Climate and Community Health: University of Maryland Moves to Improve Both

Scientist agree, the climate is changing because of the impact of human life. Families with lower than average income are more vulnerable to this change than other economic groups as they have other pressures that often seem to outweigh the effect of climate on mental and physical health. However, to ignore this effect is to ignore a major factor of both.

How does climate change effect lower income families?

There are a variety of ways that climate change effects everyone, the poor most of all. Rise in temperatures lead to heat waves. In urban areas, urban heat islands so to speak, warmer temperatures contribute to more heat related morbidity and more heat related mortality. Severe storms such as hurricane Katrina or the plethora of snowstorms which have hit the east coast ("Snowzilla", "Snowmageddon", "Snowpacalypse" etc.) close roads, and shut down vital businesses.

Timothy Canty, a Research Assistant Professor and Director with the University of Maryland Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, explains some of the other risks associated with climate change:



For lower income families these risks are nearly insurmountable. While people with higher income can often feel inconvenienced by severe weather, it is devastating to those who have low income. Canty explains:


These issues are starting to be addressed by governments across the country and across the globe. The state of Maryland has introduced legislation to do its part to help stop climate change.

Maryland Climate Reduction Act

In 2009, Maryland passed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act (GGRA) in and attempt to begin reducing Maryland's effect on the environment. 2015 was an important year for the legislation as it was the first update since its passing in 2009. The update was to apply half a decade of new understanding about the environment and effectively test the usefulness of the legislation: "The 2015 GGRA Plan Update summarizes the State's progress toward achieving the 2020 emissions reduction goal established by the GGRA and shows that Maryland is on target to not only meet, but to exceed the emissions goal . . ." [text bolded for emphasis].

But reducing emissions is only part of the goal. The state was also ". . . required to demonstrate that the reduction goal could be achieved in a way that has a positive impact on Maryland's economy, protects existing manufacturing jobs and creates significant new jobs in Maryland."(GGRA pg.3). At the very least, this legislation hopes that the amount of manufacturing jobs will stay the same if not grow as the state reduces emissions. More manufacturing jobs means more opportunities for low-income workers.

A greater College Park!

University of Maryland wants to do its part as well. President Loh has begun his campaign for A Greater College Park! The program moves to improve several aspects of the community around University of Maryland and throughout Prince George's County. Though it seems the focus of the project is to develop the College Park area, by attracting new businesses, faculty and students, it does seem that the president has made some commitment to the environment. College Park's Vision 2020 would like to set up the university as a "District [that] exemplifies a leading “green” community, utilizing sustainable building practices, green technologies, and a strong commitment from the community to protect, preserve, and enhance natural resources."

Already University of Maryland has switched to many low-emissions energy sources (solar etc.) with the rest of the University's power needs coming from this building. The Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Plant

Is it Working?

With some improvements already in place, and others coming fast to the community, it may be too soon to tell whether or not the University's efforts are contributing to the health and well-being of the community. Based on the current emissions data, and the region's annual income data (see graphs above for both), it seems like the changes coming are well warranted. Only time will tell whether or not these positive changes to the environment, can have a positive impact on the community.

ScienceBEAT Report on Stellar

My First Attempt At Stellar

Mobile Apps Allow for specificity of News content

Newsrooms are changing. New technologies and new ways to reach audiences are arriving daily. One of the newest ways is reaching audiences directly through apps. University of Maryland Library's Social Media Coordinator describes his mobile news consumption and why he chooses to get his news this way:


Apps like Twitter, although not used exclusively for news allow users like Aaron to customize the content they see. Now consumers step into the role of Editor. Many are fearful that this will result in "Echo Chambers" which only reinforce strongly held beliefs as consumers only "hear" information they already agree with. However, it seems that news organizations are still respected highly in this domain with users seeking out news organizations who still retain editorial control over what gets posted online.

2015 PEW State of the News shows dominance of mobile news but journalists worry about complexity of news production for mobile.

The "State of the News" as reported by PEW Research back in April 2015, seemed to declare mobile viewership as the future of news. With statistics showing the growth in traffic online via smartphones, it would appear that the sky is the limit for mobile journalism.

However, Alison Burns, a journalism student at the University of Maryland has worries about the amount of work required to produce this type of journalism:

Indeed there are many pieces of the mobile news environment. Knowledge of video, social media, and traditional reporting are all necessary aspects of his new terrain. But as Alison notes, though challenges lie ahead so does opportunity.