Overview

• Violet Affleck’s essay, published May 18 in Yale’s Global Health Review, examines parallels between public health responses to COVID-19 and climate disasters.
• She recounts a personal argument with her mother, Jennifer Garner, during the January wildfires, highlighting their differing reactions to the destruction.
• Affleck critiques the wealth-driven consumption patterns exacerbating climate change and describes the fires as an inevitable consequence for climate-literate Angelenos.
• The January 2025 wildfires, among California's most destructive, killed at least 29 people and displaced thousands in the Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas.
• Affleck concludes her paper by urging the adoption of proactive public health measures as a framework for addressing climate-related crises.