Geography of Risks
This U.S. region currently has some of the highest cumulative heat exposure and large older populations, especially in Florida.
What is the South Atlantic?
The burning of this energy source is the primary driver of climate change.
What are fossil fuels?
Older adults are especially vulnerable to this dangerous condition caused by extreme heat.
What is heat stroke? (Also acceptable: hyperthermia)
This federal initiative requires that 40% of certain climate investments benefit disadvantaged communities.
What is Justice40?
This term describes the racial and class-based disparities in climate impacts within the United States.
What is the climate gap?
Counties in the Deep South and parts of Texas are described as future “_____” due to high heat exposure and aging populations.
What are hotspots?
This 1930s housing policy graded neighborhoods and often labeled Black communities as “hazardous.”
What is redlining?
This common class of medications, such as diuretics or beta-blockers, can increase vulnerability to heat.
What are cardiovascular medications?
The 2022 law that made historic climate investments and amended the Clean Air Act.
What is the Inflation Reduction Act?
Communities of color are more likely to live near highways, refineries, and industrial facilities due to this historic pattern.
What is racial residential segregation?
Historically colder regions like New England are projected to see especially large increases in this measure of chronic heat exposure.
What are cooling degree days (CDDs)?
The term used in the article to describe areas where pollution sources are concentrated in marginalized communities.
What are sacrifice zones?
Lack of this household technology explains much of the racial disparity in heat-related mortality in cities like Chicago.
What is air conditioning?
In historically cooler regions, the authors recommend investing in these systems to warn residents about extreme heat.
What are heat warning systems (or early warning systems)?
Older adults are especially vulnerable to heat because aging reduces the body’s ability to do this.
What is thermoregulate (or regulate body temperature)?
This measure captures acute heat exposure by calculating the 95th percentile of daily maximum temperatures.
What is TMax95?
This concept describes how racial segregation, wealth inequality, and political power shape climate-related health inequities.
What is structural racism?
Chronic heat exposure is measured as cooling degree days, while population-level exposure multiplies CDDs by this demographic group.
Who are adults age 69 and older?
The authors argue that physicians need this competency to recognize how systemic forces shape climate health risks.
What is structural competency?
During hurricanes like Katrina and Harvey, these groups were disproportionately harmed due to limited resources and evacuation access.
Who are low-income communities and communities of color?
According to Carr et al., in historically colder regions, rising heat exposure is driven more by this factor than by population aging.
What is climate change (rising temperatures)?
The authors argue that climate mitigation must address these underlying systemic factors, not just individual behaviors.
What are structural determinants (or structural drivers) of inequality?
Wildfire smoke increases exposure to this harmful fine particulate pollutant.
What is PM2.5?
Effective climate policy must link decarbonization with these broader goals to truly close the climate gap.
What are racial and economic justice (or health equity)?
The combination of climate change, economic injustice, and structural racism is described by the authors using this epidemiological term.
What is a syndemic?