Opinion: What practising medicine in B.C. teaches us about climate change

If we recognize that our environment is fundamental to human health, then protecting it is not merely an environmental choice. It is a medical and humanitarian responsibility, writes Dr. Wiaan Bedeker. Above: Smoke from wildfires filsl the skies over Vancouver on Aug. 21, 2023 Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

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As physicians, we’re trained to ask a simple question: What is making this person sick?

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Increasingly, the answer extends beyond the individual, and not always in the dramatic ways people imagine. Sometimes it’s the family escaping the Interior’s wildfire smoke in search of blue skies on the coast. Sometimes it’s the older adult who becomes dizzy and dehydrated during a heat wave. Sometimes it’s seasonal allergies that seem to worsen every year, or gastrointestinal illnesses that become unusually common during the summer months.

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These are conversations happening in family doctors’ offices every day. More and more, we realize that the presenting complaint may be a symptom of something much bigger.

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Just as often, our patients’ concerns are less tangible. It’s the person worried about loved ones living in areas threatened by flooding. It’s the parent wondering whether it is safe for their children to play outside because of poor air quality. It’s the quiet sense of grief that comes from watching the natural world we grew up with change before our eyes.

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What strikes me most isn’t just what climate change is doing to our health. It’s what it reveals about us, and about what we truly value.

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We spend much of our lives pursuing growth: larger economies, bigger homes and more possessions. Yet many of us feel most alive when we intentionally step away from it. We spend weekends on the Sunshine Coast. We walk through Stanley Park. We bike beside the ocean and watch the sun set. Why? Because nature restores us. It reconnects us to something deeper than productivity or economic success. It reminds us that health is about more than the absence of illness. It is also about connection and well-being.

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This leads me to a question we should all be asking: What, and for whom, are we doing all of this for?

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Economic growth has improved countless lives and lifted millions out of poverty, but growth should be a means to better health, stronger communities and a higher quality of life, not an end in itself.

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As physicians, our responsibility is to protect health. Prevention is central to everything we do. We vaccinate before infection occurs. We manage blood pressure before strokes happen. We encourage healthier lifestyles before chronic disease develops.

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I am becoming increasingly aware, however, that some of the reasons my patients’ health is changing lie beyond individual choices. They are found in the air people breathe, the temperatures they endure and the environments in which they live. Health begins with clean air, safe water and the natural world that sustains us.

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Climate change is asking us to think more broadly about what it means to be healthy. It is also asking us to think differently about prevention. If we recognize that our environment is fundamental to human health, then protecting it is not merely an environmental choice. It is a medical and humanitarian responsibility.

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Every day, I see patients whose health is shaped by the world around them. The longer I practise, the more convinced I become that good health begins with the world outside and recognizing all the reasons we have to protect it.

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Dr. Wiaan Bedeker is a family physician practising in Vancouver.

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