National Nurses United

NATIONAL R egistered nurses care, first and foremost, about fostering health. That's why nurses turned out in force Sept. 21 in New York City to join the unprecedented People's Climate March, the largest gathering in U.S. history to demand action on unarguably the greatest health threat that humans are facing. About 100 National Nurses United RNs from across the country teamed up with New York State Nurses Association members to participate in the march, all dressed in signa- ture red. The NNU delegation included RNs from California, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massa- chusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Texas. RNs in Oakland, Calif., and Los Angeles also partici- pated in solidarity actions that same day. Chica- go RNs rallied on Sept. 6 in Daley Plaza with climate crisis activists who launched a cross- country march in spring from Los Angeles. On the morning of the big march, NNU RNs also staged a press conference to discuss why nurses support a Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street that would raise funds to help treat human health needs arising from the climate crisis. RNs also support a carbon tax to finance the investment required to mitigate climate destruction and a just tran- sition away from fossil fuels to sustainable forms of energy and energy distribution. RNs note that the climate crisis and austeri- ty budget cuts are both contributing factors to the rise of global epidemics, such as the current Ebola outbreak. "We are facing a world health emergency," said NNU Co-President Jean Ross, RN. "Nurses now regularly see patients suffering a variety of ailments, from asthma and other respiratory illness to cardiovascular disease, that are directly linked to environmental pollution which is daily exacerbated by the climate crisis. Further delay, and inadequate and unenforceable treaties to mitigate global environmental pollution is no longer an option if life and our planet's health are to be protected and preserved." The march took place on the eve of the United Nations Climate Summit with heads of state. Activists called on national leaders to commit their governments to serious action to halt the further degradation of the global environment, as well as to support those nations already suffering the brunt of climate disruption. Such commitments must be demonstrated at the UN COP20 climate treaty negotiations, set for Decem- ber of this year in Lima Peru, where further, similar social movement mobilizations are being organized. "The People's Climate March for Justice was an overwhelming experience," said Kari Columbus, an RN at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kan. "We were among easily a quarter million people join- ing together to show there is strength in numbers and how the world needs to see how serious this is." Karin Hall, an RN at Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas, also participated. "As nurses, we care," she said. "We see firsthand the effects of airborne and waterborne diseases. As nurses, we are compelled to act to improve the health of our human and global population. So, we marched. For our planet, our health." —Staff report S E P T E M B E R | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 Nurses join in People's Climate March

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