Nursing and environmental issues

Environmental pollution is a problem which is reaching (or, some would suggest, has reached) crisis point. Stevan Monkley-Poole argues in this thought-provoking article that nursing cannot afford to sit passively on the fence while the world we inhabit is drained of its precious resources and systematically poisoned by the effluvia of 'civilised' society. Nurses must review the practices for which they are responsible, evaluate their effects on the environment and, when necessary, change them, even when the cost seems high. He goes on to suggest ways that we can work to promote the preservation of our planet.