Tag: Health
The Itchy Cost of Hotter Summers
Mosquito-borne disease is on the rise thanks to climate change. Will the Bay Area get new mosquito species? Climate change might push them to cooler climates.
Riding the Bus As Climate Bliss?
You’re on the bus. It’s your evening commute. The bus is almost full. Soft waves of chatter wash over you as you watch the blurred lights of storefronts pass by.
Teaching to Weather the Storms Within
Between gasping sobs, a boy in a viral video explains that he’s upset because of climate change. San Mateo county’s education office is trying to help.
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The Itchy Cost of Hotter Summers
Mosquito-borne disease is on the rise thanks to climate change. Will the Bay Area get new mosquito species? Climate change might push them to cooler climates.
Homegrown Go-Tos for Chillin’
A North Bay mom shares tips on how to beat the heat without AC, from wet shirts to wet blankets, and surveys her friends for more.
Riding the Bus As Climate Bliss?
You’re on the bus. It’s your evening commute. The bus is almost full. Soft waves of chatter wash over you as you watch the blurred lights of storefronts pass by.
Teaching to Weather the Storms Within
Between gasping sobs, a boy in a viral video explains that he’s upset because of climate change. San Mateo county’s education office is trying to help.
Muggy Days, Sleepless Nights
Climate modeling has shown that the extreme heat events in the state’s future will be accompanied by more humidity, making it hard for coastal residents, unaccustomed to heat, to chill.
Napa Bets on Bikes for Students
What’s flat, covered in pavement, and unsafe for cyclists? Most Bay Area cities. But a Napa coalition recently published “Safe Routes to School” reports for 31 schools in the county. The routes also offer a healthier alternative to back seat commutes to class.
Pandemic Spawns Local Foods Revival
Farmers markets drew people outside during the pandemic, while CSAs and produce boxes kept them eating in but supporting local food.
The Farm That Could
In 2019, Governor Newsom signed AB 1486 into law which connects developers interested in building more affordable homes with surplus public land suitable for housing. In the Bay Area, the housing crisis is nothing new. Using public land to create affordable housing is a step towards solving the crisis. However, taking Happy Lot Farm and Gardens land to service one need would also be squandering another need, in this case, urban farming in food deserts.
Trees Tell A Tale of Two Cities
Trees do far more than add shade and property value to a city block; they can remove harmful pollutants from the air, reduce flooding, and perhaps most crucially in a changing climate, they can reduce heat. A 2019 investigation by NPR found that Oakland’s poorer neighborhoods are almost universally hotter than its richer regions (in fact, the city had one of the strongest correlations between heat and income in the country).
Red Meat Has Big Hoofprints
Red meat has a big carbon footprint. Yet American dietary guidelines recommend lots of it! How much do you eat? Even dialing it back a little can boost your climate resilience.
Cleaner Air, Fewer Health Hazards from Bay Area Refineries
In July, the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District voted 19-3 to amend its Regulation 6, Rule 5, requiring fossil fuel refineries under its jurisdiction to reduce particulate matter emissions from their fluidized catalytic cracking units (“cat crackers” in refinery parlance), a major point source of pollution. The move gave the Bay Area the nation’s most health-protective and stringent regulation on particulate emissions, a recognized health hazard.