The Resilience Series 2024: Climate and Health in the Spotlight
With the recent extreme heat wave in Summer 2023, climate has been on everyone’s mind and rightfully so. The predicted global temperature increases will intensify natural hazards in all regions of the world and will have widespread adverse impacts and damages to nature and people. In every part of the US, we are seeing resilience and climate action planning efforts developing.
HuRRI is teaming up with UH Population Health for the 2024 Resilience Series and placing Climate and Health in the spotlight. We invite you to attend our first seminar on Thursday, January 18 and join the conversation on how we can mitigate and adapt and become more resilient to climate individually and collectively in neighborhoods and communities.
A National Scale Assessment of Climate and Health Vulnerabilities
Thursday, January 18
Noon — 1 p.m.
Register
About the Event
The Justice40 Initiative, a key focus of the Biden Administration, directs significant federal investments to combat climate change, legacy pollution, and health disparities, prioritizing overburdened communities. Efforts are underway, including the Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI), a data-driven tool assessing 184 risk variables to identify vulnerable areas. A new CVI data dashboard will be showcased, illustrating applications in public health, needs assessment, and resource allocation. With a focus on environmental justice communities in Houston, TX, the presentation explores real-world use cases, demonstrating the CVI's practical application for public health and healthcare professionals addressing the climate crisis and fostering resilience.
About the Speaker
Elena Craft is President of the Health Effects Institute where she leads efforts to provide unbiased scientific insights on air pollution's health impacts globally. With a strong background in toxicology and environmental science, Craft collaborates with governmental and industrial sponsors to shape HEI's research agenda, offering evidence-based guidance for air quality decisions worldwide. She holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, Texas A&M University, and a Kinder fellow at Rice University.