A lot of our pollution has to do with idling trucks, like the city worker I just passedin his truck, number 757 601. The city has to do a better job educating it's employees on the pollution effects, but also the waste in gas consumption that we're all paying for.
Chris, this came up at the debate last night. There is already an anti-idling ordinance on the books, used mainly around schools. The issue is education and enforcement. The SF Department of the Environment has reached out to a few CBOs including my own, to spread the word about the problem, but we need to do more.
I felt empowered by the debate last night, and actually went back and asked him to shut off his engine while idling. He asked, "Can I ask you why?" I mentioned that we already have the worst air in the city in the Bayview, but before I could go on, he told me he'd leave as soon as he took his medication. He seemed to get it as soon as I mentioned it, but city workers need to be better educated about this so that it is something they don't even think about doing anymore.
this isn't to minimize the extent of the environmental problems in the neighborhood and i haven't read the report so perhaps this question has been answered, but how much of the life expectancy disparity can be attributed to early death due to lead poisoning - specifically the high velocity flying kind? furthermore, is there a way to disentangle health problems from things such as diet and passivity vs. the quality of the ambient environment? seems like that's important since addressing the issues requires different strategies.
Re: idling trucks - I brought up the issue at the debate. Trucks, MUNI busses and even schools busses regularly idle in front of my house. I always ask the drivers to shut off the engine, and they always do, which tells me that training would help a lot.
Re: whether life expectancy disparities can be attributed to a higher murder rate - I don't think so. It's tragic that teenagers are shooting each other but the number of murders is not high enough to sway the statistics.
Pollution is definitely not the only reason for our poorer health. The report cites access to primary and preventive care, which is why it's important to support the expansion of the Southeast Health Center, as well as require that new development bring an equitable proportion of public services including healthcare, education, civic meeting space, performance venues and recreation.
CPIC scientists examined neighborhood-level socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sex and age for more than 689,000 deaths among California residents during 1999-2001. The researchers defined six mutually exclusive racial/ethnic groups for analysis: Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, white, Native American, and other/unknown. Socioeconomic status was defined based on education level, proportion with a working-class job, proportion unemployed, median household income, proportion below 200 percent of poverty line, median rent, and median home value. "We uncovered these differences while studying cancer survival rates among these groups. The findings were disturbing enough that we pressed to publish them, even though they were outside our immediate focus," Dr. Clarke said. Findings from the new CPIC study are published in the May issue of the international journal, Social Science & Medicine. SUMMARY FINDINGS _. Race/ethnicity and neighborhood socioeconomic status had substantial and independent influences on life expectancy, underscoring the importance of monitoring health outcomes simultaneously by these factors. _. Overall life expectancy of females was greater than males across socioeconomic status by 4.8 years; the difference was largest in lower socioeconomic status by 5.9 years and smallest in the highest socioeconomic status groups by 3.3 years _. The relevance of neighborhood socioeconomic status on life expectancy varies strikingly by race/ethnicity. _. Life expectancy of African-American and white females of the lowest socioeconomic classification was about six to seven years less than among females of the highest classification. Similar patterns were observed among males.
About the Cancer Prevention Institute of California The Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) is the nation's premier organization dedicated to preventing cancer and to reducing its burden where it cannot yet be prevented. Formerly known as the Northern California Cancer Center, CPIC tracks patterns of cancer throughout the entire population and identifies those at risk for developing cancer. Its research scientists are leaders in investigating the causes of cancer in large populations to advance the development of prevention-focused interventions. CPIC's innovative cancer prevention research and cancer education and community partnership programs, in formal partnership with the Stanford Cancer Center, deliver a comprehensive arsenal for defeating cancer. For more information, visit CPIC's official website at www.cpic.org.
Sorry to burst any bubbles but this isn't news. Data indicates that some ethnic groups live longer. And forget the idling trucks and bullets conspiracy theory. If you want to point any fingers, "It's the food, stupid." In the Bayview, fast food and lack of exercise are the Evil Empire. Here's a little more info. It's a long article so I'll edit it to fit.
