The COVID-19 pandemic, which casts a long shadow over the hearts and minds of people across the globe, sparked interest, fear, and a sense of urgency around disaster preparedness and response, especially when it comes to viral outbreaks.
The pandemic also created opportunities for exchange and mutual learning between experts and non-experts as everyone worked to mobilize recourses, develop solutions, and otherwise minimize the devastation by collectively working to prevent the spread of the virus. During this time, outbreak preparedness and response and its role in safeguarding health sparked a global dialogue. As the world continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, research shows that it may not be the only life-altering outbreak to occur in our lifetime. It is imperative that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to have important discussions about outbreak preparedness and response.
Rebecca Katz and Mackenzie S. Moore spoke with NPQ about their recently released book, Outbreak Atlas. The book uses 175 case studies and visualizations to provide practical guidance on outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery. The book—which evolved from the Georgetown Outbreak Activity Library (GOAL)—provides “accessible information that ensures a shared understanding of the essential activities to control an outbreak.”
Tonie Marie Gordon: I imagine that you must have been writing Outbreak Atlas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Can you tell me about the events that led you to write the book?
Rebecca Katz: I was very involved in the response efforts for the pandemic at a variety of different levels—from the international, to the national, and subnational. And I supported the Biden-Harris transition and then the Biden-Harris administration. Outbreak response and policy around outbreak response is our area of expertise. I’ve been working in pandemic preparedness for 20 years. And then suddenly, people started understanding who we are and what we do. In our daily lives, our families were asking us questions and I was overhearing conversations at the grocery store about things like case fatality rates, which is a concept usually taught at the graduate level. What we came away with was that there’s a real need to educate the public.
At the time, our colleagues were talking about the importance of building trust with the public and the erosion of trust in public health, there are experts doing great work on that. To contribute to this dialogue around building trust and public outreach we decided to do what we do best, which is trying to raise public literacy. So, the idea behind this was really to repurpose the content we created to support public health emergency operation centers. That was the basis. Mackenzie and I sat down, and we were like, we can do this, we can translate this and rewrite all this material in a way that engages a much broader range of stakeholders. We wanted to help the public make more informed decisions and enable a higher-level discussion between decision-makers and the public at large.
Increasing public literacy is really at the core of Outbreak Atlas, this is part of our larger effort to increase public literacy around global health.
Mackenzie S. Moore: We’re public health specialists, global health specialists more specifically. And I think there are different information pipelines that start right before there’s an outbreak. There’s all of this information floating around. There are people on the ground, who are really embedded in the health ecosystem and who usually have decades of training. They know what these diseases look like, they know the patterns, they know how to recognize it. And that gets passed on to other professionals who also have extensive training. And at a certain point, that information is passed on to decision-makers and policymakers who aren’t public health professionals. There’s another information exchange between public health professionals and the group of people who have decision-making power, who are also well-educated. Then the information is shared with the public. So, [the] GOAL tool—which was Rebecca’s brainchild—was needed because the people communicating to the public, and even sometimes the people responsible for making decisions or creating policies don’t have a public health background. GOAL was designed for professionals who have extensive training in their field or their area of specialty, but their field isn’t public health.
We had been building GOAL for a couple years when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and our family and friends started bringing their questions to us and we became their primary fact-checkers and sources for information. We started thinking, it’d be nice if GOAL, which includes some scientific jargon and technical language, existed for the public. Even when it comes to questions like what coronavirus is and how is it being transmitted, the details can be complex. Suddenly, every time people turned on the news, they were looking at graphs. But a lot of people don’t see graphs every day, and they wouldn’t know how to interpret certain types of graphs commonly used in public health. People were also bombarded with all these words that they most likely had never heard before. But there wasn’t necessarily an explanation about what those things mean or the logic behind some of the decision-making. That opens the door for a lot of questions, and I think questions are always positive. But when people have questions, it also opens the door for the spread of unreliable information. And I think that when there’s uncertainty, there’s also fear.
Increasing public literacy is really at the core of Outbreak Atlas, this is part of our larger effort to increase public literacy around global health. To have a more engaged public, people need to have access to information that’s not bogged down with scientific jargon and technical language. Some of this technical language can be exclusionary. It creates a barrier to entry. And like Rebecca said, a lot of these terms, a lot of these concepts, they’re not difficult, but they’re often not taught outside of graduate school. So you end up with this self-selected group of people who get into public health, epidemiology, and medicine, who get a master’s degree and obtain a PhD, who become entrenched in this information. Someone who doesn’t go down that path might not have access to that information, maybe because they don’t know what to look for or because they don’t know that it exists. I think having more information can increase public engagement and cooperation with public health measures.
By having a range of case studies…on how outbreak response activities play out in the real world, we’ve tried to make the subject matter more relatable and accessible.
