Climate change is happening and it can worsen health. Automobiles, for example, impact the climate by contributing to extreme heat, poor air quality, and health issues like asthma. Extreme weather conditions can damage transportation networks, limiting access to education, employment, or healthcare, and can lead to spikes in gasoline prices. Vulnerable populations—Latinos, low-income communities, the elderly, children, and people with chronic illnesses—are less able to adapt to or recover from these climate change impacts, increasing their risk for heart disease, diabetes, heat stroke, asthma, stress, anxiety and depression. Clean transportation and healthy community design can ease the negative health impacts of climate change and have the potential to reduce obesity, heart ...
More Latinos walk and bike instead of drive cars than non-Latinos, which could be the key to address climate change and health equity, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Transportation design, however, doesn't always make it easy to walk and bike safely. Salud America! continues its three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos, today tackling whether leaders get more people out of cars and into active transportation, boosting health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Part 1 of the series tackled what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 2 addressed what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change.
The Rise of Latinos Walking ...
U.S. Latinos are more supportive of climate change policies and are more willing to demand political action than non-Latinos. In fact, half of Latinos (50%) think the United States should make large-scale effort to reduce global warming, even if it has large economic costs, compared to 33% of non-Latinos, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Salud America! continues its three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos, today addressing what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change. Part 1 tackled what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 3 will focus on a potential solution for both climate change and health equity.
Two Big Policy ...
More than three of four Latinos worry about global warming and climate change, a higher worry rate than their non-Latinos peers, according to a recent English and Spanish survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Why are Latinos so worried? What policies can help? How willing are Latinos to take action, and how will that impact health equity and safer streets? Salud America! is excited to launch a three-part series exploring the issue of climate change for Latinos. Today we will tackle what climate change is, why Latinos are worried, and whether they should be. Part 2 will address what kinds of policies Latinos would support to address climate change. Part 3 will focus on a potential solution for both climate change and health equity.
What is Climate ...
New Orleans has a lot at stake when it comes to climate change. Among many strategies to reduce dependence on carbon-fired power and increase locally generated solar energy, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced plans in July 2017 to address climate change by redesigning regional public transit so 50% of trips are taken by modes other than driving, such as walking or biking. “It is not enough to plan for how we will adapt to climate change,” Landrieu wrote introducing the new climate action strategy for the city. “We must end our contribution to it.” Not only can improving sidewalks and bike lanes make it safer and easier not to travel by car, but making routes and public transit more relevant and useful can also address racial inequity and health ...
Latino kids who live in areas with higher levels of air pollution have a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. USC researchers tracked 314 overweight/obese Latino kids ages 8-15 in L.A. County. None had diabetes at study start. But by the time kids turned 18, those who lived in areas with high levels of air pollution had 13% less-than-normal efficiency in their insulin-producing cells, making them more prone to eventually developing diabetes, according to USC news. These children lived in neighborhoods that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, had excess nitrogen dioxide and tiny air pollution particles that are generated by automobiles and power plants. “Exposure to heightened air pollution during childhood increases ...
