Fluent Essays

Requirements:-Please think of an innovative and critical title-7 pages, MLA format-MUST use some of the sources I provided(attached). Outside sources also welcomed.-Use a few images for reference, diagrams are welcomed to explain an idea (these are in addition to the written pages) Prompt:What can Tijuana learn from San Diego? Please give them specificity through your research, elaborating on a particular condition, a case study, etc. Your paper should begin by framing and elaborating a problem, researching the appropriate evidence to support your views. Then imagine a speculative scenario to propose an alternative strategy(ies) to tackle the problem. You can research-reference other projects-initiatives across the world that might support your ideas. btc_curve_gap.pdf cruz_forman_unwalling_citizenship.pdf cruz__territories_of_poverty.pdf davis_2006_new_perspectives_quarterly.pdf forman_cruz_nature_s_nation.pdf Unformatted Attachment Preview Forman, F et al 2016 Chapter 8. Bending the Curve and Closing the Gap: Climate Justice and Public Health. Collabra, 2(1): 22, pp. 1–17, DOI: http:// dx.doi.org/10.1525/collabra.67 ORIGINAL RESEARCH REPORT Chapter 8. Bending the Curve and Closing the Gap: Climate Justice and Public Health Fonna Forman*, Gina Solomon†, Rachel Morello-Frosch‡ and Keith Pezzoli§ Climate change is projected to cause widespread and serious harm to public health and the environment upon which life depends, unraveling many of the health and social gains of the last century. The burden of harm will fall disproportionately on the poorest communities, both in the U.S. and globally, raising urgent issues of “climate justice”. In contrast, strategies for climate action, including those of an institutional, and cultural nature, have the potential to improve quality of life for everyone. This chapter examines the social dimensions of building carbon neutral societies, with an emphasis on producing behavioral shifts, among both the most and the least advantaged populations. In support of Bending the Curve solutions 2 and 3, the case studies offered in this chapter rely not only on innovations in technology and policy, but innovations in attitudinal and behavioral change as well, focused on coordinated public communication and education (Solution 2), as well as new platforms for collaborating, where leaders across sectors can convene to tackle concrete problems (Solution 3). Findings • Climate change will cause unprecedented harm to human populations, with the greatest burden falling on children, the elderly, those with underlying illnesses, and the poor, particularly poor women. • Climate Change will disproportionately affect low income countries, especially their coastal cities, and will also disproportionately affect poorer people within wealthier countries. • Technological and policy solutions to climate change must be combined with policy changes and innovative approaches to changing social attitudes and behavior. • Technology can work to address climate change only if people in countries that produce most of the greenhouse gases also shift to low-carbon behavior patterns. • Many of the necessary changes to reduce greenhouse gases will also result in improvements to public health and greater social justice. • Reducing industrial carbon emissions can bring co-benefits of reduced air pollution, while better public transportation and increased urban density * Department of Political Science, UC San Diego, US † Department of Medicine, UC San Francisco; California EPA, US ‡ Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, UC Berkeley, US § Urban Studies and Planning Program and Department of Communication, UC San Diego, US Corresponding author: Fonna Forman (fonna@ucsd.edu) • • • • can improve mobility and promote physical activity in communities. Using revenue from the sale of carbon credits or from a carbon tax to fund greenhouse gas reduction programs in disadvantaged communities is a way of maximizing climate, health, and social justice benefits. Shifts in production away from cattle and an emphasis on production of plant proteins will dramatically reduce methane production from agriculture while reducing deforestation and air and water pollution and increasing the availability of healthier food. Climate education and participatory climate action in underserved urban communities contributes to producing healthier, more equitable, climate-friendly cities. Social and multimedia networking can tie local efforts together at larger regional and global scales to create meaningful reductions in greenhouse gases. Greater connectivity among civil society organizations, religious organizations, scientists and universities, at local and global scales, can enhance the adoption of new technologies, and develop new capacities for climate action and social innovation. Introduction Today. . . . we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. —Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Art. 22, page 2 of 17 Forman et al: Chapter 8. Bending the Curve and Closing the Gap Climate change is projected to cause widespread and serious harm to public health and the environment upon which