I’m not sure why since the election that I’ve been back thinking of individual changes and improvements we can all make to help with climate change? But here is the 2nd new recipe in the week that I’ve tried and that has been so wonderful for our family. I think I’m moving on from making muffins all the time to quick breads. I made this one because my mom gave me all these frozen costco strawberries that needed to be used up. I looked up a recipe and modified it because I was part lazy, part didn’t want to waste eggs, and used what we had a home. And guess what? It turned out pretty fantastic! The kids and Mr. Plastic Picker and the grandparents all loved it! I also dropped off 3 pieces at my parents house. I just had one warmed up with coffee and it was as good as I remember! At Starbucks, an equivalent is about $3.50 a piece! Much better to make it at home and less plastic. For the next office party, I’ll definitely bring some of this quick bread in.
Happy New Year Dear Readers! I was feeling a bit despondent about climate change and possible societal collapse (this is what my friend Prof Adam Aron often talks about). But it’s great to channel one’s climate anxiety into something useful! And after sending one long-winded anxious and despondent email to someone I consider a mentor, I’m happy. Society has not collapsed today. And it might not, if we all start eating more LEGUMES! So last night, I kind of made up a new Instapot Lentil soup recipe and it was awesome!
Ingredients (servings size about four adults)
1 cup of washed dry lentils
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of better than bouillon
2 small tomatoes chopped
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of tumeric
1/2 – 1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of salt
pepper
1/3-1/2 chopped and diced onion
minced garlic or garlic powder
left over 1 teaspoon of extra spices I had around (I think it was some kind of garlic, onion something) was just trying to use it up
That’s it! 15 minutes in the Instapot! And the cooking was electric too since I used the Instapot. So less indoor air pollution for us, and less methane gas in our house.
This old picture popped up and it’s Dr. Sabrina Perrino and I many years ago. This was about 4 years before we founded San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, and before I went into middle management and then exited after 5 years to devote my extracurricular time to climate and health advocacy. It was during Halloween obviously, and at that point I was already thrifting as the Harry Potter gown was from the Goodwill store. We had just moved to Pacific Beach I think?
I had such a wonderful planned vacation day off yesterday with our daughter. I picked her up from her prep school, and she was hard at work on her ceramics art but living in her little bubble of a prep school world. I toured her school’s ceramics studio for a bit, and looked at her shelf filled with half done projects and looked at her largest project that she is trying to finish. I took more pictures than I needed. And we had a wonderful rest of the evening getting matcha oat latte at Starbucks, buying Christmas gifts for dear friends, and wandering around another Christmas fair and had a semi-fancy dinner at a now favorite spot in Mission Valley.
I used to feel so guilty sending her to private school. A lot of doctors do this now, as it’s hard to take care of others if one is not sure your own are taken care of and the public school system in some areas is still a mess. We really need to pay teachers more. I’m okay living with those contradictions, living in my social world and at peace with our social circle – but knowing that my parenting world doesn’t define me. When we started San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, I never thought is would lead to opening up my heart so wide for all these premedical students and patients and fellow physicians. In the end, I think the reason we are able to do what we are able to do, is because we are all friends and working toward the same goal – trying to ensure a livable planet for all our patients and our children. Many of us are mothers as well.
It’s the beginning of the Christmas Season/Holiday coverage season, and I am indeed working every day next week – but I’m actually okay with it. I’m okay with it because everything seems manageable these days because I’m happy. So many others have joined Dr. Sabrina Perrino and myself on this journey. And all of your life stories are intertwined with mine. And I’m grateful to know each and every one of you. Even the ones I’ve been intermittently feuding with on different committees for various reasons. I honestly care about you too.
Our son is coming home soon, but one day late from college due to the dense fog that is blanketing San Diego. 1.8 million other travelers were also affected. Our daughter officially started her SAT studying and trying to hit that magic number which is honestly just a number. And I’m still a pediatrician and so happy to practice, and it’s very much because we founded San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air. Trying to save the world, sometimes you inadvertently save yourself. Happy Holidays/Happy New Years to everyone and sending you social media hugs which from this pediatrician are very much real.
My memories of my journey through climate and health and environmental health advocacy is intertwined with trying to spend more time with our daughter. Yesterday was the rare afternoon I had off with her. The previous afternoons I was at a podcast interview at the Conrad Prebys talking about the Tijuana Sewage Crisis. And the other afternoon I was working, and the other afternoon/evening I was on a panel discussion on social justice and environmental health advocacy at UCSD School of Medicine. The previous week I was very sick with likely rotavirus. So it is important to emphasize that yesterday afternoon was my rare afternoon I had to spend with her.
