"As the heat wave continues, some civil rights leaders say high temperatures pose a particular threat to poor, minority communities.
On days like these, the heat affects everyone. But, Hilary Shelton says, it doesn't affect everyone equally. Shelton is director of the Washington Bureau of the NAACP.
'In one community, it means you keep your air conditioner on longer. It puts a strain on your family budget, but you get through it. In another community, it means poor, elderly people are dying in their apartments,' he says.
Shelton says heat spikes in urban areas such as D.C., where more minorities tend to live. And, according to the organization's statistics, heat-related deaths among African-Americans occur at a 150 to 200 percent greater rate than for non-Hispanic whites. "
Jessica Gould reports for NPR station WAMU-FM (Washington, DC) June 9, 2011.
SEE ALSO:
"Killer Heat Wave Enters Third Day" (Reuters)
"First Family Escaping Washington Heat Wave for Short Break at Camp David Mountain Retreat" (Washington Post)
"Heat Wave: Hot Weather Temperature Spikes Put Elderly at Risk" (ABC/Good Morning America)
"Downtown Detroit Outage Caused by Heat Wave, Officials Say" (Detroit News)
"Monster Wildfire in Arizona: a Glimpse of What Climate Change Could Bring" (Christian Science Monitor)
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