life depends, unraveling many of the health and social gains of the last century. Unprecedented heat waves, drought, extreme storms, poor air quality, floods and wildfires are all linked to climate change. These conditions pose potentially serious health impacts including heat stress, dehydration, injuries, allergy, exacerbations of asthma and cardiac disease, hunger, social, psychological and economic strife. The health effects of climate change are already occurring, and are predicted to become devastating by mid-century if significant greenhouse gas reductions do not occur. The burden of harm will fall disproportionately on the poorest communities, both in the U.S. and globally, raising urgent issues of “climate justice”. In contrast, strategies for climate action, including those of an institutional, and cultural nature, have the potential to improve quality of life for everyone. Climate change is driven by interacting factors, including: harmful technologies, short-sighted public and economic policy, unsustainable land use patterns, and destructive human behaviors. Climate justice entails giving special attention to correcting patterns of disproportionate responsibilities and harms. The top 1 billion residents of the planet are accountable for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, the billions of people living in poverty globally are the ones most affected by these emissions. This double disparity represents a “climate gap” between rich and poor, which must be closed if we hope to bend the curve of climate change. Wealthy countries, regions, and industries must bear primary responsibility for mitigating the harms and urgently mobilizing a lowcarbon global economy. This chapter examines the social dimensions of building carbon neutral societies, with an emphasis on producing behavioral shifts, among both the most and the least advantaged populations. In support of Bending the Curve solutions 2 and 3, the case studies offered in this chapter rely not only on innovations in technology and policy, but innovations in attitudinal and behavioral change as well, focused on coordinated public communication and education (Solution 2), as well as new platforms for collaborating, where leaders across sectors can convene to tackle concrete problems (Solution 3). A focus on behavior is both an ethical and a practical matter: all the best technologies and policy in the world, all the best top-down intentions and investment, will not make a dent until people are educated and ready to adopt new technologies, and adapt their practices to new policies. This chapter also recommends rethinking the way we design our built environment and its relationship to broader ecological environments, and assessing the ethical responsibility for developing low-carbon, green economies in the poorest regions of the world. We highlight actionable strategies already underway in urban, agricultural and rural settings in California and globally, to demonstrate that it is possible to mitigate carbon emissions while maximizing public health and social equity. Adopting effective strategies, however, requires a widespread and pervasive cultural shift in our attitudes about a lower carbon lifestyle, especially in developed and rapidly developing economies. Some people worry that a lowcarbon lifestyle will lead to lower quality of life, but the opposite is true, at least for most people. A high-carbon lifestyle, in addition to consuming a large portion of the earth’s resources, is ultimately unhealthy and inequitable. A high-carbon lifestyle is associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, respiratory disease, and cancer, even among the wealthy. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions will bring significant dividends both for public health and for social justice. Climate Change and Health Climate change will exacerbate numerous existing health problems, magnifying challenges within health care systems globally. Increases in atmospheric heat will directly lead to more extreme temperatures, and increases in atmospheric heat energy will bring more extreme weather events such as droughts, severe storms, and floods. Resulting direct and indirect health effects will include a predictable cascade of injuries and illnesses that will affect millions, and disproportionately strike young children, the elderly, the poor, and people with chronic underlying health conditions [1]. The human and economic toll of climate-related morbidity and mortality is expected to be massive. The World Health Organization already estimates that climate change is responsible for more than 250,000 deaths per year globally, and the numbers will rise dramatically in coming decades [2]. Heat waves, the most direct effect of global warming, cause large numbers of deaths and severe illnesses, depending on the intensity and duration of the heat event. Those most likely to die or require emergency hospitalization include the elderly, infants, pregnant women, outdoor workers, outdoor athletes, people with a range of underlying medical conditions, and poor people without air conditioning living in urban areas [3]. Major increases in deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits have been documented to occur during heat waves, with 70,000 deaths reported in the 2003 European heat wave, over 55,000 deaths in Russia in 2010, and thousands of deaths in other heat waves worldwide [4]. In many developing countries, the impact from heat waves is unrecorded because of the expense of clinics for most inhabitants and the fact that there are often no reliable tracking systems to measure increases in illnesses or deaths. Even during a non-heat-wave period, there are documented associations between higher temperatures and a range of morbidity, including respiratory disease, emphysema, heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, renal failure, intestinal infections, heat stroke, dehydration, hypertension, and asthma [5]. For every increase of temperature by 10 degrees Fahrenheit, there is a nearly 9 percent increase in preterm births [6]. Research has shown that surprisingly, people living in normally cooler areas are more susceptible to health effects from even modest temperature increases. During the 2006 Forman et al: Chapter 8. Bending the Curve and Closing the Gap Art. 22, page 3 of 17 California heat wave, the greatest increase in emergency room visits occurred in the normally cooler coastal cities [7]. This phenomenon is probably because fewer buildings are air conditioned in these areas, and people are less physiologically adapted to heat. Additional air conditioning is required to counter-balance increased temperatures, thereby generating greenhouse gas emissions and worsening the cycle. But most in the developing world do not have air conditioning, leaving them with fewer options as the planet warms. Increased heat also has numerous secondary effects. Heat speeds the atmospheric conversion of vehicle tailpipe emissions into ozone smog. Thus the health threat on hot days stems both from heat itself and from increased ozone levels that cause respiratory and cardiac damage [8]. Fires, also associated with heat and drought, emit large quantities of respirable particulate matter in addition to significant carbon release [9]. Particulate matter causes respiratory and vascular inflammation, respiratory and cardiovascular illness, and increased mortality [10]. Even if the fires are remote, winds may move respirable particulate matter into urbanized areas. Fires have been an increasingly significant issue in the U.S. and in many countries, such as Indonesia, in recent years. Warmer weather conditions with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air also foster the earlier and longer bloom of allergenic weeds such as ragweed [11]. Studies done in greenhouses have shown that instilling air slightly enriched in CO2 dramatically increases the amount of pollen produced from individual ragweed plants [12]. These findings suggest increasing health challenges associated with nuisance symptoms such as hay fever, as well as more serious conditions such as asthma. Although it is difficult to pin any single weather event to climate change, the climate models demonstrate that extreme weather fluctuations are increasingly likely to occur as the earth warms [13]. For example, rain is likely to fall in larger amounts when it does occur, leading to increased risk of flooding and erosion. Flooding can cause numerous drownings, injuries, and destruction of homes and property. After floods, mold is a well-known hazard that invades homes and can cause serious respiratory illness in those returning to the area [14]. Erosion causes topsoil loss, a major concern in many poor agricultural regions where crops and livelihoods can be destroyed by a single storm, and re-planting can be hindered by loss of fertile soil. Areas impacted by wildfires are denuded of ground cover and are therefore especially vulnerable to erosion and soil loss. In addition to ecological harm, storm runoff can cause illness and death, for instance when contaminated runoff spills into surface water sources and contaminates drinking water supplies [15]. Extreme rainfall events also increase runoff into lakes and coastal waters, where the nutrients from the soil and warmer waters foster explosions of harmful algal blooms. These blooms can make it dangerous to swim, or consume fish or shellfish from affected waters [16]. They are also devastating to ecosystems and wildlife, including marine mammals, resulting in mass mortality. Pathogenic bacteria can also thrive in warmer waters offshore. Vibrio species, including cholera, thrive in warm contaminated waters and lead to major outbreaks of gastrointestinal disease either through direct contact with water or from consumption of contaminated shellfish. Cholera has been increasing steadily since 2005 worldwide [17]. An outbreak of Vibrio parahemolyticus on a cruise ship in Alaska in 2004 was traced to locally-harvested contaminated oysters. That year was the first year that ocean temperatures did not drop low enough in Alaska to kill the organism. The authors concluded that warming oceans may cause outbreaks of serious gastrointestinal illnesses in coastal areas not previously affected [18]. Ponding of stagnant water, in warm