GUEST VIEW The environment and equity: Children, poor will suffer more

Who will face the biggest continuing impact of environmental decline? We are all affected, but it is clear that children and the poor bear the brunt of dramatic ecological change.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, “Children are the least responsible for climate change, yet they will bear the greatest burden of its impact.” of infectious diseases, and the health consequences of air pollution (including wildfire smoke) are discussed.

As environmental crises intensify over the next century, our kids and grandkids will be left to suffer the effects of our current behavior.

This is like having to pay off the debts of a gambling-addicted relative – all the pain and none of the pleasure. There is a fundamental unfairness here. The young and unborn have no say, no vote, and no way to fix past mistakes.

Their studies emphasize that those without consistent health care resources and the ability to avoid potential harm will be most vulnerable to these outcomes.

Another major fallout for the poor is food insecurity. Food production, quality, distribution, and prices are parts of this uncertainty.

One indirect example of higher food prices is the resulting bias toward cheap, nutrient-poor, but calorie-rich foods. This feeds the obesity epidemic. Housing is another area where the environment is creating burdens for the poor. Construction material costs are rising. Significantly for us in Washington, wildfires decrease lumber supply and increase prices.

Also, home insurers charge more as they protect themselves from climate risks.

Many of our Snohomish County female residents are horse lovers, and they use their horses for self-therapy, pleasure trail riding, friendship building, and for completive riding. Western, English, Dressage, horse jumping, rodeos, and other riding clubs can be found, not only at our Evergreen State Fairgrounds, but throughout our county.

“Horsewomen-ship” is a sport of love, but unlike football, soccer, basketball, and wrestling, this sport is too often ignored by our media. Colleges and universities are known for helping upcoming football, basketball, golf, and baseball stars by handing out scholarships. But where can a person get a Division I, 2, or 3 scholarship so she and her horse, can become equestrian champions?

The National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) is the governing body for equestrian sports, so NCEA came together with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to make sure the emerging equestrian athletes do receive the same benefits as other varsity competitors’ sports such as soccer, baseball, and basketball.

Currently, more than 800 female students participate in NCAA/ NCEA equestrian college disciplines, which include: Equitation Over Fences, Hunt Seat (forward seat riding,) Equitation on the Flat (ground), English and Western Horsewoman-ship, and rodeo events.

In the Wild West style of Western competition, the participants show their skills at barrel racing, flag barrel racing, jumping, bareback riding, bronco riding, chuckwagon racing, and other old ranch-hand horse style events.

On the other side of the scale, one can display their equestrian skills through the English, and in my view more dainty, style of riding.

In 1949, the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) was established in order to provide a format for intercollegiate rodeo. Today, over 3,500 student members participate in the NIRA.

Listed below are just a few of the 83 United States colleges or universities, which have either Division I (19 schools), Division II (4 schools), Division III (16), that young and up-coming equestrian Olympians might wish to explore.

• Alfre d University (New York)

• Auburn

• Berry College, (Georgia)

• Cazenovia College (New York)

• Centenary University (New Jersey)

• Colorado State University (Colorado)

• Emory & Henry College (Virginia)

• Fresno State

• Murray State University (Kentucky)

• Penn State University (Pennsylvania)

• Sacre d Heart (Connecticut)

• Seton Hill

• South Dakota State

• Stonehill College, (Massachusetts)

• Sweet Briar, (Virginia)

• Texas A&M

• U C Davis

• University of Findlay (Ohio)

• University of Kentucky

• Sweet Briar (Hunt seat only)

•Lynchburg (Hunt seat only)

To give the equestrian athletes an idea about the academics that a university or college has to offer, I will highlight just six of the above institutions.

The University of Kentucky is located in the heartland of horse country. It has both graduate and undergraduate programs, including a bachelor of science degree in Equine Science and Management.

Cazenovia College (New York) offers a degree in equine business management designed for students interested in the management, commercial, and organizational aspects of the equine industry, as well as those interested in breeding, and stable management.

