scholarly journals Health Disparities and Climate Change: The Intersection of Three Disaster Events on Vulnerable Communities in Houston, Texas

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Omolola E. Adepoju ◽  
Daikwon Han ◽  
Minji Chae ◽  
Kendra L. Smith ◽  
Lauren Gilbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Spatial Analyses ◽  
Harris County ◽  
Disaster Exposure

Although evidence suggests that successive climate disasters are on the rise, few studies have documented the disproportionate impacts on communities of color. Through the unique lens of successive disaster events (Hurricane Harvey and Winter Storm Uri) coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed disaster exposure in minority communities in Harris County, Texas. A mixed methods approach employing qualitative and quantitative designs was used to examine the relationships between successive disasters (and the role of climate change), population geography, race, and health disparities-related outcomes. This study identified four communities in the greater Houston area with predominantly non-Hispanic African American residents. We used data chronicling the local community and environment to build base maps and conducted spatial analyses using Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping. We complemented these data with focus groups to assess participants’ experiences in disaster planning and recovery, as well as community resilience. Thematic analysis was used to identify key patterns. Across all four communities, we observed significant Hurricane Harvey flooding and significantly greater exposure to 10 of the 11 COVID-19 risk factors examined, compared to the rest of the county. Spatial analyses reveal higher disease burden, greater social vulnerability, and significantly higher community-level risk factors for both pandemics and disaster events in the four communities, compared to all other communities in Harris County. Two themes emerged from thematic data analysis: (1) Prior disaster exposure prepared minority populations in Harris County to better handle subsequent disaster suggesting enhanced disaster resilience, and (2) social connectedness was key to disaster resiliency. Long-standing disparities make people of color at greater risk for social vulnerability. Addressing climate change offers the potential to alleviate these health disparities.

scholarly journals Social Vulnerability Indicators for Flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3952
Author(s):  
Kylie Mason ◽  
Kirstin Lindberg ◽  
Carolin Haenfling ◽  
Allan Schori ◽  
Helene Marsters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators

Social vulnerability indicators are a valuable tool for understanding which population groups are more vulnerable to experiencing negative impacts from disasters, and where these groups live, to inform disaster risk management activities. While many approaches have been used to measure social vulnerability to natural hazards, there is no single method or universally agreed approach. This paper proposes a novel approach to developing social vulnerability indicators, using the example of flooding in Aotearoa New Zealand. A conceptual framework was developed to guide selection of the social vulnerability indicators, based on previous frameworks (including the MOVE framework), consideration of climate change, and a holistic view of health and wellbeing. Using this framework, ten dimensions relating to social vulnerability were identified: exposure; children; older adults; health and disability status; money to cope with crises/losses; social connectedness; knowledge, skills and awareness of natural hazards; safe, secure and healthy housing; food and water to cope with shortage; and decision making and participation. For each dimension, key indicators were identified and implemented, mostly using national Census population data. After development, the indicators were assessed by end users using a case study of Porirua City, New Zealand, then implemented for the whole of New Zealand. These indicators will provide useful data about social vulnerability to floods in New Zealand, and these methods could potentially be adapted for other jurisdictions and other natural hazards, including those relating to climate change.

scholarly journals Perspectives of Local Community Leaders, Health Care Workers, Volunteers, Policy Makers and Academia on Climate Change Related Health Risks in Mukuru Informal Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya—A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 12241
Author(s):  
Johanne Greibe Andersen ◽  
Catherine Karekezi ◽  
Zipporah Ali ◽  
Gerald Yonga ◽  
Per Kallestrup ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Informal Settlement ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Climate Change And Health

Sub-Saharan Africa has been identified as one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. The objective of this study was to explore knowledge and perspectives on climate change and health-related issues, with a particular focus on non-communicable diseases, in the informal settlement (urban slum) of Mukuru in Nairobi, Kenya. Three focus group discussions and five in-depth interviews were conducted with total of 28 participants representing local community leaders, health care workers, volunteers, policy makers and academia. Data were collected using semi-structured interview guides and analyzed using grounded theory. Seven main themes emerged: climate change related diseases, nutrition and access to clean water, environmental risk factors, urban planning and public infrastructure, economic risk factors, vulnerable groups, and adaptation strategies. All participants were conscious of a link between climate change and health. This is the first qualitative study on climate change and health in an informal settlement in Africa. The study provides important information on perceived health risks, risk factors and adaptation strategies related to climate change. This can inform policy making, urban planning and health care, and guide future research. One important strategy to adapt to climate change-associated health risks is to provide training of local communities, thus ensuring adaptation strategies and climate change advocacy.

scholarly journals Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion—Flexible Enabling Technology for Variable Renewable Energy Integration in the Caribbean

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2192
Author(s):  
Robert J. Brecha ◽  
Katherine Schoenenberger ◽  
Masaō Ashtine ◽  
Randy Koon Koon
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion ◽  
Thermal Energy Conversion ◽  
Hourly Data ◽  
Ocean Thermal Energy

