Climate Week at Penn Begins September 20


September 17, 2021

To:PSOM Faculty, Students, and Staff

From:J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD


I write to remind you that Monday marks the start of Climate Week at Penn and to commend the many members of the PSOM community who have contributed to this important educational program. A mix of in-person and virtual offerings, Climate Week events will center on topics ranging from activism and agriculture to sustainability and wellness, all with a connection to the climate emergency at the local or global scale. Notable events for your consideration include the following presentations by PSOM faculty and students:

September 22, 3-4pm

Join faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine in a discussion on the intersections between climate change, medicine, and public health.

Panelists:

Misha Rosenbach, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology 

Hari Shankar, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care 

Joseph Leanza, MD, Faculty, Emergency Medicine / Global Emergency Medicine Fellow

Representing Medical Students For Sustainable Future: Genevieve Silva, Justine Wang, Kimberley Yu, Megan Zhou

September 22, 7:30-8:30pm

Join faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine in a “book club”-style discussion of two passages:

"Public Service for Public Health", by Gina McCarthy, (Excerpted from the official Penn Climate Week book, All We Can Save). e-Copies of All We Can Save are available to the Penn community through Penn Libraries.

Journal Article: “Call for Emergency Action to Limit Global Temperature Increases, Restore Biodiversity, and Protect Health” (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2113200)

Co-published in September 2021 by more than 200 medical journals.

September 23

A special “on-demand” series of 1.5 Minute Climate Lectures presented by Penn Medicine faculty and students focused on the intersections of climate, medicine, and personal health. Through September 30, 2021, Penn faculty and staff may receive 100 Be In the Know Bonus Action Points (https://www.hr.upenn.edu/PennHR/wellness-worklife/be-in-the-know) after viewing the lectures and submitting the brief form. Link and videos coming soon!

Other Climate Week events of special interest include:

Monday, 20 September, 4:00 EST

Xiye Bastida, a climate activist and current Penn undergraduate student will host an interview with the co-editors and co-founders of the All We Can Save Project, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson.

Wednesday, 22 September, noon
Professors and leaders from across the University will deliver a series of mini-lectures to share a vision of constructive and comprehensive response to the climate emergency. The underlying significance of this series is that 1.5 °C is the maximum amount the average temperature can rise in order to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.

Globally renowned climate scientist Michael Mann will discuss the importance of emphasizing both urgency and agency in the climate battle.

Moderator Jennifer Pinto-Martin (Nursing and Medicine) will lead a conversation with Dean Fluharty (Arts and Sciences), Associate Dean Kagan (Engineering and Applied Science), Dean Steiner (Design), Associate Dean Sochalski (Nursing), and Dean Hoffman (Veterinary Medicine) about how Penn can advance innovation and collaboration in the quest to develop solutions to our changing climate.

Please visit the Climate Week site to learn more about these and other events.