RK: This is my seventh book, in addition to probably more than 100 journal articles. We write a lot in academia. Normally, as an academic, when you work on a book you’re writing for people with the same niche interest in the academic space. In my head, the work is done when the book gets published. I did my work by doing the academic research. This book is different. We went through an academic press because it was important to us that all the information was peer-reviewed. Even though we’re approaching these subjects in a different way, at the core, we needed to make sure that everything in there was correct. We even had a set of additional readers who are giants in the field and have decades of experience in outbreak response. But we feel really excited about the accessibility of the information. This is the first time in my career that accessibility is the part that matters most. We did all this work, and now we have to think about how we make sure that this information gets into the hands of people who are interested, who will use it to ask questions and engage with it.
MSM: The book is set up, so each chapter addresses a different subject area pertaining to outbreak response. We have chapters on epidemiology, governance, communicating with the public, community engagement, and humanitarian response, among others. We focus on what to do before, during, and after an outbreak. And within each chapter, we go into detail, breaking up all the activities involved. We’ve grounded these activities in 175 case studies. By having a range of case studies and fact boxes with information on how outbreak response activities play out in the real world, we’ve tried to make the subject matter more relatable and accessible.
TMG: There are conversations around what’s going to be the next big destabilizing outbreak and how people can rise to the occasion. I’m thinking about our readers who are involved in humanitarian work, schools, or small health-based nonprofits that are focused on an area of health that’s not central to outbreaks but could be affected by outbreaks. What are your perspectives on that?
RK: We are deep into the literature on pandemic preparedness, including the current science. So, if the question is, when it comes to a destabilizing event like the COVID-19 pandemic, will we ever see something like this again? We can say very confidently that we will. There are infectious disease outbreaks happening all the time. We’ve seen an almost four-fold increase in the number of emerging infectious diseases over the last few decades. By some estimates, we will most likely see another pandemic, like COVID-19, or more severe, sometime in the next 40 years. We [scientists] used to estimate that a pandemic was likely to occur once every 100 years. Now we’re shrinking that timeline, in part due to climate change and all sorts of other factors that contribute to the emergence of infectious diseases.
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But there are different types of outbreaks. There are these, hopefully, once-in-a-generation types of events. And then there are the types of events that happen every day. In the book, we have a chapter that looks at humanitarian disaster response. We have chapters on financing and economics. There’s a lot of different pieces that we pull in. There are case studies on COVID. There are also case studies on diphtheria outbreaks in Alaska. There are examples that pull from outbreaks in underresourced environments to those that occur in the most developed and resourced environments in the world. Unfortunately, these things happen all the time, whether it’s a measles outbreak in a school system or the next large-scale influenza outbreak.
MSM: It’s widely accepted in our field that we could have another pandemic. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. For us, it’s our job. We’re constantly thinking about and preparing for outbreaks. We’re always working to equip the people we work with, with the right tools. It’s two-sided. We hope that by increasing the public’s literacy around public health that people will know where to look for information. But I think it’s also the responsibility of public health professionals and decision-makers to improve their communication. The onus of these situations should not solely be placed on the people affected. You have to take into account all of the different situations in which an outbreak can occur. It’s incredibly complex. There’s no perfect way to do it. It’s just about building a better communication environment. It’s about making sure people know what to look for, that they can find reliable information, and so they know what they can do to keep their community safe.
Scientific misinformation and disinformation are a huge issue right now. I was reading a really concerning article a couple days ago about the number of fake publications coming out. In public health classes, you’re taught what to look for, how to tell if a study is reliable, and which journals are reliable. But for people who haven’t taken those classes, it can be overwhelming to know where to find the right information. Outbreak Atlas is our attempt to put good, reliable information out there.
TMG: I really appreciate this work of trying to bring people in and serve as a connector. I think it’s also important that we feature people who have that perspective, who are experts, but who are also talking in ways that people can understand. We’re striving to point people toward resources and provide the information people need. Today’s info glut environment makes it increasingly difficult to find the right information.
RK: There are areas in the healthcare field where there’s a lot of asymmetric information. If you’re a patient and you walk in to be treated, the surgeon is going to have a lot more information than you will. Many of the questions we were asked during the pandemic were due to asymmetric access to information. Folks don’t know what questions to ask. We’re trying to raise the level of literacy so people can engage in a more informal way. And there’s a lot of people saying that their way or their product is the best solution out there, but people should check if something is FDA-approved. People should investigate the clinical trials. To be informed consumers, there’s a lot people need to look out for.
TMG: We’ve seen such a rise in hesitancy around vaccines that we’re now getting outbreaks like measles that you would think would be left in the past.
MSM: It’s a complicated issue, and I think it speaks to what we were saying about how important communication and engagement is and bringing in fields like sociology and anthropology. My undergraduate degree was in medical anthropology, so I came into epidemiology with a focus on the human element, and the way humans interact with their communities and with their environment and how that influences the spread of illness and what it means to be sick. I think bringing in the human element is always important. Understanding that disease doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and the way that it impacts a certain community is going to be different even on a medical and scientific level because people’s immune systems are different, and people have different genetics.
