On Thursday, Sept. 25, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health (JHIPH) and the Johns Hopkins Common Question under the Writing Center hosted “The World Cafe.” The event allowed attendees to learn about planetary health through lectures and share their perspectives during discussion circles.
At “The World Cafe,“ compostable cups, plates and utensils lined the walls of the Glass Pavilion. Tables were labeled with different career fields: arts and humanities, mathematics and engineering, business, medicine and public health. People were greeted at the sign-in table and encouraged to take a copy of the first annual impact report for the JHIPH to substantiate their work.
Launched in 2024, JHIPH is a new institute that emphasizes the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach when tackling the climate crisis. According to the JHIPH, “The World Cafe” aimed to show people how their careers and interests can contribute to the climate justice movement.
Introduction to the Event
Sam Myers, the founder of the JHIPH, joined the stage to give an introductory presentation. Before joining Hopkins, Myers worked as a principle research scientist, focusing on nutrition, global fisheries in response to global warming and the impacts of climate shocks and goods responses.
Myers presented two articles that linked the planet’s health to human health. One of the articles showed the relationship between declining bat populations and rising infant mortality in certain communities. Myers explained that as bat populations decrease, insect populations increase. This leads to greater pesticides used and, consequently, increased infant mortality.
Another article showed that hurricanes in the United States from 1930 to 2015 caused about 4 million excess deaths, accounting for 3 to 5 percent of total U.S. mortality.
“The core insight of planetary health is that the earth crisis has become an urgent global health and humanitarian crisis,” Myers said.
After Myers’ presentation, student ambassadors Eva Breiland and Emin Soguktas took the stage. They each spoke about how they became involved in planetary health. Breiland became a vegetarian and later a vegan after learning about the food industry and is interested in the food system. Soguktas learned about planetary health on LinkedIn and has been looking for ways to incorporate his knowledge into health policy.
“Conversations about health policy need to be framed around the concept of planetary health,” Soguktas said. “Planetary health has been a concept in medical systems across the globe, and nowadays it is more important than ever.”
After the student ambassadors spoke, Hunter Gehlbach, the Co-Director of Education for the JHIPH, explained the event’s activity. Attendees had 40 minutes to discuss four questions at their tables. The first two questions interested personal beliefs; the attendees would later on switch tables and answer two professional questions within new groups.
Question 1: How does the Planet’s health affect yours and how does your behavior impact the planet?
At the arts and humanities table, Nate Brown, the associate director of the Writing Center and administrator of the yearly “Common Question,” spoke about growing up in California’s San Joaquin Valley and seeing the effects of air pollution on respiratory health. He also mentioned his decision to drive a hybrid car and his intention to switch to an electric one in the future.
“Respiratory diseases are terrible in Kings County and Fresno County. For that reason alone, I've had an awareness of it for a long time that that the bad air quality affected our human health, but I actually didn't give too much thought about how to solve it,” he said. “My own behavior has changed in one particular way, which is, my wife and I are pretty dedicated to buying a hybrid car, which we now drive. In the future, we would like to get something fully electric to cut down on the emissions.”
Question 2: What actions do you take/want to take to improve planetary health?
Back at the humanities table, Stacy Villegas, the Academic Program Manager at JHIPH, discussed the popularity of the fast fashion industry and how people don’t recognize their purchasing power. She also spoke about how second-hand clothing businesses have become increasingly successful.
Chris Lemon, an associate director of JHIPH, talked about determining whether he can have a greater impact on the environment through his personal or work life. As a father of four, he frequently uses his large electric vehicle. As a physician, his small choices can make big changes in the medical field. For example, Lemon mentioned considering whether to use a whole suture kit for a patient or use materials differently.
Lemon showed the table graphs that compared artificial intelligence’s energy use with the energy used by the medical field and idle appliances. The energy use of both the medical field and idle appliances was drastically higher than the use of big tech companies.
Question 3: How can your chosen field, hobbies or future professions play a role in planetary health?
At the public health table, Emily Lee, a Psychology major, talked about the relationship between psychology and environmental activism. She explained that people act “when it feels good.” Happier people tend to be more inclined to think about how they can help the planet.
Laura Schmidt, a research program coordinator for the Community Science and Innovation for Environmental Justice initiative at Johns Hopkins, talked about new efforts to involve climate activism in people’s hobbies. She mentioned a new summer youth environmental justice scholarship where a student photographer documented environmental injustice in South Baltimore.
Question 4: What solutions can your field or role as a student offer to help improve planetary health?
Megan Weil Latshaw, a faculty co-director at JHIPH, talked about the importance of proper communication about the climate crisis. Schmidt added that there is a negative connotation associated with alarmism in the media. She emphasized the need for urgency in all fields.
Several students spoke about ways their labs have sought to improve sustainability. The table discussed running ventilation hoods, the importance of properly disposing of chemical waste and replacing lead pipes to ensure good quality water.
Concluding the Event
Latschaw ended the event by asking people to share something they had learned from someone else at their table. Some spoke about small changes they plan to institute in their lives. Others explained that, for the first time, they saw how their own field of study could fit into the fight for environmental justice — and they have the power to do it.
