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2,000+ Genetic Signals Linked to Blood Pressure Discovered in Study of Over a Million People

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Tuesday, April 30, 2024

The Queen Mary-led study reveals the most detailed picture yet of genetic contributors to blood pressure. The findings lead to improved polygenic risk scores, which will better predict blood pressure and risk for hypertension.Researchers led by Queen Mary University of London and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have discovered over a hundred new regions of the human genome, also known as genomic loci, that appear to influence a person’s blood pressure. In total, over 2,000 independent genetic signals for blood pressure are now reported, demonstrating that blood pressure is a highly complex trait influenced by thousands of different genetic variants. Extensive Study on Blood Pressure GeneticsThe study, published in Nature Genetics, is one of the largest such genomic studies of blood pressure to date, including data from over 1 million individuals and laying the groundwork for researchers to better understand how blood pressure is regulated.To understand the genetics of blood pressure, the researchers combined four large datasets from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of blood pressure and hypertension. After analyzing the data, they found over 2,000 genomic loci linked to blood pressure, including 113 new regions. The analyses also implicated hundreds of previously unreported genes that affect blood pressure. Such insights could point to potential new drug targets, and help to advance precision medicine in the early detection and prevention of hypertension (high blood pressure).The Role of Polygenic Risk ScoresFrom these analyses, the researchers were able to calculate polygenic risk scores, which combine the effects of all genetic variants together to predict blood pressure and risk for hypertension. For example, these risk scores show that individuals with highest genetic risk have mean systolic blood pressure levels which are ~17 mmHg higher than those with lowest genetic risk, and a 7-fold increased risk of hypertension. Therefore, these polygenic risk scores can discriminate between patients according to their hypertension risk, and reveal clinically meaningful differences in blood pressure.Impact of the Study and Future Directions“We have now revealed a much larger proportion of the genetic contribution of blood pressure than was previously known,” says Helen Warren, Senior Lecturer in Statistical Genetics at Queen Mary University of London and senior last author of the study. “We are making our polygenic risk scores data publicly available. There are many different potential applications of genetic risk scores, so it will be exciting to see how our blood pressure scores can be used to address more clinically relevant questions in the future.”“This large study builds on over 18 years of blood pressure GWAS research. Our results provide new resources for understanding biological mechanisms and importantly new polygenic risk scores for early identification and stratification of people at risk for cardiovascular diseases” says Patricia Munroe, Professor of Molecular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, also a senior author of the paper.Application in Diverse PopulationsPolygenic risk scores have the potential to serve as a useful tool in precision medicine, but more diverse genomic data is needed for them to be applicable broadly in routine health care. While the collected data was mostly from people of European ancestry (due to the limited availability of diverse datasets when the study was started), the researchers found that the polygenic risk scores were also applicable to people of African ancestry, who have previously been underrepresented in genetic studies.This African ancestry result was confirmed through analyzing data from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program in the USA, which aims to build one of the largest biomedical data resources and accelerate research to improve human health.Understanding Hypertension in the UK ContextAn estimated 30% of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, known as hypertension. High blood pressure often runs in families, meaning that there is a genetic component to developing the condition in addition to environmental contributions such as a high-salt diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and stress. When blood pressure is consistently too high, it can damage the heart and blood vessels throughout the body, increasing a person’s risk for heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other conditions.Reference: “Genome-wide analysis in over 1 million individuals of European ancestry yields improved polygenic risk scores for blood pressure traits” by Patricia B. Munroe, Helen R. Warren, et al. 30 April 2024, Nature Genetics. DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01714-wThe study combined previously published genetic data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic and health information from half a million UK participants (N~450,000 individuals); the International Consortium for Blood Pressure (N~300,000 individuals combined from 77 different cohort studies); and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program (N~220,000 individuals), with new data from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s biorepository, BioVU (N~50,000 individuals).The project was led by researchers at Barts NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in the USA, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and other institutions, as part of the International Consortium of Blood Pressure. Altogether, over 140 investigators from more than 100 universities, institutes, and government agencies throughout the world contributed to this international study.

The Queen Mary-led study reveals the most detailed picture yet of genetic contributors to blood pressure. The findings lead to improved polygenic risk scores, which...

Human Genome Genetics DNA Concept

The Queen Mary-led study reveals the most detailed picture yet of genetic contributors to blood pressure. The findings lead to improved polygenic risk scores, which will better predict blood pressure and risk for hypertension.

