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
| Sector Solutions | Premature Mortality |
Morbidity | Quality of Life |
Education | Public Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Large Scale Solar
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Cogeneration
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Rooftop Solar
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Demand Response
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Landfill Methane
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| Sector Solutions | Premature Mortality |
Morbidity | Quality of Life |
Education | Public Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recycling/Waste Management
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Refrigerant Management
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Retrofitting
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| Sector Solutions | Premature Mortality |
Morbidity | Quality of Life |
Education | Public Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composting
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Climate Smart Agriculture
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Plant-Based Diet
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Reduced Food Waste
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| Sector Solutions | Premature Mortality |
Morbidity | Quality of Life |
Education | Public Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wetlands Protection
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Planting Trees
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Forest Management
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| Sector Solutions | Premature Mortality |
Morbidity | Quality of Life |
Education | Public Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy Efficient Cars
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Energy Efficient Trucks
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Mass Transit
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Electric Vehicles
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Alternative Mobility
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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
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
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
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).
