Thomas Elementary School
Washington, D.C.

5:18 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.  Thank you.  Please, have a seat.  Thank you. 

Thank you, Ms. Trina.  (Laughter.)

I am so happy to be surrounded by our young leaders.  I am telling you, this is — a highlight of being Vice President is to be around all of our young leaders.  I’m so happy to be with you all today, and I’m so proud of you.

Good afternoon, everyone.   Good afternoon.

It is good to be here at Thomas Elementary and to be introduced, of course, by a graduate of Thomas Elementary.

And today we are joined, as you know, by extraordinary leaders: our Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm; our Administration’s National Climate Advisor, Gina McCarthy; and our Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, who began his career as an elementary school teacher.

And we are also joined, of course, by the Chancellor of
D.C. Public Schools, Lewis Ferebee, and by a number of labor leaders and advocates for the future of our country: “they” being the children of our nation.

All — all of you are truly indispensable as partners to our administration.  And I bring you greetings on behalf of the President, Joe Biden.

So, it is an honor to share the stage with so many of you and with so many extraordinary young leaders. 

You know, I will tell you that when I look out at who’s here and I spent some time quickly with the principals who are here, the teachers who are here, I just love our teachers.  I love our educators.  I love our principals.  (Applause.)  I really do.  I really do.

And I will tell you: My first-grade teacher — my first-grade teacher attended my law school graduation.  Mrs. Frances Wilson — God rest her soul — attended my law school graduation.  There are many things that have contributed to me being here at this very moment as Vice President, and that is one of them. 

So, I thank you all — the educators — for what you do every day, because I know this work is personal to you.  And you are raising and helping to raise, along with the parents and the community, the future of our nation.

And over the past two years, you have faced incredible challenges, in particular.  You have responded with incredible resilience and strength.  I was talking with Madam Principal earlier, and we toured through the school.  What dedication this has required, in particular these last two years, doing everything that you can in your power to ensure that your students have been learning and growing.  And you have continued to fight to ensure all schools receive the resources they need — in the midst of all of that and before. 

And we might not be here today making these exciting announcements were it not for your longstanding advocacy. 

And the President and I are deeply grateful for all you have done and all you continue to do.

So, about a year ago — I was talking to the Secretary of Education — about a year ago, we took a trip to Connecticut, and I met a young student by the name of Galya, and she was five years old.  

And from the moment I walked into her classroom,
she was glued by my side.  And she was something.  She was absolutely something.  Charming, energetic, intelligent.

At one point, I bent down and I said to her, “Galya, you can be anything you want to be.”

And she looked me in my eyes, and she said, “Well, I want to be everything.”  (Laughter.)  Yes, she did.  She — and she — and she will be.  And she will be. 

And that ambition, that aspiration is extraordinary.  And it is not uncommon.

In every classroom, in every school, in every community
of our nation, there are young people like Galya, like these young leaders behind me who see so much, who are so smart, who have such bright and creative ideas, and who will be the future of our nation and are currently leaders in their own right.

These young people who dream of becoming scientists and doctors and engineers and teachers.  Young people filled with so much passion and purpose.

And our future will be determined, I know that, by these young leaders.

And our nation, therefore, has an obligation to ensure nothing limits their ability to learn, to grow, and to thrive.

     So, today, our administration is releasing the Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure.  This Plan contains a number of initiatives that will improve the learning environment for public school children across our nation.  And today, I’ll provide a few examples. 

For decades, our country has chronically underinvested in our public schools.  (Applause.)  And far too many of our school districts have gone without important repairs and upgrades to buildings and to classrooms.  For example, upgrades to heating, to ventilation, and air conditioning systems, known as HVAC systems, which was highlighted, as we know, during the course of the height of the pandemic. 

In schools with outdated HVAC systems, classrooms are often
too cold in the winter and too hot in the spring and approaching the summer.  And, of course, that harms our students and their ability to concentrate and perform all year round.  And it threatens the health and wellbeing of students, of teachers, of staff, and administrators.