Study Finds 20-Year Difference in Life Expectancy For Some Groups in California
FREMONT, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a landmark study, scientists from the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) have discovered a startling 19.6-year gap in life expectancy between poor black men and affluent Asian women. According to the research, Asian females with the highest socioeconomic status had a life expectancy of 84.9 years, whereas the life expectancy for African-American males of the lowest socioeconomic status was 65.3 years. These results come from a first-of-its-kind, block-by-block analysis of the population of California — a project originally designed to look at cancer survival rates in the state — and reveal differences significantly larger than any previous study based on U.S. Census data. "By looking at both race and socioeconomic status, and drilling down to the neighborhood level for the latter we were able to uncover this sizeable life expectancy disparity between specific categories of individuals based on their neighborhood socioeconomic conditions," said CPIC Research Scientist Christina Clarke, Ph.D. By looking at age-specific gaps in mortality, the study confirmed stark differences for younger populations, especially African-American men living in poorer neighborhoods, but showed that the bulk of the gap in life expectancy was actually due to differences in risk among persons aged 45 and up. Dr. Clarke explained, "The most important contributor to life expectancy gaps between the most and least advantaged populations was not violence in young people but rather chronic disease in older people, including treatable conditions like heart disease and diabetes." The study found that life expectancy was greatest for Asians/Pacific Islanders, intermediate for Hispanics and whites, and lowest among African Americans. The influence of neighborhood socioeconomic status on life expectancy was most pronounced among African-American and white women and men, and Asian/Pacific Islander men. "Life expectancy is among the most basic indicators of a population's well being. We found that poverty or affluence alone didn't explain the wide differences seen by race in today's California," Dr. Clarke said. "Our findings show clearly that race matters beyond its association with poverty, which raises even more questions as to why."
Although you can post anonymously, I encourage you to post as yourself or under a pseudonym in case other readers would like to respond to your comments. Thanks!
A lot of our pollution has to do with idling trucks, like the city worker I just passedin his truck, number 757 601. The city has to do a better job educating it's employees on the pollution effects, but also the waste in gas consumption that we're all paying for.
ReplyDeleteChris, this came up at the debate last night. There is already an anti-idling ordinance on the books, used mainly around schools. The issue is education and enforcement. The SF Department of the Environment has reached out to a few CBOs including my own, to spread the word about the problem, but we need to do more.
ReplyDeleteI felt empowered by the debate last night, and actually went back and asked him to shut off his engine while idling. He asked, "Can I ask you why?" I mentioned that we already have the worst air in the city in the Bayview, but before I could go on, he told me he'd leave as soon as he took his medication. He seemed to get it as soon as I mentioned it, but city workers need to be better educated about this so that it is something they don't even think about doing anymore.
ReplyDeletethis isn't to minimize the extent of the environmental problems in the neighborhood and i haven't read the report so perhaps this question has been answered, but how much of the life expectancy disparity can be attributed to early death due to lead poisoning - specifically the high velocity flying kind? furthermore, is there a way to disentangle health problems from things such as diet and passivity vs. the quality of the ambient environment? seems like that's important since addressing the issues requires different strategies.
ReplyDeleteRe: idling trucks - I brought up the issue at the debate. Trucks, MUNI busses and even schools busses regularly idle in front of my house. I always ask the drivers to shut off the engine, and they always do, which tells me that training would help a lot.
ReplyDeleteRe: whether life expectancy disparities can be attributed to a higher murder rate - I don't think so. It's tragic that teenagers are shooting each other but the number of murders is not high enough to sway the statistics.
Pollution is definitely not the only reason for our poorer health. The report cites access to primary and preventive care, which is why it's important to support the expansion of the Southeast Health Center, as well as require that new development bring an equitable proportion of public services including healthcare, education, civic meeting space, performance venues and recreation.
