WHEN JANE Gilbert heard last April that she had 'been appointed Miami-Dade County's chief heat officer—a first for both the US and the world—she was not surprised. Already employed as the first chief resilience officer of the City of Miami, one of the 34 municipal areas under the Miami-Dade County in Florida, she knew that it was time the world focused on extreme heat brought on by climate change.
"Extreme heat is the number one climate-related killer, but it has been relatively under addressed. Now cities are beginning to take action on heat mitigation and management, says Gilbert, in an email interview with Down To Earth (DTE). She plans to address the challenges posed by extreme heat in a more holistic manner, rather than just focusing on emergency response or mitigation strategies.
'Need to make county heat-safe equitably'
JANE GILBERT | World's first chief heat officer appointed at Miami-Dade County, Florida, US
DATE OF JOINING: April 30, 2021
WHY WAS SHE APPOINTED: To improve coordination and accelerate existing heat protection efforts and initiate new work that reduces the risks and impacts of heat stress for vulnerable communities in the county
JOB DESCRIPTION
• Create public awareness through social and traditional media messaging about the increasing dangers of extreme heat
• Produce tool kits for heat action to help municipalities and other partners understand the different actions available to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths
• Conduct heat health vulnerability assessment to understand populations most at risk to heat-related illnesses
• Create a three-year Climate and Heat Health Action Plan that will come out by the end of May 2022
Bu hikaye Down To Earth dergisinin April 01, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Down To Earth dergisinin April 01, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
INVISIBLE THREAT
Significant presence of microplastics in Puducherry’s agricultural soil raises concerns for soil and crop health
Feeding off each other
VEGETARIAN MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA AND THE WEST GREW WITH MUTUAL SUPPORT AND VALIDATION
India's unhealthy patent amendments
Despite strong pleas, the Modi regime has changed the rules to impose a cost on those who challenge faulty patents
URBAN DISCOMFORT
Poorly planned, heat-trapping infrastructure, along with dwindling natural spaces, turn up the temperatures in major Indian cities
BLAZING SUN IS ON
Rising temperatures are testing the limits of human tolerance to heat. With their predominantly built-up landscape, urban areas offer no respite. A study by the Centre for Science and Environment on the morphology and heat patterns of nine Indian cities over the past decade shows how these urban centres are turning into heat islands with a potentially serious impact on human health. An analysis by Rajneesh Sareen, Mitashi Singh and Nimish Gupta, with Shagun in Haryana and Kiran Pandey
"H5N1 may be more severe than COVID-19"
In early April, the US confirmed the first case of avian influenza in livestock, along with cow-to-human transmission of the virus disease.
A PSYCHEDELIC HIGH
Driven by surge in global trials and low success rate of current medications in treating mental health problems, researchers call for home-grown clinical trials of psychedelic drugs
Locked out
Two years after becoming the only state to be excluded from the Centre's ruralemployment guarantee scheme, villages in West Bengal grapple with distress migration and debt traps
'Protection from climate change part of right to life'
The Supreme Court of India, on April 5, recognised that citizens have a right to be free from the adverse effects of climate change, saying it is intertwined with the fundamental rights to life and equality. Here are the key arguments articulated by the three-judge bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra in their judgement
Weaving dreams
Tribal communities in West Bengal slowly embrace traditional weaving to ensure sustainable livelihood
