Frontline Updates - Inhalers, Conservation and a Painting Pig!

Happy Sunday friends,

Just like that, January is over and we are well on our way into 2022!

Whether you made it only a few days into your resolutions or checked off a month of green action and vegan eating, congrats for getting through such a notoriously gloomy month. The days are getting longer and summer is feeling within reach! The year is but young and there are still endless opportunities ahead to make 2022 the most sustainable yet.

Read on to get you kickstarted!

Did you spot the BBC article about the carbon footprint of inhalers? It explores that vast difference in greenhouse gas emissions between dry powder and aerosol inhalers, an area that is capturing the attention of GP surgeries country-wide.

Akashinga: The Brave Ones is a short film about a unit of all-female, vegan anti-poaching rangers in Zimbabwe. The documentary explores how the unit is recruiting more members, many who have survived sexual assault and marginalisation, and their novel approach to conservation of threatened wildlife. They are as badass as they sound!

Let’s talk fashion! Good On You is a website created to help navigate sustainability within the clothing industry. It can be difficult to know where to start when buying clothes, particularly with so many brands jumping aboard the Greenwashing bandwagon. This site (and app) allows you to search different companies to find out how well they do in the categories of labour, environment and animal welfare. Have a play, you may be surprised!

If you haven’t come across the internet sensation that is Pigcasso, you are missing out! After being rescued from a slaughterhouse, this painting pig and her owner create artwork to raise awareness and funds for animal welfare and sustainability.

Have you heard of Ecosia?

It is an alternative search engine that invests profits from web searches to plant trees! So far they have planted over 153 million trees in over 9,000 sites worldwide using native trees and identifying where they are needed most. In fact, read here about a project to plant trees near NHS hospitals to improve green spaces to support mental health and wellbeing of NHS staff.

It looks just like Google and is a free and simple way to turn every day searches on our phones and computers into positive environmental action! We are in the process of swapping our default search engine to Ecosia in the GP practice where I work. Imagine what the NHS could achieve if all internet searches for “child’s bum rash” or “causes of low platelets” contributed to regeneration of forests!

New subscriber or haven’t used the calculator yet? Take our 5 minute quiz to find out!

After taking the test, make a few pledges to reduce your carbon footprint, and then have the opportunity to carbon offset the rest in Gold Standard approved projects.

Thanks for reading and as always, feel free to get in touch with any queries or suggestions. Wishing you all a lovely February and looking forward to all that this year has to offer,

Aisling

Today’s issue was written by Aisling Ahluwalia, an FY2 Doctor in Leeds and Eco Medics committee member. Follow Aisling’s plant-based food blog @smash.vegan for some delicious food inspiration!