Here's the second part of the article:
ReplyDeleteCPIC scientists examined neighborhood-level socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sex and age for more than 689,000 deaths among California residents during 1999-2001. The researchers defined six mutually exclusive racial/ethnic groups for analysis: Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, African American, white, Native American, and other/unknown. Socioeconomic status was defined based on education level, proportion with a working-class job, proportion unemployed, median household income, proportion below 200 percent of poverty line, median rent, and median home value.
"We uncovered these differences while studying cancer survival rates among these groups. The findings were disturbing enough that we pressed to publish them, even though they were outside our immediate focus," Dr. Clarke said.
Findings from the new CPIC study are published in the May issue of the international journal, Social Science & Medicine.
SUMMARY FINDINGS
_. Race/ethnicity and neighborhood socioeconomic status had substantial and independent influences on life expectancy, underscoring the importance of monitoring health outcomes simultaneously by these factors.
_. Overall life expectancy of females was greater than males across socioeconomic status by 4.8 years; the difference was largest in lower socioeconomic status by 5.9 years and smallest in the highest socioeconomic status groups by 3.3 years
_. The relevance of neighborhood socioeconomic status on life expectancy varies strikingly by race/ethnicity.
_. Life expectancy of African-American and white females of the lowest socioeconomic classification was about six to seven years less than among females of the highest classification. Similar patterns were observed among males.
About the Cancer Prevention Institute of California
The Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) is the nation's premier organization dedicated to preventing cancer and to reducing its burden where it cannot yet be prevented. Formerly known as the Northern California Cancer Center, CPIC tracks patterns of cancer throughout the entire population and identifies those at risk for developing cancer. Its research scientists are leaders in investigating the causes of cancer in large populations to advance the development of prevention-focused interventions. CPIC's innovative cancer prevention research and cancer education and community partnership programs, in formal partnership with the Stanford Cancer Center, deliver a comprehensive arsenal for defeating cancer. For more information, visit CPIC's official website at www.cpic.org.
Sorry to burst any bubbles but this isn't news. Data indicates that some ethnic groups live longer. And forget the idling trucks and bullets conspiracy theory. If you want to point any fingers, "It's the food, stupid." In the Bayview, fast food and lack of exercise are the Evil Empire. Here's a little more info. It's a long article so I'll edit it to fit.
ReplyDeleteStudy Finds 20-Year Difference in Life Expectancy For Some Groups in California
FREMONT, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a landmark study, scientists from the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC) have discovered a startling 19.6-year gap in life expectancy between poor black men and affluent Asian women.
According to the research, Asian females with the highest socioeconomic status had a life expectancy of 84.9 years, whereas the life expectancy for African-American males of the lowest socioeconomic status was 65.3 years.
These results come from a first-of-its-kind, block-by-block analysis of the population of California — a project originally designed to look at cancer survival rates in the state — and reveal differences significantly larger than any previous study based on U.S. Census data.
"By looking at both race and socioeconomic status, and drilling down to the neighborhood level for the latter we were able to uncover this sizeable life expectancy disparity between specific categories of individuals based on their neighborhood socioeconomic conditions," said CPIC Research Scientist Christina Clarke, Ph.D.
By looking at age-specific gaps in mortality, the study confirmed stark differences for younger populations, especially African-American men living in poorer neighborhoods, but showed that the bulk of the gap in life expectancy was actually due to differences in risk among persons aged 45 and up. Dr. Clarke explained, "The most important contributor to life expectancy gaps between the most and least advantaged populations was not violence in young people but rather chronic disease in older people, including treatable conditions like heart disease and diabetes."
The study found that life expectancy was greatest for Asians/Pacific Islanders, intermediate for Hispanics and whites, and lowest among African Americans. The influence of neighborhood socioeconomic status on life expectancy was most pronounced among African-American and white women and men, and Asian/Pacific Islander men.
"Life expectancy is among the most basic indicators of a population's well being. We found that poverty or affluence alone didn't explain the wide differences seen by race in today's California," Dr. Clarke said. "Our findings show clearly that race matters beyond its association with poverty, which raises even more questions as to why."