Taking the Heat: How Climate Change Is Affecting Your Mind, Body, and Spirit and What You Can Do About It

by Bonnie Schneider

Overview

From meteorologist and Peabody Award–winning journalist Bonnie Schneider, an innovative look at how climate change is already threatening our mental and physical health and practical tips for you to tackle these challenges head on.

The impacts of climate change have become dire. Rising temperatures, volatile weather, and poor air quality affect our physical and mental health in dangerous new ways. From increasing the risk of infectious disease to amplifying emotional stress and anxiety—even the healthiest among us are at risk. Bonnie Schneider has tracked environmentally-linked physiological impacts throughout her career as a TV journalist, meteorologist, and the founder of Weather & Wellness©—a platform that explores the connection between weather, climate change, and health. In Taking the Heat, Schneider provides crucial advice from science experts and medical professionals to help you:

-Cope with the mental anguish of “eco-anxiety” and other climate change fears for our planet’s future, particularly expressed by millennials and Gen-Z
-Identify health hazards caused by extreme heat and air pollution that disproportionally affect low-income and minority communities
-Uncover the science behind longer and stronger allergy seasons and learn new ways to reduce your risk of adverse allergic reactions
-Detect the increased threat of dangerous pathogens lurking in unexpected places and why we may face future pandemics
-Understand how seasonal fluctuations of sunlight, heat, and humidity can not only factor into feelings of depression and anxiety but also can trigger flare-ups for certain auto-immune diseases
-Discover how meditation and mindfulness practices can ease the psychological stress that often occurs in the aftermath of devastating natural disasters
-Explore how the Earth’s rising temperatures may rob you of restorative sleep and impair mental sharpness
-Learn why increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may reduce the availability of what you choose to eat; learn sustainable solutions—from food to fitness
- And more!

Anchored in the latest scientific research and filled with relatable first-person stories, this book is the one guide you need to navigate the future of your own health—mind, body, and spirit, in a rapidly changing environment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982166076
Publisher:	S&S/Simon Element
Publication date:	01/25/2022
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,138,505
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Bonnie Schneider is a national television meteorologist based in New York City, appearing on MSNBC/NBC News and Yahoo! Finance. She created the platform Weather & Wellness©, successfully launching its original video content focusing on climate change and health for New York-based Newsday’s digital site. Bonnie connects with her fans and answers their weather questions through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Bonnie has provided on-camera insight and expertise on everything from hurricanes to snowstorms for CNN, HLN, Bloomberg TV, and The Weather Channel.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction ix

1 Eco-Anxiety 1

2 Natural Disasters, Trauma, and Gratitude 16

3 Cities of Heat 37

4 Viruses and Infectious Diseases-from Corona to Lyme 54

5 The New Allergy Season 80

6 Shining Light on Winter Blues 98

7 Weathering Autoimmune Flare-ups 113

8 Heat, Sleep, and Memory 127

9 Food Choices and Carbon Footprints 140

10 Sustainable Fitness 161

Conclusion 179

Acknowledgments 185

Notes 187

Editorial Reviews

02/07/2022

The climate crisis is impacting peoples’ well-being, argues meteorologist Schneider (Extreme Weather) in this powerful guide to personal and planetary health. She begins by laying out why readers should take the climate crisis seriously and do everything they can to mitigate it: “The existing and forecasted global rises in temperature pose enormous environmental risks for your personal health and well-being.” To mitigate, she touches on a wealth of areas that are impacted by a changing climate. She examines how climate change is making some autoimmune disorders flare (especially lupus, which is triggered by UV light); describes how infectious diseases such as Lyme are rapidly increasing as mosquitos and ticks are flourishing (and offers a guide to what to do if one finds a tick on their body); and explains how rising temperatures in large cities will lead to an increase in heat-related deaths. She offers plenty of tips for dealing with eco-anxiety, as well: practicing gratitude can help, as can walking mindfully in nature and engaging with the outdoors via gardening. For those interested in staying well while the planet changes, this is a must-read. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"For those interested in staying well while the planet changes, this is a must-read.” -Publisher's Weekly

"Bonnie Schneider has crafted a powerful playbook for the toll of the climate crisis on human well-being. Her focus on the correlation between human and planetary resiliency is refreshing and practical. She explores how meditation, for example, cultivates the necessary skills to cope with, thrive in the face of, and even combat the harrowing challenges of our times. Without presence of mind, how can we become better stewards of our bodies and planet? Taking the Heat offers immediate solutions to these urgent questions.” —Amy Reyer, PhD, author of the blog The Art of Living Slowly


“Bonnie Schneider’s Taking the Heat details how climate change impacts the things we care about—our health, our children—and provides resources to help us build a more just, sustainable world.” —Gaurab Basu, MD, MPH, codirector of the Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy and instructor at Harvard Medical School

From the Publisher