I had picked her up on time after school and she had a good day at school. She was brimming with those little stories that need to be heard. The quizzes that went well, those assignments that did not. The friends that noticed her eyelashes, and the boys that notice too much. And the exciting little tidbits of news and gossip about junior and seniors that she wants to share with me. Who is applying where early decision? Who is going out with who, and what kind of dates would be fun to have? Showing me her sketches for her next project. Sharing bits and pieces of back and forth about family. She always wants to hear about my work gossip and going-ons.
But yesterday during what was mostly a happy afternoon driving down our usual route, with a quick detour to buy a birthday gift and get a snack and a quick walk at Hazard Center – became this overwhelming sense of doom and foreboding because I needed to call into Irvine City Council meeting as there was a surprise last minute meeting called as the new Irvine City Council was trying to pull Irvine from OC Power Authority. In the end the city council meeting and making comments took 5 hours. During those 5 hours, we finished our walk and our snack. We finished buying presents for her friend’s birthday and two secret santa gifts for my work friends. We even picked up dry cleaning. We got home, and I was able to make a relatively health dinner and I finished my virtual testimony after waiting 3 hours. I even finished all my charts and did lab results and charting while listening in on the meeting.
But what I want to tell Mayor Larry and who I will remember, a fellow Vietnamese-American, Councilmember James Mai – is that you completely ruined my afternoon with my daughter. You ruined what should have been a happy rare free afternoon and evening, because you successfully tried to start the process of removing Irvine City from OC Power Authority. Your focus and complete meanness and negative energy and negativity, and your complete inability to listen to the overwhelming community comments/support of OCPA was disheartening. And yes I remember especially every single Vietnamese-American individual in that council chamber room that voted and worked AGAINST CHILDREN and AGAINST CLIMATE. I identify with you. I see your faces and your names, and I feel akin to you. And that hurt the most. I hope I never meet any of you socially and you never ask for my help. I’ll probably help if it’s the right thing to do, but I’ll always remember when YOU DID THE WRONG THING and I never have to like you.
This is my emotional journey as a climate and health physician and as a mother. Mostly yesterday was a wonderful day, but it was also a godawfully bad day and I can’t believe there were Vietnamese-American politicians involved with this. You are not part of my tribe anymore because you have caused harm to all children including Vietnamese ones.
It’s the 2nd day after Thanksgiving/Indigenous Foods Day and we are fired up in our house! For various reasons and seeing how money flows through our society, I am realizing more and more that this model of how our advocacy group is doing work is 100% my right path. San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air never formed a non-profit because we don’t have any money flowing through our organization. We are all volunteer advocates in this beautiful organic sustainable group that is just working together at this moment in time, trying to do what is right for the climate and children. Not having monetary strings attached to this work is truly liberating. What we’ve been about to do with a $20 website, and just caring together – has been remarkable. I’m still a pediatrician, working on the front-lines and get paid for my clinical duties.
Others are working too, and I totally get it. Everyone is doing their part. But it’s empowering to know that I am where I am supposed to be. Our family is where we are supposed to be. And our daughter is where she is supposed to be (currently sleeping in her room recovering from surgery). That sense of rightness and peace is empowering. I just finished all my charts, and I have the 2025 year of climate work mapped out in my mind.
I am half through our November newsletter and will get that out today. Lots of updates for our amazing students, pediatricians and other public health friends. Public Health Advisory Council (OC) is going well, and a subgroup led by a very brilliant premedical student is taking on the gas companies to help block hydrogen blending at the UC Irvine campus and hopefully in the country. We have gathered the A team, including local OC pediatricians, nationally renown pediatric environmental health specialty experts, locally trusted high school students, and the most important part – a smart and motivated premedical student to lead the project from our side. Paired with our collaboration with Climate Actions Campaign, this is a recipe for success. I am so excited about this project! If you see me in real life, ask me about it!
