Episode 73: Older Adults and Climate Emergencies

Unedited Transcript Mpact Podcast Episode 73: Older Adults and Climate Emergencies

We’re joined by Danielle Arigoni, author of Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation. For those working on housing and transportation infrastructure, as well as those working on climate and disaster preparedness, her book – and the podcast about it – are a wake up call about the needs of older adults. In the twenty years since Katrina, the pattern has been overwhelmingly the same: the majority of deaths from major weather events fall on older adults.  More than 70% of the deaths resulting from the recent massive fire in Hawaii were older adults. 

Listen to the conversation to get a sense of the reasons for disproportionate impact, the steps that need to be taken and new policies and approaches from around the country. For example, it is very possible but not often currently done to map the intersection of housing options and areas of climate risk. There are several new policies and approaches that show promise: from “Community Lighthouse” locations in New Orleans to changes in laws about health care facilities’ preparedness, from initiatives to familiarize older adults with bicycling, walking or transit options (in the event of evacuation), to new affordable and market rate housing developments designed with extreme weather and older adults in mind. 

The podcast and book provide a grounding of understanding about older adults as a growing cohort of the population. Also find out about the programs and agencies involved in both climate emergencies and support for older adults – from FEMA to AARP to Area Agencies on Aging – and and how to work with them to plan communities better built for aging and resilience.