Educational Campaigns

Air Issues Project

Worsening air pollution and climate change were the catalyst for a new public health initiative by the Ontario College of Family Physicians and the David Suzuki Foundation, announced November, 1999.

Burning coal, oil and gas create a serious health hazard. That's the message the project aimed to take to patients and doctors, with an attractive poster (419K) and colourful leaflets (443K) sent to 5,800 family physicians in Ontario.

The project grew out of last October's release of the ground-breaking DSF report "Taking Our Breath Away," on the health effects of air pollution and climate change. The OCFP joined the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Lung Association and the Canadian Institute of Child Health to endorse this report.
View Executive Summary (144K) | Full Report (677K)

The health concerns underlined by the Air Issues Project are real and pressing. Smog can permanently damage our lungs. It hits hardest at children, the elderly and sensitive groups, such as people with asthma. Global warming will test our limits with more extremely hot weather that will worsen air pollution.

Yet there is hope. The project sought to tell Canadians how each of us can do something to help clear the air and turn down the heat.

Here's what you can do:

• Order the Air Issues Project poster and leaflets. Call 1-800 453-1533.
  
• Write or fax federal Health Minister Alan Rock, or Prime Minister Jean Chretien to tell them your concerns. Send mail to the House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6.


• Join the Climate Action Team, and receive regular updates on global warming and requests for action.

Want to learn more? Explore these sites. (The site link will open in a new browser window, please close the window to return to the David Suzuki Foundation site)

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
WHO’s environmental health reports
Ontario Medical Association OMA
Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment CAPE
Read about solutions
View video showing how the burning of coal, oil, and gas harms our lungs.