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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/heat-officers-miami-los-angeles-cool-project/>
"Marta Segura has seen firsthand how heat can harm a person. She grew up in
Northern California, where her mother worked in the steamy canneries of San
José, and her father in the fields. “Both were exposed to extreme heat in their
workplace, and I saw them suffer as a consequence,” she says. “My dad once
almost died in the fields as a result.” Segura remembers that her mother
organized other workers, particularly women who “could not even go to the
restroom without authorization from the foreman,” which limited their water
intake.
The temperatures that plagued Segura’s parents decades ago have only gotten
worse. About a fifth of the most populated cities in the world could warm by
more than 4°C by 2050. About a quarter could warm by more than 7°C by 2100, a
magnitude of change that would alter life in dramatic ways.
Researchers estimate that heat is responsible for 12,000 premature deaths
annually in the US, a toll that could rise to 97,000 by 2100. And yet, drive
through California’s agricultural areas on a hot summer day, and you’ll see
hundreds of workers plucking strawberries and tomatoes in the midday blazing
sun.
Segura now has a chance to do something about this. In June 2022, she was
appointed Chief Heat Officer for Los Angeles, the first Latina in the US to
hold such a job. She follows in the footsteps of long-term city planner Jane
Gilbert, who became Miami-Dade County’s — and the world’s first — heat officer
last year. The cities of Santiago, Athens, Freetown in Sierra Leone, and
Phoenix have all created similar positions. More plan to follow suit."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