Colorado State University (CSU) offers a bachelor of science in Equine Science and several animal sciences graduate programs. CSU’s off-campus features two indoor arenas, conference rooms and classrooms, acres of pastures and trails, and an equine reproduction laboratory. Colorado State University encourages participating in competition in polo, ranch horse versatility, rodeo, and English riding.

Alfred University’s (New York) equestrian studies program offers three minors: equine studies, equine-assisted psychotherapy, and equine business management.

The poor are another group that will also be disproportionately impacted, although the young and poor are not really separate blocs. Those under 16 are twice as likely to be poor as retirees.

The poor, whether young or old, are less able to avoid environmental hazards, to buy increasingly expensive food, drill deeper wells, have first-class health care, buy air conditioners, pay for flood insurance, escape eroding shorelines, move away from pollution sources, etc.

They bear the consequences of rapid environmental change in multiple ways. The increasing temperatures, intensifying storm events, and changing weather patterns caused by the climate crisis are the most significant but not the only repercussions.

The Centers for Disease Control website has lengthy descriptions on various climate effects on health. Direct injury and death due to extreme weather, increases in respiratory and cardiovascular disease, changes in the prevalence and distribution u from GOLD page 4 to collapse. If he doesn’t, the next boy takes his run and jump while the previous jumper has to hang on and not let his feet touch the ground.

If all the players land on the backs of the “pony” and that group does not collapse (with no one’s feet touching the ground), the lined-up team wins. If the bent-over boys collapse, the running team wins. Who invented this stupid highly dangerous game? Clearly, the street morons in New York City. Lots of skinned knees if you “missed” the bent-over line u from MONTALVO page 4 minutes before Russia invade d Ukraine, citizens across that country expressed disb elief that war would come to their country or that they could see their free dom taken away Ukrainians believe d they would continue to experience those moments of happiness that we can so easily take for grante d.

So this spring, in the shadow of thre e of the world’s holiest of holidays celebrated re cently, the world is still at war – literally and figuratively We all have to remain commit- and landed on the pavement (not uncommon – as are serious back injuries). I guess the game is supposed to show how tough everyone is.

The pressure on housing and land intensifies as people are displaced from shoreline communities, floodplains, cyclone alleys, fire-prone rural areas, and hurricane zones.

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy left New York without power. The Goldman Sachs headquarters, however, had private generators. Photos of the New York skyline at the time show one gleaming, bright building amid the darkness.

It was also protected by thousands of its own sandbags. This iconic example of the difference between the rich and poor will be played out in more extreme ways in the next decades.

In the fall of 2020, the Shoreline Climate Champion Series included a session titled the Climate Equity Nexus. This is a good place to learn more, and can be viewed at bit.ly/3vd4vfk.

Environmental ethics are key elements of social justice.

A more equitable future is one where sustainability goals are well defined and are taken seriously.

Lastly, the cryptocurrency movement. Blockchain is the technology that underpins all cryptocurrencies. This is a very complex highly computer-intensive system, which tracks who the rightful owner of the currency is. Likewise creating the currencies. The idea is since this is money not backed by any government, it has to be tamperproof (which it is).

And it is so computer-intensive that many of the “mining com- ted – to peace, to a safe environment, to not destroying the possibility of a comfortable existence for the next generation. panies” who create the currency locate their server farms where electricity is cheap. To actually “mine” new currency, you have to solve a complex equation before any other team does it. If you win and solve the equation before another team does it (and it can take weeks), then you get to create the new currency. Frankly, cryptocurrencies make as little sense to me as Johnny rides a pony. All I’ll say is “buyer beware.” It is a very quick way to lose a great deal of money. Frankly, you’re better off playing craps or roulette in Las Vegas (and remember, the house ALWAYS wins).

Hope is what we must protect and preserve, through the hard work it takes to bring about the possibility of good.