Health Voices in the Climate Conversation

The 2023 report on Indigenous determinants of health captured it clearly: the health of the land and Peoples are synonymous.¹

I was first exposed to the concept of One Health during pharmacy school in an environmental toxicology lecture, where we learned how human-derived hormones passing through wastewater treatment systems were disrupting aquatic ecosystems. Later, while working on dairy and fish farms in veterinary pharmacy, I saw firsthand how interventions—like probiotics for fish to prevent disease, reduce antibiotic use, and slow the spread of antibiotic resistance—could ripple across human, animal, and environmental health.

When I shifted my path toward becoming a physician assistant and was accepted into Stanford’s PA program, aside from the PA education, the Center for Human and Planetary health at Stanford was a huge draw for me. I wanted to launch my career in a community that highlighted how solutions for human and planetary health should go hand in hand.

Now, as part of my PA thesis and in collaboration with the Medical Consortium on Climate and Health (MSCCH), I’m studying the human health impacts of transitioning from fossil fuels to wind and solar energy in rural America. Alongside co-researchers Daniel Sloboda and Shreya Ramachandran, this work contributes to a larger MSCCH project supported by the Energy Foundation, aimed at understanding renewable energy outcomes in rural communities. Historically, rural areas have been left behind in the clean energy transition. Until the IRA, nonprofit co-ops, municipal utilities, tribal governments, and other tax-exempt entities couldn’t take advantage of federal clean energy tax credits. Correcting this imbalance could mean more than cleaner air—it could mean revitalized rural economies, healthier communities, and reduced inequities. We know that framing climate change through the lens of health is relatable, unifying, and depolarizing.² And because health professionals are among the most trusted voices in the community, it is incredibly important for those in the medical field to be bringing attention to planetary health.

As part of the project’s need-finding phase, I worked with MD students Joshua Chan and Jonathan Lu to interview rural community organizations about barriers and opportunities for clean energy adoption. We heard about mistrust of government, political divisions, rural sentiments, and the challenges of current transmission infrastructure. At the same time, community organizations highlighted opportunities: job creation, local revenue, reduced energy burdens, and the potential to build energy sovereignty.

We also conducted a scoping review, which revealed a gap: very few studies have focused specifically on rural America. The literature we reviewed showed that fossil fuel plant closures bring health benefits: lower rates of morbidity, mortality, and occupational illness. However, consideration of other social determinants of health that affect rural communities specifically is also important when determining the benefits to health.

The project also intersected with law and policy: an interdisciplinary action lab class contributed Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) for community clients, culminating in a final report linked here.

For me, this work has reinforced an increasingly important theme, that protecting human health means addressing the natural systems that sustain it.

1. Indigenous determinants of health in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: note. Published online 31. Accessed October 2, 2025. https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4004608

2. Kotcher J, Maibach E, Choi WT. Fossil fuels are harming our brains: identifying key messages about the health effects of air pollution from fossil fuels. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):1079. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7373-1