Sixty-five percent of misinformation and anti-vaccine content during COVID can be traced to only 12 people.
Different communities are made up of people with different occupations, different religions and different cultural practices that could put people at risk. With Ebola, the first big Ebola outbreak was back in 2014 or 2015. Doctors and medical professionals were coming from Europe, the US, and Canada, from big international organizations and telling the people that they can’t touch the bodies, that the bodies will have to be burned, that we need to get rid of them as fast as possible because that’s how Ebola spreads. But they didn’t realize that burial practices were such an important part of how communities in West Africa grieve for their deceased. And that involved touching and cleaning the bodies when they died. That also puts people at a high risk for transmission. So, being able to come in and understand how these diseases spread and what sorts of cultural practices may expose people to more risk is an important thing to consider.
For vaccines, I think it’s a communication problem. There’s always been hesitancy around vaccines in the same way there’s hesitancy around a lot of Western medicine. But it was a single paper [asserting that vaccines cause autism] that came from a doctor who had a conflict of interest and ended up having his medical license revoked. And the paper was pulled. But that’s not the side you hear about it. And this idea that vaccines cause autism spread like wildfire. That’s why it’s so crucial to help people understand how to question the information they’re receiving and where to look for accurate information. This is why in the book, one of our case studies [delves into] COVID disinformation, showing that most of it came from just 12 people.
RK: Yes, 65 percent of misinformation and anti-vaccine content during COVID can be traced to only 12 people.
TMG: I appreciate that you also considered underresourced groups and vulnerable communities when you wrote this book. I think that’s another dimension that makes this such a valuable resource.
RK: I feel like the work starts when the book comes out. We are happy to talk to local library groups or to high school science classes, to bring in an outbreak exercise.
MSM: How we present the book and the exercises we do are going to be different for a high school auditorium than it will be for a professional group that’s trying to understand how they can prepare for the next outbreak. And it’ll be different for a first-year class of undergraduate public health students. Like Rebecca said, it’s after the book is published that the next batch of work starts. Now we’re working to help different communities navigate it.
![Desired Pub Date: 11/8/24 Tags: Climate Justice, Fall 2024 Magazine Summary: By addressing the barriers to access and representation and promoting successful initiatives and inclusive strategies, we can ensure that BIPOC communities are equipped with the tools and knowledge to combat climate change. Author Bio: Daja Elum is a scientist and environmentalist who specializes in geographic information systems and remote sensing. She has both a BS and an MS in environmental science from Tuskegee University and is presently pursuing a PhD in atmospheric science at Howard University. Elum is the founder of The Earthly Advocate, an organization dedicated to offering environmental science education and research to communities in need. She is the author of The World of Imagery (independently published, 2023), a book that introduces young readers to the role of remote sensing in solving environmental issues. Having grown up in Detroit, MI, and personally witnessed the impact of the city's environmental injustice, Elum draws inspiration from her upbringing to champion justice and mentor the next generation of minority scientists. Pull Quotes: Limited access to education is also a social vulnerability: the systemic barriers further exacerbate the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities. Recognizing the intersection of racial and climate injustice requires understanding how colonization, genocide, racism, and slavery have made marginalized communities more susceptible to environmental hazards. By embedding climate and racial justice into the educational experience, schools can equip students with the knowledge and tools needed to address the critical climate issues we are facing, ultimately contributing to a more just and sustainable future. Navigating Climate Justice: Empowering BIPOC Youth with Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing by Daja Elum Editors’ note: This piece is from Nonprofit Quarterly Magazine’s fall 2024 issue, “Supporting the Youth Climate Justice Movement.” The climate crisis is an urgent and pervasive threat, and it disproportionately affects Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.1 These populations often face heightened exposure to environmental hazards such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and air pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2021 report, Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts: Black and African American individuals are 40% more likely…to currently live in areas with the highest projected increases in mortality rates due to…extreme temperatures...[and] are 34% more likely to live in areas with the highest projected increases in childhood asthma diagnoses due to climate-driven changes in particulate air pollution….Hispanic and Latino individuals are 43% more likely…to currently live in areas with the highest projected labor hour losses in weather-exposed industries.