1165190 - Satellite Perspectives on Environmental Justice

Wednesday, June 29, 2022

8:00am – 9:40am PT

Location: Bayview A

Panel Chair(s)

Laura M. Judd, PhD

Associate Program Manager
NASA Langley Research Center
Newport News, Virginia

Panel Co-Chair(s)

Helena J. Chapman, MD, PhD, MPH

Associate Program Manager
NASA HQ/Booz Allen Hamilton
Washington, District of Columbia

Panelist(s)

JH

John A. Haynes, MS

Program Manager
NASA Applied Sciences Program
Washington, DC

PDF Slides
QX

Qian Xiao

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Gaige H. Kerr

Research Scientist
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University
Washington, DC

PDF Slides
Mary Angelique Demetillo

Graduate Student Research Assistant
University of Virginia
Matthew Tejada

US EPA

Human impacts on our surrounding environment often place a disproportionate burden on low-income populations, people of color, and other marginalized communities around the globe. These burdens include exposures to poor air and water quality and infrastructure impacts on urban heat and light pollution. As one of their first acts in 2021, the Biden-Harris administration called upon governmental agencies to ’make achieving environmental justice part of their missions.’ For decades, missions supported by federal and international agencies (e.g., NASA, NOAA, ESA) continue to collect exponentially growing volumes of publicly available environmental data. These data products provide a global view on how humans impose changes to our terrestrial, water, and atmospheric systems at increasingly improved spatial and temporal resolutions through time. Our panelists will discuss the utility of satellite data to identify, describe, and quantify environmental inequalities and associated public health damages. Observational datasets to be discussed cover topics related to air quality, heat, and light pollution with recommendations and advice toward connecting these datasets with stakeholders looking to better understand environmental injustices. Through these presentations, our panelists will share their challenges and successes in using remotely-sensed Earth observations for observing human impacts on our environment and paths toward achieving environmental justice.