Burning Embers: Synthesis of the Health Risks of Climate Change
New paper in Environmental Research co-authored by leaders from the Center for Health and the Global Environment
Policymakers want to know the pace, magnitude, and pattern of possible climate change risks for population health and health systems, to inform prioritization of investments to prepare for and manage the challenges of a changing climate. There is growing evidence that climate change is already causing illnesses and deaths from high ambient temperature, exposure to high levels of ozone, dengue fever, and Lyme disease.
Additional climate change is projected to increase for heat-related morbidity and mortality, ozone-related mortality, dengue and Lyme disease from undetectable to severe risks as the planet continues to warm, according to new research published by the Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) at the University of Washington and its collaborators.
“Burning Embers: Synthesis of the Health Risks of Climate Change” was published March 30, 2021, in Environmental Research Letters. Authors include Kristie L. Ebi, and Dr. Jeremy Hess, with partners from the Public Health Agency of Canada, University of Haifa, University of Waterloo, the World Health Organization and the University of Auckland.
Since 2001, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports have included a summary of how risks in human and natural systems could change with additional warming above pre-industrial levels, generally accompanied by a figure called the “burning embers.” This is the first effort to develop a similar figure to visualize selected risks of climate change on health under different scenarios.
The research found that recent climate change is likely beginning to affect the burden of West Nile fever. A detectable impact of climate change on malaria is not yet apparent but is expected to occur with additional warming. The paper also assessed that the extent and pace of adaptation could alter the timing and severity of increasing risks for each climate-sensitive health outcome as global mean surface temperature increases above pre-industrial levels.
The authors conducted an extensive global literature review to construct the burning embers figure based on projected risk to health outcomes under 1.5C, 2C and >2C degrees of warming, under three adaptation scenarios. The burning embers figure may be useful to policymakers, ministries of health and other decision-makers to raise awareness of health impacts from climate risks and expand their adaptation efforts to protect the health and environment of their populations.
EarthLab and Population Health co-fund pilot grant to improve communication around smoke exposure in rural and Tribal communities
EarthLab and the Population Health Initiative have announced a new pilot research grant award to study how Tribal and non-Tribal communities in the Okanogan River Airshed Emphasis Area (ORAEA) receive and communicate information about smoke exposure.
Due to climate change, wildfires are increasing in frequency and severity across the western United States. While land managers have increasingly been proactive in “fighting fire with fire,” i.e., using prescribed fires to prevent severe wildfires, this means that people in Tribal and rural areas will be exposed to smoke outside of the traditional fire season. Therefore, this project aims to address this with effective risk communication for the potentially affected populations.
EarthLab is proud to co-fund this project with Population Health, a new center at UW that addresses the challenges that arise at the intersection of human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity. The EarthLab Innovation Grants Program invests in interdisciplinary and community-led projects that develop innovative solutions and strategies to pressing environmental challenges. The 2021-2022 Request for Proposal (RFP) will be announced later this year.
About the Project
Project Title
Characterizing Risk Communication Around Smoke Exposure in Rural and Tribal Communities in the Okanogan River Airshed Emphasis Area
Investigators
Ernesto Alvarado, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Savannah D’Evelyn, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (postdoctoral scholar)
Nicole Errett, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
Cody Desautel, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
Project abstract
Wildfires across the western United States are increasing in frequency and severity. To lessen the negative impacts of high severity wildfires on both human and forest health, fuel management strategies such as prescribed fires (Rx fires) are being utilized. Use of Rx fires results in less severe wildfires and thus less severe smoke events. However, managing fire with fire increases the frequency of smoke exposure in rural communities outside of fire season.
To address this balance, we must start with effective risk communication for potentially affected populations. The goal of this project is to describe how tribal and non-tribal communities in the Okanogan River Airshed Emphasis Area (ORAEA) receive and communicate information about smoke exposure.
Through key informant interviews and focus groups, we aim to identify the community and cultural perceptions of smoke exposure and describe its impact on the community. We will partner with representatives from the Natural Resource Division for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CNRD), the Colville Environmental Trust Air Quality Program (CETAQP), and Washington Prescribed Fire Council (WPFC) to reach communities on and off the Colville reservation.
By working with these partners, we will describe perceived risk of smoke exposure, improve real-time culturally responsive risk communication, as well as advance and evaluate each community’s outreach goals. This work will set the stage for new and continued community-academic partnerships to develop effective and relevant resources and risk communication to enhance the resilience to, and reduce the disproportionate health risks of, smoke exposure.
View the full slate of Population Health 2021 pilot research grants here
CHanGE Comes to EarthLab
New collaboration between UW Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) and EarthLab will accelerate climate research, action and resilience.
Today, EarthLab announced that The Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE), an initiative within the Departments of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) and Global Health in the University of Washington School of Public Health, has joined EarthLab as its eighth member organization. CHanGE will receive strategic operational and communications support from EarthLab staff as it enhances EarthLab’s increased focus on addressing the climate crisis and increases EarthLab’s global scope.
