Chapter 12 probes the interface of climate change and human health with an emphasis on underserved communities. Patrick N. Breysse reviews the health effects of climate change and describes how the CDC’s Climate and Health Program helps bolster local, state, tribal, and territorial efforts to protect vulnerable communities. Robert Bullard and Beverly Wright confront the racial inequity of climate change and chemical disasters. Bullard channels the legacy of slavery as he demonstrates how states that enslaved African people now house the communities hit hardest by climate change. Wright describes the unique ways that local communities confront the negative impacts of climate change. And Elizabeth Sawin presents a concept called “multisolving” that addresses climate change solutions that also have health benefits.
