Prognosis: Improving

I saw a perfect example of what Robert Taylor’s refreshing article (pun intended) was talking about at the Summer Solstice parade on June 22. All of the floats were pushed by hand. No motors, no engines. So, course, no exhaust smell and no noise. Also no fossil-fuel derived CO2. A form of “zero emission transportation”!

This reflects a willingness to give up a convenience for a larger purpose, and to cooperate in an alternative, cleaner solution. Make no mistake: this requires commitment, and work — those float-pushers were putting their backs into it!

It is so worth it. Quieter, cooler, cleaner cities means a higher quality of life, improved psychological well-being, and improved measures of physical health (less heart disease, lung disease, and strokes).

As an internal medicine physician, and a climate activist, I recognize that the the prognosis for the body politic can be “Improving.”