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Are Communities of Color and Underdeveloped Countries at
Risk for Severe Consequences Due to Climate Change?
By Anthony Bouyer, PhD
Guest Column
As I listen to the Democratic presidential debate in Las
Vegas and the topic turned to climate change,
Democrats savaged each other, but their attacks mostly
stopped when the moderators shifted to a 15-minute
discussion on climate change.
I wondered how many people of color pay attention to climate
change and global warming. Climate change has been a
discussion that has appeared and disappeared depending on
the political landscape. Perceived economic implications
have been associated with why elected leaders refuse to
address climate change and global warming, particularly
during campaign years.
Scientists agree the earth will be hotter by the end of the
century, but their simulations do not agree on how much.
There is no arguing that the climate has changed as society
continues burning coal, oil and gas – the main source of
heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide. Factors such as
loss of jobs, standards of living and capitalism have
directly influenced the political landscape when discussing
climate change.
The past decade was the hottest on record, government
researchers announced on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. The
latest sign of global warming’s grip on the planet. And 2019
was the second-warmest year ever, they said, just shy of the
record set in 2016 (New York Times, 2020).
The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2)
in our atmosphere, as of 2018, is the highest it has been in
three million years. NASA and NOAA data show that global
averages in 2016 were 1.78 degrees F (0.99 degrees C) warmer
than the mid-20th century average. Seventeen of the 18
warmest years have occurre0d since 2000.
800 million people,
11 percent of the world’s population, are currently
vulnerable to climate change impacts such as droughts,
floods, heat waves, extreme weather events and sea-level
rise (Chapple, 2020).
Low-income communities already have higher rates of many
health conditions, are more exposed to environmental hazards
and take longer to bounce back from natural disasters.
Children from communities of color have higher rates of
asthma and these existing inequalities will only be
exacerbated due to climate change. Climate
change will hit low-income communities the hardest as it
takes a toll on the U.S.
Low income and the poor have always been subjected to
extreme conditions that adversely affect their way of life,
so why would we not think that they would be
disproportionately affected by climate change.
Low-income communities in both urban and rural areas will be
disproportionately impacted by climate change relative to
other communities, according to a report, which was created
by a team of over 300 experts from the government and the
private sector tasked with analyzing the impact of climate
change on the country.
Those communities already have higher rates of many adverse
health conditions, are more exposed to environmental hazards
and take longer to bounce back from natural disasters. These
existing inequalities will only be exacerbated due to
climate change, according to the report, which is known as
the Fourth National Climate Assessment.
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Heart and lung disease, heat stroke and bacterial infections
are just a few of the health consequences associated with
climate change. Low-income populations “typically have less
access to information, resources, institutions, and other
factors to prepare for and avoid the health risks of climate
change,” the report says, leaving them especially
vulnerable.
Lack of health insurance among the poor will also intensify
the risks of illnesses caused by climate change.
In urban areas, which produce 80 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions in North America, the poor “live in neighborhoods
with the greatest exposure to climate and extreme weather
events,” the report says. This includes living near
pollution sites and in housing developments without
sufficient insulation or air conditioning.
Additionally, disruptions to infrastructure during natural
disasters can have an outsized impact on city residents who
rely on public transportation. Rural areas often have
agriculture-dependent economies, so the livelihoods of
low-income residents are more vulnerable to changing
environmental conditions.
Many rural households also suffer from energy poverty, the
report states, meaning they “are not able to adequately heat
or provide other required energy services in their homes at
affordable cost.” As average temperatures continue to rise,
people who cannot affordably cool their houses will continue
to feel the impact of climate change..
The industrial revolution initiated human events that began
to impact our ecosystems that will not be reversible. The
industrial revolution did achieve its goals of simplifying
life and producing great capital gains for those who wanted
to become economic world powers during the 1800s.
Humans had no idea the catastrophic damage their inventions
would cause to the earth. Just as it took hundreds of years
to develop machinery to improve standards of living, it has
taken time for scientists to understand what humans have
done to our environment and what course of action is
necessary to address damages to the environment.
Climate change is located deep in the infrastructure of
current civilization and attempts to combat it may have
substantial ramifications for social life. Interestingly,
many scientists believe the phenomenon has boosted average
temperatures nearly one degree from levels present before
the start of the industrial age. This concern should be
taken with a since of urgency, as scientists predict the
effects of global warming will result in limited access to
fresh water for irrigation and cause heat, drought and
disease, problems that could make it more difficult to meet
world food demands and improve health (Toledo Blade, 2012,
October 13, p.5 )
The inaction of humans to act urgently on climate change is
a matter of ethical concern: ethical concerns matter in why
and how we must act; and it is not only inaction that is
morally wrong, but inappropriate action.
The idea that humans would believe that the earth has
continuous sustainability and renewability capabilities is
hubris. When human’s actions and non-action change the
environment in which we live, how important, moral
considerability is and at what point moral considerability
should guide are decisions on the environment.
Most Americans worry about social security being available
for their grandchildren and great grandchildren. If climate
change is not addressed, social security is the least of our
worries. It is extremely vital that people of color and the
poor make their voices heard in this election and vote for
individuals who have their best interest not only in
employment, healthcare, education, but in climate change,
because none of those other areas matters if there is no
“earth.”
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