Researchers led by Queen Mary University of London and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have discovered over a hundred new regions of the human genome, also known as genomic loci, that appear to influence a person’s blood pressure. In total, over 2,000 independent genetic signals for blood pressure are now reported, demonstrating that blood pressure is a highly complex trait influenced by thousands of different genetic variants.

Extensive Study on Blood Pressure Genetics

The study, published in Nature Genetics, is one of the largest such genomic studies of blood pressure to date, including data from over 1 million individuals and laying the groundwork for researchers to better understand how blood pressure is regulated.

To understand the genetics of blood pressure, the researchers combined four large datasets from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of blood pressure and hypertension. After analyzing the data, they found over 2,000 genomic loci linked to blood pressure, including 113 new regions. The analyses also implicated hundreds of previously unreported genes that affect blood pressure. Such insights could point to potential new drug targets, and help to advance precision medicine in the early detection and prevention of hypertension (high blood pressure).

The Role of Polygenic Risk Scores

From these analyses, the researchers were able to calculate polygenic risk scores, which combine the effects of all genetic variants together to predict blood pressure and risk for hypertension. For example, these risk scores show that individuals with highest genetic risk have mean systolic blood pressure levels which are ~17 mmHg higher than those with lowest genetic risk, and a 7-fold increased risk of hypertension. Therefore, these polygenic risk scores can discriminate between patients according to their hypertension risk, and reveal clinically meaningful differences in blood pressure.

Impact of the Study and Future Directions

“We have now revealed a much larger proportion of the genetic contribution of blood pressure than was previously known,” says Helen Warren, Senior Lecturer in Statistical Genetics at Queen Mary University of London and senior last author of the study. “We are making our polygenic risk scores data publicly available. There are many different potential applications of genetic risk scores, so it will be exciting to see how our blood pressure scores can be used to address more clinically relevant questions in the future.”

“This large study builds on over 18 years of blood pressure GWAS research. Our results provide new resources for understanding biological mechanisms and importantly new polygenic risk scores for early identification and stratification of people at risk for cardiovascular diseases” says Patricia Munroe, Professor of Molecular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, also a senior author of the paper.

Application in Diverse Populations

Polygenic risk scores have the potential to serve as a useful tool in precision medicine, but more diverse genomic data is needed for them to be applicable broadly in routine health care. While the collected data was mostly from people of European ancestry (due to the limited availability of diverse datasets when the study was started), the researchers found that the polygenic risk scores were also applicable to people of African ancestry, who have previously been underrepresented in genetic studies.

This African ancestry result was confirmed through analyzing data from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) All of Us Research Program in the USA, which aims to build one of the largest biomedical data resources and accelerate research to improve human health.

Understanding Hypertension in the UK Context

An estimated 30% of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, known as hypertension. High blood pressure often runs in families, meaning that there is a genetic component to developing the condition in addition to environmental contributions such as a high-salt diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and stress. When blood pressure is consistently too high, it can damage the heart and blood vessels throughout the body, increasing a person’s risk for heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, and other conditions.

Reference: “Genome-wide analysis in over 1 million individuals of European ancestry yields improved polygenic risk scores for blood pressure traits” by Patricia B. Munroe, Helen R. Warren, et al. 30 April 2024, Nature Genetics.
DOI: 10.1038/s41588-024-01714-w

The study combined previously published genetic data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic and health information from half a million UK participants (N~450,000 individuals); the International Consortium for Blood Pressure (N~300,000 individuals combined from 77 different cohort studies); and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Million Veteran Program (N~220,000 individuals), with new data from Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s biorepository, BioVU (N~50,000 individuals).

The project was led by researchers at Barts NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Queen Mary University of London, in collaboration with National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) in the USA, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and other institutions, as part of the International Consortium of Blood Pressure. Altogether, over 140 investigators from more than 100 universities, institutes, and government agencies throughout the world contributed to this international study.

Read the full story here.
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Essex car park to be test case for legislation to protect landscapes

Campaigners say car park extension at Manningtree station inhibits access to Dedham Vale and threatens habitatsA commuter car park in Essex is to be one of the first test cases of whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic. Continue reading...

