By Leila Waid.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1 and will end on November 30, has already produced many storms and hurricanes that have left a trail of devastation in the U.S. Florida was hit by back-to-back hurricanes, Helene and Milton, within a two-week span. Experts warn that these repeated traumatic exposures to natural disasters can have a tremendous impact on mental health and emotional well-being.

In May 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)predicted the 2024 hurricane season would be “above-normal,” in part due to “near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean.” Researchers have long predicted that climate change will lead to stronger and more intense hurricanes. As described by the Lancet, “a warmer world makes hurricanes nastier and wetter, giving them more energy and greater intensity.”

Now that we are faced with the reality of disastrous hurricanes year after year that are projected to get worse and worse, how do we organize and protect ourselves and our communities from these natural disasters that are made worse by anthropogenic activity?

There are two main approaches to addressing climate change: mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions) and adaptation (adjusting to current and future climate change events). Although mitigation techniques are incredibly important, they alone are not enough to overcome the barriers communities face from a changing climate. Adaptation techniques are needed. One such critical adaptation approach is called community resilience, which researchers define as “ a community’s capability of bouncing back—restoring the original pre-disaster state, as well as bouncing forward—the capacity to cope with emerging post-disaster situations and changes.”

No single community is the same as another, and there are variousways one can define a community. Thus, the specific community resilience method that works best for one community may not work as well for another – after all, climate change solutions are rarely a one-size-fits-all approach. Some examples of community resilience include increasing funding for community resources. For example, some researchers argue that increasing funding for Rural Local Public Health Departments can help increase the healthcare infrastructure and help with climate resilience in communities that tend to be geographically isolated. Other researchers have pointed out the importance of utilizing public health preparedness and response frameworks to increase community resilience.

Other examples of community resilience focus on increasing mental health services for communities since natural disaster events, such as hurricanes and floods, can lead to an increase in depression and PTSD. Education is another important aspect of community resilience. Many individuals may not realize that they are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, or if they are aware of the risks, they may feel helpless in doing anything about it. It’s important to increase individuals’ “risk perception” of climate change to motivate them to take action.

EPA recently released the Climate Resilience and Adaptation Funding Toolbox (CRAFT), a resource for organizations interested in implementing climate change adaptation techniques in their communities. Question to consider: If you were to apply to help strengthen your community against climate change, what would you want to focus on?

By Stephen Lester.

A recent article in the Washington Post painted a very clear picture of the enormous amount of energy being used by data centers to fuel the exploding world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). According to the article, roughly 25% of all Americans have used ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI) since it was released in 2022. These chatbots use massive amounts of energy to respond to questions on-line. Keeping these computers operating means keeping them cool and that is taking a significant toll on the environment.

Two often cited concerns are the massive amounts of water and electricity that these data centers require, not to mention the strain on the local infrastructure that results from the increased demands. Working with researchers from the University of California at Riverside, the Washington Post estimated how much water and energy OpenAI’s ChatGPT uses to write the average 100-word email.

Water used to generate a single 100-word AI response:

Once: Requires 519 milliliters of water, a little more than 1 bottle.

Once weekly for a year: Requires 27 liters, about 1.43 water cooler jugs.

Once weekly for a year by 1 out of 10 Americans (roughly 16 million people): Requires 435,235,476 liters, equal to the water consumed by all of Rhode Island households for 1.5 days.

Energy used to generate a single 100-word AI response:

Once: Requires 0.14 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, equal to powering 14 LED light bulbs for 1 hour.

Once Weekly for a year: Requires 7.5 kWh, equal to the electricity consumed by 9.3 Washington, DC households for 1 hour.

Once weekly for a year by 1 out of 10 working Americans: Requires 121,517 megawatt-hours (MWh), equal to the electricity consumed by all Washington, DC households for 20 days.

The computers used to generate an AI response run through “thousands of calculations to determine the best words to use in a response.” This process generates a great deal of heat. According to the article, water is usually used to cool these computers, typically housed in data centers that are cropping up all over the country because of the exploding demand for AI. “Water transports the heat generated in the data centers into cooling towers to help it escape the building, similar to how the human body uses sweat to keep cool.”

