Background
Extreme heat is a particularly deadly impact of climate change. Heatwaves have caused more fatalities in the U.S. in recent decades than any other weather event. Elderly, children and those with chronic respiratory illness are most susceptible to heat in their homes and neighborhoods. A recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine reported that the 2010s was the second hottest decade on record, confirming that global warming is accelerating faster and more intensely than previously expected.
The New Orleans community has prioritized planning for and mitigating against the climate change-related effects of stormwater and flooding. Extreme heat, the heat island effect and their impacts on people, the economy and public health have not been a major focus of City efforts in New Orleans. Consequently, this project seeks to raise awareness about extreme heat and indigenous strategies for coping with heat.
This research will attempt to understand how people in selected neighborhoods in New Orleans mitigate the effects of extreme heat in their homes and neighborhoods.
Objectives
- Use both indoor and outdoor heat sensors to collect heat data in selected homes and neighborhoods
- Collect personal narratives from sensor's hosts of their experience and strategies for coping with heat.
- Publish findings platforms and share data to support initiatives for policy and advocacy, research and studies, and DIY cooling solutions
Some of the attendees of the Galveston Barnraising had talked about a similar project-- you might be interested in this post about Bio Climatic Housing Monitoring from @dbsnp and some of the comments in the thread that followed-- @cfastie shared examples of some sensors that could be a good fit!
I have a design! It's not documented, but it works. We just needed a little extra coding to get it done (just adding functionality to the RTC that we used). It lasts a month or so with three AA batteries. :))
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