Beyond Carbon: Public Health

Public Health

Solutions like electric vehicles, mass transportation, alternative mobility, healthy buildings, and renewable energy improve air quality and reduce the chances that our kids will have asthma. Shifting to a plant-forward diet and a kinder, gentler agricultural system nourishes our bodies and our ecosystem.

As the chart illustrates, we expect to see many positive impacts on public health with substantial air quality improvement when electricity and transportation solutions are scaled, and quality of life and education benefits from food and forestry solutions.

Largely Positive

Areas to Watch or Address

Limited Impacts or Limited Data

Electricity

Sector Solutions	Premature Mortality	Morbidity	Quality of Life	Education	Public Safety
Large Scale Solar
Cogeneration
Rooftop Solar
Demand Response
Landfill Methane

Buildings & Materials

Sector Solutions	Premature Mortality	Morbidity	Quality of Life	Education	Public Safety
Recycling/Waste Management
Refrigerant Management
Retrofitting

Food & Agriculture

Sector Solutions	Premature Mortality	Morbidity	Quality of Life	Education	Public Safety
Composting
Climate Smart Agriculture
Plant-Based Diet
Reduced Food Waste

Land Sinks

Sector Solutions	Premature Mortality	Morbidity	Quality of Life	Education	Public Safety
Wetlands Protection
Planting Trees
Forest Management

Transportation

Sector Solutions	Premature Mortality	Morbidity	Quality of Life	Education	Public Safety
Energy Efficient Cars
Energy Efficient Trucks
Mass Transit
Electric Vehicles
Alternative Mobility

Stories & Studies

Understanding the Impacts of Air Pollution, Heat, and Climate

Drawdown Georgia is focused on scaling climate solutions that have co-benefits “Beyond Carbon.” It’s important to understand how a changing climate can have a public health impact. Thank you to Georgia Clinicians for Climate Action for contributing to

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Embracing a Plant-Forward Diet at Georgia Farmers Markets

Have you considered embracing a plant-forward diet? Summer is almost here, and for many Georgians, that means just one thing: visiting the local farmers market to stock up on fresh, colorful locally-grown produce. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours with

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Food is Medicine for Our Health and the Health of the Planet

Food is medicine. Many of us are familiar with that phrase. But what a lot of people don’t know is that food is medicine for our personal health and the health of our planet. Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash Plant-Forward Diets Protect From Disease

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Questions?

Why focus on refrigerants?

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are chemicals used to cool refrigerators and air conditioners. They are also an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with thousands of times the heat trapping potential of CO2. This class of chemicals was used to replace CFCs, a class of refrigerant chemicals that were phased out because they were depleting the ozone layer. In December 2020, Congress passed legislation to phase down HFCs nationwide by 40% by 2024 and by 85% by 2036. The phase down will be administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Which industries dominate in Georgia’s building products?

According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia is a leader in paper and pulp products, with an economic output of $13.1 billion in 2018, representing almost 20,000 jobs and $1.8 billion in annual wages and salaries.

What is our current recycling rate?

In 2011, Georgia recycled only approximately 0.7 million tons out of 10.6 million tons of MSW, or a recycling rate of about 6.6%. This is significantly below the U.S. average rate of 22.6% reported by the same study (Shin, 2014).