According to the Post article, where electricity is cheaper or where water is scarce, electricity is often used to cool the computers using large air-conditioning-like units. You might see this in Arizona, southern California, Georgia or anywhere in the southern half of the United States. As a result, large portions of the country are suddenly developing a growing need for electricity that’s not necessarily readily available. Another Washington Post article describes energy demand in Georgia reaching record highs and the Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in the state, struggling to keep up with energy demand, projecting it will run out of transmission capacity by the end of the decade. Similar energy challenges are playing out in Northern Virginia, Texas and other places where these data centers are being built.  

This growing demand for electricity has triggered lots of push back from local communities that are unsure whether they want these data centers. Concerns have been raised about the noise generated by these centers as well as the enormous amount of water and electricity they use. Questions have been raised about who gets the electricity from the grid and how is it paid for. Some local residents worry that their electric bill will go up to help subsidize the cost of meeting the increased need for electricity. 

This search for energy prompted Microsoft to reach out to the Constellation Energy, a large energy company that owns the closed Three Mile Island Nuclear Power (TMI) plant near Harrisburg, PA, the site of the worst nuclear accident in US history. One of the two reactors at the site (Unit #2) suffered a partial meltdown and has remain closed since 1979. The second reactor (Unit #1) was shut down five years ago. Microsoft reached an agreement with Constellation to purchase all of the energy generated by Unit #1 at TMI for 20 years. Constellation described this as ”it’s largest ever power purchase agreement. The reactor is set to open in 2028 pending approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The agreement between Microsoft and Constellation said nothing about what’s going to happen to the radioactive waste generated by this power plant. There still is no permanent repository for this waste. Instead, it is being stored at over 70 operating and shuttered nuclear plants around the country.

The growing demand for electricity driven by the booming fields of artificial intelligence and cloud computing is here to stay. These proliferating data centers are going to require unprecedented amounts of energy and water. Where that comes from remains to be seen, but you can  be sure the tech companies will do everything in their power to get what they need, even if it means reopening a dead nuclear power plant.le that will put extra demands for housing, transportation and other essentials for an expected growing population? 

By Sharon Franklin.

Before recent hurricanes that have reduced towns and cities in the Southeast, there was a trend for Americans most affected by the climate crisis to move to the Midwest.  Now, the question is.. Will there be more?   In a recent article by Stephen Starr, Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/22/climate-crisis-americans-move-midwest he noted that the 65,000 person city of Muncie, Indiana may not be the most exciting place in the world,  because it doesn’t have beaches, or year-round warm weather, it is now home to Laura Rivas, a former resident of North Miami Beach, Florida.  

Why?  It was the climate crisis and strengthened hurricanes, flooding and skyrocketing insurance premiums for homeowners or the inability to just obtain homeowner insurance.  Rivas noted, “every hurricane season was worse than the last to the point that insurance companies “couldn’t afford [to operate in Florida] any more.  For her, after receiving a notice that her insurance was being increased to $3,000/month, she knew it was time to go. 

Now she says “My mortgage and homeowner’s insurance are $600 a month, total,” “Five times less than my homeowners’ insurance for a home half the size in Florida.”

Rivas is not alone, many from Puerto Rico fled after 2017.  “It’s probably no coincidence that the majority of the Climate Migrants are coming from Texas, California and Florida, said Evan Hock of MakeMyMove, an Indianapolis-based company that partners with small cities across the country to offer incentives to remote workers to relocate. 

Currently, Hurricane, Helene has shown that there is no escape from the effects of the climate crisis, regardless of location, as noted by the recent weather-related events in the Southeastern states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

What Will Be The Climate Migrant Demands On The Midwestern States Infrastructures?   

Derek Van Berkel, University of Michigan is strategizing with other researchers for the expected growing of an incoming population to the Midwest and Great Lakes region in the years and decades ahead. 