… American Indian and Alaska Native individuals are 48% more likely…to currently live in areas where the highest percentage of land is projected to be inundated due to sea level rise…. Asian individuals are 23% more likely…to currently live in coastal areas with the highest projected increases in traffic delays from…high-tide flooding.2 Despite these risk disparities, there is a significant underrepresentation of individuals from these communities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—fields that design and use tools to understand, predict, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The absence of such diverse perspectives leads to biases and unrealized solutions and innovations in scientific fields.3 BIPOC communities also possess place-based knowledge that can provide rich, detailed observations of climate impacts on local biophysical systems.4 This knowledge, derived from communities’ long-term interactions with their environments, is crucial for understanding local climate changes and developing effective adaptation strategies. Incorporating BIPOC perspectives into climate science not only addresses equity but also enhances the overall capacity to address climate challenges comprehensively. Many factors contribute to BIPOC underrepresentation in climate-related STEM fields, including financial constraints, a lack of role models, systemic racism within educational institutions and the workforce, and limited exposure to STEM education. Integrating climate-related STEM pedagogy in K–12 school systems would support a new generation of BIPOC advocates in “the development of critical and creative thinking skills…needed to participate in resolving environmental issues.”5 Climate change education spans multiple science disciplines, including biology, Earth system science, and chemistry; however, the representation of these disciplines in school curricula and state standards may not be sufficient to support robust climate change education. For example, the 50-state analysis of Earth science education standards in 2007 identified a disconnect between “an Earth system literate society and the current K–12 education system that is responsible for developing this capacity.”6 Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing in Climate Work Geography and geospatial science, which are integral parts of Earth system science, use tools such as geographic information systems and remote sensing to study the physical and cultural environments on Earth.7 Climate change analysis benefits from data generated by these tools. “[T]he sustained advancement in space and computer technology” ensures that “RS and GIS play a crucial role in tracing the trajectories of climate change and its effects for human survival.”8 These technologies enable researchers to monitor inaccessible areas in near real-time, providing comprehensive data that are critical for effective disaster management and mitigating climate change.9 Integrating these technologies into K–12 education would enhance students’ understanding of climate change and prepare them to address environmental challenges effectively. According to NASA, the average surface temperature of Earth “was about 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 1.36 degrees Celsius) warmer in 2023 than the late 19th-century (1850–1900) preindustrial average”10 and “2.34 degrees Fahrenheit (1.30 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century baseline (1951 to 1980).”11 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change attributes the rise in global temperatures to expansion of anthropogenic, or human-caused, greenhouse gases.12 GHGs such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are naturally occurring gases that absorb energy from the sun and trap heat inside the atmosphere reflected from the earth’s surface.13 Without GHGs “the average temperature of Earth would drop from 14° C (57° F) to as low as –18° C (–0.4° F).”14 However, human activities such as burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, landfills, toxic agricultural practices, and transportation have increased the natural rate of these gases in the atmosphere. This can lead to a rise in sea levels, increased temperatures, and more frequent and severe extreme weather events. For example, May 2024 was the warmest May in history, according to NASA’s records;15 and July 2024’s Hurricane Beryl became “the earliest hurricane to reach Category 5 strength on record in the Atlantic Basin.”16 Addressing these challenges requires urgent, concerted global efforts to reduce GHG emissions and mitigate climate change impacts. As NASA outlines, climate scientists use an array “of direct and indirect measurements to thoroughly investigate Earth’s climate history” and predict future trends.17 “These measurements include data from natural sources like tree rings, ice cores, corals, and sediments from oceans and lakes.”18 Data from technological sources, including satellites and both airborne and ground-based instruments, play a critical role in analysis.19 Scientists also use climate modeling, which implements computers to simulate the earth’s climate system and predict patterns based on real-world observations.20 Geographic information systems is a tool that ties climate research together, allowing scientists to visualize, analyze, and interpret spatial (location-based) data, providing insights into climate patterns and aiding in the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies. GIS combines spatial data with various types of descriptive data (attributes) to create visual representations and perform advanced analyses. It provides a comprehensive platform for capturing, managing, analyzing, and visualizing geographic data from diverse sources.21 It is used in a number of fields, including urban planning, weather forecasting, agriculture, and utilities, and has become especially useful in climate change research.22 Moreover, GIS plays a significant role in disaster management and hazard mitigation by providing detailed data for assessing the socioeconomic impacts of natural disasters and planning effective emergency responses.23 Remote sensing is the process of collecting data about an object or area from a distance, usually via satellites or aircraft. It involves the use of sensors that detect and record electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light, infrared, or radar) reflected or emitted from the earth’s surface or atmosphere.24 Satellite imagery via remote sensing has been available for most of the world since 1972,25 with data from airborne and ground-based instruments commonly used to validate satellite data and provide more localized measurements. Remote sensing can be used in the same fields as GIS: it is a data source, and GIS analyzes and visualizes the data.26 Remote sensing has various applications, such as monitoring of land use and land changes, detection and monitoring of natural disasters, and assessment of air and water quality. Used together in the context of climate work, GIS and remote sensing technologies are essential for documenting, analyzing, and communicating the impacts of