By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
Ozone, fine
particulate matter, pollen and mold all influence air quality, and all are made
worse by rising temperatures. Two groups considered especially vulnerable are
children and the elderly. Children are more susceptible to poor air quality
because their bodies are still developing. (RIDOH)
Climate-change reports in Rhode Island and Massachusetts address
most of the essential health topics. But there is a significant difference in
how the states are implementing changes and addressing inadequacies.
In Massachusetts, a 2014 report recognizes
that climate change burdens residents as well as state and local agencies. The
average temperature is projected to increase 10 degrees by 2101. Days above 90
degrees are expected to increase six times; days above 100 degrees are
projected to increase 10 times. The elderly, low-income families and the sick
are the most likely to suffer from this additional heat.
Health officials say a lack of air conditioning and vegetation
make matters worse. Heat intensifies air pollution and prompts asthma attacks
and other respiratory illnesses. Increased rainfall increases runoff that
carries toxic chemicals and pathogens, polluting groundwater and swimming
areas.
Significant flooding caused
by Hurricane Irene in 2011 around the Deerfield and Connecticut rivers in
Massachusetts rendered a 6-mile stretch of Route 2 impassable. Reconstruction
cost $34.5 million. (MassDOT)
Floods and extreme rainstorms spawn harmful mold in buildings,
which creates respiratory illnesses and mental disorders. Extreme weather and
drought outside of cities impair crops and fisheries.
Higher food prices
follow, squeezing the budgets of older and low-income groups. Also, damaged
caused to infrastructure costs taxpayers.
Suggested strategies recommend agency collaboration to address
housing and zoning standards, and improve transportation, water resources,
agriculture, utilities and emergency planning. Specifically, there is a need to
develop stricter building codes and better warning systems, and create enhanced
flood-control, evacuation and relief-recovery plans.
Massachusetts health departments are being asked to emphasize
education, emergency preparation and management, and public outreach.
Aside from emergency-management preparations, “There is a
significant disconnect between what public health officials know about the
health threats associated with climate change, and what the public knows,”
according to a 2011 report by the
Massachusetts Executive Office of Environment and Energy and Adaptation
Advisory Committee.
A 2014 survey of
municipal health department heads across Massachusetts revealed a startling
lack of attention to the changing climate.
Consider: 60 percent expected
climate impacts; 69 percent said preparation to address the health effects
wasn’t a priority; 21 percent said they have the resources to address the
health issues of climate change; 62 percent said they didn’t have the expertise
and would require staff and funds to address climate change; 75 percent said
climate change wasn’t a top-10 priority; 50 could identify their elderly
population; 80 percent weren’t aware of how many residents have illnesses,
although the data was available; 70 percent had a plan to reach out to
vulnerable populations but lacked information on many at-risk groups; half said
their communities have resources to address heat waves.
Southeastern Massachusetts performed the worst in the survey. Only
8 percent of health departments believed their communities were ready for
climate-change impacts. Thirteen percent said staff had the expertise.
A 2014 assessment of
climate-change preparedness reached a similar conclusion “that most local
health departments felt unprepared, under-resourced and that they lack
expertise to address various health issues posed by climate variability.”
Multiple requests for an update on these conclusions from the
Massachusetts Department of Public Health went unanswered.
The agency will be holding a symposium for planners and emergency
professionals on preparing for climate health effects at the municipal level
April 22 in Westborough, Mass.
Progress is slow
In Rhode Island, a 2015 state climate-change report identified
health issues facing the poor, elderly, immigrants and non-English speaking
populations. The document serves as a guide for the next 70 years, and offers
best practices and case studies of solutions being used in cities outside the
state. Some of these ideas are being put to practice, albeit slowly.
A study by the Rhode
Island Department of Health (DOH) and Brown University corresponded with a
national pattern showing that emergency-room visits spiked with higher
temperatures. The elderly and young suffered the most. Health-care needs are
also expected to increase as the number of hot days increases.
This research partnership is now studying the role of heat on
social and geographic groups in the state. The results will be compared with
similar studies being done in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire.
Health officials believe the health impacts of hotter days and
heat waves, such as heat-related deaths, can be minimized with preparation and
good public-information campaigns.
“Lack of preparedness in addressing the dangers of heat can lead
to disastrous consequences,” according to the study.
Julia Gold, the DOH’s climate-change program manager, is the only
fully funded state employee addressing climate-change health risks for Rhode
Island.
While Massachusetts is able to work with local health departments on
adaptation strategies, Rhode Island must oversee efforts directly with cities
and towns; there are few municipal health boards in the Ocean State. Engaging
municipalities is a big priority, and finding funds to do is difficult. Most
Rhode Island initiatives must be funded by federal grants and other outside
sources.
“It’s a really big task,” Gold said. “We need to figure out how to
provide cities and towns additional resources to plan for climate change.”
She believes Rhode Island’s small size is an asset. “We’re lucky
we have a close-knit community working on these issues and how to change and
adapt for the changes we are seeing,” Gold said.
Heat will be a big human health problem across the state in the
years ahead. By 2070, the state is projected to experience up to 50 days of
90-plus-degree weather. In 1970, there were four days above 90 degrees; in
2013, 22 days exceeded 90 degrees.
