By Sheryl H. Salomon on Dec 17th 2009 3:00AM
Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights

When you hear news reports about the
United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is wrapping up this week in Copenhagen, it's tempting to think: "That's nice, but black people have enough problems closer to home that aren't being addressed, such as unemployment and inadequate health care."
It's tempting, until you think about this old adage:
When America coughs, black people catch a cold. In the case of climate change, that cold (or heat, depending on how you look at it) may come in the form of
job losses when climate shifts force industries to shut down or change locales. It may also come in the form of
heat-induced health problems, such as asthma, which already disproportionately affect blacks. To add insult to injury,
African American households, on average, emit 20 percent less carbon dioxide than white households. These were among the conclusions of a 2004 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Report (
PDF).