The role of doctors in leading action on climate change (interview with dr. Chris newman of doctors for extinction rebellion movement)
Dr. Chris Newman (@drchrisnewman) is a family physician from London and the founder of Doctors for Extinction Rebellion (@doctorsXR), which he started in frustration at the media coverage of the XR protests. The group, now with almost 500 members, is comprised of physicians who believe it's their duty to speak out in support of climate action.
In this podcast episode, Chris sheds light on why it may be necessary to create some sort of disruption in our modern society, such as through civil disobedience, in order to redirect the path we're on; the environmental impact of the healthcare industry and what can be done about that; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Chris and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
“We need to start doing more proactive civil resistance.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological balance, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app to stay informed and updated on our latest episodes.
On how we can act most effectively on climate change:
“This is something that's never happened before—humanity has never seen a collective issue that the whole world has to tackle together ever before. We've never done it.
So, how will we fix it? I genuinely don't know. But the only way that I can perceive it happening is that we need to increase the amount of knowledge and care within the system.
Papers, writing stuff, and saying stuff haven't done it. So, we need to start doing more proactive civil resistance.”
On the fossil fuel industry's spread of misinformation:
“The fossil fuel industry is behaving as the tobacco industry behaved earlier in the last century: The tobacco industry knew fully well that smoking damaged people's health, yet they continued to spread disinformation, and they lobbied to make more short-term gains.
We know they did that, and that is exactly what the fossil fuel industry is doing now.
If [burning] fossil fuel were good for society, they wouldn't have to spend so much money lobbying government and spreading disinformation campaigns.”
Final words of wisdom:
"We're not going to see change quickly enough unless we create the maximum tension that we can in society. It will be uncomfortable, but we aren't going to get change without discomfort.
If you're a gym-goer, [you're familiar with the phrase] ‘no pain, no gain.’ We need to create that so that humanity can imagine and compassionately find our way out of it.”
