Climate Change and Pollution Affect How Communities Plan, Adapt, and Mitigate Risk
Environmental forces like wildfire, extreme heat, and pollution can have profound effects on our health, jobs, and decisions on where to live.
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The Health Costs and Benefits of Living Near Roads, Highways, and Light Rail
Where we live, work, and play impacts our health. Air pollution and traffic noise from nearby roads and highways can increase residents’ risk of chronic health conditions, but living in areas with more local infrastructure means residents have easier access to health care, healthy food, and recreational facilities. New transportation options such as light rail…
Read MoreAmericans Differ on How They Understand and Follow Coronavirus Social Distancing and Masking Guidelines
U.S. state and city leaders issued mask-wearing and social distancing directives in 2020 to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Residents applied the directives differently in their daily lives—reflecting how unevenly these public health messages are understood and followed, new research shows. These findings are among results from new research supported by the Eunice Kennedy…
Read MoreHigh Premature Birth Rates Among U.S. Black Women May Reflect the Stress of Racism and Health and Economic Factors
Racism-related stress may help explain why Black women in the United States are over 50% more likely to deliver a premature baby than white women. Just over 14% of Black women have premature births compared with 9% of white women.1 These stark racial disparities have been documented for more than a century, reports Catherine Cubbin…
Read MoreUnderstanding Climate-Related Migration Can Help Policymakers Address Rural Poverty in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Migration is a common strategy used by millions of rural households in less-developed countries facing daily and long-term challenges, including economic risk related to climate change. A migrant is a household member who moves to earn income elsewhere in the country or abroad and often sends a portion back home as remittances to help their…
Read MoreU.S. Racial Inequality May Be as Deadly as the Coronavirus
In estimating the magnitude of the pandemic, demographers have found that COVID-19 is likely to shorten the average U.S. lifespan in 2020 by about a year.
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