BMJ  2006;332:497 (25 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7539.497

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When doctors learned to speak carbon

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

To start with health professionals paid little attention. After all, it was an environmental issue and their core business was health. But the burning of fossil fuels was increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to alarming levels. This was rapidly changing the earth's climate, threatening the balance of the biosphere with serious implications for human health (Lancet (2002);360: 1347-60[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] and BMJ 1999;318: 1682-5[Free Full Text]).

The stakes could not have been higher. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions required global, national, and personal commitments to reduce fossil fuel energy use. Governments would not implement the necessary measures without public support, but personal carbon rationing required a carbon literate society and radical changes in lifestyles.

Societal changes of this magnitude required leadership, but many of those in positions of responsibility enjoyed the most carbon profligate lifestyles of all. Doctors . . . [Full text of this article]

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Ian.Roberts@lshtm.ac.uk

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