Eco-conscious rule
The article is much better than the headline, and details how companies are trying to make the devices less of an ecological problem. But the framing in the headline just made me think of this.
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The article is much better than the headline, and details how companies are trying to make the devices less of an ecological problem. But the framing in the headline just made me think of this.
Healthcare accounts for around 1 to 5% of carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, the meat industry accounts for about 35% of carbon emissions.
Yah, healthcare is absolutely not the problem. Feel bad about the environmental impact of your medicine? You could probably make up for it with like one less meat meal a week.
EDIT: Archive.org link to bypass paywall for the article OP linked. Good read; they estimate healthcare as 8% of total emissions. Reading through, it seems it mostly focuses on insulin pens (which are an absolute godsend). I can't help but think that attempting to recycle those is entirely the wrong strategy, and that we should instead focus on reducing diabetes cases in the first place. Losing weight, reducing sat fats, and eating fiber are all correlated with reduction of diabetes risk. I think we need some good old big-government regulation to start penalizing foods that have those things in them. We're all paying the price for them already, time to start making the corporations do it instead.
I think (I hope) you meant penalizing foods that have saturated fats and don't have fiber. Which I agree to entirely! I work in healthcare and the amount of people who have obesity related health issues or diabetes or metabolic syndrome is staggering. And only getting worse!
Everywhere I go here in the US I'm struck by how people seem to come in only two sizes now- fit, or obese. Many of them have trouble walking. Young people, too. I see them and I think, "My God. You are one injury away from losing mobility entirely." And the health care industry in this country is not ready to provide the care so many people will need soon.
I'm terrified for these people. Horrified that they don't realize that walking like that now, and not getting that fixed, becomes a wheelchair in 10 years. If they're lucky. Bedbound, after that. We need an overhaul of the insurance system now. And since we aren't getting it, care will go for a premium in the blink of an eye. They can't pay us to stay in our jobs now. Where will we get the people then?!
Yep that's what I meant to say lol. Also a healthcare worker, and I agrew on the obesity problem. I've seen a couple different work comp claims for nurses that were injured trying to move/help very large patients, and it's a bit messed up. When we reach the point that we need mechanical assistance to move you, something’s gotta change. Trying to shame people into changing their habits demonstrably doesn't work, so we need to be looking at other options.