Here in the US, the American Medical Student Association held a full day of programming around the topic as part of its Annual Convention, held in Houston, TX.

Read on to hear some of the highlights.

The event was coordinated by the
Medical Alliance to Stop Global Warming
(for more information on this group, please contact Liza Goldman Huertas leg32@omega.med.yale.edu)

**Voices from the Grassroots: Working for Health and Environmental Justice**
————————————————————
AMSA’s first Environmental Health Institute
co-sponsored by Teleosis Institute
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Med students learned how to:
*respond to health consequences of climate change and fight global warming*
*promote healthy urban planning and sustainable food*
*help make workplaces safe*
*promote well-being of low-income communities and communities of color*
*address toxic threats to child development*
*prevent cancer*
*use the knowledge and voice of the medical community to support
social justice*
*green our healthcare*

… and much more!

The keynote speakers included Jill Stein, MD, Jerome Ringo. Juan Parras.

Jill Stein is a physician and health advocate who is nationally known for her work to protect children from toxic exposures. Dr. Stein was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Jerome Ringo has been called “the most interesting environmental leader in the United
States right now,” by The Nation magazine, and he is among Ebony magazine’s most influential African-Americans of 2006.

Juan Parras, founder of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy
Services (TEJAS) will take us on an Environmental Justice tour of Houston! TEJAS focuses on environmental issues in the Houston Ship Channel neighborhood, a predominantly Latino and low-income community. To learn more about Juan Parras, go to http://www.cleanhouston.org/heros/parras.htm.

The day ended with action plans: for a medical student
environmental health leadership initiative, for AMSA, for our schools and hospitals, and for our profession.