The APERG program is funded by the Reuben and Alice Wasser A.P.C. Education and Research Charitable Remainder Unitrust.
2006 APERG Scholar:
Dr. Kim Knowlton
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
Project Title: Profiling carbon dioxide, pollen concentrations and asthma in the New York City region.
Abstract
Dr. Knowlton’s new research will consider two questions that have frequently been asked by local policymakers and their constituents: (1) To what extent might local emissions of greenhouse gases (notably CO2) have local impacts? (2) Are there any detectable early health impacts of climate change already taking place where we live? While conventional wisdom says that CO2 emissions are globally dispersed within relatively short time frames, studies in a handful of North American cities have described an “urban CO2 dome” with higher CO2 concentrations in cities relative to the surrounding countryside. Furthermore, a growing body of literature suggests a link between rising temperatures and CO2 concentrations and enhanced pollen-bearing plant growth and pollen production. Higher airborne pollen concentrations could affect residents with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma and exacerbate their symptoms. This could be of particular concern in New York City, where children were almost two times more likely than the average American child to be hospitalized for asthma in 2000. Her proposed research will characterize local CO2 concentrations to see what effects local emissions have on local atmospheric conditions, and examine possible links between changes in seasonal pollen cycles and seasonal asthma onset. The goal of the work is to give policymakers more specific information on potential risks and benefits of regulating (or not regulating) local greenhouse gas emissions.