climate change. Because these tools enable detailed mapping and monitoring of environmental changes, they offer critical insights for policymaking and community planning. For instance, GIS can map flood-prone areas, identify communities at risk, and aid in developing targeted mitigation strategies. And remote sensing through satellite imagery provides real-time data on deforestation, glacier melt, and urban heat islands, among other phenomena. As described by Ryan Lanclos writing for Esri, GIS and remote sensing were instrumental in the response and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the devastating 2019 tornadoes in Lee County, AL. The National Weather Service used GIS to map and classify the extent and path of each tornado, detailing “storm start and end points, path length and width, and wind magnitudes.”27 In an interview with Lanclos, Jared Bostic, deputy Geographic Information Officer with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, noted how he used GIS to record “tornado swaths" and "mapped an impact summary,” calculating the affected population, households, and businesses.28 And FEMA developed “a partially automated imagery-derived model to conduct preliminary house-by-house damage estimates,” wrote Lanclos, significantly reducing assessment time “from five to six days...to less than 24 hours.”29 Also, data integration from multiple sources, including aerial imagery, enabled the creation of web services, dashboards, and StoryMaps (a mapping technology) for efficient visualization and communication; local authorities, supported by GIS, provided detailed damage information to FEMA for federal recovery assistance; and the integration of GIS and remote sensing data facilitated coordinated response efforts, efficient resource management, and timely restoration of services, enhancing overall disaster management and recovery.30 Persistent Impact Disparities and Barriers: Recognizing the Intersection of Racial and Climate Injustice In “Centering Equity in the Nation’s Weather, Water, and Climate Services,” Aradhna Tripati et al. wrote, “Climate injustice refers to the role of structural discrimination in saddling communities of color and low-income communities with disproportionately high burdens of the harmful risks and impacts of climate change.”31 These communities often face greater exposure to environmental hazards and have fewer resources to adapt to or recover from climate-related disasters. This injustice is compounded by systemic inequalities that limit access to quality education and economic opportunities. As the 2021 Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States report reminds us, “Race…plays a significant role in determining one’s risk of exposure to air pollution, even after controlling for other socioeconomic and demographic factors.”32 The report notes that there are higher exposures to particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone “in neighborhoods with more racial minorities” and a concurrent “higher incidence of childhood asthma.”33 And according to the EPA, “Many studies show that these microscopic fine particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, and that long- and short-term exposure can lead to asthma attacks, missed days of school or work, heart attacks, expensive emergency room visits and premature death.”34 Limited access to education is also a social vulnerability: the systemic barriers further exacerbate the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, making it essential to address both environmental and educational inequities to achieve true climate justice. Many BIPOC communities lack access to quality STEM education due to underfunded schools and resource disparities, resulting in fewer opportunities down the line to engage with the complex technologies used in climate work. Higher education in STEM fields often comes with significant financial burdens, and scholarships and funding opportunities for BIPOC students are limited. The underrepresentation of BIPOC professionals in these fields means fewer role models and mentors, which can perpetuate a cycle of exclusion. According to the U.S. National Science Foundation, “Collectively, Hispanic, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native people made up 31% percent of the U.S. population, but [only] 24% of the STEM workforce in 2021.”35 Systemic racism both creates and further compounds these issues, manifesting in discriminatory hiring practices, biased curricula, and a lack of supportive environments. With respect to GIS and remote sensing, the access barriers to education first reported on in the mid-1990s remain largely in place today.36 Significant barriers include high costs of hardware and software, steep learning curves, limited access to data due to these technologies being regarded as commercial activity, and a lack of awareness or understanding of their potential applications.37 These barriers continue to hinder the widespread and effective use of GIS in educational settings today, as confirmed by recent studies highlighting ongoing challenges such as a lack of teacher training and confidence, high workloads, complex software, insufficient hardware, inadequate curriculum integration, financial constraints, and a lack of technical support.38 These systemic issues are mirrored in broader STEM education disparities, where marginalized students often lack access to well-prepared or experienced teachers and advanced coursework.39 Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveal stark differences. In 2019, 48 percent of White fourth graders performed at or above the proficient level in mathematics, compared to only 15 percent of Black students, 27 percent of Hispanic students, 6 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander students, and 1 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students. For science, the numbers are the same except for the following, including a change in racial breakdown: 5 percent of Asian, 4 percent of two or more races, and no percentage given for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.40 Similar trends have been observed vis-à-vis mathematics regarding eighth graders, with 49 percent of White students, 14 percent of Black students, 26 percent of Hispanic students, 6 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander students, 1 