http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/david-shearman/ David Shearman is a physician, E/Professor of Medicine (Adelaide University) and was previously on Faculty at Edinburgh (Scotland) and Yale (USA) Universities. David is Hon Secretary of Doctors for the Environment Australia http://www.dea.org.au, which concerns itself with links between the environment and human health and is a Board Member of the International Climate and Health Council and the International Society of Doctors for the Environment. Books and articles by David on the topics of environmental health, climate change, governance and world civilisation can be found at http://www.davidshearman.org en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Stuff-adelaide-oval-lets-fix-the-environment-first/ Good health is fundamental to our lives, so in assessing whether a government decision is good, bad or just acceptable it is useful to apply the health criterion. If this was applied to every decision, no doubt government would improve. I am going to apply this criterion to the Adelaide Oval. Our health has two fundamental needs. Easy to understand is the need for hospitals, emergency services, life support systems (intensive care) and family doctors. Waiting lists and hospital closures are rightly big news. Even more fundamental to health are the natural life support systems, the natural resources, water, availability of productive, non-degraded land, biodiversity and stable climate. These are deteriorating, and scientists have used the words global environmental change to describe them. This change is accelerating. feedback@thepunch.com.au (David Shearman) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Stuff-adelaide-oval-lets-fix-the-environment-first/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Stuff-adelaide-oval-lets-fix-the-environment-first/#item5701 Tue, 26 Apr 2011 19:40:28 +0000 David Shearman | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-coal-a-burning-issue/ The health effects of radiation in the wake of Japan’s disaster are still unclear - see here or here for more information. But, closer to home, it is a good time to look at the health impacts of carbon, with Professor Ross Garnaut set to release his next carbon pricing update today at the National Press Club. David Shearman says the health of millions of people is affected by coal.  UPDATE: Professor Garnaut told the National Press Club taxpayers will be better off under a carbon pricing scheme. Coal has powered a welcome evolution of society, but as the ill-effects of burning coal have become increasingly apparent, so too it seems, has the temptation to neglect the real costs including the ill health conferred on millions. This ill-health has remained an externality of coal combustion. Like the tobacco companies, Big Coal has not paid restitution for the human morbidity and mortality. Surely this must be re-examined when compensation for the forthcoming carbon tax is claimed by an industry which already receives government subsidies? feedback@thepunch.com.au (David Shearman) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-coal-a-burning-issue/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/big-coal-a-burning-issue/#item5397 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 19:55:00 +0000 David Shearman | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/science-not-politics-must-decide-how-big-australia-gets/ Many doctors are concerned that an overcrowded world will be unhealthy, unhappy and hungry; we must not allow Australia to make this mistake. In Australia our concerns over the effects of a growing population are just part of our concerns for the health of all our patients. For these reasons Doctors for the Environment Australia has a population policy which explains the links between population and health.  It is fairly obvious that the present rate of population growth in Australia has imposed considerable strain on existing health services in terms of trained personnel, finance and administration. Any increase in population must be constrained by the rate at which services can be maintained.+ feedback@thepunch.com.au (David Shearman) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/science-not-politics-must-decide-how-big-australia-gets/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/science-not-politics-must-decide-how-big-australia-gets/#item5136 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:45:04 +0000 David Shearman | Author bios | The Punch