Our Climate Health Update issue, in honor of Earth Day, is chock-full of ways scientists, 
thought leaders and businesses are helping the planet we all love so much, along with many good suggestions of things we, too, can do.
We also share some of the latest “eco-wonders” in our Global Briefs section, like waxworms that can eat and digest plastic, and transparent solar panels that resemble glass and can be used as window panels. There’s also some bad news found in this section, such as the brief titled “Chinese Chokepoint—U.S. Waste Paper Turned Away.” The takeaway is that since Americans routinely toss food waste and other garbage into their recycling carts, those cardboard boxes with the cute Amazon smile on them that wind up covered with food or slime are going to start being banned by China—the country that receives the bulk of these contaminated recyclables. Where will all this cardboard end up? Much like when I saw the movie Mother (seriously, see this movie!), I am left speechless and scared.
But this magazine is not here to scare you, nor am I. So, instead I would rather reframe how we view the bad news highlighted in this issue. Instead of feeling powerless and overwhelmed, we need to take stock of the fact that our climate is directly related to our health and have this empower us to become more proactive in helping heal Mother Earth.
As Dr. Samantha Ahdoot so eloquently states in one of our feature articles on page __: “We want the public to understand that climate change is not just about polar bears or receding glaciers in the Arctic, but also about our children and our health here and now.”
SO what can YOU do to protect your planet and your own health? Maybe use even one of the steps that we share in “Five Steps to Take Today.” And guess what? These steps will invariably help you also improve your own health. They are simple and surprising, like showing compassion. You don’t have to install solar panels (although you can if you want; they are so affordable these days)—instead you can focus on these five steps, as well as make food choices that enable global health. See these tips offered in our Conscious Eating article. If some small steps are taken by every reader, then together, like a team, we make the end goal of healing our planet less overwhelming.
In the end, we have choices—choices in the food we eat and the steps we take. These choices can help or hurt our bodies, and help or hurt our planet. When given the choice, show yourself some love, and in return, the planet will than k you with some love of its own!
Malama Pono!
Kelly Martinsen, Publisher
