Human health impacts (heat, wildfire smoke and air quality) webinar: Bridging Science and Action

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) is hosting a series of webinars,  Indicators of Climate Change: Bridging Science and Action, as part of its efforts to track and report on climate change and its impacts on California. Each webinar will synthesize new science and data, and showcase state, local, Tribal or community actions on a selected climate change topic. OEHHA will co-convene each webinar with one or more state agency partners with responsibilities relating to the topic.

Webinar #6: Impacts on Human health (heat, wildfire smoke and air quality)

This is the final webinar in the series, co-convened with the California Department of Public Health and the California Air Resources Board. It addressed the impacts of heat, wildfire smoke and changes in air quality on Californians’ health, and efforts underway to address them.

Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 2:00 to 3:30 pm

The webinar recording is available on OEHHA's YouTube channel.

AGENDA

Xiangmei (May) Wu, Research Scientist, Community and Environmental Epidemiology Research Branch, CalEPA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Human Health Impacts of Climate Change: An Overview
This talk will provide an overview of health impacts of climate hazards that Californians are facing, particularly focusing on extreme heat, wildfire smoke, changes in air quality, and the compound effects of these exposures.

Miguel Angel Luna, Chief Administrative Officer, Tribal Administration Department, Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians

Exercising Sovereignty by Implementing Strategies and Policies that Fortify Tribal Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
As global temperatures rise and the damage to land, water, and life continues to threaten self-determination, traditional ways of life and practices, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is using traditional ecological knowledge and science to address climate-related hazards. This talk will describe the Tribe’s Climate Resiliency Plan, their roadmap for how they can begin the healing process within their ancestral lands.

Bonnie Holmes-Gen, Chief, Health and Exposure Assessment Branch, and Barbara Weller, Manager, Climate and Health Analysis Section, California Air Resources Board

Climate and Health Benefits from the State’s Path to Decarbonization by 2045
This talk will discuss the key benefits, especially health benefits, of the state’s plan for taking carbon out of the economy and reducing climate pollution. The presentation will also cover the inter-relationship between air quality and climate change, important projects to understand the combined impact of climate stressors on public health, and important air quality and climate funding programs to help communities reduce pollution and protect themselves from climate effects

Linda Helland, Climate Change and Health Equity Branch Manager, and Dan Woo, Climate Change and Health Equity Team Lead, California Department of Public Health

Climate Action to Advance Health, Equity, and Community Resilience
This talk will discuss how the climate crisis is the greatest global health threat of our time, and how taking action to address climate change presents significant opportunities to promote and protect public health, advance racial and health equity, and strengthen community resilience across California.

Eloy Ortiz, Special Projects Manager, Regeneración - Pajaro Valley Climate Action

Documenting Climate Change in the Pajaro Valley: A Community Based Approach
The talk will focus on how the community-based organization Regeneración- Pajaro Valley Climate Action has implemented multiple projects to engage community members to learn about what they view as the most important climate and environmental issues in their communities. The talk will also cover the challenges and best practices that are being developed to engage with a multi-lingual, multi-cultural community that contains a growing number of indigenous language speakers.