EP 735 Aging Population at Greatest Risk From Climate Change

When Hurricane Ian devastated Florida in 2022, two-thirds of the people who died were older adults.  Similarly, the greatest number of fatalities during Hurricane Katrina, the California Camp Fire and the winter power outages in Texas were among the same population.  And when you stop to think about it, it makes sense.  Many older Americans have chronic conditions that make them more susceptible to extremes and their options in terms of housing and transportation are key factors, as well.  After all, the vast majority of older Americans live in their own homes, which often met their needs in an earlier phase of life, but not now.  And, then, of course, there’s the issue of social isolation which means many seniors are on their own in emergency situations.  All these factors, along with solutions, are included in Danielle Arigoni’s book, “Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation.” As she points out strikingly, in this podcast, our climate changes are on a collision course with our demographic trends in an ever aging America.

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