A commuter car park in Essex is to be one of the first test cases of whether the government will enforce new legislation aimed at protecting national parks and landscapes in England.Dedham Vale is a designated “national landscape” on the border of Essex and Suffolk, home to increasingly rare species including hazel dormice and hedgehogs. Within it is Manningtree station, where the train operator Greater Anglia built an extension to the car park to cope with increased traffic.Campaigners say the 200-metre long wall built as part of the extension inhibits public access to St Edmund Way, an ancient pilgrimage path, generates light pollution and threatens habitats. They are now locked in dispute with the planning inspectorate over whether the development should be allowed to stay and have applied for a judicial review, which is likely to be heard early next year.The seemingly localised case has much wider implications because it will be a test for new legislation that requires local authorities and all other public bodies in England to “seek to further” the aims of protecting landscapes in every decision taken that could have an impact on those landscapes.Campaigners want to use this duty, contained in section 245 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, to force public bodies to take much greater action to improve national parks and protected landscapes, formerly known as areas of outstanding national beauty.In the case of Dedham Vale, the local preservation society said the legislation, which came into force late last year, should mean the end of the 200-metre wall, arguing that the government’s planning inspectorate did not take into account the new duties when deciding the extension to the car park could stay.Charles Clover, the chair of the Dedham Vale Society, and a longstanding environmental campaigner and writer, said: “There are shades of Mr Bates and the Post Office about this. If the protections of national parks and national landscapes are to be held too lightly by officialdom, we will fight to our limits to have them reaffirmed.”Dedham Vale is not an isolated case – the widening of the A66 in the Pennines, and the M3 junction project near Winchester, Hampshire, are also being objected to on similar grounds.Rose O’Neill, the chief executive of the Campaign for National Parks, said: “[The change in regulations] is an absolute game-changer, requiring all public bodies that own land or make decisions affecting protected landscapes to take action to conserve and enhance wildlife and natural beauty.”O’Neill said she was worried the legislation was not being enforced and that the Labour government could try to ignore this. “There’s now multiple examples of public bodies ignoring the law,” she said. “They must know the law has changed, but they’re happy to keep their heads in the sand. This wilful blindness is vandalising the UK’s most iconic and nature-rich landscapes.”skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionO’Neill added: “The government needs to ensure compliance right now. It urgently needs to make a statement and bring forward guidance and regulations to give the legislation teeth and ensure all public bodies redouble their efforts to enhance national parks and landscapes, and ensure they are protected from harm.”A government spokesperson said: “Progress to restore nature has been too slow and our precious national parks and national landscapes are in decline. That is why we will protect our most beautiful landscapes, create more nature-rich habitats and help our national parks become wilder, greener and more accessible to all as we deliver our commitment to protect 30% of land for nature by 2030.”

Government
Nature
Pollution

US Chooses Winning Bids in First Commercial Sale for Floating Offshore Atlantic Wind

The U.S. government has chosen winning bids to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S. government chose winning bids Tuesday to develop wind power off New England in the first commercial sale for floating offshore wind on the Atlantic coast.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids for four lease areas from two firms. The sale is a major step toward accelerating President Joe Biden's goal of dramatically expanding offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.Environmentalists praised the lease sale, though commercial fishermen who have questioned the expansion of offshore wind said they remain opposed. The lease areas are in the Gulf of Maine, which is a critical fishing ground for the U.S. lobster industry.The awarding of the leases is “a critical step in our fight against climate change,” said U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland."Together, we can create good paying jobs, build a domestic supply chain, and ensure that the momentum of this offshore industry continues for generations to come," Haaland said in a statement.Two of the leases went to Avangrid Renewables for areas about 35 miles (55 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The other two leases went to Invenergy NE Offshore Wind for areas about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Massachusetts. The four areas combined are more than 625 square miles (1,600 square kilometers).The leased areas have the potential to power more than 2.3 million homes, the Interior Department said in a statement.Avangrid said in a statement that the leased areas will enable the company to progress floating wind technology. The next generation of offshore wind development is increasingly taking place in deep waters, the company said. Avangrid is a joint owner, along with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, of the Vineyard Wind project, a 62-turbine wind farm under construction 15 miles (24 kilometers) off the coast of Massachusetts.“Securing these lease areas provides a unique opportunity to advance our growing business at a significant value, and reinforces our unwavering commitment to helping the New England region meet its growing need for reliable, clean energy," Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra said in a statement.The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management had planned a floating offshore wind sale off Oregon for this month, but it was postponed amid lack of bidder interest and opposition by the governor.The Maine Lobstermen's Association, a major commercial fishing trade group that has pushed back against expanding offshore wind power, characterized the lease sale as “another dangerous step toward the industrialization of one of the world's most productive marine ecosystems.”The association said no part of the Gulf of Maine is appropriate for offshore wind. But conservation Law Foundation and other environmental and renewable energy groups said expanded wind power off New England is critical in the era of climate change.“The Gulf of Maine lease sale is a pivotal step in our clean energy transition and for the region to significantly reduce climate-damaging emissions,” said Kate Sinding Daly, senior vice president for law and policy at Conservation Law Foundation.Associated Press writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this report.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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Could a ban on sea farms save Canada’s salmon?

