PORTLAND, OR -- Earth Day provides an opportunity to focus on the health of our planet. One Oregon physician wants us to also consider how the condition of the planet impacts our personal health.

"Climate change affects everyone; none of us can escape it," says Dr. Anne Toledo, "But it doesn’t affect everyone equally." She notes chronic illness like asthma or heart disease can be immensely impacted by the symptoms of climate change - extreme weather or intense wildfire. She suggests, "Making sure that you’re working with your medical team on getting you well controlled in those areas so you’re safer and less at risk in the case of poor air quality or extreme heat."

She tells KBND News climate change events also take a toll on our mental health, "People who already have a history of anxiety or depression or trauma are all the more at risk when you have isolating events." Those can include evacuations from wildfire or extreme heat forcing people to stay indoors. As a family physician and the Chief of Urgent Care for Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Dr. Toledo says she sees how patients internalize the stress of climate change. She admits climate change is a big issue, but says focusing on small steps we can take individually helps prevent stress and anxiety.

She calls them “hope generating actions” - those steps you can take to mitigate the effects of climate change on a personal and community level. "How are you going to make sure you have access to clean drinking water if a local water source is contaminated with algae from hot temperatures? How are you going to make sure your air is filtered? Things like that that you can do to adapt." Dr. Toledo adds, "Although this Earth Day it has been a very long, cold and wet arrival of spring and no one is thinking about heat-related illness right now, it also means this is the perfect time to buy air filters for your home because they should be in stock. So, I think ‘adaptation’ is how are you going to protect you and your family in the event of local environmental problems?"

She also suggests strengthening social support systems to better handle the emotional toll of climate change events like extreme weather or wildfire. For more information, visit the CDC's website. 

Listen to our full conversation with Dr. Anne Toledo: