08/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/08/2024 13:58
Whether it's roads still paved in heat-radiating black asphalt instead of cool pavement or a city budget decision to cancel a prescribed burn that could have halted the currently raging Park Fire, we have solutions to address climate change - but decision-makers need to understand the options and choose the right ones, says UCLA public health professor Michael Jerrett.
In a new paper analyzing the most severe climate-driven public health risks in California, Jerrett and his colleagues offer dozens of adaptations that address challenges including wildfires, extreme heat, extreme precipitation and more. Jerrett, the lead author of the paper, says:
The public health paper is one of 10 that offer hope, adaptations and solutions in this week's special issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on California sustainability and climate change. Jerrett is a professor in the department of environmental health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, with expertise in environmental health effects of wildfire smoke and transportation-related pollution.
Media are encouraged to quote from Jerrett's comments, reach out to schedule an interview with Jerrett and his UCLA co-authors, or request commentary from these and other UCLA climate experts.
For more on the wildfire situation in western North America and the global record heat in July 2024, join a live Q&A with UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain on Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. P.T.