Tensie Whelan published in Fortune about the massive amounts of waste and energy use of hospitals. Whelan and colleague Cassandra Thiel, Assistant Professor, NYU Langone Health, argue that if hospitals cut down on single-use items, such as plastic gloves, and invested in energy efficient power systems, the hospital would save money and contribute positively to the environment.

Excerpt: "If all 18 million health care workers in the U.S. receive a flu vaccine this year, that would be 594 metric tons of garbage, and over 1,800 metric tons of greenhouse gases (if the gloves are landfilled). That’s the same amount of greenhouse gases as emitted from 391 passenger vehicles on the road this year. Yet both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) do not require using gloves for routine vaccine administration because there is little risk involved."

To read the full Fortune article, click here.