The San Diego Heat and Human Health Summit 2025 is coming along well, and will be in it’s 3rd year this summer. The people that need to be there will be there. Likely some of the people who were the inspiration for H3SD and filled me with so much joy and love, will not be there. But that is okay. Wherever they are meant to end up, they will end up. I know in my heart, that it’s okay to love as long as that love is true and sincere and not selfish. And for them, my love was childlike and innocent and dream-like. But climate work does that to folks. It’s so filled with purpose and meaning, that it fills you up with these real emotions because we are doing real work. The heat summit will happen in District 8 (Western US minus California) as well. I just texted my good friend from college and we are well on our way. It’s still the holiday weekend so I won’t send any emails. Just texted her and yes District 9 Heat and Human Health are 100% going to happen! And I have three premedical students who need a project anyway and this will be their project. I just sent an instagram message to one of them.
And the little one. She’s about to get up soon. We’ve been off this week and she is healing from her wisdom teeth extractions. She’s been swollen and the healing has been harder than expected. But she was so adorable and darning her old jeans while swollen from her surgery. Perhaps that is what happens to dreams and wishes that I had for her. They get torn and tattered by circumstance, and events and feelings beyond your control. But I and she chose to mend them. We chose beauty and healing, and to stay on our path. Others would have chosen a whole new set of jeans and just thrown out the old. But we try to be sustainable in our choices here, including relationships. But I can’t and don’t want to control the world and folks feelings. Everything has to be a choice. And I choose to go with my heart and to work with those that bring me joy, and putting children and climate at the center – this usually leads me in the right direction.
I can’t wait to see what our group is going to accomplish this year. And I can’t wait to see how more awesome our little one becomes. She’s growing up to be a wonderful girl, for those that care to take notice.
I think at some point when I was chatting with my sister, I realized that we aren’t a normal family. We have a lot of accomplished adults in their mid to late 40s that care about our country and society, and actually taking responsibility for things. It’s a heavy load, but I realize that it’s us that keep us going. I look at my brother-in-law (which I don’t share too much on Instagram because of the anti-military rhetoric) is a naval hero, and I admire him and it keeps me going knowing how much he cares and works on behalf of what he thinks is right. When you are in that milieu, it pushes one further in your goals and ambitions and responsibilities. It’s a heavy load but we keep on going on, and supporting each other and playing our roles.
Just meandering thoughts as we head into the holiday weekend. The election results were crazy and the world is a bit off-kilter these days. But I’m strangely okay. I just know what role I’m supposed to play in this timeline and I’m playing it. I find life vastly amusing for the little stories that are happening just locally in the climate space. When there is hardship, there is also vast opportunities. So I’m moving forward with our premedical team and we are going to make lemons into lemonade.
We are getting involved in the UC Irvine Hydrogen blending project, pretty much trying to help stop it. It’s just a wonky subject that is perfect for this brilliant premedical student that I am working with. So we’ve reviewed the information. I just submitted my own personal comments, and will be working with our student on this project. It’s the prefect project because it’s so wonky, so important and it entails the skillset I’m the best at – which is making NOISE! Oh, Dr. Plastic Picker can make tons of NOISE about this. Resolutions, op-eds, blogposts, webinars. There are a lot of ways to work on this! Yeah!!! Where there is a motivated premedical student and also a just cause, that is the secret sauce to a great project!
We are also moving forth with H3SD 2025 and the chief of urology has already jumped in as a new piece, and bringing a group urologists for social responsibility. I didn’t even know they existed but they exist and that is wonderful and they are coming! We are working with AAP District 8 and helping to make a District 8 (which is the whole western US minus California) heat and human health summit in May and I’ve gotten the initial green light to bring along our HMO to co-brand and help. I just Instagram messaged a contact (which is also a Harvard connection) from HMO Oregon and I think this should be relatively easy to get involved with to move the climate work forward.
So lots to do. But realizing that some of all of this is that we went to top notch schools and that branding and networking does help. It’s hard to admit that to our daughter who is in the middle of junior year. She’s doing really well and I’m proud of her. I still fundamentally remember that she is an ex 28 week preemie, and seeing her aim for a top Ivy League is humbling – when I’m just grateful that she is alive and every day I get to be her mother. But I am also not stopping her from reaching for her dreams. So this thanksgiving break we are mostly just resting and resetting after her finishing the trimester. Her brother will be coming home as well soon from his sophomore year of college and I’ve been deep cleaning his room and excited he’ll be sleeping in a room relatively free of dust and gross things in the carpet. That is my climate activists life! I’m still manifesting many things and there are so many possibilities about how this whole drama is going to end. But I believe in happy endings for everyone!