Many Caribbean island nations have historically been heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels for both power and transportation, while at the same time being at an enhanced risk from the impacts of climate change, although their emissions represent a very tiny fraction of the global total responsible for climate change. Small island developing states (SIDSs) are among the leaders in advocating for the ambitious 1.5 °C Paris Agreement target and the transition to 100% sustainable, renewable energy systems. In this work, three central results are presented. First, through GIS mapping of all Caribbean islands, the potential for near-coastal deep-water as a resource for ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is shown, and these results are coupled with an estimate of the countries for which OTEC would be most advantageous due to a lack of other dispatchable renewable power options. Secondly, hourly data have been utilized to explicitly show the trade-offs between battery storage needs and dispatchable renewable sources such as OTEC in 100% renewable electricity systems, both in technological and economic terms. Finally, the utility of near-shore, open-cycle OTEC with accompanying desalination is shown to enable a higher penetration of renewable energy and lead to lower system levelized costs than those of a conventional fossil fuel system.

Deep mapping for environmental communication design

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-19
Author(s):  
Shannon Butts ◽  
Madison Jones
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Environmental Advocacy ◽  
Locative Media ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Communication Design ◽  
Prompt Action ◽  
Share Information

This article shares lessons from designing <u>EcoTour</u>, a multimedia environmental advocacy project in a state park, and it describes theoretical, practical, and pedagogical connections between locative media and community-engaged design. While maps can help share information about places, people, and change, they also limit how we visualize complex stories. Using deep mapping, and blending augmented reality with digital maps, EcoTour helps people understand big problems like climate change within the context of their local community. This article demonstrates the rhetorical potential of community-engaged design strategies to affect users, prompt action, and create more democratic discourse in environmental communication.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of the social vulnerability assessment to climate change applied to fisheries from Spain and Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Gómez Murciano ◽  
Yajie Liu ◽  
Vahdet Ünal ◽  
José Luis Sánchez LIzaso
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Aegean Sea ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Fishing Sector ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

AbstractThe aim of this study is to assess the climate effects on fisheries from a bottom-up approach based on fishers’ fishing experience, knowledge, and perceptions. To perform this task, a social vulnerability assessment was conducted in two different fishing areas: one in Spain and the other one in Turkey. The vulnerability was measured using the collected data and information through a structured questionnaire, and surveys were carried out among fishers in the Castelló (Spain) and the Aegean Sea (Turkey) between 2018 and 2019. Overall, the results indicated that the two studied regions have a moderate to high vulnerability and that the Aegean Sea was slightly more vulnerable than Castelló. It was also found that storms and temperature are the main climatic stressors that affect the fishing sector, and the economic indicators such as revenue from fishing in both regions showed high degrees of sensitivity. To reduce the vulnerability to climate change, adaptive measures should be implemented while taking into consideration the specific socio-economic and institutional characteristics of each region. In conclusion, the effects of climate change on the fishing sector and their social vulnerability are diverse. Consequently, there is no single climate measure that can minimize the vulnerability of fishing sectors in different regions.

scholarly journals Envisioning Climate Change Adaptation Futures Using Storytelling Workshops

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6630
Author(s):  
Rachel Harcourt ◽  
Wändi Bruine de Bruin ◽  
Suraje Dessai ◽  
Andrea Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
The West ◽  
Community Or ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Government

Engaging people in preparing for inevitable climate change may help them to improve their own safety and contribute to local and national adaptation objectives. However, existing research shows that individual engagement with adaptation is low. One contributing factor to this might be that public discourses on climate change often seems dominated by overly negative and seemingly pre-determined visions of the future. Futures thinking intends to counter this by re-presenting the future as choice contingent and inclusive of other possible and preferable outcomes. Here, we undertook storytelling workshops with participants from the West Yorkshire region of the U.K. They were asked to write fictional adaptation futures stories which: opened by detailing their imagined story world, moved to events that disrupted those worlds, provided a description of who responded and how and closed with outcomes and learnings from the experience. We found that many of the stories envisioned adaptation as a here-and-now phenomenon, and that good adaptation meant identifying and safeguarding things of most value. However, we also found notable differences as to whether the government, local community or rebel groups were imagined as leaders of the responsive actions, and as to whether good adaptation meant maintaining life as it had been before the disruptive events occurred or using the disruptive events as a catalyst for social change. We suggest that the creative futures storytelling method tested here could be gainfully applied to support adaptation planning across local, regional and national scales.

Áhrif loftlagsbreytinga á vatnsveitur og vatnsgæði á Íslandi – áhættuþættir og aðgerðir

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
María J. Gunnarsdóttir ◽  
Sigurður Magnús Garðarsson ◽  
Hrund Ólöf Andradóttir ◽  
Alfreð Schiöth
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Surveillance Area ◽  
The Arctic Region

Climate change is expected to have impact on water supply and drinking water quality in Iceland. Foremost there are three influential weather-related factors; increase in temperature; rise in sea level; and seasonal and regional change in precipitation in both quantity and intensity. In this study international and local reports and articles were analyzed for expected impact on the water resource with emphasis on the northern and the arctic region. Water quality risk factors were analyzed based on surveillance data of the water supplies from the Local Competent Authorities. Preliminary risk assessment of landslides and flooding was performed in one surveillance area in northern Iceland.

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