A recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (2007) stated with 90% certainty that human or “anthropogenic” activities (emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs), aerosols and pollution, land use/land cover change) have altered global temperature patterns over the past 100 to 150 years. Such temperature changes have a set of cascading, and sometimes, amplifying effects on the entire global climate system including the water cycle, cryosphere, hurricane intensity, and sea level. A recent U.S. Congressional Black Caucus report (2004) indicated that African Americans are disproportionately affected by climate changes, currently and likely into the future. While the broader population is adversely affected, lower income African-Americans and other marginalized groups (typically lower income immigrants, Hispanics, elderly) have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to health effects of changing climate, including heat waves and air pollution. 

This research project, conducted jointly between the University of Georgia and SRS-4952, is exploring questions related to climate change and social vulnerability such as: What are the current and future climate change drivers that might amplify societal vulnerability in southeast communities, and are they distinctly different from other geographic regions? What are the spatial-temporal distributions of climate change vulnerable communities in the southeast United States? What groups are most vulnerable to climate change in the southeast and why? Can sub-classifications of vulnerable communities be identified within broader groups and what is unique about the geographic distribution? How might a societal vulnerability index be developed and/or optimized by the analysis?