One school, for example, in St. Paul, Minnesota, that I’ve been told about had to pass out wet towels and water bottles in the days before summer break because classroom temperatures were pushing 100 degrees.  A dozen students had to be sent to the nurse’s office.

Schools with inadequate HVAC systems are also more likely to have poor indoor air quality.  Studies have shown that breathing such air, day in and day out, can of course trigger allergies and asthma attacks.

And we know that schools in low-income and minority districts are more likely to have dangerous indoor air quality. This is just simply unacceptable.  Unacceptable.

Today, the Department of Energy, therefore, is launching a $500 million grant program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to enable public schools to invest in energy upgrades.  (Applause.)  And these grants will be — can be and will be used on a number of the issues that we have just discussed, such as improving school HVAC systems, similar to what happened right here at Thomas Elementary with the help of Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Representative who is here — Eleanor Holmes Norton, who’s here and has been a leader for so long. 

I — I cannot thank you enough for all that you do.  I just — want to just take a point of personal privilege, if I may.  And if we can just — (applause) — Eleanor Holmes Norton has been fighting for the children of D.C. for as long as I can remember.  I looked up to you in your role of leadership when I was a student here at Howard University.  And so many of us look to you always as a voice of conscience for what our country deserves and what the children and the people of Washington, D.C., deserve.  Thank you so very much.  I’m so glad to see you.  (Applause.)

And these Department of Energy grants can also be used to install energy-efficient windows, solar panels, and better insulation.  And they will, of course, prioritize undeserved [sic] — underserved, excuse me, districts. 

These grants will also save schools money.  In most school districts, the second-largest yearly expense after salaries is the energy bill.  These grants will help schools reduce their energy costs significantly — savings that can be reinvested in the school to hire more teachers, to make long-needed repairs, or to invest in new technology to support learning. 

And at the same time, these projects will create good-paying union jobs for electricians and carpenters and painters and more. 

Every public school in the country is eligible to apply for these grants, and I encourage them to do so. 

Now, we know that the school day does not start when students set foot on school grounds.  It starts when they get on the school bus or on their bicycle or when they lace up their shoes and walk out the door.  And that is why our administration is working to ensure students are safe and healthy when they are on their way to and from school.

For example, through the Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to Schools, we are providing funding for schools to invest in safer walking and biking routes.  And — (applause) –and, again, because our theory of the case — and I don’t have to tell anyone here: Their school day starts from the time they wake up, which — don’t have me started about what that means in terms of all of the responsibilities that we have as a society to understand that if we want to care for, protect, and support the children of our nation, we must do that in the context in the families in which they are being raised and address the needs of that family as well to be able to provide the best that we can for those young people.  (Applause.)

And for those students who take the school bus, we are investing in a program that is especially close to my heart.  Yellow school buses are our nation’s largest form of mass transit.  Yellow school buses.  Every day, millions of children ride on diesel school buses, breathing toxic fumes that can harm their health. 

When I was senator, I introduced the first bill to electrify our nation’s school buses.  And I’m proud that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion dollars in the EPA’s Clean School Bus program to help school districts electrify their fleet of buses. 

To all students — (applause) — to all the students who are watching today: You are the leaders of today and tomorrow. 

And as we take on the challenges of the future — and I’m looking at our students — we need your help.  Okay?  (Laughter.)  We need your ideas.  We need your intelligence.  We need your ambition.  And I want you to always have ambition.  And we need your aspiration.  All right?  Thank you.  (Laughter and applause.)

And in that way, our world — our nation and our world will be all that it can be.  And I will make this promise to our young leaders: that we will continue to fight to ensure that you have every opportunity to not only succeed, but to thrive. 

We are counting on you.  And when I look at you, each one of you, I know our future is bright.  Thank you very much.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)

END                      5:31 P.M. EDT

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Two weeks ago marked the two-year anniversary of New Zealand’s adoption of the elimination strategy and a lockdown that successfully stamped out the first wave of Covid-19. By chance, it was also the week that the government announced a major relaxation of Covid-19 control measures in response to the Omicron variant wave sweeping the country.

