Teens examine how COVID-19 is highlighting urban inequities and rural vulnerabilities

In the Midwest, COVID-19 highlights urban inequities and rural vulnerabilities that will only increase under the threat of climate change.

Ellie Wirtz from Black River Falls High School in Black River Falls, Wisconsin interviewed a dairy farmer who says COVID-19 has been “devastating” for business. Mikayla Bloom from Trumbull Career and Technical Center in Champion, Ohio spoke to Representative Michael O’Brien about how the state government is working to protect rural economies from climate change. Hannah Bradley from Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio talked to Ryan Richards, a policy analyst at the Center for American Progress who says preparing rural economies for climate change is imperative. Elliot Corbin from Frederick V. Pankow Center in Clinton Township, Michigan reached out to the University of Michigan’s Dr. Trish Koman who warned that air pollution could be worsening the COVID-19 pandemic in Detroit, with African American communities in the city as particularly vulnerable. And Tranaye’ Hayes from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan followed Nineska Brock who lives with asthma and COPD in the most polluted area of Detroit about how she’s managing her illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Montage edited by SRL Associate Youth Media Producer Becky Wandel.