Links

http://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/extremely-hot-days-on-the-rise
July 25, 2018
Late July is the hottest time of year for much of the country. In the midst of this summer heat, we calculated the number of extremely hot days each year in 244 cities across the country and found that 73 percent experience more extremely hot days than they did a half-century ago.
On average, compared with a half-century ago, there is an additional month of temperatures above 100°F in Austin and above 95°F in Houston. Cities in the Southeast have seen surges in extreme summer heat, too. Augusta, Shreveport, and Tallahassee all have an additional three weeks worth of days above 95°F compared to 50 years ago.
Both rural and urban locations have been getting hotter as the world warms from increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but cities are further made hotter by the urban heat island effect.


https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/how-climate-change-hurts-childrens-health/
April 17, 2018
Rising temperatures, drought, and weather disasters can threaten people’s health. Nobody is exempt. But …
Perera: “The health of children is disproportionately affected by climate change.”
Frederica Perera is director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health. She says children are vulnerable because their immune systems are not mature. And, their rapidly growing bodies are more sensitive to damage from disease and environmental contaminants.
In particular, children are more likely than adults to die from diarrheal disease, which is expected to become more common in some areas as the climate warms.
And some children are at more risk than others.
Perera: “It is the children living in low income countries and communities who are most affected.”
Low-income communities often lack the resources to effectively prevent and treat illness. What’s more, climate change-related food shortages can lead to malnourishment, which puts children at greater risk of other health problems.


https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/a-warmer-climate-could-make-your-dog-sick/
April 12, 2018
A warmer climate could make your dog sick
Canine heartworm disease is caused by long worms that live in a dog’s heart and blood vessels. It can be fatal. And a warming climate could make this disease more common.
Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes. So it’s most common in warm, moist areas such as the southeastern United States.
But as the climate changes, other parts of the country may see more mosquitoes, and the mosquito season may get longer.
Ebel: “That could happen because of temperature. It could happen because of changes in rainfall.”
Greg Ebel is a professor at Colorado State University. He says temperature also affects mosquitoes’ ability to carry heartworm in the first place.
Ebel: “There’s a certain number of days that are required for that parasite to develop inside a mosquito, and if there aren’t enough days in the summer where the temperature exceeds a certain temperature, then the worm won’t develop in the mosquito and it can’t be transmitted.”
So as the climate warms, more mosquitoes are likely to be carriers. And it’s increasingly important to protect your dog. Many vets now recommend giving preventative medication year-round – even in some places where heartworm used to only be a summertime threat.


https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/04/childrens-health-improved-after-coal-plant-closure/
April 2, 2018
Coal-burning power plants emit air pollution that harms people’s health. So, when a plant in Tongliang, China, was scheduled to close in 2004, researchers wondered how the change in air quality would affect the health of children born in the surrounding city.
Frederica Perera is the director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health. She studied two groups of children from Tongliang: one born two years before the power plant closed, and one born a year after the closure.
Perera: “We compared not only the birth outcomes but also the neurodevelopmental outcomes in the children who were assessed at two years of age.”
The findings were significant. Perera says children born before the coal plant closed had higher rates of delayed motor development than children born after the plant closed. And their umbilical cord blood had lower levels of a protein critical to brain development.


https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/05/climate-change-there-are-emojis-for-that/
May 25, 2018
Climate change? There are emojis for that.
The icon set includes wildfires, power plants, and melting glaciers.
https://climoji.org/


https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2018/03/climate-themed-album-sobers-inspires/
March 9, 2018
A climate-themed album sobers and inspires
'Fossil Fuel Kid' wrestles with our complicity in climate change.
In his songs, DeWald describes his fear of climate change. He also acknowledges that his own actions, like driving a car, have contributed to global warming – and he wrestles with that feeling of complicity.
He wants to help people process their feelings about the issue.
Ultimately, DeWald expresses his hope for a future shaped by people who fight global warming.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6CqwgvdVQ7fnMOCNdzEsk0?si=xXeg8nvZQj6g-zQjFCTDkg