I have spent the last 10 years working with thousands of wonderful health professionals in New Jersey and across the country who are speaking out about climate change and health.
One problem most people recognize is the obvious (and predicted) increase in the frequency and severity of flooding, wildfires, and heat waves. Lately, medical colleagues from the Carolinas to California tell us stories about how flooding and wildfires are slamming their patients.
Over the years, I have heard too many stories about people hurt in storms, children with asthma suffering severe respiratory effects from wildfire smoke, and older people having heart attacks brought on by heat waves — three among many more frightening, sometimes deadly, predicted health impacts. From Hurricane Sandy to the wildfire smoke of 2023, it’s abundantly clear that New Jersey will also not escape the reality of climate science.
Unfortunately, there is a second category of major health concern here. Public health professionals focus on the phrase “social determinants of health.” These are defined as: “the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect virtually all health and quality-of life outcomes.” The most obvious examples are, again, the severe weather events that tear up roads and bridges, prevent the shipment and delivery of goods, overrun our water treatment plants, destroy farmers’ fields, wipe out crops, and on and on. The full costs imposed on society for all this — including medical costs — are going through the roof.
The nexus of economic loss and damage to the social determinants of health is irrefutably growing. If you don’t believe that idea is true, consider the cost to protect your home. Across this country, home insurance costs are skyrocketing. Big insurers like State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers are no longer offering home insurance in entire states. This problem is spreading quickly, including in New Jersey. The physicians, nurses, veterinarians, and other health professionals within Clinicians for Climate Action New Jersey have front-row seats to this slowly unfolding crisis. In these seats, you can’t miss that the cost to New Jerseyans will be beyond staggering.
Meanwhile, as countless court cases are demonstrating, including from New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, fossil fuel companies have understood for decades the harm their products would do to the environment, leading to these devastating health harms. The fossil fuel industry misled the public, denied the realities of climate change, and obstructed efforts to decrease its impact. At the same time, fossil fuel companies continue to bring in record profits. The CEO of Chevron said, “In 2023, we returned more cash to shareholders and produced more oil and natural gas than any year in the company’s history.”
What can New Jersey do? Last year, New Jersey legislators began to consider a new idea: the creation of a “Climate Superfund.” This initiative mirrors laws that have passed in New York and Vermont, with other states on the same path. The idea is simple: Given the vast costs that New Jersey has spent already on climate change damage, it is only fair that fossil fuel companies share those costs. Funds collected by the state would be spent on essential climate resilience projects, including infrastructure improvements, disaster preparedness, health initiatives, and more. This is a fair, commonsense step toward protecting our state’s financial stability and the health of our communities. This is taxpayer relief.
Beloved New Jersey baseball icon Yogi Berra once said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” He was right. If we don’t stick to our commitments, our children and grandchildren will rightfully resent the future we are leaving them.
New Jersey was a leader in passing the Spill Act in 1976 to hold polluters responsible for toxic pollution sites, which led to the passage of the national Superfund program. A generation later, it’s time for New Jersey to lead to hold climate polluters accountable.
Dan Quinlan is the co-leader of the Clinicians for Climate Action New Jersey. CCANJ’s mission is to promote clean energy initiatives and programs that will protect public health and reduce the impacts of climate change on New Jersey’s communities.
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