Bucket #10: Healthy, Thriving Community

Bucket #10: Healthy, Thriving Community

Snapshot: Climate change poses risks to human health, both directly (heat exposure, forest fires, flooding, insect-borne disease) and indirectly (depression and anxiety, scarcity, community chaos, and others). Many people in Missoula are interested in reducing the risks of climate change, for their health, their community and the natural world. Working to reduce the risk of climate change requires fortitude, persistence and support. Building connections across the community, developing compassion for others, even those with whom we may disagree, and developing resilience in ourselves and in our social structures will make it easier to reduce climate change and create better health. In other words, a healthy, thriving community begets more health and thriving. Missoula has a wealth of individuals and organizations working in the arts and spiritual communities, working to build peace and compassion. These all contribute to a healthy, thriving community in which long term choices can be made that serve our health, future generations and the natural world.

Summit #2 Facilitators: Kevin Dohr (Missoula-area Psychologist), Beth Schenk (St. Patrick Hospital). Group members: Emily Bentley (Missoula City Council), Betsy Mulligan-Dague (Jeanette Rankin Peace Center), Claudia Brown (Transition Missoula), Kim Davitt (American Lung Association), Martha Newell (Community Member), Rosalie Sheehy Cates (Community Member), Sean Benton (Community Member), Bob Gentry (Community Member), Bryony Schwan (Community Member), Janie Spencer, Bill Pfeiffer (MUD: Missoula Urban Demonstration), Lulu Steinberg

Top strategies identified:

·  Missoula County Health impact assessment statement identifying connections between climate change and health

·  Citizen-led happiness initiative

·  Energy efficiency incentives for landlords

·  Emphasize co-benefits: Benefits to health, cost savings, business development or other area that happen when we decrease our climate impacts

·  Build compassionate community

Next steps for top proposals:

·  Health Impact Assessment:

o  Communicate with Missoula County Health Department.

o  Ask them to include climate impacts in assessment/plan.

·  Happiness Initiative:

o  Do cost assessment and identify benefits.

o  Search for similar initiatives in other communities

·  Landlord incentives for energy efficiency

o  Work with other ADAPT buckets that may be addressing (Green Building, Education/Outreach)

o  Work with Landlords Association to figure out ways to incentivize landlords to increase energy efficiency of rental units

o  Check with Northwestern Energy on available incentives to landlords

o  Work with Sustainable Business Council to incentivize property management businesses to increase energy efficiency

o  Work with MUD to help educate renters and landlords about benefits of energy efficiency

·  Amplifying co-benefits

o  Work with other ADAPT buckets that may be addressing this (Transportation, and Education/Incentives)

o  Work with existing community groups: Run Wild Missoula, Garden City Harvest, County Health Plan, Health Providers, Insurers to suggest highlighting climate benefits in their programs

o  Highlight co-benefits of reducing climate impacts by communicating through the arts, amplify fun. Check with the Public Art Committee to ask artists who paint Transfer boxes to address climate.

·  Build Compassionate Community

o  Work with existing groups to build and sustain a thriving community: Jeannette Rankin Peace Resource Center, Transition Town, Faith Communities, Imagine Missoula

o  Work with Emergency Responders to build tools for compassionate response in times of stress

o  Help develop “Tend and Befriend” initiative to encourage neighbors to be available for help and assistance in disaster or times of stress

Additional Climate action strategies discussed:

Health:

·  Link messaging about climate action efforts to creating a healthy Missoula

·  Educate regarding the health impacts of fossil fuel use (including the burning and shipping of coal)

·  Emphasize co-benefits of using less and/or cleaner energy

·  Identify opportunities for community members to debrief, discuss, and console after catastrophic events

Arts:

·  Work with artists and art educators to link climate action with arts, culture, and local celebrations

·  Call for music related to resilience and climate

·  Develop “art eruptions” to catch interest, shift awareness, have fun

Resilience:

·  Work with faith-based groups and others on creating a compassionate community and supporting each other through “tend and befriend” networks in the face of crises

·  Educate regarding resilience (e.g., workshops and a symposium sponsored by the university)

·  Build a sense of continuity with future generations within our community; Increase awareness of how present actions impact younger generations

·  Develop ideas for building links/networks to help people who disagree find common ground

Policy:

·  Consider low-income and social justice issues when making economic or health decisions, especially regarding climate stress

·  Encourage the city to pass a Happiness Initiative; use well-being of our community as a key component in city-wide planning and policy efforts

·  Mobilize public comments and participation when health related energy topics arise in legislation or city-county decision making

·  Create Health Impact Assessment

·  Create incentives for landlords for energy efficiency

Methods:

·  Consider playful approaches, celebrations

·  Use respectful humor

·  Work with groups already established (Turning the Wheel, National Coalition Building Institute, Living Art, etc.)

Contact Person: Beth Schenk at