Author Archives: Laurie

Today the 70 year-old National Health Service finds itself in a world radically different to that in which it was born. Compulsory health insurance had only arrived in 1911, part of a reformist welfare agenda spurred by concerns over working class conditions and the revolutionary urges they engendered. As in all ages, the nature andContinue reading “The NHS proves there’s always been an alternative”

We are currently living through an era of global environmental collapse. Resources are being consumed at around 1.5 times the Earth’s ability to regenerate them. The continued reliance on carbon to power our economies means that we are highly unlikely to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, increasing the chance of severe climateContinue reading “Time for politicians to get real about the Anthropocene”

Studies on the benefits of tackling climate change abound. In The Lancet Planetary Health, the study by Martin L Williams and colleagues1 has the great merit of using large datasets to illuminate the possible health benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the UK, the necessity to reduce emissions is enshrined in law through the 2008 ClimateContinue reading “The Lancet Countdown UK case study”

The Millennial generation will be the first to grapple with the full force of climate change. Until now, the outcomes of human damage to the environment have largely been associated with the distant future—the burden of generations yet unborn—and the far away, impacting low lying island states, if anyone at all. By October, these viewsContinue reading “Leadership on climate change is leadership on health”