Effort will place air monitors at local schools to inform practical solutions for the health and well-being of Dallas school children
Dallas, TX: At the Dallas Clean
Air Action Day on June 22, The Nature Conservancy and the City of Dallas announced
a first-of-its-kind study for North Texas: Breathe
Easy Dallas. The project will study the impact of practical solutions like
reduced car idling, campus-based health initiatives and tree planting on air
quality and asthma-related absenteeism at identified schools.
“Dallas
has a persistent problem with poor air quality and pediatric asthma, but thus
far we’ve lacked the data to most effectively and equitably direct programs and
resources to address health and air quality,” says James McGuire, Managing
Director of the Office of Environmental Quality (OEQ). The Dallas-Fort Worth
region consistently fails to meet regulatory limits on ozone pollution and,
according to health researchers, “far exceeds both the state and national
rates” for childhood asthma.[1] Moreover,
Dallas County leads the region for hospitalizations from childhood asthma, and
respiratory issues are a leading cause of absenteeism among Dallas Independent
School District (DISD) students.
“Poor
air quality is one of the leading environmental health challenges in cities
globally, affecting vulnerable populations and communities disproportionately,”
says Kathy Jack, Ph.D., Dallas Urban Conservation Associate for The Nature
Conservancy. The Center for Disease Control finds that black children in the
U.S. are twice as likely as white children to have asthma, and with greater
severity—experiencing higher-than-average rates of hospitalization, emergency
room visits and deaths from asthma. Recent research also demonstrates a link
between asthma and an increased risk of falling into poverty. “With Breathe Easy Dallas, we hope to improve
the health, happiness and learning of all Dallas children,” remarks Jack.
Local
government, education, non-profit and healthcare leaders in Dallas are eager to
improve outcomes for asthmatic children, but to do so, they need quality data
and well-coordinated resources to design locally-effective solutions related to
air quality and human health. Phase I of Breathe
Easy Dallas, funded by the ClimateWorks Foundation with
additional support from the Hoblitzelle Foundation, will gather baseline data
on air quality and asthma-related absenteeism at selected DISD schools. Air
monitors at Breathe Easy Dallas
schools will share data via the City’s Smart City platform. Phase II will
implement and study the impact of health and nature-based solutions to asthma-related
absenteeism at DISD. Breathe Easy Dallas will provide a
replicable model for high-risk Texas schools to improve absenteeism and provide
better educational and economic outcomes in Texas communities.
Breathe Easy Dallas will kick off with the
new school year in fall 2018, with baseline data expected to be compiled in
June 2019.
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The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation
organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters
on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions
to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and
people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change,
conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food
and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 72
countries, we use a collaborative approach that
engages local
communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more
about our work in Texas, visit www.nature.org/texas or
follow @nature_tx on Twitter.
The City of Dallas Office of
Environmental Quality is
committed to protecting and improving the environment by leading and guiding
the City of Dallas in its efforts on environmental compliance, pollution
prevention and continual improvement. For more information, visit www.dallascityhall.com/departments/OEQ
or www.greendallas.net,
and follow @GreenDallas on Twitter.
[1] Cook Children’s (website).
Asthma: Six-county profile. content from their regular
Community-wide Children’s Health Assessment and Planning Survey (CCHAPS). https://www.centerforchildrenshealth.org/en-us/HealthIssues/asthma/Pages/Asthma.aspx.
Retrieved online May 18, 2018.
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