A lack of trees and vegetation, a prevalence of pavement and other
heat-absorbing, manmade structures contribute to the higher temperatures, all
of which heighten the heat-island effect. Heat generated from black roofs,
vehicles, homes, power plants and factories also contributes to the problem.
Muggy, with a chance of
rain
Heat and air pollution are major concerns in minority and low
socioeconomic communities, as housing often lacks insulation, air conditioning
and adequate ventilation. In addition to power outages, heat worsens air
quality and increases illness and mortality among the elderly and people
suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.
Heat and air pollution intensify cases of asthma, heat exhaustion,
heat stroke, respiratory infection, heart and lung conditions, allergic
reactions and chronic diseases. Consequently, hospitalizations increase, along
with economic harm and outbreaks of disease. Isolation, language barriers,
level of education and vehicle access heighten exposure to these impacts.
Gold works closely with the Rhode Island Executive Climate Change
Coordinating Council to establish broad solutions to climate-related health
issues. The focus, she said, is on the health problems the state is already
seeing, “because the strategies of today will help with the future.”
So far, her office has established an internal advisory board to
help with strategic planning. Goals include state and regional collaboration
with agencies such as the Division of Elderly Affairs, and municipal groups
like park departments. The University of Rhode Island is a partner on
monitoring water quality through its Watershed Watch program.
More data is needed about impacts on food systems and water
quality. “So much of it stems from the science,” Gold said. “It’s really
complicated.”
Gold also is developing a heat response team with the Rhode Island
Emergency Management Agency. Groups are studying extreme cold, impacts on
medical institutions and mental health plans, all of which are intended to send
fewer people to emergency rooms.
She said there is a lot of uncertainty with preparing for climate
change, “but we know things are changing. We can start planning for these types
of climate changes but we don’t know what they look like, but we can prepare
for them.”
On an island
A partnership between Brown University’s TRI Lab-Climate Change and
the Environmental
Justice League of Rhode Island focuses on improving responses to the
heat-island effect and planning for threatening weather and power outages in
three Providence neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods will be identified for their susceptibility to
heat-related illnesses. Profiles will include age, race and prevalence of
illnesses such as diabetes and respiratory problems. Poverty, heat-island
impacts, distance to the coast and green space will also be measured.
DOH is collaborating with Brown University and state agencies to
host seminars with long-term-care and senior-housing facilities to help prepare
them for heat impacts and power outages. This collaboration will conduct
energy-resilience audits and develop emergency-preparedness plans. One goal is
emphasizing the shelter-in-place response, as moving the elderly during weather
events can often cause greater health problems.
Through a partnership with the Division of Forest Environment, DOH is mapping
neighborhoods with low tree canopy coverage and high poverty. One goal is to
reduce energy consumption. Tree planting, for instance, creates a natural
cooling effect. Regional cooling centers reduce the cost and energy use of
simply installing more air conditioners. Cooling centers also improve social
interaction and reduce isolation.
DOH’s Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response is
developing a uniform heat response plan for other agencies and groups. The
agency also is working with Brown University and the National Weather Service
to expand emergency warning systems. This project will gather data about
heat-related admissions at hospitals to look for trends.
Barely passing
Air pollution is already a problem. Most of Rhode Island receives
an air-quality rating from the American Lung Association of a C or below. Air
pollution impairs lung function, triggers heart attacks and strokes, and causes
cancer.
Climate change is expected to worsen air quality. Warmer
temperatures lengthen allergy season and increase air pollution. Poor-quality
housing, high-exposure jobs and lower rates of education put minority and
low-incomes groups at a heightened risk.
Flooding causes more harm on the elderly, young, low-income groups
and the disabled, groups that are likely to live in floodplains. DOH and the
state Emergency Management Agency have responded by creating a registry of the
disabled, the chronically ill and others who may require help from first-responders
during emergencies.
Mentally tough
Mental health is an emerging topic in climate-change planning.
Heat is suspected of contributing to mental-health disorders, especially people
with preexisting conditions.
In fact, heat waves triple the risk of death for
those with mental-health issues. Extreme weather and flooding lead to property
loss, social disruption and displacement.
They produce a string of chronic
health issues such as depression, long-term anxiety, substance abuse and
post-traumatic stress disorder. Suicide and increased aggression in children
also increase.
Bob Doppelt, of the University of Oregon and The Resource Innovation Group, spoke in
Providence last year about mental health and climate change.
“Emergency response and mental-health response systems are never
going to be robust enough to deal with these issues alone,” he said. “So
prevention has got to be the key. We have to focus on prevention. We are not
very good at that in the U.S. It’s not just Rhode Island, it’s any state.”
These Rhode Island and Massachusetts climate-change reports share
many conclusions. Sea levels here are rising faster than the global average.
Low elevations permit storm surges and flooding to move further inland. Winters
are shorter and wetter. At least one drought per summer is expected.
Although
relatively brief, these annual droughts cause water shortages, crop damage and
impacts to drinking water. However, both states have yet to address
catastrophic impacts such as displacement and conflict.
Most residents of southern New England know by now that things are
going to get hotter, wetter and, at times, drier. Lots of planning is taking
place. But it’s not clear if it will be in time or strong enough for the next
natural disaster, especially if the most vulnerable populations are threatened.