A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column on the relationships between systemic racism / power inequities and access to parks and other public lands and open space.

A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column interviewing the paleontologist and educator Dr. Lisa White, who is one of the few African American women in the field of geoscience.

A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column on how taking joy in nature is an essential part of good health.

This "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column makes connections between the experience of multiracial people and marine conservation.

A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column on how collaborative conservation programs must address common social, ecological, and economic goals and not emphasize merely one of these areas. To truly engage all stakeholders, public involvement must be inclusive.

A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column.  A review of organizations who pioneered the involvement of persons of color in park stewardship, outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and other forms of place-based conservation.

 

A "Coloring Outside the Lines" editorial column.

In San Francisco (SF), many environmental factors drive the unequal burden of preterm birth outcomes for communities of color. Here, we examine the association between human exposure to lead (Pb) and preterm birth (PTB) in 19 racially diverse SF zip codes. Pb concentrations were measured in 109 hair samples donated by 72 salons and barbershops in 2018-2019. Multi-method data collection included randomly selecting hair salons stratified by zip code, administering demographic surveys, and measuring Pb in hair samples as a biomarker of environmental exposure to heavy metals. Concentrations of Pb were measured by atomic emission spectrometry. Aggregate neighborhood Pb levels were linked to PTB and demographic data using STATA 16 SE (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA). Pb varied by zip code (p < 0.001) and correlated with PTB (p < 0.01). Increases in unadjusted Pb concentration predicted an increase in PTB (β = 0.003; p < 0.001) and after adjusting for poverty (β = 0.002; p < 0.001). Confidence intervals contained the null after further adjustment for African American/Black population density (p = 0.16), suggesting that race is more indicative of high rates of PTB than poverty. In conclusion, Pb was found in every hair sample collected from SF neighborhoods. The highest concentrations were found in predominately African American/Black and high poverty neighborhoods, necessitating public health guidelines to eliminate this environmental injustice.