The Question Remains   

What can these communities expect from an influx of people that will put extra demands for housing, transportation and other essentials for an expected growing population? 

By Leila Waid.

Climate change is already having an enormous impact on our world. All individuals are at risk from the debilitating effects of climate change due to an increase in events such as heat waves, flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters. However, some individuals are more at risk than others and face higher disparities, such as pregnant women and neonates. 

One of the most significant consequences of climate change already being felt are the overbearing heat waves that roll in summer after summer. And every year, it just seems to get hotter and hotter. In fact, not only does it “seem” to, but it actually does get warmer. In fact, “summer 2024…was the warmest summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere, beating the previous record set in 2023 by .66 degrees Celsius, or 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit.” What will next year bring? What about the next five or ten years? And how will the most vulnerable among us be able to adapt to these changes?

Pregnant individuals and their fetuses are extremely vulnerable to health exhaustion and heat stroke. For example, a study found that exposure to high temperatures during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of childhood lymphoblastic leukemia. Most alarmingly, the study found that the correlation was strongest during the first trimester – specifically at eight weeks of gestation. At eight weeks of pregnancy many individuals may not even know they are pregnant. Thus, this could potentially lead to higher levels of heat exposure since the pregnant person may not realize that they need to take preventive measures, such as staying hydrated and keeping out of direct sun.

Another study found that exposure to high temperatures during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of the infant being born low-weight and pre-term. The study also found an association between high-temperature exposure and stillbirth. The risk was most pronounced for women in lower socioeconomic levels, with higher income providing a protective factor against the health risks.

And it is not only the fetus that suffers from exposure to high temperatures, but the pregnant person also faces increased health risks. A study found that heat exposure was associated with a 27% increased risk of severe maternal morbidity (SMM). The study defines SMM as a “near-miss for maternal mortality, referring to severe and unexpected conditions during labor and delivery.” Notedly, the study focused on both short-term and long-term exposure to heat and found that both exposure types were associated with an increase in SMM. These findings suggest that even one exposure to a heat wave could impact a pregnant individual’s health status.

Unfortunately, heat waves are not the only pathway through which climate change harms pregnant women health and well-being. For example, researchers are analyzing the effect that flooding has on pregnancy outcomes. A particular concern, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC), is how flooding can impede individuals’ ability to access much-needed healthcare services, especially in situations where walking to the healthcare center is the only option – such as in this research study conducted in Zambia. And even if transportation access is usually reliable, resources can still become scarce in emergency situations, with ambulances and medical workers being overwhelmed during flooding events. For example, a study found that pregnant women exposed to extreme floods in South Carolina had increased risk of SMM.

However, even putting aside the practical ways, such as transportation, by which flooding can complicate access to prenatal, labor, and post-natal care needs, there is also the emotional toll that the experience places on the pregnant individual. One study focused on comparing mental health outcomes for women who were pregnant during Hurricane Katrina and women who were not. The researchers found that pregnant people had much higher rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression compared to their non-pregnant counterparts.

As evident, the impact of climate change on pregnant people is multidimensional and compounding. But we are not hopeless or helpless in fighting to address this issue. Advocating for climate change policies is the best way to help address the health inequalities pregnant women face and guarantee they and their children can be healthy and thrive. We must ensure that the next generation is born into a greener, more beautiful world.

By Stephen Lester.

Today marks the 23^rd anniversary of the horrific attacks on the United States that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths and 6,000 injuries when al-Qaida hijackers crashed four jetliners into the twin towers in New York City, the Pentagon and a field in southwest Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. 

The legacy of the events from that day continues for the first responders, volunteers and nearby residents in New York City who were exposed to the toxic cloud that resulted when the two World Trade Center buildings collapsed. These people were exposed to a mixture of particulate matter and chemical agents, some of which are known human carcinogens or linked to various respiratory illnesses.

To help survivors and first responders involved in the attack, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) was established by the U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 22, 2001 to provide compensation for individuals who suffered physical injuries or took part in the cleanup efforts in the aftermath of the attacks. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 would later reactivate the VCF and lead to the creation of the CDC’s World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) to provide additional medical benefits to victims.