By most metrics, the New Zealand Covid-19 response – the initial elimination strategy which has now transitioned to a mitigation strategy – has been one of the most successful in the world. It got the country through the first 18 months of the pandemic until vaccines became widely available, giving it very low Covid-19 mortality rates. Life expectancy actually increased during this period. Protecting public health has also been good for protecting the economy, resulting in relatively good economic growth and low unemployment.

The shift to mitigation was supported by the lower severity of Omicron and the relatively high vaccination coverage of the population. However, the high infection rate with the current Omicron wave has pushed numbers in hospital with Covid-19 to over 1,000 at its peak and cumulative deaths are approaching 400. Many thousands of future cases of long Covid seem plausible in adults and possibly children. New Zealand will need to maintain and even strengthen some controls in the months ahead. So what can it learn from the past two years?

Firstly, principles matter. During the course of the pandemic the New Zealand government has emphasised that the response is primarily focused on protecting public health. This starting point reinforces a number of key principles, notably: leadership that listens to the science; a focus on equity and partnership with Māori; use of the precautionary principle in the face of uncertainty; and the need to create legacy benefits for our healthcare and public health systems.

Framing and effective communication matter. By their very nature, pandemics are a shared threat.

The behaviour of individuals affects others. This was a strength of the elimination strategy in that it could rightfully celebrate the benefits of working together (the “team of 5 million”). An emerging alternative framing of “learning to live with it” is somewhat understandable given the nature of Omicron. But this framing is problematic in that it puts too much of the responsibility on to individuals and vulnerable groups to manage the risks they face. Instead, we need to keep emphasising the value of shared health security, the benefits of collective action and the role of government.

Transparency and political consensus matter. During the initial phase of the response, efforts were made to achieve multi-party agreement on the response. Unfortunately, such agreement has now fractured, with the response increasingly politicised. The premature lifting of some safeguards two weeks ago was a likely sign of this politicisation. Politicians need to revisit mechanisms that strive for transparency and political consensus. This matters for Covid-19 but would be essential for even worse pandemics, eg from engineered bioweapons.

Infrastructure matters. The pandemic is just the latest in a series of public health problems that New Zealand has struggled to manage, including a disastrous contaminated drinking water outbreak in Havelock North and a national measles epidemic. These problems can be partly attributed to the fragmentation and erosion of public health infrastructure. Fortunately, these deficiencies may be addressed with health sector reform, including the establishment of a Public Health Agency and Māori Health Authority.

This is an important opportunity to build on the infrastructure assembled during the pandemic response.

Effective pandemic tools matter. The pandemic response has required New Zealand to swiftly develop a new set of tools for managing this threat. They include systems for border management and quarantine, a national immunisation register and vaccine mandates/passes, a national case and contact management system, and frameworks to manage physical distancing and mask use.

Successfully rolling out vaccination has highlighted the critical importance of funding Māori and Pasifika service providers. The response has been supported with improved information tools, including better surveillance, disease modelling, genomic sequencing, wastewater testing, evidence-informed policy development and evaluation. Continuing investment is needed in all of these areas.

Safe indoor environments matter. One of the greatest legacies of the pandemic is that it has shown the importance of the indoor air environment for transmission of respiratory infections. This awareness has highlighted the value of using masks and improved indoor ventilation to prevent Covid-19. But much still needs to be done so that high-quality indoor ventilation is year-round and cost-effectively combined with providing thermal comfort.

There are many other things that also matter, such as accessible and effective health care services, and these will hopefully be considered as part of a future official inquiry into the pandemic response and what we can learn from this experience.

Responding to Covid-19 has taught us a lot, but this pandemic and other future pandemic threats will remain challenging. New Zealand needs to keep a focus on core principles, effective communication, building consensus and continuously upgrade its public health systems and tools.

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PHOTO BY KATHY CHANG/STAFF

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PHOTO BY KATHY CHANG/STAFF

METUCHEN – A $10,000 grant to install a new bike rack and purchase recycling receptacles placed in and around the school has helped Campbell Elementary School in its efforts “to promote energy conservation and make recycling common place.”