A row over sea life, lice and livelihoods is dividing communities as the government plans to end open-net pen farming in British Columbian watersOn a clear August morning, Skookum John manoeuvres his fishing boat, Sweet Marie, out of the Tofino harbour and into the deep blue waters of Clayoquot Sound on Canada’s west coast.On shore, the late summer sun shines on visitors from all over the world who have flocked to the bustling fishing town on Vancouver Island, where they wander in and out of surf shops, art galleries and restaurants and pile into small boats in the hope of glimpsing orca, humpback and grey whales. Continue reading...

On a clear August morning, Skookum John manoeuvres his fishing boat, Sweet Marie, out of the Tofino harbour and into the deep blue waters of Clayoquot Sound on Canada’s west coast.On shore, the late summer sun shines on visitors from all over the world who have flocked to the bustling fishing town on Vancouver Island, where they wander in and out of surf shops, art galleries and restaurants and pile into small boats in the hope of glimpsing orca, humpback and grey whales.“You’ll never find this anywhere in the world,” John says, gesturing through the Sweet Marie’s window at the mosaic of islands and mountains, cloaked in thick green rainforests, that form part of the Clayoquot Sound Unesco biosphere reserve.The Sweet Marie motors deeper into Clayoquot Sound, past a web of inviting channels and inlets, and cruises past a raft of sea otters resting in the gentle swells. Hunted nearly to extinction, sea otters are one of the celebrated species found in the reserve, along with sea lions, seals, wild salmon and bald eagles.Dan Lewis, co-founder of Clayoquot Action, with a map of the fish farms in Clayoquot Sound. Photograph: Jeremy MathieuJohn, a member of Ahousaht First Nation, makes his living on the water, where he helps train coast guard members in marine rescue, ferries passengers to islands and hot springs and takes visitors on whale watching tours. Today, he is taking members of Clayoquot Action, a conservation group focused on protecting wild salmon, to the site of one of the area’s more controversial industries: open-net pen salmon farms.Dan Lewis, the co-founder and executive director of Clayoquot Action, is incredulous that industrial salmon farming is allowed to take place in a globally recognised protected area. “Why are we doing this here?” he says, gesturing at the rich waters, home to a colourful array of sea life that includes giant rock scallops, tufted anemones in green, pink and white, dark green kelp forests, red sea urchins and purple-tinged Dungeness crabs.Clayoquot Sound is also home to some of the last 60 salmon farms left on North America’s west coast. For decades, as many as 100 farms in Canadian waters have raised mostly non-native Atlantic salmon in pens in the Pacific Ocean.A farm uses a semi-closed containment system, which reduces the exposure of wild fish to sea lice. Photograph: Jeremy MathieuBut now the salmon farming industry, blamed for contributing to the collapse of wild salmon stocks, faces an uncertain future. In June, the Canadian government announced a ban on open-net pen salmon farming from coastal waters in July 2029, as part of a commitment “to protecting wild salmon and promoting more sustainable aquaculture practices”.Concerns about the industry’s impact on wild salmon played a leading role in the closure of about three dozen farms in British Columbia over the past seven years, after Clayoquot Action and other groups documented sea lice outbreaks and other diseases in farmed fish, including at farms along migration routes for wild salmon.The decision to ban all remaining British Columbia farms, lauded by conservation groups and wild salmon advocates, has been soundly criticised by Canada’s salmon farming industry, which largely consists of multinational corporations that farm salmon around the world, including in the UK. The industry says moving salmon farming to closed containment systems on land or in the water, as the government suggests, is not logistically feasible and would be prohibitively expensive.A coho salmon smolt infected with sea lice. Photograph: Fernando Lessa/AlamyFor John, who has been campaigning against salmon farms since 2015, the Canadian government’s new 2029 deadline may just be an empty promise, after its earlier, unfulfilled commitment to remove open-net pen salmon farms by 2025. “I won’t believe anything that the government says until I see it happen,” he says, as the Sweet Marie slowly circles a floating salmon farm in a small bay, barely a stone’s throw from the seaweed-strewn shore.John’s scepticism is shared by Hasheukumiss, hereditary chief of the Ahousaht Nation and president of the Maaqutusiis Hahoulthee Stewardship Society, which manages economic development for the nation. But the two men have very different perspectives on the salmon farming industry, mirroring broader divisions about whether open-net pen farms should be allowed to operate in Canadian waters.Hasheukumiss, Richard George, says sea lice and the pathogens are his main concerns. Photograph: The Canadian Press/AlamyIn 2010, the Ahousaht Nation signed an agreement allowing Cermaq Global, a Mitsubishi subsidiary that also farms salmon and trout in Norway and Chile, to operate in its territorial waters. The agreement was subsequently renewed with changes, according to Hasheukumiss, also known as Richard George.