Google News 09/03: Low-income communities suffer from higher temperatures

An investigation by NPR and the University of Maryland recently discovered a correlation between low-income neighborhoods and higher surface temperatures. This comes at a time when heat levels are already at an all-time high in the United States, amidst a general shift in climate that has left the public unable — or unwilling — to act collectively.

As the article is quick to point out, this is more than just a matter of inconvenience or discomfort. Heat stroke kills hundreds of Americans each year, with low-income populations being especially vulnerable to adverse health effects. Furthermore, chronic diseases such as COPD and heart conditions are greatly exacerbated by high temperatures.

Today I’ll be reviewing this new finding, discussing some possible causes and solutions, and exploring some political subtext that was apparent (at least to me) in reading the NPR article.

The finding; possible causes

The authors analyzed medium household income and thermal satellite imaging data for 97 of the most populous US cities. Each city’s census tracts— subdivisions that number around 4,000 inhabitants each — was given an average surface temperature after accounting for the presence of bodies of water. Next, the average income of each…