Earlier this semester, students from the Animals and Earth Club at IU East and faculty from the Sustainability Council, including Assistant Librarian of Access Services Beth South, had the opportunity to attend the Indiana Sustainability and Resilience Conference (ISRC) on February 9th at IU Indianapolis. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about sustainability efforts happening in Indiana and regionally from presenters that included architects, city planners, engineers, non-profit organizers, state park employees, social workers, business leaders, public policy advocates, and educators.
It’s impossible to attend every session, but a common theme that emerged from many of the presentations, including from keynote speaker Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell, and former White House official during the Obama administration, is that climate change is not only a critical public health issue, but a social justice issue as well. Climate change disproportionately effects poor and communities of color as well as migrant workers, women, people with disabilities, and the elderly (United Nations Development Programme). Many of these groups experience discrimination and lack of trust in their local government and other community agencies.
Since 2017, the US has had 137 individual billion-dollar disasters, totaling around a trillion dollars, that have killed at least 5,500 people. Most of this is from hurricanes and severe storms, but climate-related disasters also include wildfires, extreme heat and cold snaps, drought, and flooding (NOAA). Climate Change exacerbates many of the issues the communities and people most at risk already face such as inequitable access to affordable and safe housing, clean water, healthcare, and social services, especially if there is a language barrier (World Bank).
One presentation at ISRC that stood out, “United for Environmental Justice: Climate Change, Emergency Disasters, & Protective Policy Strategies,” emphasized that we need to be practical and face the reality of climate change and work on strategies to reduce risks. This includes having a community safety or natural disaster plan, establishing preventative measures, such as having an emergency management and natural disaster plan, providing education to the community and climate-related risks, providing coordinated care after an emergency, and establishing a long-time recovery group (Parham and Murphy-Nugen).
Ensuring culturally informed and equitable access to resources, without discrimination is vital to emergency preparedness, but usually still falls short in practice. The Campus Library has access to the following resources to explore this issue more (you may be prompted to login with your IU credentials):
- Language Translation During Disaster: A Comparative Analysis of Five National Approaches
- A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action
- A whole community approach to emergency management: Strategies and best practices of seven community programs
- Labor Rights in the Anthropocene: The Effects of Climate Change on Undocumented Farm Workers
- Gendering Climate Change: A Feminist Criminological Perspective
- U.S. Disaster Displacement in the Era of Climate Change: Discrimination & Consultation under the Stafford Act
- The Nexus of Climate Change, COVID-19, and Environmental Justice on Children’s Health
- We Must Be Antiracist In Our Fight Against Climate Change
- People and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Social Justice
There is more society can do to help prepare for climate change and hazardous weather situations, but individually there are plenty of apps available that can help warn you of dangerous weather events and help prepare you in an emergency. Below are just a couple of examples:
This app by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention helps keep track of your local heat index (HI); how hot it feels during the day which can vary depending on the weather, humidity, and your location (city/rural area). If you work or do a lot of physical outdoor activities, this app can provide occupational safety and health recommendations, so you can avoid extreme heat illnesses.
American Red Cross Severe Weather app
You can be prepared for dangerous weather situations with this app, which allows you to set your location, or your family and friends location, and receive timely weather information.
Along with the severe weather app, the American Red Cross First Aid can walk you through first aid situations. For those with pets, they also have an app to assist with your pet’s first aid.
EPA Smoke Sense
For those who encounter wildfires regularly, try out the Environmental Protection Agency’s citizen science study, Smoke Sense, a mobile app designed to study the impacts of wildfire smoke exposure on health. They also have the AIRNow app, which can monitor and provide information on local air quality in real-time. Like the heat safety app, this can help you prepare and protect your health during outdoor activities.
If you like to follow the weather and want more precise weather forecasts for your area, you can try the Weather Underground app, which provides weather information at the hyper local level.
FEMA app
Plan for natural disasters and be prepared for the weather events that could impact you by using the Federal Emergency Management Agency app. This can help you create a family communication plan, emergency packing lists, and real-time warnings on emergency situations happening near your location.
April is Earth Month, a month to celebrate the earth and all its natural wonders, but it is also the start of severe storms before leading into the extreme heat of summer, wildfires, and hurricanes. Don’t be caught off guard and learn how you can prepare. If you need help researching social justice and climate change or on climate resilience and preparedness, just Ask Us! at iueref@iu.edu.
Sources:
Parham, L. and Murphy-Nugen, A. (2024). “United for Environmental Justice: Climate Change, Emergency Disasters, & Protective Policy Strategies.” Indiana University Environmental Resilience Institute Conference. Indianapolis, IN.
NOAA. (2024). “2023: A historic year of U.S. billion-dollar weather and climate disasters.” https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/beyond-data/2023-historic-year-us-billion-dollar-weather-and-climate-disasters#:~:text=NOAA%20image%20by%20NCEI.,cost%20%3E%241%20trillion%20in%20damage.
United Nations Development Programme (2023). “Climate Change is a matter of justice—here’s why.” https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/climate-change-matter-justice-heres-why
The World Bank (2023). “Social Dimensions of Climate Change.” https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/social-dimensions-of-climate-change
To learn more about climate change and related issues, you are welcome to Ask Us! iueref@iu.edu
