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Read the latest news and stay informed about developments and insights related to the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index.

This Part of the U.S. Will Suffer Most from Climate Change

A new index that rates 70,000 U.S. communities on their climate vulnerability finds that parts of the Gulf Coast subject to flooding and economic and racial inequities are most under threat.

Read this Scientific American article

Articles

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How Does Climate Change Threaten Your Neighborhood? A New Map Has the Details.

Grist

All 10 of the country’s most at-risk counties are in the South, according to the Climate Vulnerability Index, and half of them are in Louisiana.

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A New Tool Mapped Out 184 Climate Risks for Every Community Nationwide. Check Yours.

Capital B News

A new data set outlines the threats in 70,000 U.S. census tracts. Black neighborhoods make up some of the most at risk.

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These Maps Rank Every California Neighborhood by Extreme Weather

San Francisco Chronicle

Californians are intimately familiar with extreme weather, from hot, dry winds that can whip up wildfires to heavy downpours that result in destructive floods. Explore how droughts, wildfires and flooding in your area compare with activity across California.

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Grace Tee Lewis on Louisiana’s Climate Vulnerability

The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate

Grace Tee Lewis is a senior health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund. She helped develop the Climate Vulnerability Index, an environmental justice tool created by the EDF and Texas A&M that ranks Louisiana parishes among the most vulnerable.

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Report: Shelby County Among the Most Vulnerable to Climate Change

Memphis Flyer

In the U.S., Shelby County is one of the areas most vulnerable to climate change. That’s according to the new U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, developed in partnership between the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University.

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Climate Vulnerability Index Illuminates Inequities

Grist

When Cleophus Sharp was four years old, his parents rushed him to the hospital in Houston because he couldn’t catch his breath, no matter how much he tried. Sharp, who grew up in the historically Black neighborhood of Pleasantville in Houston, Texas, says he almost died because the air in his community was toxic.

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Blog Posts & Op-Eds

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Dr. Robert Bullard Delivers keynote Address During #EarthDayHTX Lecture Series

Texas Southern University

As Earth month slowly comes to an end, people of all ages were treated to a luncheon where Dr. Robert Bullard delivered the keynote address on environmental justice in Houston.
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Would You Guess the Most Vulnerable Climate Region in the U.S. is the Deep South?

Footprint Coalition

Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University published a new study that found all states in the U.S. are at risk from the effects of climate change, particularly neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate environmental harms and risks, health disparities and infrastructure problems.

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Understanding How Communities are Vulnerable to Climate Change is Key to Improving Equity and Justice

Environmental Defense Fund

Last month, Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University published a new study that found all states in the U.S. are at risk from the effects of climate change, particularly neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate environmental harms and risks, health disparities and infrastructure problems.

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A Tale of Two Neighborhoods: Detroit Neighborhoods Show Us How Communities are Affected Differently by Climate Change

Environmental Defense Fund

As the effects of climate change continue to unfold, all communities across the U.S. will face a wider range of risks. However, some communities will be more affected by those risks due to greater exposure and limited ability to recover from their effects.
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How EDF’s New, Groundbreaking EJ Mapping Tool Can Drive Equitable Policies and Investment

Environmental Defense Fund

The CVI gives policymakers a means to define where investments are needed most to protect vulnerable communities against climate impacts, via decision-making, policy development, and community-level planning among others.

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Paving the Path to Justice: Harnessing Data for Community Empowerment

Word in Black

A power of a people-first approach drives authentic community engagement while citing statistical data as a key pillar in addressing climate.

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Papers

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Characterizing Vulnerabilities to Climate Change Across the United States

Environment International

Climate change will cause a range of related risks, including increases in infectious and chronic disease, intensified social and economic stresses, and more frequent extreme weather events.

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Presentations

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Climate Vulnerability Index: A Tool for Transportation Planners

by Grace Tee Lewis and Maia Draper

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Bridges to Access: Health and Climate Keynote

by Dr. Elena Craft

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Utilizing Advanced Environmental Health and Geospatial Data and Technologies to Inform Community Investment

by Weihsueh Chiu

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Geo for Good 2022: Climate & Environment Lightning Talks

by Aurora Barone

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Vermont Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs: Flood Recovery and Climate Resilience Hearing (starting at 3:36:45)

by Weihsueh Chiu

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Statements

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Sen. Markey Proposal Tackles the Impacts of Climate Change on Health

Environmental Defense Fund

Statement by EDF Senior Vice President for Political Affairs Elizabeth Gore

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Videos

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Mapping Neighborhoods (starting at 16:50)

Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien

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Facts are Facts: Climate Vulnerability in the U.S.

The Weather Channel: Pattrn

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Climate Vulnerability Index: New Tool Shows Which Cities Are Most Likely to be Impacted by Climate Change

WKRN-TV Nashville, TN

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