To be healthy, is to be in a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being not just merely the absence of disease according to The World Health Organization. Often times eye care is not what automatically comes to mind when thinking about overall health. However, how important is one’s vision? The answer is, vision and eye care are pivotal. Poor vision and lack of eye care can cause a number of problems that can decrease the quality of a person’s life and health.
An independent nonprofit organization, OneSight, travels to underserved and remove populations to provide better vision. During one of the organization’s trips they traveled the Amazon with a team to provide a digital eye clinic; providing an eye exam and glasses all in the same day. In the future the organization plans to add a surgical component for cataracts and other procedures. Still, there are over a billion people in the world that need glasses but have no access or funds to do so.
I came across an interesting map that showed schools across the US that offered the National school Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program from 2014 to 2015. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially for young learners, but for some students a good first meal of the day isn’t always attainable. This program makes sure that students can start their day off right with a good meal! Across the board from 2014-2015 the US did a pretty good job with participating in both programs, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Check to see how your area measured! Thanks frac.org for the interesting information & map! Take a look at the rest of the map by clicking here.
Take a look at this interesting map we made on Mappler in collaboration with Planning Communities! The map is full of GIS layers that you can toggle to show various information such as crime, food, recreation, transit, and URISA health data in DC. The picture below shows URISA data marking sidewalks, intersections, homeless locations, and garbage. Visit the map to view all the data ! nj.mapplerx.com/map/urisahealth
Trees help city areas with reducing pollution, they help to improve health, and overall bring a sense of calm to a place known for fast-pace living. Here is a map we created on Mappler using data from the TreesCount! 2015 by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. This map is color-coded based on condition of the trees.
Looking at the density screenshot, it is interesting to view where the best versus worst rated trees are located. The photo on the left shows where the worst rated trees are, and the right shows the trees rated as the best. Lets keep adding trees to our concrete jungle! Click here to see the site.
It seems logical that the more money you have, the longer you would be expected to live. This would be because you can afford better healthcare, maintain a healthier lifestyle, have access to better nutrition, and probably have less stress when it comes to day-to-day life because you are financially stable. The New York Times recently released an article that affirmed this thought, but also gave an eye-opening spin on the life expectancy of the poor based on where they live, showing that cities like LA and New York the life expectancy of those under the poverty line is higher then other cities in the US.
Health plays a significant role in the life span of a human, which seems obvious but when you look at the numbers, it can be shocking. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that the richest men live 15 years longer then the poorest 1 percent. So why do the poor living in cities like Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Dayton, and Tulsa to name a few, have lower life expectancies? David M. Cutler who is a economist at Harvard explains that a lot of cities with the lowest life expectancy for the poor fall into the “drug overdose belt”. Other explanations are just the availability to clinics and health education. Increasing health resources would slowly help to increase life expectancy in cities with the lowest life spans.
Take a look at the map from the NYT and see where your area compares. Looking at where you live, do you think your area provides enough health resources for those who can’t afford it?
All information for this post is from an article by The New York Times.
This is a map that we created based off of data from the Center for Disease Control. This information shows the percentage of adults that were classified as obese in the year 2010. Blue indicates areas with the lowest percentages, while red shows areas where obesity in adults is more prevalent. It is interesting to think about the fact that we have so much food here in the US, yet getting a hold of healthy options is more difficult then it should be. #foodforthought
This really interesting map on International Institute for Environment and Development’s website, iied.org, shows populations of cities with more then 500,000 people from 1800 to the predicted 2030. The visual that this map gives shows how big our world really is. With a little more than 7 billion people right now, by 2030 that amount will surely grow. Makes you think about what the health, environment, food and water situation will look like when the predicted population for 2030 will be more then 8 billion. I think that if we can increase education efforts on population rise and conservation efforts, we can help to lessen that number or at least be more prepared.
Below is a screenshot from iied.org of cities in 1800 that had more than 500,000 people. London and Beijing had more than a million and Guangzhou and Paris are between 500,000 and a million people.
Looking at 2015, you can see that 1,029 cities had populations larger than 500,000. Take a look at their site and see what the projection is for the year 2030! Thanks IIED for the cool map!
all information for this post from iied.org. contact firstname.lastname@example.org. click here for the site.
Our Vertices team created an Earth Day map so everyone and anyone can share what they think makes this planet beautiful! All you have to do is go outside and snap a picture of what you think makes this planet awesome and upload it on the site.
Today on Earth Day, log onto earthdaymap.com from your phone or computer as a guest or create an account. Input your location, choose the category that best represents your photo, upload the picture (example: tree, flower, animal, insect, sunset, etc.), then add a short comment about your data. The time and date will be automatically added in by our mapping program Mappler!
Let’s see how many data points around the US and even the world we can map. So go outside and share your view of this amazing planet!
The Galveston Bay Foundation, a non-profit established in 1987, helps to manage issues and concerns of the Galveston Bay, located along the upper coast of Texas. This estuary serves a variety of uses such as commercial and recreational fishing, and marine transportation. Also, the bay area is the petrochemical production capital of the nation, where petroleum refining occurs. In addition Galveston Bay is also a place for hobbies such as bird watching and boating, and currently half the population of Texas lives in the Galveston Bay watershed.
With all of these activities and uses, pollution is a major concern and this foundation does all they can to minimize contamination. One of the many ways that the bay is protected is through the Galveston Bay Action Network. This interactive mapping tool powered by Mappler, is a way that the public and authorities can report and view water- related pollution in the bay area. Below shows the map where you can go for information and to post findings yourself.
If you are ever in the area and see something then report it! This interactive map is a great way for the public to interact and show concern which can lead to authoritative action. To learn more about the Galveston Bay visit- galvbay.org. To learn more about Mappler visit- www.mappler.net
Posted by Eva Gerrits, Intern. Click here to see the site. Contact email@example.com