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students, and 3 percent of two or more races reaching proficiency. And for science, the numbers are the same except for the following, including a change in racial breakdown: 6 percent of Asian, 3 percent of two or more races, and no percentage given for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.41 By twelfth grade, disparities increase, with White students reaching 52 percent proficiency while BIPOC students’ proficiency remains unchanged.42 Contributing factors include socioeconomic status, access to advanced coursework, teacher quality and expectations, and school resources. Students from lower-income backgrounds, who are disproportionately BIPOC, often attend underfunded schools with fewer resources, less-experienced teachers, and larger class sizes.43 Additionally, schools in minority communities frequently lack essential resources like updated textbooks and technology. Recognizing the intersection of racial and climate injustice requires understanding how colonization, genocide, racism, and slavery have made marginalized communities more susceptible to environmental hazards. Colonization and genocide have violently displaced Indigenous peoples and exploited their lands, resulting in the loss of traditional ways of living that were more sustainable and resilient to environmental changes.44 Racism and slavery established enduring systems of economic and social inequality, with discriminatory practices in housing, education, and employment, limiting access to resources and opportunities for communities of color. Consequently, these communities face greater exposure to environmental hazards and have fewer resources to adapt to climate impacts. Addressing these issues toward true climate justice necessitates an approach that prioritizes the voices and needs of marginalized communities in climate action plans and policymaking, ensuring an equitable distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. BIPOC Representation in GIS and Remote Sensing Despite the challenges, several initiatives and programs are successfully working to increase BIPOC representation in GIS and remote sensing. These initiatives provide valuable models to create more inclusive educational and professional environments. Earth system educators have a compelling argument for incorporating GIS and remote sensing into their curricula: their purported ability to enhance spatial thinking skills. In the United States, the 1994 National Geography Standards explicitly encouraged the inclusion of GIS in precollegiate education, recognizing its potential to augment students’ geographic skills and spatial reasoning abilities.45 Classroom-based GIS education in the United States often revolves around studying the local community. This approach highlights one of the perceived strengths of GIS as a powerful tool for exploring and understanding the local environment. Additionally, it reflects practical considerations such as the greater availability of local data and the development of programs that foster collaboration between classroom educators and local government or business entities that utilize GIS. Integrating climate and racial justice into K–12 education is essential for fostering a generation of informed and empowered youth who understand the interconnected nature of these issues. Educational programs that incorporate environmental justice can help students recognize the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized communities and the systemic factors contributing to these disparities. This approach can also promote critical thinking and civic engagement, encouraging students to advocate for policies that address both environmental sustainability and social equity. For instance, incorporating curriculum elements that highlight local and global examples of climate injustice can provide students with a concrete understanding of how climate change and racial injustice intersect in their communities and beyond. By embedding climate and racial justice into the educational experience, schools can equip students with the knowledge and tools needed to address these critical issues, ultimately contributing to a more just and sustainable future. Additionally, hands-on projects can engage students in real-world applications of these concepts, fostering skills in data collection, analysis, and advocacy. In “The Pedagogical Benefits of Participatory GIS for Geographic Education,” Gaurav Sinha et al. write, “Community-driven participatory mapping and participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) projects empower community residents by letting them (as opposed to government or corporate mapping agencies) explore and map their local knowledge of natural resources, community risk, and political argumentation.”46 These projects enhance community engagement and build local capacity by involving residents in the mapping process. They support effective resource management, improve environmental conservation efforts, and lead to better-informed decision-making that reflects the community’s priorities and needs. For BIPOC youth, these projects provide hands-on learning experiences that integrate STEM education with real-world applications, fostering critical thinking, spatial awareness, technical skills in mapping and data analysis, and a sense of environmental stewardship and community involvement. Recommendations for Increasing Diversity and Inclusion By equipping BIPOC youth with skills in these technologies, they can contribute to and lead climate action efforts in their communities, advocating for more equitable environmental policies and practices. To further increase diversity and inclusion in GIS and remote sensing, several strategies can be implemented at various levels, from educational institutions to industry leaders. Enhance STEM education in BIPOC communities. Investing in STEM education within BIPOC communities is crucial. This includes funding for schools, access to up-to-date technology, and professional development for teachers. By ensuring that BIPOC students have early exposure to GIS and remote sensing, we can cultivate their interest and skills in these fields. Provide financial support. Expanding scholarships, grants, and funding opportunities for BIPOC students pursuing GIS and remote sensing studies is essential. Financial support can alleviate the economic barriers that prevent