The Fifth Vital Sign: Atlanta Doctors Are Talking Climate Change With Patients

The Azure Bouré's Traditional Food and Medicine Program provides culturally relevant medicines to Suquamish tribal members and builds community trust while teaching future generations to adapt ancestral knowledge in real-time. As they respond to climate change, the Program has adapted traditional plant harvesting through flexible curriculum adjustments, strategic land partnerships, and transparent education about shifting growing cycles.

The growing account known as “EcoTok” on the social media app TikTok is working to expose more people to data about the climate crisis and tackle scientific misinformation. With more than 80,000 followers and 1.2 million likes, the account features short videos with scientists, students, and activists highlighting ways that young people can be more sustainable. Their ability to engage people in environmental and scientific issues has led to partnerships with TED Countdown and the UN Environment Programme.

The Media and Climate Change Observatory at the University of Colorado - Boulder has been tracking media coverage of climate change in an effort to improve and provide analysis of it. As awareness of the climate crisis grows around the world, the need to shift away from alarmist information and toward actionable, applicable information also increases. While scientific reports are necessary, delivering information through mediums like comedy or performance art has proven to reach a wider audience.

Researchers are using citizen science volunteers to more accurately identify hot spots in cities, where some temperatures are significantly higher than their surrounding areas. The data has also shown that there is a correlation between lower-income neighborhoods and higher temperatures. Climate change is expected to increase the number of extreme weather events, including heat waves, so mapping these urban heat islands can help cities develop new urban planning strategies.

Climate-adapted schoolyards are just one way that Paris is adjusting and preparing for climate change under the leadership of Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Although it hasn't been simple and has involved a shift in cultural perception of nature,

In various parts of the world, women's voices often aren't heard when it comes to ways to mitigate against climate change, despite their intimate experiences with it. Women in Guatemala are fighting agains this roadblock by joining forces to exchange ideas and then working together to implement change in their communities.

Testimony from scientists can be crucial for lawmakers, judges, and juries in making critical decisions that impact their communities. The Expert Witness Training Academy program at Mitchell Hamline School of Law pairs scientists with lawyers to improve their communication techniques - from tone of voice to using more colloquial diction - so that these experts can better inform the public on complex topics like climate change.

CFCs, chemicals created in the early 20th century, were an industrial success but destroyed the atmosphere. How a group of environmentalists, scientists, and lawyers in the 70s/80s raised public awareness which ultimately led to the most successful treaty ever, banning CFCs.

A Libyan marine biologist built trust with fishing communities through dialogue and education about endangered angel sharks. This led fishers to stop deliberately targeting the species and voluntarily release caught sharks, while researchers identified a vital breeding ground.

By December 2023, the nationwide campaign had vaccinated about 4.7 million girls; however, Osun continued to experience pushback, with citizens resisting the campaign due to misinformation and a lack of understanding about the vaccine’s significance. The federal government also joined in, adding the HPV vaccine to its routine immunization system, which helped about 4.7 million girls get vaccinated.