Shocking new data about carbon footprint of US healthcare system!

This new report has found that if the U.S. healthcare sector were ranked as a nation, it would be the world's 13th-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, more than all of the UK!!! The study estimates that damage from pollutants connected to healthcare leads to an annual loss of 405,000 to 470,000 disability-adjusted life years. The loss equates to roughly the same number of Americans as die every year from preventable medical errors: 44,000 to 98,000... It found that direct and indirect emissions from healthcare caused 12 percent of acid rain, 10 percent of smog formation and 9 percent of respiratory disease from particulate matter in 2013.

I think you all would agree that we have a very clear and urgent responsibility as health care professionals to reduce our carbon footprint...