Our Earth Has A Fever

By Lisa Patzelt

Supervisor: Dr. Gesa Lüdecke

For my final project, I created a children’s book about planetary health. Planetary health is a field emphasizing the inextricable links between human health and the integrity of the natural systems surrounding us.

The picture book follows five children from around the world and gives examples either of how their everyday lives have changed due to climate change or of the difficulties they face in their lives due to the changing environment. To simplify climate change and other human-made effects on the environment, the Earth itself is personified. The Earth experiences different symptoms like a fever, a headache, or other relatable signs of sickness. The children in the book realize that the Earth is sick and needs help, so they decide to help her get better. The book then shows small steps that can be taken to decrease our CO2 footprint and have less of an environmental impact. These examples are relatable and easy for children to understand. In the end, the Earth feels better and the children, who worked together, are happy.

he book project was accompanied by an essay about planetary health, where I investigated
the concept of planetary health and its role for the medical community. As a medical student myself, I found it very interesting to learn that it is only recently that climate change and environmental destruction have been recognized as existential threats to human health in the broader public. I believe doctors and other health care professionals should be more active in the environmental and climate change movements, as they can act as role models and are often highly regarded by their communities. Health is also an important good for everyone. I think that by highlighting the negative health effects that climate change will have on everyone (no matter how rich they are, for example) more people will be motivated to demand action on climate change.

The book was only possible with the help of my two sisters, Verena and Carolin, who study intercultural communication and urban planning. They helped me with their knowledge of children’s education and their illustration skills. We now want to find a way to publish the book.