Climate change has far-reaching effects for everyone, but it disproportionately affects underresourced communities. Many low-income people and people of color are still recovering from natural disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, and many continue to be harmed by pollutants in their neighborhoods from decades of segregation. These factors make it challenging for people to stay healthy and safe, especially as the country battles COVID-19.
On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we're highlighting inclusive solutions to help our nation’s marginalized communities adapt to the world’s changing climate. The environmental movement hasn’t always prioritized equity, but with an emphasis on education and inclusive decisionmaking, effective solutions can ensure communities have the resources they need to adapt and thrive.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, rallying around the planet’s health might seem challenging. But the underlying problems in these two arenas aren’t unrelated, and their solutions require similar actions.
At last count, almost 1.4 million US households lived in severely inadequate homes. Many homes have been left in disrepair by Hurricanes Harvey and Maria and Western wildfires, so stay-at-home orders pose a unique health challenge for families living in these unsafe dwellings.
Thoughtful and thorough preparation for the disruptive effects of global climate change can provide a range of options for communities and households that would respect their historical assets, levels of social cohesion, desires for their own life outcomes, and opportunities for collective action.
The resolution’s vision is as wide as the attention it’s garnered. This blog post explores how the Green New Deal takes on massive climate, economic, and social justice challenges. Also, tune in to the Critical Value podcast episode to hear experts discuss the evidence that can inform the Green New Deal.
Defining climate equity and strategizing action are no small tasks. Based on the established scholarship of a rising group of energy justice researchers, we found six ways to prioritize climate equity and energy efficiency.
As migration increases along America’s coasts and in other geographies subject to extreme climate change effects, expanding the policy and program capacity of receiving communities is a regional resilience imperative.
After every major disaster in the US, we ask questions about the quality and speed of recovery. Urban researchers examine 88 disasters from 2005 to 2015 and explain disaster recovery improvements, missteps in federal disaster recovery, and opportunities to strengthen recovery efforts.