Can you believe it’s really November 1 2024? I had to submit schedule requests for April and May and it was kind of surreal. That is when our daughter will be taking AP exams and finished with her SATs. I can’t even begin to imagine her being that far into junior year. This time is so precious to me, and I want to slow time all the way down.
The list of the ever expanding doximity resume for me, continues. Which is completely ridiculous because I already have a job that I love. I keep on at it, because it’s part of how I address the existential threat of climate change and global heating. I decided I can’t now remember 5-6 years ago, to begin mentoring premedical students in climate and health and environmental health related projects. I am a projects based person. And as they get advising and meaningful projects to do, we advance the work of decarbonization forward. So because I was blogging to you about my resume, I just updated it on more stuff.
But here is my emotional journey. And I’m content today. I have a new tooth! Well at least a new good crown which I hope will last me at least 10 years as we continue to fight this existential crisis. My goal is to keep that crown and tooth healthy, and also to help keep us below 2 degrees of global warming. It might be easier to stop global heating then prevent a new root canal? And I’m serious about that.
But I’m content because I am here with you. I am just who I am. I posted above a picture of one of my biggest successes as a climate and health advocate. Dr. Melissa Campbell is my continuity clinic resident. I’m super proud of her! She’s going to be chief resident next year and is co-chair with me of the AAP -CA3 Climate Change and Health Committee. She’s really awesome. I missed her awards dinner because I had to work so much that weekend (YES I’M STILL WHINING ABOUT THOSE EXTRA SHIFTS). But it ended up well. I would have gone but I had just one day to spend with my teen daughter. I usually show pictures of her, and she has super gorgeous ones that I can’t post nor share. But if you see me in real life and you are a real friend, I’ll show you.
She had homecoming and all her little innocent teen drama. She has the day off today, and is working on her Informative speech for the next speech tournament. She gets to go to a pizza party on Monday for getting high grades and also doing well in certain classes (which I’m not sure!). So I’m excited to just be in the room next to hers, and I know she is doing her academic things and I’m typing nonsense into the blog. She peaked in and asked me “are you updated my resume AGAIN?” Yes, I told her. It’s my joy. That and taking cute pictures of her.
Otherwise since she is sixteen and busy with life and our also wonderful son is in college, I otherwise just try to save the earth for our collective children.
We have spread the heat and human health summit idea to District 8 AAP which is the western US and Canada, minus California. This is via real friends and colleagues and through natural networks. We are expanded our leaded aviation fuel advocacy model to our friends hopefully in Oregon, Arizona, Utah and New York State. We have a team for both things. And also indoor air pollution advocacy team that a very capable climate and health leader will take over, since she wants to do it and I have the team formed and there is too much work for everyone. What else? Oh yes the Tijuana Sewage Crisis and then decarbonizing Orange County.
It’s funny that anytime someone tells me no, I find a way to get things done. I’m not sure where I learned to be so contrary.
But it’s a beautiful day today because I have a great new tooth and crown and we are having homemade pizza tonight! Sending the blog readership a lot of green hugs and thank you for following along on my journey.
It happened. It really happened. Our advocacy team submitted the abstract to the Pediatric Academy Societies National Meeting. It’s one of two abstracts we submitted, and we are grateful to have been at the right place at the right time to help address leaded aviation fuel hazards first in San Diego and then in our state. This has been a long term project that has touched so many people. So just really grateful today, and we have plans to show our workflow with Oregon, Utah, Nevada, and New York friends. We realize that there are other groups like us across the nation, and it’s best to share and collaborate.
I won’t share the abstract text right now, since I’m not the first author. But all the names on this abstract are those that I deeply care for and they deeply care for the community. That a small group of committed and concerned citizens can make a difference, cannot be repeated enough.
Our other team led by Dr. Melissa Campbell submitted the extreme heat and youth sports abstract as well, and we will have two abstracts at the conference. I was going to try to get in the Public Health Advisory Council, Climate Actions Campaign Abstract – but I think submitting it to a more local conference is better so that the students can actually attend. That also gives me two more weeks to write it up.
