Category: Uncategorized

A report released Monday by the United Nations says global climate change research is clear: human-caused emissions are accelerating global warming. Quickly cutting those emissions, the report says, will help avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, which humans need to prepare for. What does this mean for Georgia? In this special edition of “Closer Look,” guests explored the effects of climate change in Georgia and how we can respond to…

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Outdoor air pollution contributes to millions of deaths worldwide yet air pollution has differential exposures across racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. While green infrastructure has the potential to decrease air pollution and provide other benefits to human health, vegetation alone cannot resolve health disparities related to air pollution injustice. We discuss how unequal access to green infrastructure can limit air quality improvements for marginalized communities and provide strategies to move…

Continue reading “New article: Green infrastructure can limit but not solve air pollution injustice”

Public health is and has been top of mind ever since the global coronavirus pandemic took hold, but there’s a side to the study of public health that might not be as salient in our thoughts and that is the impact that our built environment has on our health, wellbeing, and specifically in encouraging and promoting healthy, active living. Dr. Roberts didn’t specifically set out to be an academic and researcher…

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EPA Announces Selections of Charter Members to the Science Advisory Board Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced his selections for membership of the Science Advisory Board (SAB). The committee will be comprised of 22 women and 25 men, including 16 people of color, making it the most diverse SAB since the committee was established. The Administrator’s selections are well-qualified experts with a cross-section of scientific…

Continue reading “JPB Fellow selected to be on the Science Advisory Board at EPA”

Coloradans woke up to hazy skies Monday morning, as smoke from the Morgan Creek wildfire near Steamboat Springs prompted air quality health advisories from Routt to Summit counties, and smoke from fires in California cast an eerie glow across the Front Range. As recently as 12 years ago, researchers had little understanding of how such smoke impacts human health—if at all, says Colleen Reid, an assistant professor of geography who…

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Energy poverty is a problem all too many low-income households have to contend with. While more affluent households leave a bigger carbon footprint, it is usually people of color that suffer the most economic and health consequences. University of Michigan assistant professor and Urban Energy Justice Lab director Dr. Tony Reames explores the issues and needed solutions in this conversation with WEMU’s David Fair. Read more.

Poor people and people of color use much more electricity per square foot in their homes than whites and more affluent people, according to new research. That means households that can least afford it end up spending more on utilities. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, arrives as the Biden administration has said that it wants 40 percent of federal climate spending to reach poorer communities and…

Continue reading “Tackling ‘Energy Justice’ Requires Better Data. These Researchers Are On It”

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2021) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced his selections for membership of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC). The committee will be comprised of five women and two men, including three people of color, making it the most diverse panel since the committee was established. The Administrator’s selections are well-qualified experts with a cross-section of scientific disciplines and experience needed to…

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“Riot Sweeps Chicago” should sound and feel intuitively familiar. However, this headline covered the front pages of a newspaper over a hundred years ago. Named the “Red Summer of 1919”, a spate of violence and bloodshed occurred from April to November 1919 with riots, lynchings, and mobs across the country. Hundreds of African American lives were claimed and hundreds more were left maimed and homeless. The most violent episodes occurred in Chicago, IL, Washington,…

Continue reading “Pandemics and protests: America has experienced racism like this before”

Neighborhood and individual level risks commonly co-occur for pregnant women and may cumulatively contribute to birth outcomes. Moreover, the relationship between favorable social and environmental neighborhood conditions and perinatal outcomes has been understudied. This study considered the accumulated impact of prenatal exposure to positive neighborhood social, environmental, and educational conditions in relation to maternal health during pregnancy and birth size outcomes. Read more about Senior Fellow Allison Appleton’s research.