Description
Book Synopsis «This is a very good argument, with impressive detail, clear structure, and vehement commitment.»
(M. McEldowney, Emeritus Professor of Planning)
This book provides a post-Covid recovery strategy for the UK that is based on all aspects of health, but also addresses the ever-greater threat from global warming. Health and sustainability are interlocked.
More than other European nations, we favour libertarian values over social equity, privatized public services and lower taxes that reduce those services. From fair-minded pragmatism, we have descended into dogma, incompetence and intolerance.
Using the government's 5 guiding principles for a sustainable future, the book suggests how to improve distinct aspects of health:
- personal health through more preventive medicine;
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- environmental health with lower transport and household emissions;
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- economic health through local (rather than global) production of goods and services;
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- social health by reducing gross health and wealth inequalities; and
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- political health through strategic commitment, fair taxes (a bedroom tax just on the poor?) and real devolution to local councils.
We need to think local, act local and act now.
Table of ContentsContents
List of tables
Acknowledgements
Introduction . . . . . . . . 3
1 Using sound science responsibly . . . . 5
personal health and Covid (5), our political response (7),
the victims (9), the NHS (11), local public health (14)
2 Living within the planet's environmental limits . . 18
environmental health (18), private traffic (19),
public transport (23), pedals and pedestrians (27),
integrating transport strategy (28), personal emissions (30)
3 Achieving a sustainable economy . . . . 32
a sustainable economy (32), Covid and business (33,)
mega-corps and the profit motive (34), SMEs and the work ethic (37),
delivering public services (40), local mixed economies (42)
4 Ensuring a strong, healthy and just society . . . 45
social health (45), wealth inequality (46), education (48),
health inequality and housing (51),
improving local schools and housing (55)
5 Promoting good governance . . . . . 58
understanding problems (59), determining strategy (62),
implementing policies (65), raising tax income (67),
review outcomes (71)
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . 74
Index
