11 environment, climate change and health

Question 1

sociology of the environment

Answer 1

concerned with “how humans (their cultures, values and behaviours) affect the physical environment and how the physical environment affects human activities”

-examining how they are mutually influential

-foci of sociology of the environment
1. (unintended) consequences of human action
2. influence of the environment on humanity
3. social policies

Question 2

products and consumption-related environmental harms

Answer 2

-petrochemical industry - Manufactures a wide range of synthetic products (e.g., plastics, paints, detergents, fabric, fertilizers, pesticides, rubber)
-> effects on air, land

• Carson’s Silent Spring
  -> silence of the birds - their song stifled by pesticides

-Pollution travels -> vast impact
-> pollutants from Indiana have been found in the breast milk of women living in nunavut

Question 3

these harms are not distributed equally
-environmental racism

Answer 3

a term used to describe how disadvantaged communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental health factors and disasters brought about by government and/or industrial policies

-relationship bw race, class and exposure to environmental hazards

Question 4

status of climate change effect on heath

Answer 4

The earth is on pace for severe damage from climate change

1. the world is on track to surpass a significant level of warming
2. on the current track, brace for more disasters
3. The world has made some real progress

-we are at 1.1/1.5 rise limit (tipping point)
-rapidly closing window of opportunity to reverse climate change

Question 5

unequal contributions to climate change in the first place

Answer 5

higher income , higher emissions

Question 6

10 ways climate change affects our health

Answer 6

air pollution
foods
allergens and pollen
temperatures extremes
wildfires
diseases carried by vectors
food and waterborne diarrheal disease
mental health and stress-related disorders
food security
increasing risk of conflict and refugee crises

Question 7

impact of climate change on human health and exacerbation of existing inequities

Answer 7

more extreme weather -> degraded living conditions and social inequities

rising sea levels -> water quality impacts

increasing co2 levels -> water and food supply impacts

rising temperatures -> environmental degradation

Question 8

air pollution, allergens and pollen

Answer 8

-increasing temps -> increase in 03 and particulate matter -> increase in smog

-03 associated with diminished lung function -> asthma, cardiovascular disease, respiratory allergies

-threat multiplier (e.g. COVID)

Question 9

vetor-borne diseases

Answer 9

-warmer temperatures -> increase in geographic areas where vectors (e.g. mosquitoes and ticks) can survive and breed
-e.g. malaria, dengue, encephalitis, hantavirus, rift valley fever, lyme disease, chikungunya, west nile virus

Question 10

water quality and waterborne diseases

Answer 10

-increase in precipitation, storm surges and sea temperatures -> flooding and runoff that can spread sewage, chemical and disease-causing microbes or pathogens
-low precipitation and high temps in warmer months -> swifter bacterial replication

eg. cholera, cryptosporidiosis, campylobacter, leptospirosis, harmful algal blooms

Question 11

food insecurity

Answer 11

increase in frequency and intensity of severe weather (heat, waves, floods, droughts) -> decreased/ ruined food supply

-increase in food commodity prices -> malnutrition

-also impacts the variety of foods available

Question 12

extreme weather events

Answer 12

not a coincidence : heat, fires and floods are all connected

Question 13

mental health and stress-related disorders

Answer 13

anxiety-related responses to climate hazards and events

-direct physiological pathways from air pollution to mental illness

-exacerbation of existing conditions (e.g. social and health vulnerabilities) and situational factors

Question 14

increasing risk of conflict and refugee crises

Answer 14

-extreme weather, rising seas and damaged ecosystems and ruined livelihoods -> civil conflict, forced migration

-makes life harder for those already forced to flee

-once in “new home” adjusting to new country/life has mental health implications of its own

Question 15

how does inequity relate to environment, climate and health

Answer 15

climate change is a universal storm
but were not all in the same boat

Question 16

social inequities both contribute to, and are exacerbated by, climate change

Answer 16

• “some lives matter less” is the root of all thats wrong with the world

-climate hazards are disproportionately and unfairly distributed among the most vulnerable social groups. This is not a coincidence

eg. pre-existing health conditions; precarious housing situation ; SES

Question 17

social justice

Answer 17

health justice
climate justice
spatial justice
racial justice

Question 18

BC heat dome of 2021

Answer 18

many deaths
could have been prevented in many ways, beyond medical intervention

Question 19

1 weather related killer

Answer 19

heat

Question 20

are neighborhoods effected equally

Answer 20

no south bronx has lot less greenery than upper east and west wides

Question 21

sensors

Answer 21

type T thermocouples

fire off every second to capture block-by-block differences in heat and humidity

Question 22

not a coincidence
-built environment in hotter areas

Answer 22

-denser housing
-inadequate infrastructure
-more traffic
-less green space

Question 23

socio-environmental conditions in hotter areas

Answer 23

-more likely to work outside
-low access to A/C
-inadequate/dilapidated housing
-higher prevalence of pre-existing conditions
-little access to health care

Question 24

effects of income

Answer 24

higher income areas have means to prepare for heat

-air quality and asthma
-A/C possession

Question 25

link to health and social inequities is an opportunity

Answer 25

inter connected problems = inter-connected solutions

-climate action as a prescription for improve health and equity

-“win-win-win” actions

-actions necessary for the interlinked issues of climate, health, and inequities are one and the same

-health is a way to depoliticize climate change and challenge the ideological barriers around it