The new bike rack replaces the current limited “rusty and dented” bike rack with the capacity for 11 in-ground mounted bikes, according to Schools Assistant Principal Brooke Kirschner.

“Being that the number of students biking to school has increased, as it is often quicker for Metuchen families to bike, or walk, compared to driving across town, we thought it would be advantageous to secure a more modern, visually pleasing, larger capacity bicycle rack in a similar style as ones being installed in downtown Metuchen and outside of local businesses,” she said. “We plan to upcycle our current bicycle rack by painting it and moving it to the lower-class side of the school.”

To celebrate, school officials, students and the school’s Green Team held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new larger capacity bike rack, which was painted the school color of blue, on April 1.

Principal Vincent Costanza welcomed Schools Superintendent Vincent Caputo; Mayor Jonathan Busch; Council President Jason Delia; Board of Education President Brian Glassberg; Renee Haider, deputy director at Sustainable Jersey and associate director of The Sustainability Institute at The College of New Jersey; Michael Rollins, field representative for the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA); and Christopher Gonda, Safe Routes to School coordinator for Keep Middlesex Moving (KMM).

Campbell Elementary School went through the extensive application process for one of the $10,000 grants from Sustainable Jersey Schools and NJEA in 2019. In February 2021, school officials received word they received the grant.

The title of the application grant was “Campbell Schools Go Green.”

Kirschner said the grant will enable Campbell staff and students to make the school and community greener via the purchase of recycling receptacles and a new bike rack with the ultimate goal of promoting energy conservation and making recycling common place.

The intermediary goals include shedding light on the importance of recycling; drawing attention to waste produced in and from the school; promoting healthy habits; and donating food to those in need.

The purchase of recycling receptacles includes two recycling stations for the cafeteria – waste, recycling, and organic/compost; three recycling stations for outside of the three most frequently used school doors; a compost/organic disposal bin for every classroom and office space; two composters, additional waste/recycling receptacles for classrooms; and tools to help facilitate the collection of recycling and waste materials from custodial staff.

Caputo said he is proud of the collaboration among the school’s Green Team and labor management, along with funding from Sustainable Jersey Schools and NJEA.

“These things don’t happen working alone,” he said.

Busch said a ribbon cutting for a bike rack may rank small on level of importance, but the impact on the community is significant as the borough moves toward becoming a safer place to bike.

Rollins said to date NJEA has provided $1.75 million to schools participating in Sustainable Jersey for Schools grants.

Haider called Campbell Elementary a sustainability model as one of only 43 silver-certified in the Sustainable Jersey for Schools program in the state.

“Their application is very much focused on student and staff health and wellness from physical activity, walking/biking to school to indoor air quality and green cleaning products,” she said.

Kirschner said this is the first Sustainable Jersey grant Campbell Elementary has received.

She said as they move forward the school will promote walking Wednesdays; participate in the 11th annual National Bike and Roll to School Day sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School on May 4 and work with KMM to bring back walking school buses.

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Originally Appeared Here

We’ve taken a careful look at the influential report, beyond the headlines, and UN News has identified eight positive takeaways from the IPCC report on mitigation, which we hope will reduce feelings of climate anxiety.

1.     Electric vehicles are on the rise

© IMF/Tamara Merino

A worker at an electric bus charging terminal in Santiago, Chile.

The use of electric vehicles is accelerating around the world, and powered by low-carbon electricity, they are reducing greenhouse gas emissions from land-based transport.

According to IPCC scientist Sudarmanto Budy Nugroho, investments in active transport infrastructure, combined with the deployment of electric micro-mobility – for example e-scooters and e-bikes – can further support greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

“This can also make mobility more accessible to all, including marginalised populations”, the expert said.

The IPCC highlights that sustainable biofuel can offer additional mitigation benefits in land-based transport, in the short and medium term.

 Many mitigation strategies in the transport sector would have various co-benefits, including air quality improvements, health benefits, equitable access to transportation services, reduced congestion, and reduced material demand.

