July 26, 2021 | Originally published in Savannah Morning News
By: Linda Walden, MD
Here in the Southeast United States, natural gas is a fossil fuel that provides electricity for our homes and business. We use it daily throughout our homes in winter, cooking our food with gas stoves and powering our air conditioners in the summer. In fact, natural gas accounts for 46% of our electricity in Georgia compared to the national average of 34%. It affects the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.
As a physician, I know the environment is of vital importance in improving the health of our patients. Switching from fossil gas to clean energy sources is necessary when it comes to protecting our health. We need all of our physicians and other health care providers to inform their patients about the necessity to have clean energy…READ THE FULL ARTICLE>
This is an op-ed by Dr. Linda I. Walden, a family practitioner based in Cairo, Georgia and a founding member of the Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action and the Medical Society Consortium for Climate and Health. She is a 2021 Climate & Health Equity Fellow.