"The U.S. health care system is the world's seventh-largest producer of carbon dioxide, making it a major contributor to air pollution. The environment shapes our health system as well: recent catastrophes have shown how climate change can adversely affect the health care system's ability to meet patients' needs. These links suggest that health care organizations have both an opportunity and an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and take action to prevent harm to patients that occurs during climate-related catastrophes."
—David Blumenthal, M.D., and Shanoor Seervai, The Commonwealth Fund