An interactive online map is allowing people to check out how vulnerable their neighborhoods may be to threats like fire, flooding, and pollution. Produced by the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University, plots data across more than 70,000 census tracts, and blends an analysis of both environmental risks, and local factors and conditions that may affect the ability of people to respond to hazards, according to an article in PopSci. This includes such details as income levels, access to heath care, and availability of transportation.
While a tool for education about risks, this map is also intended to support communities in their attempts to secure funding under both the infrastructure bill, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Says Grace Tee Lewis, a health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, “The Biden Administration has made a historic level of funding available to build toward climate justice and equity, but the right investments need to flow to the right places for the biggest impact.”
Based on the map, all 10 of the most vulnerable counties are located in the South, with many being around the Gulf Coast, which is subject to high risks from flooding, hurricanes, and pollution.s From this most recent analysis, the most at risk area is St. John the Baptist Parish, located along the Mississippi River, just upstream from New Orleans, which has the high rate of disaster-related deaths in the state of Louisiana.
Source:
https://www.popsci.com/environment/climate-change-threat-map/