2.     The cost is going down for low-emission technologies

UNDP

Solar powered water pump in Nepal

According to the report, the unit costs of several low-emission technologies have fallen continuously since 2010.

The cost of “key technologies such as solar, wind and electric vehicles, have come down greatly. This can help us reduce emissions a lot. There exist options in all sectors to reduce emissions by half, by 2030”, author Masahiro Sugiyama explains.

To be more exact, from 2010 to 2019, solar energy costs have decreased 85 per cent, wind energy 55 per cent, and lithium-ion batteries, 85 per cent.

Innovation policy packages have enabled these cost reductions and supported global adoption.

The scientists argue that both tailored and comprehensive policies addressing innovation systems, have helped overcome the distributional, environmental, and social impacts potentially associated with global diffusion of low-emission technologies.

3.     Mitigation Laws are expanding

Unsplash/Markus Spiske

Coal is one of the big drivers of carbon emissions.

The expert authors of the report say, with high confidence, that there has been a ‘consistent’ expansion of policies and laws addressing climate mitigation since the IPCC published its Fifth Assessment Report in 2014.

“This has led to the avoidance of emissions that would otherwise have occurred and increased investment in (low-carbon) technologies and infrastructure”, the report says.  

By 2020, over 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions were covered by carbon taxes or emissions trading systems, although coverage and prices have been insufficient to achieve deep reductions.

Moreover, by 2020, there were ‘direct’ climate laws focused primarily on reductions in 56 countries covering 53% of global emissions.

In many countries, policies have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated technology deployment, leading to the avoidance of – and in some cases reduced or removed – emissions

However, policy coverage of emissions and finance are still uneven across sectors, they warn.

Scientists also highlight how the Kyoto Protocol, which in 1997 committed industrialized countries and economies to reduce greenhouse emissions, have led to reduced emissions in some countries and has been instrumental in building national and international capacity for reporting and accounting emissions.

Likewise, the 2015 Paris Agreement, with near universal participation, has led to policy development and target-setting at national and sub-national levels, in particular in relation to mitigation, as well as enhanced transparency of climate action and support.

“While a lot of the decarbonization policies that have been put in place around the world have had a positive impact on innovation, technology, deployment, and environmental outcomes, in some cases, they have also had a short-term negative impact on vulnerable groups, low-income groups, and in some cases that they have favoured, for example, large firms over small firms.

“We have also found that this is something that can be avoided by designing policies in a different way or putting in place complementary policies”, explains expert Laura Diaz Anadon.

4.     It’s still possible to change industrial emissions

© Unsplash/Paul Gilmore

Emissions from a power plant in Koln, Germany.

The experts say that net-zero carbon emissions from the industrial sector, while challenging on a significant scale, are still possible.

“Reducing industry emissions will entail coordinated action throughout value chains to promote all mitigation options, including demand management, energy and materials efficiency, circular material flows, as well as abatement technologies and transformational changes in production processes”, the report explains.

To progress towards net zero, industries can take advantage of the new production processes using renewable energies, green hydrogen, biofuels and controlling carbon management.

5.     Cities present a big opportunity for climate action

The World Bank is working with a number of large Chinese cities to help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. Photo: World Bank/Wu Zhiyi

The report underlines that urban areas provide key opportunities for climate mitigation.

“All cities can contribute towards a net zero future by integrating sectors, strategies and innovations, whether established, growing or emerging cities. The way urban areas continue to be planned, their interactions with the energy system and demands on materials, determine multiple opportunities with benefits for people and the planet”, expert Siir Kilkis explains.

Some effective urban measures, include more walkable areas and greater renewable energy penetration.

“All of this is possible while cities improve air quality, increase job opportunities, expand urban green and blue infrastructure, and provide other co-benefits for sustainable development around the world as well as climate adaptation”, the IPCC author adds.

The mitigation efforts in cities have to concentrate on:

• Reducing or changing energy and material consumption
• Greening electrification
• enhancing carbon uptake and storage in the urban environment.

