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micca climate change library
Get started with
micca climate change library
Climate Health stories
Listening Tour
A collection of health stories describing impacts of climate change on our community in Michigan
The “Climate Health Stories Listening Tour” is an effort to collect the stories of community members and health professionals who are experiencing or witnessing the effects of climate change in Michigan. The stories below illustrate that climate change often acts as a risk multiplier, exacerbating chronic, manageable health conditions by creating situations in which they often become acutely difficult to treat.
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As a testimony of lived experience, stories serve as a window to understanding the impacts of our changing climate. Climate scientists already know that climate change is making heat days, storms, flooding, and wildfires significantly worse and significantly more frequent. Within the stories below, you can find references that explain how the experiences shared by individuals are consistent with the changes projected to occur here in Michigan.
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As health professionals and scientists, we know that accuracy matters. While we don't claim that the heat days, floods, power outages or resulting health damage described below can be directly attributed to climate change, an emerging body of literature is using statistics to do just that. For example, the 2021 heat dome affecting the Pacific Northwest and Canada can be statistically “attributed” to anthropogenic climate change and resulted in >1000 additional heat related deaths and > 69 fold increase in heat-related ED visits when compared to the same time frame in 2019.
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These stories illustrate the pathways through which climate change is and will affect our health in Michigan, and also help us imagine avenues for action, mitigation, and resilience informed by firsthand experience.
Extreme Heat
A medical student at University of Michigan shared the following story about her patient:
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"I recently cared for a patient, a veteran, with bipolar disorder who was trying to take the bus to a psychiatry appointment on a 90-degree day.
Not knowing that the bus stop had moved, he tried to walk a mile to the next stop in the heat. He became dehydrated and confused along the way. He missed the appointment.
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His condition continued to deteriorate in the following days, and he was ultimately
admitted to the hospital. The heat may have made is medicines less effective and contributed to his dehydration."
The number of hot days in Michigan will continue to increase with climate change. This will especially affect those who do not have access to air conditioning and those on psychotropic medications that increase their sensitivity to heat.
Flooding
Floods are predicted to increase as climate change makes extreme weather events happen more often and more intensely.
In Detroit, frequent flooding has been well documented and will only get worse. One patient and public health student told us about how frequent flooding in her family’s basement led to mold growth. As someone who had already been subjected to the poor air quality, much of which is caused by the same pollutants that lead to climate change, mold exposure exacerbated her existing asthma symptoms, causing frequent flare ups. Indoor air quality is a significant health determinant. In recent studies, mold presence was correlated with flooding in homes.
Infectious Disease
About 5 years ago Mia, a high schooler from Kalamazoo Michigan, was bitten by a tick and subsequently developed Lyme disease.
Unfortunately, as is often the case, there was a delay in getting a definitive diagnosis, which delayed optimal treatment. Ultimately, she received care outside of Michigan for post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. Her symptoms persist today and resulted in several month-long school absences in at least 2 subsequent years. She continues to require medication to treat symptoms. Recognizing the increasing incidence of Lyme disease related to our changing climate, she dedicates a significant amount of her free time to climate advocacy.​
Extreme Weather
Marisela works as an emergency nurse in Detroit. During one of the coldest winters she’s experienced in her life there was a severe power outage. This caused many people to use unsafe methods of staying warm, like grills and generators, which led to a surge of carbon monoxide poisoning cases. The ER was quickly overwhelmed, and to handle the overflow, they set up a separate tent outside for patients. In her own words:
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"The tent was a lifesaving necessity but also a sobering reminder of how quickly emergencies can escalate during extreme weather events.
Seeing that situation unfold firsthand changed my perspective on climate-related issues. Power outages and freezing temperatures aren't just inconveniences—they're public health crises. When people lose access to safe heating, they take desperate risks....."
Air Quality
Elizabeth is a mom of a child with asthma. While traveling on a diesel-powered bus on a field trip to Lansing, Elizabeth was notified that her son was experiencing tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing, requiring Elizabeth to urgently transport her son to seek out immediate medical help. Beyond asthma attacks, diesel fumes can cause headaches and stomach aches. Elizabeth is a proud supporter of EV buses and the reduction of diesel and other nonrenewable fuels that cause pollution to our planet and health impacts on our children.
Mental Health
About the Listening Tour:
The “Climate Health Stories Listening Tour” is an effort to hear the stories of community members and health professionals who are experiencing the effects of the climate crisis across Michigan.
