AAP-CA3 Climate Change and Health and SDPCA October 2021 Updates
October 9, 2021
by drplasticpicker
General Comments
It is indeed October 2021. HALLOWEEN!!! There are many scary things in the world, but we all know that the Climate Crisis is the scariest!!! But not to worry, by receiving this newsletter and working together we are boots on the grounds, #fightfor1point5. Hope is earned through action. This group is all about ACTION. Here is what the AAP/SCPCA pediatricians and premed interns are up to. We are earth agents, literally cleaning up this earth! October 14: Children’s Environmental Health Day! Dan Spencer Knocks It Out of the Park and The Great Succulent Give-Away October 14 is Children’s Environmental Health Day, which is an effort of the Children’s Environmental Health Network (which AAP and Eco-America are a part of). Dan successfully applied to have the following recognize and issue proclamations recognizing CEH Day. City of San Diego, County of San Diego, La Mesa, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Chula Vista, and Lemon Grove. There are 3 proclamation press events (Encinitas, Solana Beach and Chula Vista), and we are dividing and conquering. Thank you to Dan and those that volunteered to show up and hold the AAP-CA3 banner, and smile for the photos! In honor of that day, we are also doing a succulent give-away. I received an honorarium for speaking at the AAP California Chapter Chat, since that money really belongs to all of us – Laisha Felix and I purchased 120 succulents (there is a great farm in Vista for $1 a piece) and will be dropping off 5 succulents per committee member. It will have a paper explaining CEH Day, and it serves as a moment of connection when you as an MD give to a child. You are making a commitment to that child and the earth, to be on the side of good. To #fightfor1point5. Let me know at or text me if you want 5 succulents! We will give a succulent to each of the politicians as well!
SDAFP Members Move to Join SDPCA/AAP in Rewild Mission Bay Coalition
Ben Schleifer has been hard at work being our Wetlands Liaison. Ben met up with Andrew Meyer, from Rewild Mission Bay and the San Diego Audubon Society. Rachel Abbott, from Family Practice and UCSD rep were also there. Our amazing AAP-CA3 Executive Board officially approved AAP-CA3 to join. Rachel Abbott is working with Family Practice doctors at UCSD FP and Sharp to lobby San Diego Academy of Family Physicians to also join Rewild Mission Bay. Rachel and I both live in Jen Campbell’s city council district, and her support is crucial in making this happen. We wrote a joint advocacy letter and have initiated a meeting with her. Thank you to the 30 folks out there that cosigned. Ben is writing an op-ed for Climate and Health Blog, regarding wetlands restoration and plans to submit it to SD Union-Tribune as well.
Peony Liu Joins as our Anti-Tobacco and Anti-Vaping Liaison
Only great things come out of UCLA, including Peony Liu! Peony Liu is a pediatric hospitalist and well known to many of us. She has agreed to lead SDPCA’s partnership with an effort led by the American Lung Association and American Cancer Society, San Diegans vs Big Tobacco. Peony will work closely with Nancy Graff, AAP. We have a team that includes Alice Nguyen, a high school senior, and Riley Gilbertson, our advocacy intern.
Intern Updates!
Our premed intern group is 8. We are trying to keep it at that but did interview and accept Nicole Escamarilla (UCLA) and Ashley Calderon (UC Berkeley). They are San Diegans and passionate about climate and health. Ashley Calderon completed the Eco-America training. Nicole will join Hakim in the Youth Arts Project, as Ashley Teo is transitioning to an HPV vaccine advocacy project with me at Kaiser. Riley has been hard at work on a project with Rachel Ireland, on reducing lead pollution from aviation gas around the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. It’s an urgent issue from a developmental pediatric lens. This will be a separate update later, as it’s a stellar effort and we will have more news. Stay tuned! Welcome to Ashley Calderon and Nicole Escarmarilla! Vivian Nguyen our phenomenal student Co-Founder is presenting a poster at AAP NCE this weekend on our work. Please stop by her virtual poster entitled “Blueprint for a Volunteer Climate Health Advocacy Group: San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air. “ Congrats Vivian.
YOUTH ARTS CONTEST!
It’s happening! It’s happening! Nicole will join as the new intern and she is strong in social media skills, and organizational skills. Hakim is rounding up our motley crew. Andrei is collating all the entries onto a PDF. We have 50 entries and almost enough prizes, as Rachel Ireland knows the director of the Children’s Museum in Escondido and we will ask for some tickets (crossing our fingers) and Rewild Mission Bay will donate some kids’ hats. Kalpana and Jamie Rhodes are big environmentalist and donors, and Jamie is a scientist working on climate resiliency now on the Texas coast and formerly on renewable energy. Their daughter Leela Rhodes is joining our youth arts council, and they have agreed to help us to try to get the Children’s Museum in Downtown San Diego to help host our event or display some of the pieces. Stay tuned! This is going to happen!!! https://sdpediatriciansforcleanair.com/youth-art-contest Air Keepers Program? Our next big effort is trying to deploy this already established EPA program to hopefully all of San Diego, but especially our environmental justice neighborhoods. Also to find funding. We are going to apply for some climate awards and maybe present to the APCD to ask for money? This program is essentially having kids “take a vital sign for the earth” – the PM2.5 level around their schools. It would mostly be to purchase the PM2.5 monitors (which I believe are only about 150-200 a piece?) and a set of flags. Local middle school science classes would monitor PM 2.5 exposure, and hopefully act as a catalyst for hyper-local changes. Students raise different colored flags outside of the school depending on air quality measured. We are in the thinking and building phase, so reach out if you want to help review the materials that AAP montana via Lori Byron (the National AAP Climate Advocate lead) sent over. More hands make light work.
UPCOMING MEETINGS: General Committee Meeting: Q2MONTH Climate Change & Health Meeting November 9, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. (I think? Sally is going to correct me if I’m wrong)