CHanGE is a community of researchers, teachers, practitioners and students working together to highlight the connections between climate change and human health, with a focus on supporting interventions to reduce risks; training the next generation of climate and health practitioners; and working with community and practice partners to support healthy climate action.
ChanGE’s diverse membership includes 34 faculty from across the UW and around the country as well as practice partners throughout the region and world. CHanGE invites new members to join from the UW, other colleges and universities, and community and governmental organizations by visiting here. The center was founded by UW Professor Dr. Kristie Ebi in 2014.
“Public health is about partnership. CHanGE’s home is in public health, but our partners are in a wide range of other disciplines, particularly the environmental sciences,” said Dr. Jeremy Hess, CHanGE’s director.
“Joining EarthLab strengthens CHanGE’s connection with other UW organizations focused on climate change and makes it easier to integrate health into their work. The partnership also facilitates broad engagement and programming, allowing us to fulfill our mission of highlighting the connections between climate change and health in a wide range of settings,” said Hess, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, global health and emergency medicine and adjunct professor of atmospheric science.
EarthLab provides each member organization with critical administrative and communications support to amplify their work addressing significant environmental challenges. These challenges range from ocean acidification, ocean equity, sea level rise and freshwater ecosystems to forest fires, the connection between nature and health, and increasing diversity in the conservation field. Current members include: Climate Impacts Group, Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, Future Rivers, Nature and Health, The Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, Northwest Climate Adaptation Center and Washington Ocean Acidification Center. Learn more about EarthLab member organizations.
“We know that addressing complex environmental problems means pushing against boundaries and EarthLab member organizations do this in many innovative ways,” said Ben Packard, executive director of EarthLab.
“We are eager to help Jeremy and his team bring their research to practice in order to protect people’s health in our changing environment,” Packard said. “This new partnership with CHanGE paves the way for greater impact on our shared desire for action in the face of climate change.”
This is the first member organization led by UW faculty from outside of the College of the Environment, signaling new potential for EarthLab collaborations across the breadth of UW’s schools and colleges. Although EarthLab was founded within the College of the Environment, it exists to connect University of Washington units with each other, as well as connect the university with the wider community, under a vision of creating an equitable, just and sustainable world where people and planet thrive. Learn more about EarthLab.
Bookmark These New Websites for Future Rivers, Ocean Nexus Center & Washington Ocean Acidification Center
A website is often the first impression of an organization, especially in our increasingly digital (and virtual) world.
Along with the College of the Environment marketing and communications team, EarthLab works with our member organizations to develop websites that will convey their mission and brand. We’re thrilled to present three new websites for Future Rivers, Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center & Washington Ocean Acidification Center (WOAC).
Project to Create Anti-Racism Education Wins Mellon Grant
Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, faculty advisor for EarthLab member organization Future Rivers and assistant professor in the School of Marine & Environmental Affairs, is part of a team of academics that was recently awarded $5 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund an interdisciplinary, multi-year project to advance anti-racist practices and pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM).
The Humanities Education for Anti-Racism Literacy (HEAL) in the Sciences and Medicine was awarded to a collaborative team that will be based out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The principle investigators are: Cheryl Bauer-Armstrong (Native Education); Christy Clark-Pujara (Higher Education); Elizabeth Hennessy (Coordinator and Higher Education); R. Justin Hougham (Environmental Education & Equity); Erika Marín-Spiotta (STEM Higher Education); Maxine McKinney de Royston (Learning While Black); Todd Michelson-Ambelang (Libraries); Monica White (Community Engagement); and Cleo Woelfle-Erskine (Native Education). The project team also includes community and Tribal partners in Madison, Wisconsin and elsewhere.
Woelfle-Erskine credits funding and support from the EarthLab Innovation Grants program for his project, Píkyav on the Mid-Klamath River: Peeshkêesh Yáv Umúsaheesh “The River Will Look Good,” as a factor in receiving this new funding.
“Thanks to you all for your early support of this project through the Innovation Grants Program,” said Woelfle-Erskine. “The funding and mentorship you have provided allowed us to make crucial progress this summer and has deepened the collaboration between my lab and Karuk Tribe collaborators, which has resulted in a funding proposal through the Mellon Just Futures Initiative.”
Innovative New Prizes Add to Competition Experience
This announcement was originally published by Foster School.
The student competition platforms may be virtual this year, but the new prizes are very much real. The Foster School’s Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship will offer additional $5,000 and $2,500 special awards for both the upcoming Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge and the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge at the University of Washington. The new prizes reflect an innovative approach to topics and industries that are relevant in 2021 including the pandemic, health access and disparities, and carbon footprints.
