A Global Challenge: Modeling the Effect of Nuclear Weapons on Climate and the Effect of Climate on Nuclear Weapons
This webinar, recorded on September 22, 2023, focuses on how the deployment of nuclear weapons would create disastrous effects on climate. In turn, climate change not only increases the likelihood of war due to competition for resources (water, air, soil)
and therefore increased violence on a warming planet, but also is directly affecting vulnerable nuclear weapons sites and legacy nuclear waste from weapons development, with disproportionate health effects on local populations.
Faculty
Caleb Dresser, MD, MPH
Climate MD Program Lead, Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Caleb leads the Climate MD program at the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which works with frontline health clinics to prepare a climate-ready healthcare workforce. He is also the Assistant
Director of the Climate & Human Health Fellowship for physicians, an emergency medicine physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and an Instructor in Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Caleb’s current work focuses on the means to address health needs during and after climate-related disasters. He is currently exploring the hazards posed by extreme heat events and weather-related electrical outages for patients in communities near Boston,
including the threat that these can pose to patients with specific medical vulnerabilities. He is also examining the long-term health impacts of hurricanes and other climate-related disasters, including issues of prolonged loss of access to medical
services and temporary and permanent migration of affected populations.
He has experience with bench, clinical, and operational research in a variety of settings, is former Uganda Program Director for the nonprofit Global Emergency Care, and recently completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical
Center. He is currently a practicing Emergency Medicine physician with Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Caleb received his BS from Cornell University, his MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and his Master of Public Health at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He is a graduate of the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine
Residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
Brian Toon, PhD
Professor, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
University of Colorado, Boulder
Brian Toon is a professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and a research associate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He leads a research group that studies aerosols and
cloud physics and investigates climate and atmospheric chemistry on Earth and other planetary bodies.
Dr. Toon received an AB in physics from the University of California-Berkeley and earned his PhD in physics from Cornell University. He
is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the recipient of several awards and honors including the 2011 Roger Revelle Medal from the American
Geophysical Union.
Matt Korda
Senior Research Associate and Project Manager, Nuclear Information Project
Federation of American Scientists
Matt Korda is a Senior Research Associate and Project Manager for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, where he co-authors the Nuclear Notebook––an authoritative open-source estimate of global nuclear forces and trends.
Matt is also an Associate Researcher with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and co-authors the nuclear weapons chapters for the annual SIPRI Yearbook. Previously, he worked for
the Arms Control, Disarmament, and WMD Non-Proliferation Centre at NATO HQ in Brussels. Matt is also the co-director of Foreign Policy Generation––a group of young people working to develop a progressive foreign policy for the next generation. He
received his MA in International Peace & Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he subsequently worked as a Research Assistant on nuclear deterrence and strategic stability. He also completed an internship with
the Verification, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC) in London, where he focused on nuclear security and safeguards. He received a BA in European Studies from Victoria College at the University of Toronto.
Matt’s research interests and recent publications focus on nuclear deterrence and disarmament, progressive foreign policy, and the nexus between nuclear weapons, climate change, and injustice. He is a listed Expert member of the Forum on the Arms Trade
program and a Member of the Canadian Pugwash Group. He was also the Ploughshares Fund’s 2020 Olum Fellow, a 2019 alumnus of the Wilson Center’s Nuclear History Boot Camp, a 2019 CSIS Nuclear Scholar, and a 2018 alumnus of IGCC’s Public Policy and
Nuclear Threats Boot Camp.
Moderators
Brita E. Lundberg,
MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Trained in infectious diseases, Brita Lundberg
is active in the medical community as Chair of Greater Boston Physicians for
Social Responsibility, former Chair of the Environmental and Occupational
Health Committee at the Massachusetts Medical Society; as an MMS Delegate for
the Charles River District; and as an active member of Climate Code Blue, a
physician-led advocacy group dedicated to raising public awareness around the
health effects of climate change. Dr. Lundberg completed her undergraduate
education at Harvard Medical School, residency at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of
Colorado. A former Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases
at Emory University, she is CEO and founder of Lundberg Health Advocates, LLC,
a patient advocacy group.
Wynne Armand, MD
Associate Director
Massachusetts General Hospital Center for the Environment and Health
Wynne Armand, MD is an associate director of the MGH Center for the Environment and Health, assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and board certified in Internal Medicine.
Prior to coming to MGH, she received her medical degree at University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), where she also received her residency training in a program focused on providing care to the underserved.
Dr. Armand practices primary care at MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center, where she provides comprehensive preventive care, chronic disease management and urgent care to adult patients in a diverse, urban setting. As an associate director of the MGH Center
for the Environment and Health, she works towards integrating environmental sustainability into hospital activities and health care.
Dr. Armand also serves as a faculty editor for Primary Care Office Insite (PCOI), a knowledge resource that guides day-to-day clinical practice for primary care teams at MGH and across Mass General Brigham.
Intended Audience
This webinar is designed for physicians, physicians-in-training, other health care leaders and professionals, students, and members of the community.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, learners should be able to:
- Explain the overlaps between climate change and nuclear war and the concerning health effects of climate change on legacy and current nuclear weapons development
- Advocate for policies and mitigation of climate change and nuclear war prevention
Course Fees
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Physician Member: $40.00
MMS Resident/Student Member: Free
Non-Member Physician: $90.00
Non-Members Resident/Student: $20.00
Allied Health Professional/Other: $32.00
Format & Estimated Time to Complete
Video recording/1 hour
Accreditation and Credit Information
Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing
Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Massachusetts Medical Society and Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility. The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education
for physicians.
AMA Credit Designation Statement
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1
Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
This activity meets the criteria for the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management study.
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 1.00 Category 1 credit for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA
Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.
Exam/Assessment: A score of 70% or higher is required to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.
Activity Term
Original Release Date: October 16, 2023
Review Date (s): N/A
Termination Date: December 31, 2024
System Requirements
Desktops/Laptops
Windows 10
Mac OSX 10.6 higher
Most modern browsers including:
IE 11+
Firefox 18.0+
Chrome latest version
Safari 12+
Mobile/Tablet
iOS devices beginning with OS version 10 or higher (includes, iPhone, ipad and iTouch devices)
