exceeds 150,000 deaths per year. Many diseases are highly sensitive to changing temperatures and precipitation,
including vector-borne diseases such as malaria, cholera, diarrhea, dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, plague,
and emerging infectious diseases such as hantavirus, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, and West Nile virus. Variable
precipitation can compromise the supply of freshwater—increasing risk of food-borne and water-borne diseases.
Nearly one-third of the world’s population lives with chronic water shortages that directly threaten human health,
agriculture and economic development. Scientists predict an increase in global “resource wars” breaking out as
potable water and oil become scarce and as price escalates. Fresh water is a commodity—more valuable than
crude oil.
What do we need to know: What are the major sociological research questions?
The environmental justice movement was born in response to environmental injustices and the failure of
government and the political system to respond fairly and equitably to social, economic, and health disparities
resulting from industrial activity. Environmental sociology and disaster research fields, and the mainstream
environmental and conservation movement for that matter, overwhelmingly dominated by whites, were slow
to acknowledge the concept of environmental racism and apply the environmental justice paradigm to their
research protocol and to real world environmental problems that confront low income, people of color, and
other vulnerable populations. As a result, an entire field and movement (environmental justice), with race and
social equity emphases at the center, was built to fill this research, policy, education, community outreach, and
organizing gap.
Similar parallels hold true for the Climate Change Movement which emerged largely out of the
mainstream environment and conservation movement. Because those most affected do not for the most part have
a voice at the research, policy, and legislative table in shaping national strategies to address climate change, a
parallel Climate Justice Movement has emerged from the convergence of climate change and environmental
justice. This relatively new movement, with its diverse allies of researchers, scientists, educators, health
professionals, analysts, planners, community activists, and others, has much to offer the nation in resolving
climate change and many of the “legacy” problems that have resulted from industrial policies and human
settlement patterns.
Sociological research is needed to better inform and provide data-based support for the response to
climate change that include research on the association between climate change and public health (including
mental health), scenario development to forecast health impacts and vulnerabilities, and development and testing
of strategies to reduce risk. The issue of “who gets left behind before and after disasters strikes and why” is a core
climate justice research and policy question. As seen in Hurricane Katrina that hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, the
effects of climate change fell heaviest on the poor and people of color. The deadly pattern of climate change is
also likely fall disproportionately on the poor and people of color across the U.S. who are concentrated in urban
centers, coastal regions, and areas with substandard air quality—including ground level ozone.
A growing body of research supports the notion that the government response to Hurricane Katrina and
the response to the subsequent flooding of New Orleans were not a fluke. Generally, research has been spotty on
the impact of race on post-disaster relief, recovery, rebuilding, and reconstruction—particularly in southern the
United States with its unique legacy of slavery, “Jim Crow” segregation, and entrenched white supremacy.
Clearly, race and place in the U.S. are interconnected. Vulnerable places often map closely with
race. Place is racialized with benefits, resources, and opportunities unevenly distributed across the landscape.
Businesses and employers are keenly aware of and contribute to racialized place. Although illegal, redlining