In the news

Rep. Watson Coleman, Sen. Sanders Introduce WATER Act to Improve Water Safety, Affordability, Access
Insider NJ - Mar 22
Quotes PSR Arizona Executive Director Barbara H. Warren, MD, MPH

CA Nonprofits Want Regulations For Petition Signature Collection
LAist - Mar 20
Quotes Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director of PSR-Los Angeles

Bay Area to phase out sale of gas heating appliances, in first-in-nation step to clean up smog
Sierra Club San Francisco Bay - Mar 17
Quotes Mary Williams, MD, of San Francisco Bay PSR

Last Chance Alliance: California Issues Hundreds of Neighborhood Oil Drilling Permits in Blow to Environmental Justice
Oil Change International - Mar 17
Quotes PSR Board Member Marjaneh Moini, MD

U.S. Watchdog's Message to Europe: There Is No Such Thing as 'Green Fracking'
Common Dreams - Mar 8
Cites PSR's fracking Compendium

New UI training grant focuses on climate change impacts on health
The Daily Iowan - Mar 7
Quotes PSR Iowa Board Chair Maureen McCue, MD

Health Pros Demand US Regulators Stop Fracked Gas Pipeline Expansion
Common Dreams - Mar 6
Quotes Oregon PSR's Ann Turner, MD

100+ Groups Urge Congress to Abandon 'Carbon Utilization Fantasy'
Common Dreams - Mar 6
Mentions PSR

To protect our health, tell the truth about the fossil fuel industry
Linda Rudolph, MD, PSR Board Member, Capitol Weekly - Mar 2

Eugene Residents Challenge Ballot Title, Prepare to Defend Climate Policy
Earthjustice - Feb 24
Quotes David De La Torre, Healthy Climate Program Director, Oregon PSR

Achieving Peace in Ukraine
Common Dreams - Feb 24
Robert Dodge, MD, PSR Board Member

This Philly drag show tackles climate change — on ice
WHYY - Feb 23
Mentions PSR Pennsylvania

As Putin Suspends New START Treaty, Is There Still Hope for Nuclear Disarmament?
Democracy Now! - Feb 22
Interview with PSR Past President Ira Helfand, MD

Health Experts Continue to Condemn Holtec’s Wastewater Plan
The Examiner News - Feb 22
Quotes PSR New York President Kathy Nolan, MD