The WTCHP offers medical screening, monitoring, and treatment to 9/11 first responders and survivors with presumptive WTC-related health conditions. The program also covers medically associated conditions that resulted from treatment or progression of WTC-related health conditions. To establish these associated illnesses, the WTCHP’s established a Scientific/ Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) of medical and environmental health specialists who conduct extensive scientific literature reviews to identify health conditions that may be related to the particulates and chemicals present in the toxic cloud. This committee also makes recommendations regarding additions to the program’s eligibility criteria and WTC-Related Health Conditions List. This fund is not only for those who were first responders, but to also for nearby residents and others who were impacted by chemicals in the toxic cloud. 

The main criteria for people to receive assistance through the Victim Compensation Fund are:

1. Proof certified by a program-affiliated physician of 9/11-related physical injury or condition listed as WTCHP’s eligible presumptive illnesses. Certification indicates that an applicant’s condition is among one of the WTCHP’s presumptive conditions and their exposure to the 9/11 attacks likely caused, aggravated or contributed to that condition.
2. Proof of presence at one of the attack sites or along debris removal routes during Sept. 11, 2001 through May 30, 2002.
3. Proof that they belong to an eligible group (first responders and/or survivors).

Importantly, people do not have to show proof that their presence at an attack site or debris removal site caused their illness or injury in order to receive assistance.

The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) has been extended to 2090 and plans to continue to secure funding. Officials at the Department of Justice, which runs the program warned in Time magazine in 2019 “that people exposed to the toxins released during the Sept, 11^th attacks and their aftermath may not even be experiencing the full health effects yet. For instance, the world Trade Center was known to contain asbestos which causes mesothelioma, a deadly disease that can take decades to appear.” This stark observation has been borne out by researchers at the Mount Sinai World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who reported 

a 219% increased risk of thyroid cancer, a 41% higher risk of leukemia and a 25% increased risk of prostate cancer for workers involved in the response and cleanup. This study covered 12 years post exposure. Long-term effects are likely to continue well into the future. 

To date, the more than $12.9 billion in financial compensation was been given out through these programs. If you know anyone who was in New York on that day who feels they were exposed to the toxic cloud that engulfed lower Manhattan when the buildings collapsed, ask them to reach out to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). There’s may be an opportunity to be evaluated by medical experts familiar with chemical exposures.  

By Sharon Franklin.

Reporters have found an increased cancer risk for some people who, as children, played in a creek contaminated with uranium waste.  This has caused a grade school to close amid radiation concerns. A landfill operator is spending millions to keep underground smoldering from reaching nuclear waste illegally dumped in the 1970s, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press.  Both the federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis. Missouri area in the mid-20th century were aware of health effects that haunt this region.

Recent articles published by the Associated Press AP “How America’s push for the atomic bomb spawned enduring radioactive waste problems in St. Louis” and  Environmental Health News “A Forgotten Chapter: Downwinders Fight For Recognition and Justice”  highlights the risks, about spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems that have been often ignored by both the federal government and the polluting companies. 

The government cleanup is complete, but the site is considered permanently damaged and will require oversight into perpetuity. Rather than remove the waste, the government built a 75-foot-tall mound, covered in rock, to serve as a permanent disposal cell for much of the waste. The government said the site is safe, but local residents remain worried, because they live near contamination sites and the uncertainty, because many grew up in the area and weren’t told about the risks for decades.  People in the St. Louis area remain concerned that more illnesses are caused by the contamination and some are pushing for legislation to compensate those who are sick.

Citizen Activists Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel were so concerned about cancer and other unusual illnesses in their St. Louis County neighborhoods formed Just Moms STL.  Dawn Chapman of the activist group stated they are pushing for cleanup and federal buyouts in an area near the airport.  She said the region “saved our country” with its work on the nuclear program but paid a terrible cost.”  “We are a national sacrifice zone”.