Class of '71 Environment and Risk Team presents its second program of the Surviving Environmental Disaster series, cosponsored with EESN. Join us to learn about Information you can use in a changing world.

Extreme heat has become more common across the US and more personal for many more of us.  The world recorded its hottest month ever this July. In Arizona, pavement was so hot that people and pets were getting 2nd and 3rd degree burns when they touched it.  Hospitals are now equipped with ice bags - body bags filled with ice - to treat victims of severe heat stroke.  Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa ranchers saw hundreds of cattle die from extreme heat. Crop failures due to heat are reducing yields and profit margins.

Cathy Buckley '71, SM '73 will present information on what is happening and why. The panel has looked beyond the US to global impacts such as extreme heat waves during the winter months in Chile and other South American countries.

Health and other impacts will be costly and are estimated to be a $16 trillion hit to the global economy and a $100 billion annual reduction in productivity for the US economy alone.  What investments are being made to develop heat-resistant crops, to protect infrastructure, and to preserve water supplies and food sources?

Kathi Futornick '71 will introduce new government resources such as heat.gov, FEMA webinars on heat, and the additional programs from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Join us to hear about mitigation plans and measures now in place which may aid you, available at the county level.

Bios:

Cathy Buckley '71, SM '73, is Director of Statewide Organizing at the North Carolina Alliance To Protect Our People And The Places We Live, She worked for many years as a transportation planner in the Boston Area and is a Climate Reality trainer.

Kathi Futornick '71, has organized the Class of 1971 subcommittee on the environment and climate.  She was a Sustainability Group Leader at URS and EH&S Manager at LifePort, a Sikorsky Aerospace Services Company.  Recently retired, Kathi is very active in her local Rotary Club.