Another point of action has to do with the building sector. In some global scenarios, existing buildings, if retrofitted – and buildings yet to be built – are projected to approach net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050, if policy packages, which combine ambitious sufficiency, efficiency, and renewable energy measures, are effectively implemented and barriers to decarbonisation are removed.

“Mitigation action in the building sector brings health gains through improved indoor air quality and thermal comfort, as well as reducing financial stress in all world regions.

Overall, decarbonizing the building stock contributes to human well-being”, author Yamina Saheb highlights.

6.     Economic measures are being deployed

Jutta Benzenberg/ World Bank

These windmills in Romania are part of ‘Europe 2020 Strategy’, a move towards a greener and more competitive low carbon economy that makes efficient use of resources and is resilient to climate risk.

The report notes that many regulatory and economic instruments have already been deployed successfully.

“These instruments could support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation if scaled up and applied more widely… Economy-wide packages, consistent with national circumstances, can meet short-term economic goals while reducing emissions and shifting development pathways towards sustainability”, the authors explain.

According to the data, total tracked financial flows for climate mitigation and adaptation increased by up to 60% between 2013-14 and 2019-20, but average growth has slowed since 2018.

These financial flows remained heavily focused on mitigation, are uneven, and have developed heterogeneously across regions and sectors.

However, the authors note that economic instruments have been effective in reducing emissions, complemented by regulatory instruments mainly at the national and also sub-national and regional level.

“Where implemented, carbon pricing instruments have incentivized low-cost emissions reduction measures…Equity and distributional impacts of such carbon pricing instruments can be addressed by using revenue from carbon taxes or emissions trading to support low-income households, among other approaches”, they add.

They highlight with high confidence that removing fossil fuel subsidies would reduce emissions, improve public revenue and macroeconomic performance, and yield other environmental and sustainable development benefits

“Fossil fuel subsidy removal is projected by various studies to reduce global CO2 emissions by 1-4%, and Greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10% by 2030, varying across regions”, the report says.

7.     People care, and they’re engaged

Conor Lennon/UN News

Protesters outside the COP26 conference site

The IPCC authors recognise in their assessment that many citizens around the world care about nature, and environmental protection, and are motivated to engage in climate action.

“Yet they may face barriers to act, which can be removed by actions, for example, by industry, businesses, and governments”, explains author Linda Steg.

She adds that many governments are currently struggling with the question of whether people will really support some radical changes.

“This assessment report shows that public acceptability is higher when cost and benefits are distributed in a fair way, and when fair and transparent decision procedures have been followed”, the expert outlines.

8.     CO2 removal is now essential to reach our goals – but its complicated…

CIFOR/Nanang Sujana

Peatland forests like this one in central Kalimantan, Indonesia, can store harmful carbon dioxide gasses.

The report shows that getting to net-zero greenhouse emissions requires more than emissions reductions, and involves an option called carbon dioxide removal (CDR).

“It involves removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it on land, in the ground or in the ocean”, explains author Masahiro Sugiyama.

The impacts, risks and co-benefits of CDR deployment for ecosystems, biodiversity and people, will be highly variable depending on the method, site-specific context, implementation and scale.

However, reforestation, improved forest management, soil carbon sequestration, peatland restoration and blue carbon management, are examples of methods that can enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions, employment and local livelihoods, depending on context.

Likewise, ocean fertilisation, if implemented, could lead to nutrient redistribution, restructuring of ecosystems, enhanced oxygen consumption and acidification in deeper waters.

Moreover, in addition to deep, rapid, and sustained emission reductions, carbon dioxide removal can fulfil three different complementary roles globally or at country level:

1. Lowering net CO2 or net greenhouse emissions in the near-term.
2. Counterbalancing ‘hard-to-abate’ residual emissions (e.g., emissions from agriculture, aviation, shipping, industrial processes) in order to help reach net zero in the mid-term.
3. Achieving net negative CO2 or GHG emissions in the long-term, if deployed at levels exceeding annual residual emissions.

