I’m Senior Scientist on NRDC’s Global Warming and Health Project. I work with the Health and Environment Program on communicating the health impacts of global warming, and also on advocating for public health strategies to prepare for and prevent these impacts. My research has looked at heat- and ozone-related mortality and illnesses as well as possible connections between climate, pollen, allergies and asthma. I attended Cornell University and Hunter College/CUNY, and received a doctorate in public health from Columbia University, where I was a postdoctoral research scientist before joining NRDC, and where I’m currently Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences.
Posted January 11, 2012 by Kim Knowlton in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just released a new, interactive reporting tool for major greenhouse gas (GHG) sources in the US. It’s a user-friendly way to explore what facilities are the biggest sources of health-harming carbon pollution. This...continued→
Posted December 8, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
I grew up in a small rural town in upstate New York, east of Binghamton, north of the Catskills. Some of my sweetest summers were spent at my grandfather’s fishing camp outside Cooks Falls. As a kid, I rode my...continued→
Posted November 18, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
For millions of Americans, and people around the globe, 2011 has been nothing if not a year of extremes: 14 disastrous weather events in the US so far this year have each cost over a billion dollars in damages, an all-time...continued→
Posted November 8, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
The extreme weather just won’t seem to leave people alone this year. I’m talking to an arborist to find replacements for beloved lilac bushes and one magnolia tree that just got tall enough to lend some nice summer shade, now...continued→
Posted November 3, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
You don’t have to convince the 13,000 American public health professionals in Washington, DC this week for the American Public Health Association meeting that climate change harms people’s health. They recognize the health risks of carbon pollution, and see the...continued→
Posted September 5, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Let’s keep health front and center in looking at deeply distrurbing news from 2011’s Labor Day weekend: the White House retreated Friday on an opportunity to save lives and improve Americans' health. The President refused to set lower, more health-protective ozone air quality standards. The...continued→
Posted August 30, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Today it was 111°F in Phoenix, AZ; tomorrow a high of 107°F is predicted. More than 70 days this summer have topped 100°F in central Texas. Much of the West still swelters under record-breaking summer heat. NRDCs new “Climate Change Threatens...continued→
Posted August 25, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
NRDC’s “Climate Change Threatens Health” webpages map five major climate-health vulnerabilities across the US. One of these is Flooding, which much of the East Coast is now bracing for because of the approach of Hurricane Irene. It’s time for everyone...continued→
Posted August 16, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Much of America continues to swelter above the 100°F mark today, especially Texas. In fact, our friends and family in Texas and Oklahoma are suffering through a history-making summer in two ways no one wants to see: record-breaking drought, and...continued→
Posted August 3, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Today, NRDC is launching a new web tool called “Climate Change Threatens Health.” These pages (www.nrdc.org/climatemaps ) bring the effects of climate change down to the local level. Users can zoom in on 5 US maps, see how their health...continued→
Posted June 8, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
It’s just the beginning of hot weather across many northern states, but time to recall what rising temperatures do to air quality. Heat worsens air pollution, which harms health in ways that are measurable and pose concerns for society’s most vulnerable,...continued→
Posted March 29, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Just days ago, I was in freezing-cold New York City. Now, here in Ahmedabad, India, it’s 39°C (103°F) on this late March day, and going to get much hotter. I’m here in India with my NRDC colleagues Anjali Jaiswal and...continued→
Posted March 9, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Yesterday another scientist reminded me how vital it is to share and discuss the latest research findings on climate change and health. Professor Donald Roberts testified before the House Energy and Power Subcommittee, and mentioned a recent paper in the Proceedings...continued→
Posted February 21, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
Spring is just around the corner, even if I can see snowflakes falling today. As part of the annual Rite of Spring, I’ll be calling my physician to get allergy medicine lined up. For me -- as for 36 million...continued→
Posted February 13, 2011 by Kim Knowlton in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming
The Continuing Resolution proposed last week by Republicans would undermine EPA programs that have protected the nation’s health for the last 40 years. The government’s own Office of Management and Budget (OMB) evaluated the job EPA’s been doing (see Laurie...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
