Frances Mortimer talks to trainee eye surgeon, John Somner, discussing the relevance of climate change to doctors and nurses, and the opportunities for carbon reduction in his specialty.

John is an enthusiastic proponent of low carbon clinical care, has contributed to resources for the 10:10 Health campaign, and has authored a number of papers on carbon- and resource-efficiency in ophthalmology.

• Somner JE, Cavanagh DJ, Wong KK, Whitelaw M, Thomson T, Mansfield D. The precautionary principle: what is the risk of reusing disposable drops in routine ophthalmology consultations and what are the costs of reducing this risk to zero? Eye. 2009 Jun 12. [Epub ahead of print]
• Somner J, Scott K, Morris D, Gaskell A, Shepherd I. Ophthalmology carbon footprint: something to be considered? J Cataract Refract Surg. 2009 Jan;35(1):202-3.
• Somner JE, Lockington D. Tonometer disinfection practice in the United Kingdom: the climate implications. Eye. 2009 Aug;23(8):1748-9; author reply 1749.
• Somner JE, Stone N, Koukkoulli A, Scott KM, Field AR, Zygmunt J. Surgical scrubbing: can we clean up our carbon footprints by washing our hands? J Hosp Infect. 2008 Nov;70(3):212-5.