“These unprecedented times should be a call to action for student entrepreneurs,” said Buerk Center director Amy Sallin. “And we believe these awards will allow their ideas and innovations the space for even more focused growth that can make an impact for years to come. On top of that, they represent a dedication to innovating with equity top of mind.”
Here are the Best Idea Prizes for the all-virtual 2021 Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge (HIC):
- $2,500 Best Idea for Pandemic Preparedness Prize
Recognizes an innovation that seeks to improve the ability of the healthcare system to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as future infectious disease outbreaks.
- $2,500 Best Idea for Addressing Health Access and Disparities Prize
Recognizes a student innovation or intervention that seeks to close the gap in health disparities for low-income and disadvantaged groups by increasing access to point-of-care healthcare services and/or addressing systemic biases within the current healthcare system.
Those new prizes will be awarded alongside the following Best Idea Prizes returning this year:
- $2,500 Best Idea for a Medical Device
Recognizes the medical device concept (for a physical product) with the most promising opportunity to significantly improve the lives of patients or providers.
- $2,500 Best Idea in Digital Health Prize
Recognizes an innovative digital health application that has a high likelihood of being implemented in practical healthcare situations and is expected to have a meaningful impact.
Including the Grand, Second Place, and Third Place Prizes—the HIC will award more than $40,000 this year to student entrepreneurs in the virtual competition on Wednesday, March 3. Awards will be announced in a video the following day after the competition.
The all-virtual 2021 Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge (EIC) takes place a month later on Thursday, April 1. Here are the Big Picture Prizes that will be awarded this year:
- $5,000 Climate Challenge Prize sponsored by Eric Carlson, Board Member of E8
Rewards a team that has thoughtfully incorporated and quantified carbon footprint into the development and communication of their innovation.
Returning this year after making its debut in 2019:
- $5,000 Community Impact Prize sponsored by UW EarthLab
Recognizes innovation in developing a product, solution, or demonstrated business model that mitigates or makes communities more resilient in the face of climate change while prioritizing equity and justice.
As well as the incredible:
- $5,000 Clean Energy Prize sponsored by the UW Clean Energy Institute
Rewards student innovations that can reduce carbon emissions through solar energy production, electrical energy storage, conversion and distribution, and energy efficiency. This can include software and/or hardware.
Including the Grand, Second Place, and Third Place Prizes—the EIC will award more than $45,000 this year to student entrepreneurs. Awards will be announced in a video the following day after the competition.
Building on Success
In recent years, student teams that participated in the HIC and EIC have presented a broad array of ideas that go beyond mere technical prototypes. Sustainable and health-focused consumer products, food innovations, and mobile and software applications have all made splashes with judges. In some cases, they took home prizes while others built on the feedback they received and launched with the help of the Jones + Foster Accelerator.
For example, from the HIC:
- Respiratory disease screening mobile app Spira (2020)
- Universal eyedropper adaptor maker Nanodropper (2019)
- Web and mobile fitness company FitTraction (2016)
And the following examples from the EIC:
- Sustainable smoothie maker The 2050 Company (2020)
- Sustainable candle company Paca Y Paca (2019)
- No-bean coffee company Atomo Coffee (2019)
“We expect that this year we will see the most diverse set of business and innovation ideas yet,” said Erin Nieuwenhuis, interim manager of the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge. “It’s about how students want to solve health and/or environmental problems, “It’s about how students want to solve health and/or environmental problems, not just creating a highly technical device or prototype.”
The competitions are open to undergrads and grad students in good standing at accredited colleges and universities across the Cascadia Corridor – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, as well as Alaska. This year marks the first time the HIC will be held virtually. The EIC will be virtual for the second year in a row.
“We are tailoring the Zoom experience to match up with feedback we received from student participants during our virtual competition events last year,” said Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge manager Lauren Brohawn. “This year’s competitions won’t be like any conference call or virtual class our judges and competitors have recently logged into.”
Competition season continues with an all-virtual Dempsey Startup Competition (formerly the UW Business Plan Competition). Following the application deadline and Online Screening Round, the Dempsey Startup Investment Round will be held on Wednesday, May 5. The multi-stage event culminates with the Sweet 16 on May 26 and Final Round on Thursday, May 27. A video awards presentation will follow the next day on the Buerk Center’s YouTube page.
For more details on these competitions and other programs and classes offered by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, please visit startup.uw.edu.
Second edition released: Adapting research methodologies in the COVID-19 pandemic
This article was originally published by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
UTS researchers and the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center at the University of Washington EarthLab have collaborated in the creation of a resource for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers employing qualitative or mixed methods, whose work is being affected by the current measures in place worldwide restricting mobility, gatherings of people, and face-to-face meetings for interviews.
This second edition of “Adapting research methodologies in the COVID-19 pandemic” includes new insights from interviews with researchers who have had to change their methods – includes discussion of ethics implications when using enumerators, and the potential for decolonizing research. The first edition was published in July 2020.