“One of the things that I wanted to address was the environmental concerns because we are the true stewards of our back yard,” he says. “It was the sea lice and the pathogens that were the biggest concerns we had.”According to Hasheukumiss, Cermaq was responsive and worked with the nation to address that concern.Hasheukumiss’ assessment of the Canadian government’s handling of fish farms is less rosy. Since he inherited his title in 2020, he says he has discussed the issue with three different cabinet ministers, yet has seen little in the way of consultation with his nation.A five-year transition away from open-net pen farms is not a realistic timeframe for the industry, he says. “In five years, there is no way this industry – or any industry – can go to fully contained systems.”As the Sweet Marie noses slowly towards a rectangle of floating walkways bordered by black net fencing, John stands and slips the engine into neutral. He calls out to one of the salmon-farm workers, jokingly asking why he’s pretending to be busy. It’s his nephew, who recently started working at the Cermaq farm, one of 13 facilities in Clayoquot Sound that employ about 20 Ahousaht members.The two chat while Lewis stands at the Sweet Marie’s bow, peering through the nets to get a view into the pens, as part of the group’s regular monitoring of the industry’s operations.Sweet Marie approaches Cermaq’s fish farm and delousing boat, Aqua Service. Photograph: Jeremy MathieuAt an unstocked salmon farm nearby, the Cermaq’s delousing boat, Aqua Service, towers over the Sweet Marie from its berth. The vessel has a large rear deck fitted with a patented delousing system, which pulls fish from the pens and uses seawater to flush off the lice. The treatment process takes just two tenths of a second, aiming to reduce stress and fish deaths.In Ahousaht territory, Cermaq has been experimenting with technology to reduce the industry’s impact on wild salmon. A semi-closed containment system – consisting of a semi-permeable bag that stretches 25 metres below the water – is used to raise young salmon smolts while reducing their exposure to sea lice. The bag draws water from deep in the water column where sea lice can’t survive.Fewer sea lice on the farmed smolts make it less likely wild salmon swimming past the farms will pick up the parasites. After a year, the young salmon are moved to open-net pens to grow to marketable size.The semi-closed containment system Cermaq is trialling is expensive – costing C$20,000 (£11,000) a month in diesel alone. Brian Kingzett, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, representing Cermaq and other companies, says there is little appetite to make big investments and navigate the time-consuming licensing process for new technology, especially with the future of the industry in question.In 2022, conservationists highlighted the risks of salmon farms to wildlife after sea lions broke into a Cermaq farm off the coast of British Colombia. Photograph: Jeremy Mathieu/Clayoquot Action“There are lots of reasons why farmers want to go to closed containment for that first year; Cermaq has been trying to do it,” he says. “It took them six years to get a licence. We only have a five-year window.”Kingzett says the industry was “completely gobsmacked” by the Canadian government’s decision to remove open-net pen salmon farms by 2029, calling closed containment “an unfeasible option”.Setting up a medium-sized land-based salmon farm, capable of producing 5,000 tonnes of fish a year, could cost C$1.8bn (£1bn), according to a 2022 report commissioned by the British Columbia government. The report’s authors said it was difficult to estimate the costs of setting up large-scale farms because there are no land-based salmon farms in the world that are reliably producing large amounts of fish.BC’s first land-based salmon farm, Kuterra, is now raising steelhead trout, after achieving barely one-third of its production target, according to the BC government report. Another land-based venture, West Creek, has stopped farming salmon altogether. And on the other side of the country on the Atlantic coast, a land-based salmon farm, Sustainable Blue, suffered a mass die-off, reportedly because of an equipment malfunction, and is now in receivership.But Lewis says closed containment systems on land are the only option if the Canadian government is serious about protecting wild salmon stocks.“To our understanding, there is nothing that can actually have zero discharge that’s in the water,” Lewis says. “What we want to see in the next five years is all the farms come out of the water. We don’t believe there are any in-water solutions.”Kingzett says closing down open-net pen salmon farms will harm small coastal communities. Any land-based containment systems will need to be close to plentiful power and water supplies, not to mention customers, he says.Skookum John has campaigned against salmon farms in Ahousaht territory for almost a decade. Photograph: Jeremy MathieuIf BC’s salmon farms disappear, Kingzett is confident farmed salmon will still be sold in the country’s supermarkets – but it will come from places such as Chile and Norway.Inside the Sweet Marie’s cabin, John has placed a sticker with the hashtag #FishFarmsOut near the helm. He is eager for the industry to leave Ahousaht territory, even if it means losing the money fish farming has brought to the community.“Wealth isn’t money,” he says. “What we have in our territory, what we have in the ocean, what we have in the air, that’s wealth.”

