This blog post explores the relationship between the detrimental effects of climate change and how they impact the health of disadvantaged communities, written by Archi Das Gupta. Our environment is in more danger than ever and this is caused by the residents themselves. And in return, the residents are facing health issues due to the environment. Ecological factors, for example, air and water quality are major determinants of our wellbeing. Environmental factors can also prompt infections and health disparities when environments are plagued with social inequities. The meaning of environmental disparities is when communities are more exposed to a mix of horrible environmental factors and social imbalances are exposed to infections and maladies more than the richer community. Considering all the racial and ethnic groups, African Americans make up a staggering 27.9% of the highest poverty rates. This means they are more likely to live in an environment that is polluted and has horrible air as well as water quality. Due to these environmental qualities, members of disadvantaged communities tend to develop more maladies than their white counterparts. The US state of Pennsylvania contains wide disparities in poverty rates as the racial groups' blacks and Hispanics are three times as likely to be poverty-stricken than whites. The percentage of adults having asthma in 2016 is 13.4% among white residents while 22% among black residents. While in Philadelphia, which is a city of Pennsylvania, these health disparities become even wider. Child hospitalization rates by demographics include 13.8 white kids, 38.2 Latino kids, and a staggering 72.4 African American kids per 10,000 children under the age of 5. Some environmental health issues to consider in Pennsylvania are residential land degrade water quality, an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and fragments of natural habitats. Pennsylvania children with asthma reported that 39.5% of them have been advised to make environmental changes. Climate change also plays a huge role in health disparities between races. African Americans are more likely to live in poorer communities where the environment is unhealthy leaving them vulnerable to disease, infections, and other maladies. African-American tend to live more in urban areas and these urban areas become very hot at certain times of the year. These urban areas have a combination of heatwaves, climate warming, and urban heat island effect where Urban areas face more heat than suburban areas. A study in 2008 done by Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative suggests that African Americans pass away from heat-related deaths at a 150-200% higher rate than for non-Hispanic White cities. It is evident that the environment is another factor making racial groups even more vulnerable to health inequity. African-Americans are exposed to more significant levels of air contamination than white Americans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated that we're exposed to essentially a greater amount of the contamination particles known as PM 2.5, which have been correlated to lung illness, coronary illness, and sudden death. African Americans are more likely to come into contact with particles 1.54 more times than the rest of the population. This pollution particle is 2.5 microns large and it lodges in the lung tissue. Poor individuals were presented to 1.35 times more, and all non-whites to 1.28 times more, as indicated by the investigation, distributed in the American Journal of Public Health. Due to these environmental factors, racial groups such as African-Americans and Hispanics are more concerned about climate change. Data shows that these races are more concerned and alarmed about global warming as 69% of Hispanics/Latinos and 57% African Americans are concerned/alarmed. While white people are more frequently “doubtful” and “dismissive” which 27%. This elucidates that white people don’t have to worry about water and air quality as they already receive the best qualities from the government.
In conclusion, certain racial groups are extremely vulnerable to environmental factors as studies show. But for every problem, there is always a solution. You can advocate for climate change by electing government officials who represent your values for climate change. You can also develop healthy habits such as foregoing fossil fuels. Also for transportation, you can use public transportation or use electric vehicles. You can also educate people on climate change and its health disparities. Making people aware of the harm they are doing can significantly help combat climate change. Works Cited:
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Welcome to our blog, Medquity!Here we will post extra articles on health disparities to display the profound health inequities in our healthcare system. These are updated every other weekend, so check back regularly! Archives
July 2021
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