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.
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.
Theoretically, it works the other way around due to higher melatonin content in the skin of those with darker pigment.
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.
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.
Higher rate of obesity?
And higher rate of poverty means worse living conditions and having to keep the AC set to a higher temp if on at all.
I’d say centuries of institutional racism might have a little more to do with it.