Through pop-up events, one-on-one conversations, and written submissions, we hope to connect with community members from the frontlines and health professionals serving disproportionately impacted communities. With this understanding, we will use the power of the trusted clinical voice to educate others (lawmakers, medical students, and the public) and motivate action that tackles health disparities.
Our ultimate goal is to identify ways 'Michigan Clinicians for Climate Action' can become a trusted ally to patients, and especially underserved populations, in the fight against climate change induced health impacts.
Want to schedule an in-person event?
Video Examples:
MiCCA's Executive Director, Lisa DelBuono, giving an her Clinician Climate Health Story.
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Please use the links above to submit your contact information and share your story!
MiCCA's Climate Health Equity Coordinator, Jada Robinson, giving an her Community member Climate Health Story.
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This is an example of what come out of a video interview.
Written Health Stories
Michelle, Highland Park Resident & Retired Mental Health Counselor
Michelle told us that due to so many individuals having health complications, there seem to be more depressed individuals, which connects on a deeper level as some of these illnesses are climate-related. Warmer weather actively worsens her peers' asthma symptoms. This is apparent through frequent hospital visits, including during Michigan’s recent wildfire smoke in the summer. Power outages in her neighborhood cause numerous problems for everyone: her neighbor has an electric wheelchair and has no other choice but quickly finding somewhere to stay when their power goes out. Other residents in the area, including three children and some elderly neighbors, required electricity for their medical necessities. Michelle pointed out the need for emergency preparedness kits her region .
Payge, MD/MPH
Student Ann Arbor
Payge revealed a human face of climate by discussing her experience serving marginalized communities including the unhoused population. In her role as a health professional, she noticed increases in cases of dehydration during extreme heat events. She highlighted that those experiencing homelessness are extremely vulnerable to exacerbated allergies and asthma rates since they are directly within these environments because of insufficient housing. During clinicals, she noticed how changing weather conditions have also led to many of her patients to suffer from expanded difficulties accessing food.
Nikoli, Medical Student
Kalamazoo
Nikoli highlighted that in his experience serving pediatric patients, he witnessed amplified rates of asthma, hospitalizations, and increased morbidity. Within adults, heat exhaustion and strokes are inclining in the midst of extreme heat. In Kalamazoo, they are additionally seeing more lyme disease cases than usual. He finds that patient education is vital as the need to inform his patients of about how to protect themselves and how respond grows more dire. Pediatricians he has worked with in the past have seen these issues progress for decades. He emphasized that as medical professionals, we have to align ourselves with needs and assist accordingly based on resources.
next steps
While climate change often feels like a looming issue that can only be addressed through top-down policy, hearing first-hand how Michigan residents are affected today fortified our commitment to local action and solutions that not only mitigate climate impacts but also improve the health of our communities.
In 2025, we will build on this work to further circulate these stories and to empower health professionals to creatively support their patients as they adapt to a changing climate.​
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Publicizing the database:
Using the database of climate health stories, we plan to create an interactive map of Michigan. This will include summaries of stories, as well as links to peer reviewed literature that provides context to the projected climatic changes as well the established disease or health pathway. This database will also host a form so that visitors can submit their own story and we will add the literature citations. -
Story animation:
We are in conversations with a videographer and animation artist and plan to have the 3 most impactful stories animated for public-facing education. -
Continued partner support:
Hospitals often offer community health grants through their foundations that target local issues. By using climate-health stories to guide us and illustrating the connection between health and environment, we will reach out to community-based organizations working to improve their local environment and support them in applying for these grants. -
Healthy homes and disaster preparedness advocacy:
Many of the challenges we heard about can be helped through resilient infrastructure. As we advocate, we will emphasize the need for climate investments that address the existing infrastructure issues and the health inequities they create. -
Continued education and advocacy:
We will continue to share stories with medical and nursing students, health professionals, and lawmakers to advocate for increasing preparedness and awareness of climate-health intersections.
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THANK YOU for the generosity, support and confidence the Colina Foundation extended in awarding us the Grant for 2024.
With this grant, we collected 50 climate-health stories, connected with the public at 13 events, and grew significantly as an organization. Through the story-collecting process we have deepened relationships with community-based partners who are serving their neighbors that have already been affected by the impacts of climate change. We’ve gained an understanding of our responsibility as the health voice in the climate-equity movement, and look forward to building on this work in 2025.
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