At our SEAC meeting on Tuesday, September 20, at 1 pm, one of our guest speakers will be Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., who is the Public Health Officer and Director of Public Health Services in the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. Our other guest speaker will be Kristin Guirguis, program scientist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This presentation will focus on the public health impacts of climate change specifically in San Diego County. The speakers will share highlights of the intersection of climate and health, including key risks to population health, what participants need to know, and what they can do to prepare and/or adapt to a changing local climate. I hope you will join us for this important discussion!
Climate change is a public health emergency: The health and well-being—and possibly the very survival—of our communities is in danger, as witnessed by the increased occurrence of disastrous wildfires and extreme weather events. A resolution, supported by the LWV of California, passed the California legislature and was signed into law declaring that "...a climate emergency threatens the state, the nation, the planet, the natural world, and all of humanity. Our actions now (or lack thereof) will affect the magnitude of climate impacts and the extent to which our communities thrive in the face of climate change and recover in the aftermath of climate related disasters.”
Climate change affects the health of every community. Beyond its direct health impacts, such as heat-related illness, climate change increases food insecurity, worsens air pollution, reduces our access to clean water, leads to increases in food, water and vector borne diseases, displaces people from their homes, and causes widespread social and economic disruption. Climate-sensitive health outcomes include increased mortality and injury from more frequent and severe weather-related events and temperature extremes; more respiratory and cardiovascular problems, plus allergies from worsening indoor and outdoor air quality; more vector-borne diseases (such as those spread by mosquitoes) due to changing vector ecology brought about by rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns; mental health consequences and greater food insecurity. Climate change acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing health disparities and impacting the most vulnerable populations disproportionately.
In the U.S., state and local public health departments have a critical role in addressing this urgent threat, just as they have done in facing other emergent threats to the health of the public, and a responsibility to expand public health practice to address climate change. San Diego County CalBRACE (California Building Resilience Against Climate Effects) is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded project that is working on the public health impacts of climate change here in San Diego, including rising temperature/extreme heat, wildfires and smoke, air quality, vector-borne diseases, drought, and other climate-related hazards. The program provides resources and technical assistance for state and local public health departments to build climate adaptation capacity and enhance resilience.
LWVUS Climate Justice Interest Group
by Debbie McDaniel-Lindsey
Please join the LWVUS Climate Justice Interest Group Thursday, September 15 from 5:15-6:30pm when three speakers—Carolina Martínez, Climate Justice Director at Environmental Health Coalition (California); Cate Mingoya, Director of Capacity Building at Groundwork USA (New York); and Kim Y. Sudderth, Virginia Organizing Manager, at Mothers out Front (Virginia)—will share their experiences and lessons learned in educating frontline communities about climate change and gaining a voice in local government.
We’ve asked them to help educate our League members about how to mobilize and support efforts related to climate justice and environmental justice in our own local communities.
For eight years, Carolina worked with National City residents implementing a comprehensive community plan that phased polluting industries out of a residential neighborhood and created an affordable housing project. Currently, she is working on a community-led effort to transform San Diego’s transit system into one that feeds the region’s livelihoods, reduces air pollution, and threads communities together via the San Diego Transportation Equity Working Group and the 10 Transit Lifelines.
As Groundwork USA’s Director of Capacity Building, Cate works to strengthen the Groundwork network and provide technical assistance and support to brownfield remediation projects across the U.S. As Cate recalls, “Where I grew up and where I taught middle school in New York City, there were (and still are!) a tremendous number of unused, contaminated parcels of land, but relatively few places for children to play, learn about the environment, or recreate with their families. I’m excited to be part of an organization whose mission is to improve people’s access to, social ownership over, and participation in the spaces around them!”
Kim lived in Virginia Beach and experienced the increased intensity of hurricanes and storm surges, saw the sea-level rise washing away the beaches and flooding taking over the streets. The climate crisis was claiming the region that she loved, and she wasn’t sure if anyone was doing anything about it. Joining Mothers out Front, a Northeast based group, she became the Organizing Manager for Virginia by starting the first chapter outside the Northeast.
Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
Additional SEAC information
by Ruth Sandven, Chair
Field Trip
We will tour the Escondido EDCO facility on October 5 at 10am. The tour will be approximately 1.5 hours. It will require a bit of walking with lots of stairs. We plan to tour both the recycling processing facility along with the anaerobic digester. All participants will be required to wear closed-toe shoes. The tour will be limited to 15 people. We will arrange carpooling from a central location or by neighborhood. Please email seac@lwvsandiego.org if you are interested in participating.
Environmental Justice Subcommittee
As I mentioned last month, our Environmental Justice Subcommittee is up and running! We are focusing on the intersection of climate change and health, health equity and environmental justice. We meet on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 10am. This subcommittee is open to everyone and we welcome your participation. Please visit the LWV San Diego calendar for the Zoom link to join the subcommittee meeting, as well as our SEAC meetings.
Zero Waste Tips
The July issue of Consumer Reports contains an article titled “Save More Waste Less.” Here are some suggestions from it:
companies who make them listed)
it in the freezer
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Consider buying a heat pump instead of a furnace
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Get solar energy from community solar (panels are at a solar panel farm)
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Turn down the temperature on your water heater
So far 2022 is California’s driest year on record. San Diego received 6.1 inches of rain this year which is 63% of normal. Outdoor watering must be before 10am or after 6pm. Water your yard a maximum of three days per week. For more information on saving water go to Save Our Water.
Water Interest Group
by Anne Omsted, Chair
The San Diego County Leagues' Water Interest Group is meeting on Tuesday, September 6 at 3pm. Our guest speaker is Anne McKinnon, Colorado River consultant. Contact Anne Omsted at daomsted@gmail.com if you would like to join the group.