Racial and Income Disparities in Relation to a Proposed Climate Change Vulnerability Screening Method for California

Abstract

Racial and Income Disparities in Relation to a Proposed Climate Change Vulnerability Screening Method for California Paul English, California Department of Public Health, CA, USA Max Richardson, California Department of Public Health, CA, USA Rachel Morello-Frosh, University of California, CA, USA Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California, CA, USA James Sadd, Occidental College, CA, USA Galatea King, CA Dept of Public Health, CA, USA William Jesdale, University of California, CA, USA Michael Jerrett, University of California, CA, USA Abstract: A key component for public health adaptation strategies for local communities and governments is the development of methods for climate change population vulnerability screening. There have been few attempts to combine multiple climate change threats in a measure which addresses a more holistic concept of population vulnerability that includes ex- posure, population sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. We propose a screening method to identify populations at high risk from climate change impacts using population vulnerability and the effects of cumulative stressors. We also investigate if racial/ethnic and income disparities interact with climate change vulnerability. We chose several metrics based on the literature and data availability at the sub-county (census tract) level for two California counties. They included measures of exposure related to climate change (sea-level rise, flood risk, and wildfire risk); measures of population sensitivity (elderly living alone and car ownership); and measures of adaptive capacity (tree canopy, impervious surfaces, air conditioner use, and public transit ac- cess). We add a previously developed index (Environmental Justice Screening Method) which reflects measures of cumulative impacts. Validation was conducted by using emergency room data from a recent extreme weather event. Analysis of the final scores showed the highest vul- nerability in the urban areas, except also at the coast in Los Angeles County. African-Americans and Latinos were more likely to reside in the top two vulnerability areas in both counties compared to whites, and median household income was inversely linearly related to vulnerab- ility risk score. We present a simple and transparent screening tool which could be developed in other regions and could be modified in order to best assess the risks that are of the greatest concern in communities. Keywords: Vulnerability, Screening, Racial/Income Disparities INTRODUCTION W ith the failure of the U.S. to ratify the Kyoto protocols and the persistent recession of western economies diverting attention away from greenhouse gas reduction policies, the public health community has started to focus more on climate change adaptation, rather than mitigation. A key component for public health adaptation strategies for local communities and governments is a method to identify popula- tions most vulnerable to climate change. The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses Volume 4, 2013, http://on-climate.com/, ISSN 1835-7156 © Common Ground, Paul English, Max Richardson, Rachel Morello-Frosh, Manuel Pastor, James Sadd, Galatea King, William Jesdale, Michael Jerrett, All Rights Reserved, Permissions: cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com