Transcript Think Globally, Act Locally: Global Warming and

Think Globally, Act Locally:
Global Warming and
Richmond, CA
Michel Sam, MS, MD
Richmond Demographics –
Environmental Racism
US Census 2000
Richmond, CA
Population
% of Richmond
Population
Median Household
income in $
Average Household
size
Per Capita Income
in $
Laotian
Asian
Black
Latino
1,849 12,198 35,777
2
12
36
39,444 56,558 35,918
5
3
3
8,062 20,543 17,473
White
Total
26,319 31,117
27
31
41,362 50,390
4
99,216
44,210
2
3
12,239 26,612
19,788
Individuals below
poverty level
360
1,084
7,822
4,819
3,538
15,873
% below poverty
level
19
9
22
18
11
16
Richmond and the Environment
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Strong history of environmental
activism, esp. re: Chevron
West County Toxics Coalition – group
of local organizations led by Henry
Clark
Communities for a Better
Environment
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
(APEN) and Laotian Outreach Project
APEN
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APEN, founded in 1993, its mission is
to empower low-income API
communities to achieve
environmental and social justice.
• Direct organizing in local communities
• Network building
• Multiracial alliances to affect regional
and national change
APEN – LOP
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Branch of APEN specifically created
to address the needs of the Laotian
community in CC County
Membership base of 200 families and
20 leaders
Torm Nompraseurt, Lead Organizer.
Featured in “Unnatural Causes”
LOP - Fighting Fire with Fire
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After the March 1999 chemical
explosion at Chevron revealed CC
County’s inadequate English Only
emergency response system, the
LOP got the county to implement a
multilingual emergency phone alert
system
Trying to Stop the New Chevron
Incinerator
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APEN-LOP, Communities for a Better
Environment, and the West Toxics
Coalition are suing the city of
Richmond over the city council’s
decision to allow Chevron to proceed
without public input or proper
environmental review.
Global Warming and Richmond
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APEN: How does global warming affect the
health of people in Richmond and Contra
County?
Rising Global Temp
JAMA, Jan 2004
Lyme Disease
Dengue Fever
JAMA, Jan 2004
Thinking Globally
WHO estimated mortality attributable to climate change in 2000
(CVD, diarrhea, malaria, flooding, malnutrition). Nature, Nov 2005
Where to go from here?
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Infections. Malaria, Dengue Fever,
Lyme Disease? Not very realistic
Heat Wave Related Events and
Preparedness
• Related to LOP’s multilingual emergency
response system
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Allergies – High rates of asthma and
SAR in CC County
References
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Knowlton et al. The 2006 California Heat Wave: Impacts on
Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits. Environ Health
Perspect 117:61–67 (2009).
Hess et al. Climate Change, The Importance of Place. Am J Prev
Med 2008;35(5):468–478.
McMichael et al. Climate change and human health: present and
future risks. Lancet 2006; 367: 859–69
Campbell-Lendrum et al. Climate change: Quantifying the health
impact at national and local levels. WHO Public Health and the
Environment, Geneva 2007.
Ebi et al. Community-Based Adaptation to the Health Impacts of
Climate Change. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(5)
Frumkin et al. Climate Change: The Public Health Response. Am J
Public Health. 2008;98:435–445.
Patz et al. Impact of regional climate change on human health.
Nature Vol 438|17 November 2005.
Haines et al. Health Effects of Climate Change. JAMA, January 7,
2004—Vol 291, No. 1
US Census Bureau
www.silentspring.org
www.apen4ej.org