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Extinction

Hurricanes Like Helene Are Deadly When They Strike and Keep Killing for Years to Come

A new study says hurricanes in the United States are hundreds of times deadlier in the long run than the government calculates

Hurricanes in the United States end up hundreds of times deadlier than the government calculates, contributing to more American deaths than car accidents or all the nation's wars, a new study said. The average storm hitting the U.S. contributes to the early deaths of 7,000 to 11,000 people over a 15-year period, which dwarfs the average of 24 immediate and direct deaths that the government counts in a hurricane's aftermath, the study in Wednesday's journal Nature concluded. Study authors said even with Hurricane Helene's growing triple digit direct death count, many more people will die partly because of that storm in future years.“Watching what's happened here makes you think that this is going to be a decade of hardship on tap, not just what's happening over the next couple of weeks,” said Stanford University climate economist Solomon Hsiang, a study co-author and a former White House science and technology official. “After each storm there is sort of this surge of additional mortality in a state that’s been impacted that has not been previously documented or associated with hurricanes in any way,” Hsiang said. Hsiang and University of California Berkeley researcher Rachel Young looked at hurricane deaths in a different way than previous studies, opting for a more long-term public health and economics-oriented analysis of what's called excess mortality. They looked at states' death rates after 501 different storms hitting the United States between 1930 and 2015. And what they found is that after each storm there's a “bump” in death rates. It's a statistical signature that they see over and over, Hsiang said. Similar analyses are done for heat waves and other health threats like pollution and disease, he said. They compare to pre-storm times and adjust for other factors that could be causing changes in death rates, he said. Complicating everything is that the same places keep getting hit by multiple storms so there are death bumps upon death bumps.Just how storms contribute to people's deaths after the immediate impact is something that needs further study, Hsiang said. But he theorized it includes the health effects of stress, changes in the environment including toxins, people not being able to afford health care and other necessities because of storm costs, infrastructure damage and government changes in spending.“When someone dies a few years after a hurricane hit them, the cause will be recorded as a heart attack, stroke or respiratory failure,” said Texas A&M University climate scientist Andrew Dessler, who wasn’t part of the study but has done similar studies on heat and cold deaths. “The doctor can’t possibly know that a hurricane contributed/triggered the illness. You can only see it in a statistical analysis like this.”Initially Hsiang and Young figured the storm death bump would go away in a matter of months, but they were surprised when they examined hundreds of bumps and found they stretch out, slowly, over 15 years, Hsiang said.It's “almost like a trickle of mortality, like each month we're talking about five to 10 individuals who are dying earlier than they would have otherwise," Hsiang said.These people don't realize that 10 or 15 years later their health issues are associated with a storm in some way, but Hsiang said it shows up in the data: "They would not have died at those times had the storm not arrived. And so essentially, these storms are accelerating people’s deaths.”The numbers proved so high that the researchers kept looking for mistakes or complicating factors they had missed. “It took years for us to really fully accept that this was happening," Hsiang said.Storms are a factor in between 55,000 to 88,000 excess deaths a year, the study concluded. So for the 85 years studied, the team calculated between 3.6 and 5.2 million people died with storms being a factor. That's more than the 2 million car accident deaths over that period, the study said.Before now the public looked at storms “as an inconvenience that is tragic for a small number of community members,” Hsiang said. But they really are “a major threat to public health,” he said.Hsiang said he and Young saw a trend of increasing hurricane-connected deaths, predominantly because of population growth. Starting in 2000, there's been a big jump in the total volume of storms hitting large population, he said.Three outside scientists said the study made sense.“It seems like what they're doing is reasonable,” said University of Albany hurricane expert Kristen Corbosiero, who wasn't part of the research. “The numbers are really staggering.”Texas A&M's Dessler said this is an important study because it brings home the deadly nature of climate change and extreme weather. He said he and his fellow climate scientists have been accurate in their warnings of the physics of what climate change would mean, but failed to emphasize enough how it would hurt people.“Reading this, it’s clear that humanity is very vulnerable to weather shocks, even in an incredibly rich country like ours,” Dessler said in an email.The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Government
Climate
Nature

