Community Health and Wellness

Why it's important for a post petroleum society:

The salient fact about our civilization is that it is based upon petroleum. What we take for granted, and all that we see outside of the natural world, exists almost without exception because of cheap, abundant supplies of oil. Quite simply, Western Industrial Civilization is a product of "black gold."

Such is readily apparent in such areas as transportation and home energy. It is, perhaps, not immediately obvious, however, in other instances like our industrial food system which feeds us, and Western medicine which we turn to when we're sick. Yet the latter two are no less dependent upon petroleum for their existence than the the first two.

Oil's relationship to medicine is underscored by two articles by Daniel Bednarz that we have provided links to. In these, Bednarz makes a convincing case of how so much of our present medical system is predicated upon the existence of oil, and how, as consequence, this system is at great risk as we enter the era of peaking, diminishing, and increasingly expensive supplies of oil.

Beyond that, as Bednarz states, we need to "emphasize public health—the prevention of disease and the promotion of health within the population as a whole—over treatment medicine, which focuses on restoring health to chronically or acutely ill individuals. Typically accomplished through the diffusion of information, low-cost therapies, and the promotion of healthful nutrition and lifestyle, preventive medicine allows people to avoid or postpone disease, and to stay clear of the costliest and most energy-intensive sectors of the medical system—doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and the hospital."

How Post Oil is involved in this issue:

With the sponsorship of Cindy Hebbard's "Post Oil Nutrition and Wellness" monthly series of workshops, we are now initiating a more conscientious and focused attention on helping our region become one in which its citizens can learn to maintain their health.

Additionally, we have also joined the Pioneering Healthier Communities "dream team," as part of the Meeting Waters YMCA Fit and Healthy Kids Coalition. This group, consisting of representatives from a variety of groups in the region, is a leadership strategy to facilitate active living and healthier eating through policy and environmental changes. It will begin its work in early 2010, and we'll keep you posted on its progress.

Finally, and as always, we welcome the ideas, suggestions, and (most of all!) participation of anyone who would like to work on our Health & Wellness Project. There are many things that we can do together. Please contact us at info at postoilsolutions.org.

Resources:

Medicine After Oil by Daniel Bednarz