FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2
Second Place Winner of the Wildland Fire Sensors Challenge
Map of Submission and Winner Locations for the Let’s Talk About Heat Challenge
Let's Talk About Heat Challenge Winners and Submissions
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The Thingy AQ from Thingy LLC in Bellevue, Washington, measures PM 2.5 , carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and total volatile organic compounds. It is part of the Wildfire Smoke Air Monitoring Response Technology (WSMART) equipment loan program for state, tribal, and local governments from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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The challenge received 97 submissions from 31 di erent states, demonstrating a nationwide interest in the topic (Figure 2). Overall, 10 winners were publicly announced at a national webinar in August 2022 in the middle of heat season. The winners of the challenge all had memorable and e ective strategies in place or in development that can now be shared with other communi- ties across the country. For example, Public Health–Seattle & King County partnered with the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the Uni- versity of Washington to design and publish “Stay Safe in the Heat” comic strips to reach people at high risk for heat illnesses in 13 dif- ferent languages (Figure 3). Now that the challenge is complete, U.S. EPA plans to work with some of the winners to collaboratively evaluate the e ectiveness of di erent heat risk messages and outreach methods. This study could be used to develop a framework for evaluating heat risk messag- ing for other communities that are trying to manage the impacts of extreme heat. Environmental Justice Video Challenge for Students Many communities face greater environmental exposures and public health risks due to a his- tory of inequitable environmental policies and lack of access to the decision-making process.
FIGURE 3
Example of the Comic Strip From One of the Winners of the Let’s Talk About Heat Challenge
The comic strip was designed and published by Public Health–Seattle & King County in partnership with the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington. The campaign was designed to reach people at high risk for heat illnesses and was offered in 13 different languages.
due to climate change are intensifying already higher temperatures in heat island areas where buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes. Communities need help developing clear messages about the risks of extreme heat, how to stay safe, and how to build cooler communities for the long-term. To address this need, U.S. EPA and its cosponsors launched the Let’s Talk About
Heat Challenge to identify innovative and effective communication strategies that inform people of the risks of extreme heat and o er ways to keep people safe (U.S. EPA, 2022a). Target audiences for these messages included farm workers, children, construc- tion workers, unsheltered neighbors, people living in neighborhoods with higher inci- dences of heat-related illnesses, and people with existing health disparities.
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May 2023 • Journal of Environmental Health
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