(Press-News.org) Berkeley — Some racial groups are more likely to bear the brunt of extreme heat waves because of where they live, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
The findings, published today (Tuesday, May 14) in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, highlight racial disparities at a time when the frequency and intensity of extreme heat waves is expected to increase with climate change.
Researchers used satellite imagery data to identify areas where there is no tree canopy to provide shade, and where half or more of the land is covered by heat-absorbing hard surfaces, such as pavement, concrete or roofing materials. Such land characteristics put residents at greater risk when the mercury rises because they exacerbate the heat, the study authors said.
The authors used U.S. Census data to reveal that the heat-prone neighborhoods were disproportionately populated by African Americans, Asians and Hispanics. Compared with their white counterparts, African Americans were about 50 percent more likely to live in these communities, while Hispanics were 37 percent and Asians a third more likely to do so.
"This study highlights a mechanism by which racial and ethnic minorities will likely suffer more from the effects of climate change," said study lead author Bill Jesdale, research associate in UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. "It may not be surprising that minorities live in inner cities, but this is the first paper to assess what that means in terms of heat vulnerability at a national level."
Rachel Morello-Frosch, a professor with joint appointments at the College of Natural Resources and the School of Public Health and the study principal investigator, noted that regional studies have identified similar trends, but seeing this residential segregation on a national scale was surprising.
"Segregation tends to concentrate racial and ethnic minorities into more densely populated urban areas," she said. "While some of this residential choice is based upon preference, a lot is based upon where people can afford to live."
Some steps that city planners can take to ameliorate the impact of climate change include planting more trees and lightening the coloring of roofs and pavements. When possible, replacing harder surfaces with more permeable materials can also help, the authors said.
"Planting trees and changing the heat-absorbing characteristics of our built environment may be crucial to protecting our public's health by mitigating heat risks, particularly in densely populated central areas of cities," said Jesdale.
###
The Hewlett Foundation and the California Environmental Protection Agency helped support this research.
Racial minorities live on the front lines of heat risk, study finds
2013-05-14
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
First analysis of dental therapists finds increase in access for children, low-income adults
2013-05-14
Boston, MA, May 14, 2013—A new report assessing the economic viability of services provided by practicing midlevel dental providers in the U.S. shows that they are expanding preventive dental care to people who need it most: children and those who can't afford care. At the same time, they are providing that care at a reduced cost to the dental practice. The report, released today by Community Catalyst, determined that midlevel dental providers currently practicing in Alaska and Minnesota cost their employers 27 and 29 percent respectively of the revenue they generate.
The ...
Passenger car drivers are more likely to die in crashes with SUVs, regardless of crash ratings
2013-05-14
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Most consumers who are shopping for a new car depend on good crash safety ratings as an indicator of how well the car will perform in a crash. But a new University at Buffalo study of crashes involving cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) has found those crash ratings are a lot less relevant than vehicle type.
The study is being presented May 16 at the annual meeting of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine in Atlanta.
In head-on collisions between passenger cars and SUVs, the UB researchers found that drivers in passenger cars were nearly 10 ...
Same musicians: Brand new tune
2013-05-14
KANSAS CITY, MO—A small ensemble of musicians can produce an infinite number of melodies, harmonies and rhythms. So too, do a handful of workhorse signaling pathways that interact to construct multiple structures that comprise the vertebrate body. In fact, crosstalk between two of those pathways—those governed by proteins known as Notch and BMP (for Bone Morphogenetic Protein) receptors—occurs over and over in processes as diverse as forming a tooth, sculpting a heart valve and building a brain.
A new study by Stowers Institute for Medical Research Investigator Ting ...
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for May 14, 2013
2013-05-14
1. U.S. Should Maintain a 'High Level of Alert and Preparedness' for Chinese Avian Flu
The United States should maintain a high level of alert and preparedness for influenza A (H7N9), as its global pandemic potential is still unknown. In March, Chinese public health officials notified the World Health Organization that an avian influenza virus that had never before been detected in humans had infected three adults, resulting in critical illness. Since then, more than 100 people have been infected, and 24 have died. About a fifth of those who have been infected are still ...
Energy supply from hydropower projects depends on rainforest conservation
2013-05-14
San Francisco, CA (May 13, 2013) – Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that conserving rainforests in the Amazon River Basin will increase the amount of electricity that hydropower projects in the area can produce. The study is the first to quantify the impact of regional rainforest cover on energy production. Its findings reveal that rainforests are more critical than previously thought in generating the rainfall that drives river flow, and ultimately power production, in tropical areas. The research shows that if deforestation ...
Renaissance in new drugs for rare diseases: Report in world's largest scientific society magazine
2013-05-14
Once famously described as "orphan diseases, too small to be noticed, too small to be funded" in the Hollywood drama Lorenzo's Oil, rare diseases are getting unprecedented attention today among drug manufacturers, who are ramping up research efforts and marketing new medicines that promise fuller lives for children and other patients with these heartbreaking conditions.
That's the finding of a major examination, published today in the weekly newsmagazine of the world's largest scientific society, of the status of new drugs for the 7,000 conditions that affect 200,000 ...
Study finds inconsistent and slow reduction in sodium levels in processed and restaurant's food
2013-05-14
A study by Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C., and colleagues suggest voluntary reductions in sodium levels in processed and restaurant foods is inconsistent and slow. (Online First)
The study measured the sodium content in selected processed foods and fast-food restaurant foods in 2005, 2008, and 2011. Between 2005 and 2011, the sodium content in 402 processed foods declined by approximately 3.5 percent, while the sodium content in 78 fast-food restaurant products increased by 2.6 percent. Although some products ...
Research letter evaluates calories, fat, and sodium content in restaurant meals
2013-05-14
A research letter by Mary R. L'Abbe, Ph.D., of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues examined the nutritional profile of breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals from sit-down restaurants (SDR). (Online First)
A total of 3,507 different variations of 685 meals, as well as 156 desserts from 19 SDRs were included in the study. Nutrients evaluated included calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium; excess consumption of these nutrients is associated with obesity, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Nutrient values were calculated as a percentage of the ...
Study examines use of creative arts therapies among patients with cancer
2013-05-14
Creative arts therapies (CATs) can improve anxiety, depression, pain symptoms and quality of life among cancer patients, although the effect was reduced during follow-up in a study by Timothy W. Puetz, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., and colleagues.
Authors reviewed the available medical literature and included 27 studies involving 1,576 patients. Researchers found that during treatment, CAT significantly reduced anxiety, depression and pain, and increased quality of life. However, the effects were greatly diminished during follow-up, ...
Study updates estimates, trends for childhood exposure to violence, crime, abuse
2013-05-14
A study by David Finkelhor, Ph.D., of the University of New Hampshire, and colleagues updates estimates and trends for childhood exposure to a range of violence, crime and abuse victimizations. (Online First)
The study used the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence, which was based on a national telephone survey conducted in 2011. The participants included 4,503 children and teenagers between the ages of one month to 17 years.
According to the results, 41.2 percent of children and youth experienced a physical assault in the last year; 10.1 percent experienced ...