In two other papers in this section we have argued that public health professionals in the Western world face new challenges and unsolved problems from the 20th century (see Table 1). We have argued that these problems arise as a consequence of the prioritisation of economic growth as the central purpose of society. We contend that climate change and rising energy costs will lead to profound changes in industrialised economies. This will bring many threats but there is also the prospect of a health dividend (less obesity, greater well-being, less inequality) arising from successful change.
We are now arguing that to realise this dividend and avoid the worst consequences of an unsustainable future, three stages of change are required:
- a realistic but optimistic mindset
- a new public health discourse
- the use of an appropriate methodology which will define a new set of public health tasks (see Figure 1)
The threats to health posed from climate change and peak oil can be considered as being of a different order to all contemporary challenges to health. Furthermore, the crisis point at which the impact of these changes will be virtually impossible to reverse is fast approaching. Therefore, now is the time for action and our response must be sufficient to meet these challenges.
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