conditions, creates conditions ideal for the lifecycle of numerous pests including the mosquitoes that carry diseases ranging from malaria and yellow fever to Zika, dengue fever and chikungunya [19]. These viral fevers have all been shifting in recent years to more temperate countries where they did not previously occur, including further north in the Americas and into Europe and the United States; the dramatic spread of Zika virus in 2015–2016 through South and Central America, with resulting birth defects and paralytic Guillain-Barre syndrome, grabbed headlines worldwide. Further shifts of vector-borne diseases are predicted with climate change [20]. Diseases not pathogenic to humans can also cause devastation to human populations. Pests can wipe out entire crops when they are inadvertently introduced to a new area through global trade. As temperate climates warm, pests that did not previously survive the winters are able to thrive year-round [21]. New pest pressures increase the use of toxic pesticides, and the risk of crop losses. Ultimately, coastal areas will be inundated due to sea level rise, while other areas face increasing challenges from drought-associated food and water shortages; many areas will encounter riverine flooding, outbreaks of vector-borne disease, and increased agricultural pestpressures resulting in crop losses [22]. All of these events can lead to increased conflicts over remaining resources, population displacement, an over-strained health system from both physical and mental illnesses, and social disruption. Experience from such events both in the United States and globally, has shown that the people most likely to suffer and die include the poorest segments of society, the very young, the elderly, and those with preexisting medical conditions [22]. The Carbon Economy and Health The many health effects of climate change described above are well-recognized by numerous health and medical organizations. Such discussions, however, often do not describe the health effects of our current high-carbon lifestyle. Three principal aspects of the carbon economy contribute significantly to ill health: excessive driving, overconsumption of processed foods and meat, and fossil fuel pollution. Many developed countries, and segments of developing countries, are experiencing an obesity epidemic. Art. 22, page 4 of 17 Forman et al: Chapter 8. Bending the Curve and Closing the Gap This is particularly true in the United States. Obesity is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Although obesity is multifactorial, it is largely due to a combination of insufficient physical activity and excessive calorie consumption. Communities where people largely drive cars tend to be associated with higher rates of obesity, whereas walkable, bikeable communities with public transit promote greater physical activity and reduced rates of obesity, metabolic syndrome and related diseases. Overconsumption of calories is a direct use of global resources, and when those calories come from processed foods or from meat, the carbon intensity is even greater. Climate impacts associated with foods are discussed in more detail below. Over-nutrition is a known public health problem, and diets that include too much meat or processed foods are associated with cancer and heart disease. In addition to these contributions to obesity and ill health, the use of fossil fuel feedstocks results in an enormous pollution problem globally, with associated direct health effects. Emissions associated with fossil fuels are linked to health hazards from the extraction phase, through transportation, processing and ultimate combustion. For example, mining of coal or oil-sands or extraction of oil and gas is associated with occupational injuries and illnesses as well as the potential for significant contamination of drinking water resources and air emissions. Transportation of petroleum by rail has caused catastrophic explosions and fires in Quebec, Canada and elsewhere. Refineries are often located in disadvantaged communities, where they pose a threat from explosions, fires, and routine emissions. Ultimately, power plants, industries that use coal, oil, or gas, and motor vehicles all contribute significantly to ambient air pollution and ill health. is the most profound injustice of our age. The demands of global justice become particularly acute when the advantage of a few is responsible for producing or aggravating the deprivation of many. The causal linkages are deepened by the unregulated activities of corporations in the developing world – privatizing and extracting natural capital, deforestation, land-clearing, the dumping of waste, and many other stressors on the natural world and social systems. Climate justice demands additionally that those least responsible for climate change and yet most harmed by it are not subjected to further deprivation in the transition toward low-carbon solutions. Disadvantaged people are typically least capable of assuming the costs of adopting new technologies for mitigating climate change. For example, the use of firewood, dung and crop residue in cooking ... Purchase answer to see full attachment