many from entering these fields. Create mentorship programs. Establishing mentorship programs that connect BIPOC youth with professionals in GIS and remote sensing can provide guidance, inspiration, and networking opportunities. These programs can help young people navigate educational and career pathways, increasing their chances of success. Address systemic racism. Educational institutions and industry leaders must actively work to dismantle systemic racism. This includes implementing antiracist policies, fostering inclusive environments, and promoting diversity in hiring and curricula. Practice community engagement and outreach. Engaging with BIPOC communities through outreach programs and public awareness campaigns can raise interest in GIS and remote sensing. By demonstrating the real-world applications of these technologies in addressing local environmental issues, we can inspire more youth to pursue careers in these fields. *** Empowering BIPOC youth through GIS and remote sensing education is a crucial step toward achieving climate justice. By addressing the barriers to access and representation and promoting successful initiatives and inclusive strategies, we can ensure that BIPOC communities are equipped with the tools and knowledge to combat climate change. These efforts will not only enhance diversity in the fields of GIS and remote sensing but also strengthen the broader climate justice movement, leading to more equitable and effective solutions for climate resilience and environmental justice. Notable Programs Advancing GIS and Remote Sensing Education YouthMappers is a global network that empowers university students to create and use open geographic data to address local and global development challenges. By establishing chapters at universities worldwide, including in many BIPOC communities, YouthMappers provides training, resources, and mentorship to students, fostering their skills in GIS and remote sensing. (See www.youthmappers.org/.) Black Girls M.A.P.P. is an initiative aimed at increasing the representation of Black women in the fields of mapping and spatial data science. The program offers workshops, mentorship, and networking opportunities, helping participants to build skills and connect with professionals in the industry. (See “Black Girls M.A.P.P.: Diversifying the face of GIS.,” ArcGis StoryMaps, accessed July 8, 2024, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/98c13248261842cbae0afc50953c2856; and “Connecting and empowering women of color in the field of GIS,” Black Girls M.A.P.P., accessed July 31, 2024, bgmapp.org/about/.) The GLOBE Program (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is an international science and education program under NASA that provides students and the public with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process. Through GLOBE, BIPOC students engage in hands-on learning experiences with GIS and remote sensing technologies, contributing to real-world environmental research. (See “The GLOBE Program Overview,” The GLOBE Program: A Worldwide Science and Education Program, accessed July 7, 2024, www.globe.gov/about/learn/program-overview.) trubel&co (pronounced “trouble and co”) is a tech-justice nonprofit supporting underserved youth to tackle complex societal challenges using equitable data analytics, responsible technology, and inclusive design. Its flagship program, Mapping Justice, teaches high school students to design geospatial tools for social change, whereby students control their narrative and explore the intersections of race, power, and technology through digital applications. (See “Approach: Integrating STEM Education with Civic Innovation,” trubel&co, accessed July 7, 2024, www.trubel.co/approach; and “Mapping Justice,” trubel&co, accessed August 1, 2024, www.trubel.co/m-j.) The Earthly Advocate is a nonprofit that promotes environmental justice through scientific research, education, and community engagement. The organization aims to provide comprehensive GIS and remote sensing research and education for communities plagued by environmental injustice. Its mission is “to provide underserved communities with the knowledge and resources to make educated decisions that benefit the environment and the people they serve.” The Earthly Advocate believes in the importance of science-based decision-making and strives to provide accurate, reliable, and accessible information to support this goal. (See www.earthlyadvocate.com/home.) Notes: 1. United States Environmental Protection Agency, “EPA Report Shows Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change on Socially Vulnerable Populations in the United States,” news release, September 2, 2021, www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable. 2. Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts (Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2021), 6. 3. María S. Rivera Maulucci, Stephanie Pfirman, and Hilary S. Callahan, eds., Transforming Education for Sustainability: Discourses on Justice, Inclusion, and Authenticity (New York: Springer, 2023), 54, 58. 4. See Victoria Reyes-García et al., “Local indicators of climate change: The potential contribution of local knowledge to climate research,” WIREs Climate Change 7, no. 1 (January 2016): 109–24. 5. Bora Simmons, “Climate Change Education in the Formal K–12 Setting: Lessons Learned from Environmental Education,” paper presented at Board on Science Education, The National Academies, Committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change, Division of Earth and Life Studies, Workshop on Climate Change Education in Formal Settings, K–14, August 31–September 1, 2011, 3. 6. Martos Hoffman and Daniel Barstow, Revolutionizing Earth System Science Education for the 21st Century: Report and Recommendations from a 50-State Analysis of Earth Science Education Standards (Cambridge, MA: TERC Center for Earth and Space Science Education, 2007), 10. 7. Cameron McCormick, “Introduction to Geographic Science,” in Introduction to Geography: GEOG& 100 (Open Washington Pressbooks: n.d.). 8. Nathaniel Bayode Eniolorunda, “Climate Change Analysis and Adaptation: The Role of Remote Sensing (Rs) and Geographical Information System (Gis),” International Journal of Computational Engineering Research 4, no. 1 (January 2014): 48. 9. See ibid., 41–51. 