Just Another Nurse with a Passion and a Purpose...

How can we strengthen our voice as nurses for climate change? A 2018 article by the American Academy of Nursing on Policy recommended 8 principles for nurses to take a lead on bringing this critically important issue to the forefront: 1. Reduce sources of pollution that contribute to climate change . a. Mobilize, focus, incentivize, and increase national funding for climate protective actions. b. Oppose any rollback of climate protective polices addressing fuel economy standards, power plant emissions, and other sources of atmospheric carbon. c. Support climate protective initiatives at the community level, emphasizing the needs of populations and communities most affected. d. Advocate for community actions to incorporate renewable sources of energy, more fuel-efficient options for transportation, waste management, agricultural and forest management, and more energy-efficient buildings. e. Promote environmentally sustainable practices (e.g., reduction of medical waste) througho...

How do we continue to waste 40% of the Earths contribution of food?? We have 1 in 8 Americans fighting to get food and yet we waste more than we provide to our own citizens. We need to raise our voices about this issue. This issue CAN be solved. We can be more conscience consumers, better custodians of our excess food and work with companies to donate more of their food to feed our own people instead of feeding the landfill. We can also do a better job at community composting to stop unnecessary food from going to waste when we NEED to produce healthier and more earth friendly soil. If we are going to waste, lets at least have an upside. Cities should unite and begin large scale composting to reduce landfill contributions and raise the consciousness of our citizens. There are many ways we can improve our consumption and contribute to the recovery of our food sources. We can also affect change of policy to reflect a more sustainable model. We need to first KNOW the ...

Over 70 million children around the world work in hazardous conditions in agriculture, mining, domestic labor, and other sectors. On tobacco farms, children work long hours in extreme heat, exposed to nicotine and toxic pesticides that can make them sick. In Africa, Asia, and Latin America, child laborers in artisanal and small-scale gold mines work underground in pits that easily collapse and use toxic mercury to process the gold, risking brain damage and other serious health conditions. We are working to end the worst forms of child labor and to ensure that all children are protected from jobs that interfere with their health, safety, and education. Source:  https://www.hrw.org/topic/childrens-rights/child-labor How does this practice continue? How in the U.S. do we still permit this? I cried watching the videos about this. It seems like we have not made much headway on this since the 1700's. We continue to see the health and economic effects of child labor. It is clear that...

Oh CaviWipes- how I have loved you. I took the opportunity to look up the standard of cleaning that nurses expose themselves to in healthcare settings. I even bought them at home for a a few years when my husband was sick to keep our home "clean and free of germs". Here is the MSDS on this darling product we all use daily in the hospital. As an ED nurse, I would wipe down hundreds of beds per day with these. I used probably several containers per day- (not always with gloves if I am going to be honest). Here is what I found to be hazardous and harmful ... Requires disposal in same way as pesticide Requires full protection of firefighters if fire happens around this material Irritating to eyes & skin Carcinogenic properties May cause respiratory irritation from combustible dust And this came under the "Regulation" part of the MSDS label: U.S. FEDERAL REGULATIONS: This chemical is a pesticide product registered by the United States Environme...

The Precautionary Principle: “When an activity raises threats of harm to the environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.” Why is the " Better Safe than Sorry" not taken more seriously? We have witnessed the application of dollars over data in Smoking, Lead, Asbestos and now in Climate Change.  Why do we continue to have this discussion of risk v. benefit when it comes to the actual lives of living things or the health of our planet?  This is astounding. This is frustrating. This is insanity. If you needed a refresher of who represents us in CA- here ya' go. I am (mostly) aware of my local officials but I honestly have just begun to have faith in them in the past few years. They have been republican ( I am not ) and are slowly shifting to a more central angle.. the County has largely been democrat representation over past decade.  Refresher on our P...

In the County of San Diego we have a centralized Sanitation department . We also are undergoing a complete rejuvenation of our sewer and water pipes throughout the region. Many residents complain about the construction, constant digging and traffic issues related to this l arge scale project ...maybe I should have them watch the video from India. 😜 The simple act of flushing the toilet is a scientific miracle. May be the most important invention in Public Health History. We are so incredibly lucky to have a government and tax payers to fund this project. This involves creating a healthier water supply and better treatment of sewage waste. As a direct neighbor to Mexico, San Diegans should understand the health and safety issues associated with inadequate sanitations systems. We are surrounded by contaminated rivers, groundwater and ocean pollution from Mexico's inadequate and poorly manage sanitation system. Many immigrants living in South San Diego are also not educate...