Case Study: Reviewing Methods of Assessing Community Adaptive Capacity for Jefferson County, Texas

2016

OJEpi

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One in every four deaths in the United States is attributed to heart disease. While the ethnic variations have not been momentous, the socioeconomic disparities of heart disease incidence need to be further investigated. Moreover, exposure to air pollutants has been documented to cause heart disease. This secondary-data study investigates the effects of air pollutants as well as socioeconomic factors on hospitalization rate of heart disease in Texas. The rates for the five sub-diagnoses of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, hypertension and heart disease were linked to ozone, fine particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and socioeconomic status factors at the county level. These were college education attainment, households with female heads, percentage of users of food stamps, ethnicities, living near a park and living in houses with severe housing problems. Spatial lag modelling was conducted to estimate the statistical significance of the independent variables on the five sub-diagnoses of heart disease. Fine particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and being African American were significant to all the outcomes. Living in a household with female head was significant to stroke and hypertension. Using food stamps was significant to cardiovascular disease, heart attack and heart disease. Fine particulate matter and sulphur dioxide increase the risk of heart disease by a factor of three to twenty two times, respectively. Whereas low socioeconomic status increases the risk of heart disease by a factor of up to four times. The results of the effect of particulate air and sulphur dioxide pollution among people in low social class especially African Americans. The vicious cycle of heart disease and low socioeconomic status call for societal and policy makers' attention through methodical interventions to address the two significant issues of industrial facilities site allocation and stationary emission resources.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female Head, Food Stamps, Ethnicity and Air Pollution: Confounders or Causes of Heart Disease in Texas

Anderson¹,

2016

OJEpi

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“…Increased levels of fecal bacteria is not the only problem facing quality water in Texas [6] [7]. Moreover, these increased detections of Enterococci contamination point to issues with community resilience and its adaptive capacity against flooding [8] [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploratory Analyses for Water Quality of the Gulf of Mexico Basin, Texas, 2005-2014

Anderson¹,

2016

GEP

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With the increased demand for more water sources, the issues of water quality have become more important. This study presents exploratory data analyses on water quality issues related to the Gulf of Mexico Basin in Texas for the last decade: 2005-2014. Dissolved oxygen, water temperature, specific conductance, PH, transparency, sampling depth and Enterococci observations for the ten years from 2005 to 2014 were analyzed. Statistical testing showed that the observations followed similar distributions between the years. Thus they were combined for each of the variables. Throughout the ten years transparency, water temperature, specific conductance, and Enterococci showed higher variances. Pair-wise correlations were negligible but they had positive spatial autocorrelation. Sampling was constantly conducted in the four months of February, May, August, and November. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen and Enterococci concentrations varied significantly during these four months. Univariate spatial regressions showed that Enterococci is predicted to increase whereas dissolved oxygen, PH, water temperature, specific conductances were predicted to decrease.

“…These impacts combined with other issues facing coastal communities in Texas and other places in the world, makes it more complicated to mitigate and manage the issues [11]- [18]. Disparity of impacts affect groups of lower income, non-English speakers, and vulnerable age groups (65 years or older, 5 years or younger) [14]. Seawater intrusion to the Gulf Coast aquifer is complicated and can take one or more of these three forms: lateral intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico; upward intrusion from deeper, more saline zones of a groundwater system; and downward intrusion from coastal waters [19].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Sea Level Rise and Groundwater Withdrawal on Seawater Intrusion in the Gulf Coast Aquifer: Implications for Agriculture

Anderson¹,

2016

GEP

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The two main factors contributing to depletion of freshwater resources are climate change and anthropological variables. This study presents statistical analyses that are local in its specifics yet global in its relevance. The decline in Gulf Coast aquifer water quality and quantity has been alarming especially with the increased demand on fresh water in neighboring non-coastal communities. This study used seawater levels, groundwater use, and well data to investigate the association of these factors on the salinity of water indicated by chloride levels. Statistical analyses were conducted pointing to the high significance of both sea water level and groundwater withdrawals to chloride concentrations. However, groundwater withdrawal had higher significance which points to the need of water management systems in order to limit groundwater use. The findings also point to the great impact of increased groundwater salinity in the Gulf Coast aquifer on agriculture and socioeconomic status of coastal communities. The high costs of desalinization point to the increased signification of water rerouting and groundwater management systems. Further investigation and actions are in dire need to manage these vulnerabilities of the coastal communities.