10. “Global Temperature: Latest Annual Average Anomaly: 2023,” NASA, accessed July 29, 2024, climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/?intent. 11. Sally Younger, “NASA Analysis Confirms a Year of Monthly Temperature Records,” NASA, June 11, 2024, www.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-analysis-confirms-a-year-of-monthly-temperature-records/. 12. “The Causes of Climate Change,” NASA, accessed July 29, 2024, nasa.gov/climate-change/causes/#footnote_1. 13. “The Greenhouse Effect and our Planet,” National Geographic, accessed July 29, 2024, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/greenhouse-effect-our-planet/. 14. Ibid. 15. “In the Grip of Global Heat,” Earth Observatory, NASA, accessed July 29, 2024, earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/152995/in-the-grip-of-global-heat. 16. Jonathan Erdman, “How Hurricane Beryl Has Made History,” The Weather Channel, July 2, 2024, weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-06-30-hurricane-beryl-historic-unusual-early-season. 17. “Frequently Asked Questions,” Climate Change, NASA, accessed July 29, 2024, science.nasa.gov/ climate-change/faq/. 18. Ibid. 19. Ibid. 20. “What is a climate model?,” National Centre for Atmospheric Science, accessed July 29, 2024, ncas.ac.uk/ learn/what-is-a-climate-model/. 21. “What is GIS?,” Esri, accessed July 29, 2024, www.esri.com/en-us/what-is-gis/overview; “Guide to Geographic Information System (GIS) Careers,” Discover Data Science, accessed July 29, 2024, www.discoverdatascience.org/articles/guide-to-geographic-information-system-careers/; and “What is a geographic information system (GIS)?,” U.S. Geological Survey, accessed July 29, 2024, www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-geographic-information-system-gis. 22. Celeste Lagana, “Examples and uses of GIS,” Think (blog), IBM, December 18, 2023, www.ibm.com/think/geographic-information-system-use-cases/. 23. See Zsófia Kugler, “Remote sensing for natural hazard mitigation and climate change impact assessment,” Ido˝járás 116, no. 1 (January 2012): 21–38. 24. “What is remote sensing and what is it used for?,” U.S. Geological Survey, accessed July 29, 2024, www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-remote-sensing-and-what-it-used. 25. S. Senthil Kumar, S. Arivazhagan, and N. Rengarajan, “Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Environmental Sciences—A Review,” Journal of Environmental Nanotechnology 2, no. 2 (2013): 93. 26. “Difference Between Remote Sensing And GIS: Understanding the Key Differences,” SpatialPost, May 14, 2023, www.spatialpost.com/difference-between-remote-sensing-and-gis/. 27. Ryan Lanclos, “Authorities Map and Model Damage from Deadly Alabama Tornadoes,” Esri Blog, April 23, 2019, www.esri.com/about/newsroom/blog/authorities-map-and-model-damage-from-deadly-alabama-tornadoes/. 28. Ibid. 29. Ibid. 30. Ibid. 31. Aradhna Tripati et al., “Centering Equity in the Nation’s Weather, Water, and Climate Services,” Environmental Justice 17, no. 1 (February 2024): 46. 32. Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States, 21. 33. Ibid., 21, 27. 34. United States Environmental Protection Agency, “EPA finalizes stronger standards for harmful soot pollution, significantly increasing health and clean air protections for families, workers, and communities,” news release, last modified February 7, 2024, www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-finalizes-stronger-standards-harmful-soot-pollution-significantly-increasing. 35. “NSF’s NCSES releases report on diversity trends in STEM workforce and education," NSF News, U.S. National Science Foundation, January 30, 2023, new.nsf.gov/news/diversity-and-stem-2023. 36. See Eric Sheppard, “GIS and Society: Towards a Research Agenda,” Cartography and Geographic Information Systems 22, no. 1 (1995): 5–16. 37. Ibid. 38. See Veronika Bernhäuserová et al., “The Limits of GIS Implementation in Education: A Systematic Review,” ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information 11, no. 12 (November 2022): 1–25. 39. P. Sean Smith et al., Unequal Distribution of Resources for K–12 Science Instruction: Data from the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc., 2013), 2, 3. 40. Per author analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, “Percentages and percentile scores for grade four mathematics, by race/ethnicity used to report trends, school-reported [SDRACE] and jurisdiction: 2022 and 2019”; and “Percentages for grade 4 science, by race/ethnicity using 2011 guidelines, school-reported [SRACE10] and jurisdiction: 2019.” Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 and 2022 Mathematics Assessments; and U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment. 41. Per author analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress data: “Percentages for grade 8 mathematics, by race/ethnicity used to report trends, school-reported [SDRACE] and jurisdiction: 2019”; and “Percentages for grade 8 science, by race/ethnicity using 2011 guidelines, school-reported [SRACE10] and jurisdiction: 2019.” Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment; and U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Mathematics Assessment. 42. Per author analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress data: “Percentages for grade 12 mathematics, by race/ethnicity used to report trends, school-reported [SDRACE] and jurisdiction: 2019”; and “Percentages for grade 12 science, by race/ethnicity used to report trends, school-reported [SDRACE] and jurisdiction: 2019.” Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Mathematics Assessment; and U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2019 Science Assessment. 43. Mary McKillip and Theresa Luhm, Investing Additional Resources in Schools Serving Low-Income Students: Evidence for Advocates (Newark, NJ: Education Law Center, 2020), 2. 44. An Introduction to Climate Change, Health, and Equity: A Guide for Local Health Departments (Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, n.d.), 3. 45. Sarah Witham Bednarz, “Geographic Information Systems: A Tool to Support Geography and Environmental Education?,” GeoJournal 60, no. 2 (June 2004): 191. 46. Gaurav Sinha et al., “The Pedagogical Benefits of Participatory GIS for Geographic Education,” Journal of Geography 116, no. 4 (August 2016), 1.](https://nonprofitquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/1-12.jpg)
