Just a few weeks after the Climate Strike protest brought several hundred people to the steps of Penticton City Hall, Okanagan climate change awareness organization First Things First wants to keep the conversation going with a talk this Friday night, November 1st, at Cleland Theatre.

Photo Credit: NowMedia

It's called "Climate change and your health and well-being," and the central figure is Yellowknife physician and president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Dr. Courtney Howard.

The discussion will delve into the physical and emotional impact of a changing climate on the populace in general.

Photo Credit: Canadian Association of Physicians for the EnvironmentDr. Courtney Howard

“For too long we've put health and the environment in different boxes," said Dr. Howard in a media release this week. "The work of our generation is to bridge the two, to understand that in fact, they belong in the same box–that planetary health defines human health–and that as we improve one, we will improve the other as well."

Dr. Howard is well armed for Friday night's discussion. While working in East Africa, she dealt with malnutrition spurred by a changing climate. While working in Yellowknife, which she does to this day, she's seen and researched the physical and psychological effects of warming temperatures and increased wildfires.

Currently an emergency physician, Dr. Howard is also a board member of the Canadian Medical Association, a member of the steering committee of the Planetary Health Alliance, a board member of the Global Climate and Health Alliance, and the North America co-chair of the World Organization of Family Doctors working group on the environment.

Friday night's program begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is by suggested donation of $10.