Climate Is a Health Issue: How Environmental Change Is Shaping Public Health

April 7, 2026

Climate change can feel abstract, but this conversation grounded it in something much more immediate: our health, our neighborhoods, and our daily lives.

At this MIX, five speakers brought that connection into focus, each offering a different lens on how environmental change is shaping public health and what we can do about it.

Jennifer Burns, Director of the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET), opened by zooming out to the big picture. Human population growth is placing increasing pressure on essential systems like clean air, water, food, and safe environments. At IMET, that challenge is being met through science, using biotechnology, aquaculture, and microbial research to improve environmental health and translate discoveries into real-world solutions.

Larry Davis of Green Mechanics brought the conversation to the local level. His work centers on nature-based solutions to urban challenges, from addressing algal blooms in Baltimore’s harbor to reimagining bus shelters as cooling, self-sustaining infrastructure. His approach combines nature and simple technology to create solutions that are practical, community-centered, and economically viable.

Karen Zucardi from TEDCO highlighted the role of funding and ecosystem support in moving ideas forward. Through investment and venture development, TEDCO helps turn early-stage innovation into scalable impact. Her perspective reinforced that climate solutions require not just strong ideas, but connection, capital, and coordinated support.

Shifting to the built environment, Randi Williams  invited us to consider how the spaces we create shape how long and how well we live. Drawing on Blue Zone principles, her work explores how housing, walkability, access to food, and social connection contribute to healthier, longer lives. Her message emphasized the importance of reintegrating natural and social elements into how we design communities.

Finally, Benjamin Nault from Johns Hopkins brought attention to air quality as a critical and often invisible health issue. His research shows how rising temperatures worsen pollution like ozone and particulate matter, with direct impacts on human health. His work also highlights the importance of community-based data and engagement in driving awareness and change.

Across the conversation, a clear theme emerged. Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is a systems issue that shows up in our infrastructure, our communities, and our health outcomes. While the challenges are complex, solutions are already emerging in research, in practice, and in the connections between them.

What felt especially resonant was the focus on translation and relationships. Moving from research to implementation, and from individual efforts to a more connected ecosystem grounded in relationships.

Baltimore has the pieces. The opportunity now is to bring them together more intentionally and continue building a future where environmental and human health are deeply connected.