KPLU-Humanosphere’s event April 26 at Seattle Town Hall — Can Seattle Save the World? – was clearly a huge hit, drawing in an estimated 700 people. Humanosphere blogger Tom Paulson summarized some of the more memorable comments from the four panelists:

The Climate Change and Global Health initiative is one of six new programs, center, and initiatives funded by the Department of Global Health. Read more about the funding announcement.

Jonathan Patz, MD, MPH, Professor and Director, Global Environmental Health at the University of Wisconsin (at Madison) gave a great lecture Jan. 4 to a standing-room only crowd as part of the Washington Global Health Alliance Discovery Series. His topic, "Climate Change and Health: Dark Clouds AND Golden Opportunities" discussed the list of health issues associated with climate change (e.g., urban heat island effect, air pollution and aeroallergens; vector-borne diseases; water-borne diseases; water resources and food supply; mental health and environmental refugees).

Dr. Zied Mhirsi, who received his MPH from UW, is living in Tunisia and was quoted in a New York Times story on the recent violence. He also recorded a YouTube video to "tell some friends about the sequence of events that took place during the last month, leading to the first democratic revolution in the Arab world."