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EiJ Hazard: PFAS

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FOR ECOGOVLAB/CCEJP CURRICULUM: Use this as a research resource during 11th and 12th Grade Lesson 2 on Hazards.

What do you hope to get out of the lab?

kvalladares

I hope to be involved in projects that aim to gather scientific evidence to inform environmental decision making and advocate for greater equity and justice in environmental governance. Through this work, I hope to learn the skills needed to engage in community based research and leverage community knowledge as expert knowledge. In my department, things are often siloed and issues are only seen through one perspective. I really want to gain more experience in collaborating with a wide array of stakeholders to come up with approaches to mitigate the environmental injustices experienced in under-resourced communities.

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maryclare.crochiere

The study addresses the survivors of Katrina fairly soon after the disaster, at a time when they likely do not have much stability. Many were without homes, may have lost family or friends, neighborhoods were torn apart, schools were destroyed, and money was very thin. It was not an easy time, so focusing on this group at such a stressful time was the goal of the study.

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maryclare.crochiere

The paper mostly focuses on how the survivors recieve long-term care, since they have severe financial struggles in the aftermath of the disaster. This impacts emergency response since we do need to be funded in some way, and if it is not covered by the healthcare system in the area, then the cost is placed on the individual. If they are in need of immediate care, then this is an issue. They have many health conditions caused by the disaster that could cause a sudden health emergency. If they do not feel they can financially support calling an ambulance, then it places the person's life in jeopardy.

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maryclare.crochiere

"The contributors write: “Data are important, of course, but numbers sometimes imply an order to what is happening that can be misleading. Stories are better at capturing a different type of ‘big picture'.""

"Four decades later, in 1995, suicidal thoughts brought this anxious man back into the psychiatric system, at age 70. For the first time, he was put on an antidepressant, Zoloft. Six weeks out, both the panic attacks and the depression were gone. He resumed work, entered into a social life and remained well for the next 19 years — until his death."