Otherwise I’m a pretty happy person now for someone who got a root canal yesterday! My dentist was really young and I asked him “How OLD are you??!!” He was 31 but very gentle and did a great job! I am so grateful to that dentist. I had to work the late shift yesterday and I have to drive ALL THE WAY TO FRICKIN’ SAN MARCOS TOMORROW to work for some reason – I have no idea. No one from the north quadrant ever comes down south to work. But two of us have to go up there. The inequities in our department used to bother me so much, but now I know they reflect the general inequities in the world. So rather than trying to implode my department, I just am happy being part of a motley group of fractious pediatricians at times and work with everyone and just do my job. My dad reminded me in the midst of when I was burning out, that it was okay to just show up to work. And now I just show up, and it’s actually joyful. I do what I’m supposed to do, and recognize all those extras are gifts I give to my community and my patients. I don’t feel I am obligated to do those extras, so there are times I say no. I said no yesterday to an add-on and that is okay.
And this Saturday, it’s my DAY OFF. And I’m going to say YES to hanging out with our teen. I’m going to try to call our son who is a sophomore in college as well. I really miss him. More than I probably realize. Sometimes I don’t let myself love him as much as I want to, because I had to share him so much when he was a baby. The pain of doctoring and mothering is very really. It makes climate work actually pale in comparison.
Life is really great right now! I’m sorry I’ve been absent from the blog but I float between blogging, Instagram and Facebook. I also found some really good new Netflix /kdrama shows! I have to wait for the next episodes so in between I’m doing climate work. We also had homecoming for my daughter recently and that was an entire adventure in itself. Isn’t she adorable? If you know we in real life, I shared some of the innocent 16 year old drama. Her dress was gorgeous and she pulled off the red matte lipstick. Next up! White Go-Go boots! That she is so adorable and has such a high GPA is really unusual. High GPA I’m used to, but the cuteness overload is what keeps me going! In the end, she loves me more than any boy that has liked her – and that I really have to thank the climate work. When you are happy, life goes well and your teenagers don’t go seeking affirmation from boys that are not ready to do anything other than attend to their own academic needs. It’s junior year and our daughter is definitely locked in with her academics, test preparations, and activities. And I’m locked into climate work.
Oh, I finished my taxes! I was really worried about not finishing our taxes but I finished them and predicted pretty well what was going to happen. We did not owe really anything, and are now paid up in full to the federal and state government. I hope our government uses that tax money wisely, and to combat climate catastrophe.
What else? Oh yeah! The Oregon CPR (Cows Creek Professional Retreats) is coming along nicely! Our good family friends are up on the almost 200 acreage and getting settled. The buildings are being or planned to be repaired. We should be running some professional retreats about mid April (right around tax day!) to about August. I can’t believe it’s really happening but it’s happening!
And the most unexpected thing happened! I’m going to become a voluntary UC San Diego undergraduate instructor of some sort! I’m already a VONS (not the grocery store) but UCSD School of Medicine Voluntary Non Salaried clinical instructor since I teach residents. But now I will be able to mentor students in hopefully two courses. Definitely “Heat and Human Health” but I’m also hoping “Tijuana Sewage Crisis and Pediatric Health.” I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. But it’s the right thing to do and I’m actually really excited.
I’m already going to designate some students as my teaching fellows and assistants. If I get that national award I’ve been nominated before, I wonder if I can use some of it to give my students a small stipend?
That’s it! That’s life! Life is really great! Mostly because my daughter is cute.
art gallery opening for the Youth-Art Climate Exhibition
October 12, 2024
by Dr. Plastic Picker
I’m back at my trashart and it feels right. I have some ideas inspired by someone I admire. I think the exhibition will be called “trash cyborgs.” I’m making my trash cyborg people now. I’ll invite him to the exhibition but I don’t think he’ll come.
But the big thing that happened this last few weeks, is the third edition of the Youth-Art Climate Exhibition happened at LOS/NR fine art gallery. It’s been this amazing collaboration and synapse-making journey with Dr. Andrei and myself and many others. When we dream together, create together and think together – this is where the answers are.
But rather than veering into the philosophical, the actual day and coming together of the big event was beautiful. The opening day which was actually a Sunday was filled with students and their families. The happiness and joy, and community was palpable. The art work was beautiful and meaningful, and the community that gathered for this event created out of love left feeling more connected. Then we had the reception on Thursday evening, and it was a smaller gathering but the conversations we had that evening were meaningful and ultimately inspiring.
I’m so proud to be a part of this. We had this simple idea five years ago, and it grew and merged with other ideas into this event. The first year it was covered by KPBS. This year it was really experienced by us in this beautiful space.
But I really do have to do my taxes because I still live in this world and not a trash cyborg yet.
