Healthy Climate Healthy Community
Expected health impacts of climate change in the US vary by region, by income, and by urbanization. Here is some of what we might expect in Denver:
- Drought
- Trees dying due to drought and heat
- Increased temperatures
- Heat-related deaths in vulnerable populations
- Increase in food prices due to drought
- Increased air pollution from wildfires and heat
- Increased asthma from pollution
- Increased energy demand for air conditioning resulting in more pollution and rising costs
- Economic downturn due to reduction in tourism (less snow for skiing, more wildfires)
Groundwork Denver’s Healthy Climate Healthy Community project has two goals:
- Promote actions that improve health today while stemming the effects of climate change in the future. These include eating locally grown fruits and vegetables and using alternative transportation.
- Preparing at-risk Denver residents with information on the health impacts of climate change, mitigation of these effects, and emergency preparedness for climate-related disasters.
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