New Jersey Offshore Wind Farm Clears Big Federal Hurdle Amid Environmental Concerns

The federal government has given a key approval to an offshore wind farm in New Jersey

SEA GIRT, N.J. (AP) — The federal government gave a key approval Tuesday to an offshore wind farm in New Jersey, even as residents in the town where its power cable would come ashore worry it could go through underground toxic waste that's still being cleaned up. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved Atlantic Shores' plan to construct and operate an energy facility, a major milestone in moving the project forward. The project still requires a review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and several state permits, the company said.The project, consisting of two phases, would be built between Atlantic City and Long Beach Island in southern New Jersey. It would generate 2,800 megawatts from 197 turbines, enough to power 1 million homes. “Atlantic Shores is thrilled to receive approval to build our first two projects and deliver sufficient clean power to serve one third of New Jersey households,” said Joris Veldhoven, the company's CEO. “Securing these critical approvals enables New Jersey’s first offshore wind project to start construction next year, and represents meaningful progress in New Jersey achieving 100% clean energy by 2035."The federal government says the project would be about 8.7 miles (14 kilometers) from the shore at its closest point. But the company has previously said that it will not build right up to that line and that the closest turbines will be at least 12.8 miles (20 kilometers) from shore.Atlantic Shores is a joint partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF-RE Offshore Development LLC.“Responsibly developed offshore wind is a critical component in a clean energy future, which will fight climate change, create union jobs and improve the air quality in overburdened communities," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.Offshore wind foes, who are particularly vocal and well-organized in New Jersey, vowed to try to keep the project from ever being built.“We understand this development would be devastating for the marine and coastal habitats, and it would destroy the Jersey Shore as we know it,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ. BOEM said the power cables for the project will “potentially” come ashore in Atlantic City and Sea Girt.That possibility has angered residents of Sea Girt, a wealthy Jersey Shore community about seven miles (11 kilometers) south of Asbury Park, due to concerns that its route would run through two federal Superfund sites where underground toxic contamination from former dry cleaning operations is still being cleaned up.The route proposed through Sea Girt would likely take the cable through contamination at the former White Swan and Sun cleaners sites in neighboring Wall Township where chemicals leached into the soil and contaminated underground water in a wide area including Sea Girt. More than 300 dump truck loads of contaminated soil have been removed from the site, and a ground water treatment system has been designed that will operate for at least 30 years.Kimberly Paterson is a leader of a Sea Girt-based residents group opposing the cable landing project; it takes no position on offshore wind energy itself.“It's just common sense that when you have a Superfund site still in remediation and the ground water is still contaminated, you shouldn't be messing around there,” she said. “When you start digging, you stand a very good chance of disturbing this plume of contamination. It seems to be all risk and no reward.”Elias Rodriguez, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which administers the federal Superfund cleanup projects, said the agency is aware of concerns about the sites.“We understand that the public believes there could be risks associated with running electric cables through areas with site-related groundwater contamination,” he said. “EPA will work with the (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) to make sure relevant officials are aware of these concerns. EPA will continue to take appropriate steps to ensure that the ongoing cleanup is protected.”The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities does not plan to authorize a specific route for the cable to connect with the power grid about 9 miles west in Howell Township. It said that decision is for the company eventually chosen to build the project, in consultation with local governments.“Should the site become a part of the future (cable route project), all federally-mandated site remediation measures will be followed,” the board said in a statement.Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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