Climate change is an ongoing environmental dilemma that threatens the health of all people. Yet, research has shown that certain groups, such as Latinos and other people of color, immigrants, those with a lower socio-economic status, and vulnerable occupational groups are most likely to suffer longer and more severely from climate change. “The effects of climate change add to other longstanding differences among people that result in different health outcomes for communities in the United States,” reported the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is defined as a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Long-term alterations in temperature or the typical weather patterns of a certain location can lead to ...
Having been in the industry for over 40 years, Jim Morris is no newcomer to journalism. He’s worked at several news organizations across Texas and spent two decades at the Center for Public Integrity, a news nonprofit in Washington, D.C. In August 2021, he started Public Health Watch, a nonprofit investigative news organization that seeks to hold systems accountable and expose threats to the safety and wellbeing of the country. As the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of a virtual news organization, Morris faces some challenges. But in the end, it’s worth it to be able to help advocate for workers’ health and expose people to the human stories in public and environmental health. “I'm attracted to those kinds of stories. You can almost always tell a really ...
The climate crisis is especially impacting Latinos and other people of color. Despite being low contributors to the rate of emissions—toxins that are one of the main issues spurring global warming—they are experiencing worse health outcomes, due to rising temperatures and extreme weather events. This is why advocates have been calling for environmental justice, a strategy to address climate change through a lens that focuses on those who are harmed most. Electric cars are an emerging piece of environmental justice. As more and more electric vehicles hit the market, experts are saying these cars can drive efforts toward environmental justice for people of color. “The electric vehicle transition has great potential to benefit Black and Latino communities, which are ...
Latinos suffer from toxic pollution in the air at higher rates than their white peers, and it can lead to many harmful side effects. University of Colorado Boulder researchers just added another side effect to that list: Childhood obesity in those whose mothers were exposed to air pollution during pregnancy. Study authors say their findings reveal air pollution’s disproportionate impact on communities of color — the same communities that suffer a lack of access to healthy food and barriers to safe places for physical activity, which contribute to America’s obesity epidemic. “Higher rates of obesity among certain groups in our society are not simply a byproduct of personal choices like exercise and calories in, calories out. It’s more complicated than that,” said ...
Companies emitting harmful waste and gasses into the Earth’s atmosphere will now have to abide by strict regulation policies recently passed by Colorado’s state legislature. The new law will require these businesses to more closely monitor their emissions standards — more importantly, the data found must be published publicly. Not only will the law ensure transparency, it could also save countless lives, according to Carmen Abrego Vasquez, a member of the Colorado People’s Alliance. “[This bill] an important step to making sure we have transparency and hold corporate polluters accountable, she told the Colorado Sun. “The majority of people who live in my community are Latinos or immigrants and this is a step to improve our lives. We have a right to know what’s in ...
We already know secondhand smoke is bad for you. But several recent studies further blame secondhand smoke for its harmful impact on the brain and body. Long-term exposure to second-hand smoke results in lower body weight and cognitive impairments, according to new research in mice led by Oregon Health & Science University. Researchers exposed mice to 168 minutes of secondhand smoke a day for 10 months. They found that secondhand smoke harms even "healthy" mice, altered the hippocampus region of the brain, and impacted cognition, especially among males. "Many people still smoke, and these findings suggest that the long-term health effects can be quite serious for people who are chronically exposed to second-hand smoke," said lead author Dr. Jacob Raber.
Why is this ...
People who live in multifamily housing share air with their neighbors ─ including secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke contains over 70 cancer-causing chemicals, and has killed over 2.5 million people. The dangers are especially serious in multifamily housing, where secondhand smoke can travel through doorways, halls, windows, ventilation systems, electrical outlets, and gaps around fixtures. Download the Salud America! Action Pack “Help Your City Adopt Smoke-Free Multifamily Housing!” The action pack will help you engage local leaders in exploring a smoke-free multifamily housing policy for common areas and individual units. "Experts say a smoke-free multifamily housing policy can protect the health of tenants and staff of apartments from secondhand smoke, as well as ...
Growing up in a working-class, union family, Dominic Aliano saw firsthand how local governance could help people in his hometown. Aliano now serves as the Vice Mayor of that city, Concord, Calif (29.9% Latino). He has led numerous initiatives to improve life in Concord ─ including the city’s smoke-free multifamily housing ordinance, which prohibits smoking inside units of all apartments. Smoke-free multifamily housing helps protect families who face toxic secondhand smoke exposure and other systemic inequities where they live, according to Aliano. “This legislation and ones like it are really important for people, especially those in the communities that I represent, who are mostly renters in multi-family housing complexes,” he said. “Sometimes landlords take ...
Climate change is wreaking havoc on communities across the US. The health impacts are already felt among Latinos and other people of color. That’s why a group of researchers started an exciting project: Science Moms. This "nonpartisan group of climate scientists and mothers," including several Latinas, are working to connect with other women in hopes of creating a grassroots movement to address climate change for future generations. "We founded Science Moms to help mothers who are concerned about their children's planet but aren't confident in their knowledge about climate change or how they can help," Science Moms state on their website. "Together, we aim to demystify climate science and motivate urgent action to protect our children's futures."
Women Step Up for Climate ...
