This column was published in El Nuevo Día's Opinion section as part of the collaboration between CienciaPR and that newspaper. Read the reports from the listening sessions with community leaders in Puerto Rico and with leaders of the Deaf Community.
As April, Earth Month, draws to a close, I reflect on conversations with leaders from diverse communities in Puerto Rico, which emerged from a forum convened by the non-profit organization CienciaPR to understand how they experience and respond to the effects of climate change. I consider it important to highlight some lessons.
First, we need to break down climate change and its visible consequences in our daily lives. It's not just about high temperatures, floods, hurricane intensification, sea level rise, and the spread of diseases like dengue. It is urgent to adjust our responses as a country to protect all our communities, including those marginalized ones that are disproportionately affected.
In the conversations, many leaders expressed frustration with government inaction, which for them represents an obstacle to their ability to adapt because the information is disconnected from their realities. For example, they identified the recommendation to rely on air conditioning to relieve extreme heat as unacceptable, given that we live with an unreliable and expensive electrical grid.
For more than a dozen community leaders, extreme heat was identified as the most urgent concern. This did not surprise me. However, their perspectives emphasize the second lesson: extreme heat does not affect everyone equally. Older adults and pregnant individuals, citizens suffering from chronic conditions, and households without reliable electricity face the highest risks. These are mainly linked to cardiovascular problems, respiratory issues, kidney diseases, and pregnancy complications. Therefore, prevention messages cannot be general. They must be specific.
The third lesson is linked to the need to consider two overlooked consequences in extreme heat prevention: the relationship with mental health and food insecurity.
Some leaders commented that extreme heat fragments community life, pushing people to stay indoors and isolate themselves, aggravating feelings of abandonment. They also pointed out that climate change and extreme heat affect agricultural production and the availability of products in supermarkets and markets. I have not seen open discussions from the government regarding these effects and how to mitigate them. Most discussions are primarily convened by organizations and community leaders.
As expected, multiple communities have developed strategies to protect vulnerable people, especially children and older adults, by utilizing local resources such as rivers, beaches, and Puerto Rican foods like fruits to provide practical relief.
Many leaders envision community-managed spaces with solar panels, cooling infrastructure, and food resources. These efforts are part of Puerto Rico's long history of community resilience, where local knowledge, cultural practices, and mutual support, rather than survival strategies, are acts of self-determination.
Our responses as a country to climate change demands multidisciplinary perspectives, not only scientific but also community-based, that help us offer more accurate education, linked to preventive actions that can protect everyone. That is the fourth lesson: it is necessary to include community leaders in the conversations and pay attention to what they say.
They are the ones who fill the gaps in the fragile system we have. We have seen their role, from coordinating responses during hurricanes to organizing health education efforts and creating solutions adapted to the real needs of their neighbors.
At CienciaPR, we believe that scientific communication and public health education are most effective when nurtured by the experience, knowledge, and leadership of communities. Climate science must be community-centered.