ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to awaken the reader to the contributions of the health care sector to our present plight with climate change and its subsequent implications on health—focusing on single-use plastics within the industry and the exacerbation of these issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In providing a brief historical framework of how our society became plastic-centric consumers adapted to extractive throw-away lifestyles, I discuss how plastics made their way into health care industry culture and how this continual adoption of single-use plastics plays a significant role in the rise in greenhouse gasses and the looming health issues we find ourselves facing today. In view of this irony of harming in order to heal, the discourse toward more sustainable thinking and the health care industry's divestment from fossil fuels is presented as an impetus toward less anthropocentric approaches in restorative health praxis. Along with sustainable practice, ideas of how increasing public awareness through education, political activism, and even art can play a major role in shifting our current mindset and culture are also presented. Last, but not least, the chapter highlights why the nursing profession not only has great potential and influence in leading and catalyzing this change, but why we have such a great moral responsibility in mitigating climate impact. In doing so, we not only fully achieve our mission of promoting the health and well-being of the patients of today—but that of the planet, the environment, and future generations as well.
