Energy insecurity: a framework for understanding energy, the built environment, and health among vulnerable populations in the context of climate change.

Copyright: © 2012 Hernández D. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The recent occurrence of Hurricane Sandy and other climate change-related calamities prompt us to consider the significance of public health in the aftermath of disaster. However, the field of public health also has a role to play in the awareness, preparedness and deterrence of other environmental matters that affect vulnerable populations on a daily basis. The growing occurrence of extreme weather events attributable to climate change and the parallel surge in energy prices trickle down to formidable health impacts that may prove especially detrimental to vulnerable populations [1]. In instances of extreme cold, poor families often wear hats and gloves at home and use expensive and hazardous electric heaters or cooking stoves to keep cold at bay [2-4]. During heat waves, the elderly and poor are more likely to “sweat it out” or die because they cannot keep their homes adequately cool [5,6]. Furthermore, many low-income households face the “heat or eat” dilemma where they must decide between paying for food or for fuel [7,8]. All the while, economically disadvantaged householders disproportionately occupy housing units with poor air quality and harmful temperature and humidity conditions that result in excess moisture, dampness and mold which then trigger respiratory illnesses such as asthma [9,10].