Public Health Laws and Policies
This tab includes strategies for how to avoid or reduce climate change impacts in the public health sector. It also includes any laws, legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to public health.
Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can be sorted by date or title. Apply additional filters to narrow by resource type, state, region, impact, or jurisdictional focus.
17 results are shown below.
Filter by States AffectedSelect states to filter this list
All
Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Marianas Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Resource
June 2014
To build the capacity of local health departments, the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) Built Environment Committee (BEC) developed five short (2 page) Climate Change Quick Guides that summarize the intersections between and importance of action on climate change, public health and equity. The guides help readers understand how climate change will affect public health, the environmental and public health benefits of climate change actions, how public health departments can participate in climate action planning, and action items that public health departments can take to support climate adaptation efforts at all levels of government.
Related Organizations: Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII)
Resource Category: Education and Outreach
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
2013
The Michigan Department of Community Health has developed the Michigan Climate and Health Adaptation Program (MICHAP) to prepare for health risks from climate change. Through support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MICHAP is building a climate-resilient public health system for Michigan at the state, local health department, and community levels.
Related Organizations: Michigan State University, Michigan Department of Community Health, University of Michigan
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
April 1, 2010
Public Health Law and Policy, a non-profit organization focused on building healthy communities in the U. S. , gathered a diverse group of more than 150 participants for a multi-disciplinary exchange of ideas and strategies with the goal of better engaging public health networks and agencies in climate change work. This Action Plan presents a synthesis of those recommendations and priorities. Although developed for the state of California's public health system, the recommendations are largely applicable to any state.
Related Organizations: National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) , State of California
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
October 2009
This report, from Trust for America's Health (TFAH), examines the human health effects of climate change and the role public health authorities must play in preventing and preparing for further climate-related damage. It also explores the needs of state and local health departments as they set out to conduct climate change needs assessments and provides a framework to develop strategic plans to prevent and prepare for climate change. TFAH makes policy recommendations pertaining to increased action from federal, state, and local governments.
Related Organizations: Trust for America's Health
Authors or Affiliated Users: Jeffrey Levi, Serena Vinter, Daniella Gratale, Chrissie Juliano, Laura M. Segal
Resource Category: Monitoring and Reporting
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
March 2008
This article from the American Journal of Public Health (March 2008, Vol. 98, No. 3) outlines a public health approach to climate change, based on the 10 essential public health services. This approach would extend to both clinical and population health services and emphasize the coordination of government agencies (federal, state, and local), academia, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Howard Frumkin, Jeremy J. Hess, George Luber, Josephine Malilay, Michael McGeehin
Resource Category: Planning
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
2008
In order to better understand the current state of preparedness for the health effects of climate change, the Environmental Defense Fund collaborated with the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) and George Mason University to conduct a survey of local health departments from around the country. The survey asked respondents to discuss their perception of climate-related health risks and the status and adequacy of their departments' activities in response to these risks.
Related Organizations: George Mason University, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) , Environmental Defense Fund
Authors or Affiliated Users: John Balbus, Kristie L. Ebi, Lauren Finzer, Catherine Malina, Amy Chadwick, Dennis McBride, Michelle Chuk, Ed Maibach
Resource Category: Assessments
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
The California Climate Change and Health Equity Program (CCHEP) - of the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health - “embeds health and equity in California climate change planning, and embeds climate change and equity in public health planning. ” The CCHEP is working to increase climate resilience by improving the public health and living conditions of vulnerable populations. The CCHEP also provides public health and social equity input into state agency plans and programs that affect climate vulnerability, such as transportation and land use planning.
Related Organizations: California Department of Public Health
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
July 10, 2018
The Green Infrastructure and Health Guide was designed to help local governments, communities, and health care organizations connect green infrastructure (GI) and public health in new ways to promote better health equity and adapt to climate change. This report provides general GI principles and best practices as well as tools, resources, and evidence for connections between green infrastructure and human health. The Willamette Partnership and the Oregon Public Health Institute developed this guide in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange practitioner network.
Related Organizations: Willamette Partnership, Oregon Public Health Institute
Authors or Affiliated Users: Bobby Cochran, Barton Robison, Emily Henke
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
June 2019
The City of Seattle, Washington is establishing five new facilities that will provide clean air for its most at-risk residents during hazardous conditions brought on by wildfires. As the climate warms, Seattle is experiencing a major uptick in the number of wildfires, and consequently more days with unhealthy air quality from particulate matter. This issue is especially significant for Seattle, as the majority of the city’s residents do not have air conditioning, and mostly open windows to circulate air from outside to cool homes.
Related Organizations: City of Seattle, Washington
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
January 2017
Climate-smart health care as described in this report addresses how hospitals and health systems can prepare for climate change and its implications for public health, with a focus on extreme weather events. The costs for hospitals and care facilities associated with lack of preparation for these events - including severe storms, flooding, extreme temperatures, wildfires - are discussed in detail. The report also describes the benefits of preparedness, how “smart executives can take action,” and provides case studies of adaptation to extreme events in the health sector.
Related Organizations: Health Care Without Harm
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
