Date
Abstract
Heat Waves in Urban America
Heat wave-related mortality is higher than that of all other disasters combined. With climate change, heat waves are an increasing threat to health. This presentation will explore two facets of this situation. Drawing from in-depth qualitative research in Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, and Phoenix, I explore why vulnerable populations and local governments have difficulty responding to this increased risk. Second, I present a new approach to addressing heat risk for vulnerable populations—individual biosensors. I explore how innovations in this field could transform the embodiment of risk, therefore improving resilience in the face of climate change.
Presenters
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Sabrina McCormick
Dr. Sabrina McCormick fuses sociology, public health, and filmmaking. Her research investigates social dynamics of environmental health, and she has long studied the health effects of emergent illness events. She improves estimation of mortality in these contexts. Using an in-depth qualitative assessment of heat-related mortality in New York City, her research demonstrates novel methods, which show heat death is significantly higher than officially reported. She has also investigated the risks of such extreme events to pregnant women and fetuses, finding both pre- and post-natal adverse...
Image
Sabrina McCormick
Dr. Sabrina McCormick fuses sociology, public health, and filmmaking. Her research investigates social dynamics of environmental health, and she has long studied the health effects of emergent illness events. She improves estimation of mortality in these contexts. Using an in-depth qualitative assessment of heat-related mortality in New York City, her research demonstrates novel methods, which show heat death is significantly higher than officially reported. She has also investigated the risks of such extreme events to pregnant women and fetuses, finding both pre- and post-natal adverse outcomes. Funded by the the Centers for Disease Control, McCormick and her colleagues investigated heat in four American cities. Dr. McCormick was Lead Author on the Special Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation, including work heat and other extreme events. McCormick's research was a part of her work as Producer and Associate Producer on segments of the Showtime series, The Years of Living Dangerously, which won the Emmy for Best Documentary Series in 2014.
Presenters
Sabrina McCormick, George Washington University
Time
12:30 p.m. ET
Location
SESYNC – 1 Park Place, Suite 300, Annapolis, MD
This seminar has been recorded.
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