“Well-designed land-based mitigation options to remove carbon can also benefit biodiversity and ecosystems, help us adapt to climate change, secure livelihoods, improve food and water security. Options include protecting and restoring natural ecosystems such as forests, peatlands, wetlands, savannas, and grasslands”, highlights IPCC author Mercedes Bustamante.

Of course, much more remains to be done

Unless governments everywhere reassess their energy policies, the progress achieved won’t be enough to keep our planet out of harm’s way. The UN Secretary-General outlines it in a video message.

 

 

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Originally Appeared Here

Do you consider yourself healthy? Sometimes it can depend where you live. Does the town or city you live in have easy access to nutritious food and recreational facilities? Is healthcare affordable and are the parks well taken care of? While maintaining a healthy diet and exercising on your own is important, areas that put priority on well being will tend to have healthier populations.

Where are New York’s Healthiest Places? 

WalletHub analyzed the data from across a number of cities using four key dimensions: 1) Health Care 2) Food 3) Fitness and 4) Green Space. This was broken down even further, evaluating those four dimensions using 43 relevant metrics. Some of the results may surprise you. According to WalletHub, New York City was 17th in the nation overall, and 2nd in the health care category.

Rochester was 43rd. Yonkers was 52nd, and Buffalo 65th.

How Complete is This List? 

Now when it comes to the least healthiest city that WalletHub rated, Brownsville, Texas was dead last at 182nd. They rated right below Gulfport, Mississippi. Something to consider is that WalletHub compared only the top 182 of the most populated U.S. cities. If you expanded the list, you’d probably see some more towns representing the Hudson Valley.

Other Numbers

The are still a lot of other factors to consider when talking about overall health. Americans have been drinking more and more in recent years. A struggling economy, high cost of living, and then the COVID-19 pandemic have all led to more drinking and rising alcohol sales across the board. But what parts of the country are drinking the most? What states seem to drink continuously? A new study examined some of the numbers, and it looks like New Yorkers really like to drink – a lot.

 A survey of 3,255 respondents over 21 by American Addiction Centers says that 19% of Americans start drinking when they’re 21, and continue to do so the remainder of their lives without taking a prolonged break. But when you look at New York’s numbers, the results are a bit higher. The study says that 27% of New Yorkers (about 1 in 4) never take a break from the booze from the time they’re of legal age.

This definitely puts us toward the top of the list. Minnesota had the highest number of prolonged drinkers, at 32%. Delaware was lowest at 7%.

Goosebumps and other bodily reactions, explained

KEEP READING: See 25 natural ways to boost your immune system

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The White House is looking to improve school buildings for the youngest Americans. The new Biden-Harris Action Plan for Building Better School Infrastructure in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $500 million grant program for K-12 public school energy upgrades. The program is designed to help deliver cleaner and healthier classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, playgrounds, and gyms to the more than three million teachers and 50 million students in US schools.

The nation’s 100,000 public K-12 schools managed to earn only  a D+ rating from The American Society of Civil Engineers. In their 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure report, the organization stressed that poor quality school facilities can negatively affect student learning and health. Indoor air quality problems can aggravate respiratory illnesses, reduce student and teacher attendance and performance, and increase risk of transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19.

Energy consumption is the second-highest operational expense schools face. Schools lose money due to energy loss from leaky school walls, windows, and other inefficient equipment and systems. It’s often the poorest districts that suffer the most.  Rural, high poverty, or African American, Latino, and Native American communities experience the greatest burden of failing or antiquated school facilities.

The Biden-Harris program makes public schools eligible for energy improvements that result in a direct reduction in school energy costs, including improvements to the air conditioning and heating, ventilation, hot water heating, and lighting systems. In addition, funding would support any improvement, repair, renovation to, or installation in a school that leads to an improvement in teacher and student health.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s grant funding will also support additional improvements, repairs, or renovations such as the installation of renewable energy technologies, the installation of alternative fueled vehicle infrastructure on school grounds such as school buses or the purchase or lease of alternative fueled vehicles to be used by a school.

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