Lasting Impact of Global Heating

During the Summer in the United States, heatwaves are a natural occurrence. Due to climate change, however, they are increasing in intensity, duration, and frequency. Heatwaves will become increasingly disruptive and harmful to our daily lives over the next few decades. Climate change is occurring and one of the effects is extreme heat. But beyond taking that as a given, how does that impact everyday people? We've all seen the graphs and figures, but in this piece, I explore how climate change is having real, tangible effects on individuals every day.

While Global Heating, by its very name, indicates that temperatures are rising everywhere, the changes are not the same in every area. While some areas of the globe have experienced actual temperature drops during the decades of fluctuations we have on file, some areas have experienced far higher-than-average increases. One set of regions that have experienced higher increases are urban areas. According to the EPA, this is called the “urban heat island” effect. This occurs because cities have large structures that block air movement, and trap heat. All cities are built with heat-retaining materials and surfaces--think pavement and cement--and it’s not hard to see how a hot Summer day would be hotter in the urban jungle than in a wide-open field.

At the same time, however, wealthier areas in these cities are more spacious and green. Due to an abundance of carbon-consumers like trees and plants, and a lack of heat-retaining materials, these places are much cooler than densely populated areas. And the parks and less-populated areas tend to be wealthier and whiter, while the hotter and more densely populated areas tend to be lower-income communities. Minority residents are often the primary inhabitants of these poorer areas. They live in areas surrounded by buildings, roads, and a lack of open space.

These modern issues find their roots in historical racism and segregation. In the 1930s, redlining made it difficult for African Americans and immigrants to purchase homes and properties. Slavery and Jim Crow Laws contributed to the racial wealth gap which was one of the factors that led to African-Americans being seen as risky to a loan or sell to. Many of them were unable to purchase property or land. This resulted in cities having a concentration of poverty and low homeownership rates in these minority neighborhoods.

Many lower-income communities and once redlined communities are still suffering the consequences. The communities in formerly redlined areas are exposed to and retain more heat. Furthermore, the lack of substantial generational wealth continues to relegate minorities into redlined areas. Though the practice was outlawed decades ago, it still affects people today.

The journal Nature Climate published research on the correlation between historical housing policies to disproportionate exposure to current deadly heat waves. One study examined the effects of warmer neighborhoods on the people who lived in them. Exposure to heat was linked to increased cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, and heatstroke. Other health risks included renal disease, fever, and imbalance of electrolytes in children, which affects their ability to learn. There are many long-term risks as well as short-term risks when people are exposed to excessive heat.

This is not an issue within one part of the country, but all across America. Global warming will continue to become a growing problem. We can already see the temperatures beginning to rise. In the next few decades, more parts of America will experience an increase in temperature and frequent heat waves. Not only does this affect lower-income communities and those living in the urban area, but younger children, the elderly, and construction and agricultural workers. It will affect those who are most vulnerable and essential.

Unfortunately, the solutions are complicated. It is important to think about how to implement solutions while taking into consideration potential effects on the communities they are trying to help. Implementing changes and new policies should help tackle the problem of systematic racism, as well as address issues of climate change. Even a straightforward idea like planting more trees to lower the temperature is more complex than first appears.While it would decrease temperatures, the property value will increase by 3-15% just by planting more trees. This will lead to the displacement of minorities and those living in the area. It hurts the people we are trying to protect.

As heat waves continue, we need to update our energy system to help communities and businesses cope with rising temperatures. These changes need to be implemented and take into account future climate conditions. One current example is Texas’s energy system. Their power grid is unreliable as it faces energy shortages in the middle of heatwaves and the past winter. People are asked to conserve energy by avoiding using large appliances such as air conditioners. However, those in lower-income neighborhoods are hit the hardest when a blackout occurs because of inadequate housing. They are harder to cool and more inefficient. They cannot afford or access cooling systems.

Without changes from the state and federal government, urban communities will continue to suffer. New policies must be implemented to protect people, such as outdoor workers, adolescents, low-income communities, minorities, and the elderly from the extreme heat. Individuals and communities can also play a role by creating local infrastructure to adapt to the occurrences of the heat waves. We can invest in clean energy technology, conservation, and energy efficiency measures. The Biden Administration strives to achieve a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2030. Transportation is one sector that can reduce carbon pollution by investing in the improvement of alternatives to automobiles, such as transit, rail, and bikes. It will allow people to have access to more choices. We can invest in car charging infrastructure to provide more incentive to people to purchase eco-friendly transportation. With that being said, many of our policies need to upgrade our infrastructure to be able to deal with the present and future climate conditions so that we do not have to deal with what Texas went through.

Heat waves and climate change will continue to pose challenges to our communities, individuals, and infrastructure. We can minimize future warnings by raising awareness and reducing our carbon emissions as the long-term solution. We want to avoid the worst consequences by preparing and adapting. We can discourage development in high-risk areas, and build more adaptable cities and communities. However, it should be focused on areas where the impacts are the greatest, which are low-income communities and minorities. It is important to get involved, from the ballot box to the street because we can all be a part of the fight against climate change.