April 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 42

RACIAL EQUITY
" While social vulnerability can
pertain to a particular group -
the initial vulnerability within
that group is going to impact
the collective at some point. "
greater emergence of vector-borne
or induced diseases, " she says. A
prime example is West Nile virus.
In addition to rising temperatures
and more extreme weather
(e.g., heat waves, hurricanes), rising
sea level and increasing carbon
dioxide levels also adversely affect
human health (see infographic, p.
34). There's also the issue of forced
migration and the mental health
implications, especially when natural
disasters like wildfires and hurricanes
displace people from their
homes and communities, as was
the case with more than a million
residents from Alabama, Mississippi
and Louisiana following Hurricane
Katrina in 2005.
The Level of Importance
Research has shown the
connection
to
racial and
of climate change
socioeconomic
inequities. But where does the
issue
of global warming
States?
According
to
a
while 54 percent
rank
among people of color in the
United
Yale study conducted in 2019 -
which analyzed whites,
African
Americans and Hispanics/Latinos
about their beliefs, attitudes and
actions toward climate change -
people of color are more concerned
about
the
environment
their white counterparts
than
(tinyurl.
com/4vt5ww4w).
Looking at the data, slightly
less than 70 percent of Hispanics/
Latinos and 57 percent of African
Americans are more likely to be
" alarmed " or " concerned " about
climate change compared to 49
percent of whites. Twenty-seven
percent of whites are more likely to
be " doubtful " or " dismissive, " followed
by 11 percent of Hispanics/
Latinos and 12 percent of African
Americans.
A Pew Research Center study
found that during the 2020 presidential
election, the environment
was an important issue for 75 percent
of
Hispanic/Latino
voters
and
more than 70 percent of white
voters who supported Joe Biden,
of the
Black
electorate said the same (tinyurl.
com/4waza92j).
Climate Change Is
a Collective Issue
Viniece Jennings, assistant professor
of public health at Agnes Scott
College in Decatur, Georgia, says
when it comes to starting a conversation
around climate change and
race and what we can do to effect
change, we all need to look at the
bigger picture.
" While social
vulnerability can
pertain to a particular group - the
initial vulnerability within that group
is going to impact the collective at
some point, " she says. " So, when we
do not apply a collective mindset to
these issues, we can lose sight of the
larger system we are all in. "
She provides an example of
a coastal area that is prone to
hurricanes. When a major hurricane
is coming toward that area, it doesn't
matter if you're Black or white, you
must evacuate. The problem is the
people with the most resources can
leave, while those who lack the
means to evacuate ahead of the
hurricane are at greater risk. " But
42 Parks & Recreation | APRIL 2 0 22 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
http://tinyurl.com/4waza92j http://tinyurl.com/4waza92j http://tinyurl.com/4vt5ww4w http://tinyurl.com/4vt5ww4w
April 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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