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113

NYC Black Residents Die From Heat Stress At Double The Rate Of White Residents, Report Says (newsone.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 months ago

It's a multifaceted issue thats predominantly socioeconomic. Urban areas are less likely to have greenery, brick and asphalt and concrete make the areas much much hotter than an area with green coverage or even just dirt. High rates of obesity and heart disease, poorer quality food resources make it difficult for the body to adapt.

In some places, GOP policy has made it legal for business to deny water breaks, and if we're going based solely on statistical distribution of labor per group, blacks have higher rates of outside/physical jobs, another systematic and socioeconomic issue.

The third issue is that in these areas, health care is often poorer quality/under funded, even when they do get to the hospital/ER/urgent care facility, they die at higher rates of similar diseases than other areas.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

The report points to past and current structural racism as the cause, which creates economic, health care, housing, and energy disadvantages for people of color.

This is all undoubtedly true, but I'd be really interested to know if having darker skin meant your body absorbed more heat from the sun. For example, a car painted black with black seats gets hotter in the summer than a car painted white with white seats.

The difference in skin pigmentation may not be significant enough for it to actually have an impact at all, but I for one, am curious.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I can't vouch for any of what you said, but I do know my pasty-white ass is staying indoors as much as possible. I burn like a forgotten rice cake in a toaster. That cover photo, fun as it looks, ain't never going to show me this heatwave.

That may affect statistics slightly.

Also, had heatstroke before. Do not recommend. 0 out of 5 stars.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Theoretically, it works the other way around due to higher melatonin content in the skin of those with darker pigment.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Melatonin protects against damage from UV, but heat is a totally different animal. I have no idea if skin color makes a noticeable difference in heat absorption to a significant degree, but it makes sense that it would - it DEFINITELY makes a difference in objects that aren't skin.

Then again, maybe absorbing at the skin allows it to disperse at the skin - back into the environment. Vs that energy shooting right through white skin and dispersing as heat deeper into the tissue, where the body retains it.

Maybe both are at play, making the final measure of heat about the same, despite having different routes.

Physics and biology at the same time hurts my noggin.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

I would bet that this is due to systemic problems which lead black residents to have fewer economic opportunities than white residents do. But hey, that's crazy progressive talk.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Higher rate of obesity?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

And higher rate of poverty means worse living conditions and having to keep the AC set to a higher temp if on at all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'd say centuries of institutional racism might have a little more to do with it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

But that racism is what has led over time to higher rates of obesity.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Well now we're doing a chicken-or-egg thing, but the obesity is far from the sole reason. However most of the reasons can be traced back to institutional racism.