* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:16]
          WHERE SHE, UM, HER AREA OF EXPERTISE IS CLIMATE CHANGE, AIR QUALITY, AND WE'VE WORKED WITH HER, UH, FOR SEVERAL YEARS. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, JENNIFER ISAIAH, WHO IS THE, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, I BOUGHT MY CHEERING SHE CLUB. 
          THAT'S AWESOME. 
          UH, JEN IS THE, UH, CURRENT, UM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF AIRLINES. 
          HOUSTON, A REALLY LONG TIME PARTNER OF OURS ALSO. 
          UM, JEN HAS A LONG HISTORY OF WORKING IN ALL KINDS OF LEADERSHIP ROLES IN, UH, VARIOUS STATE AND COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO WE'RE REALLY ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WELL, UM, CONSIDERING I THINK THAT WE'VE HAD SIMILAR ROLES IN THE PAST. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, AS I SERVE RIGHT NOW. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, LUKE METZKER. 
          UM, HE'S THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT TEXAS, AND HE'S A LEADING VOICE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR CLEAN AIR, CLEAN WATER, AND CLEAN ENERGY. 
          AND SOME OF THE PROJECTS HE'S CHAMPIONED INCLUDE, UM, CAMPAIGNS TO WIN PERMANENT PROTECTION FOR THE CHRISTMAS MOUNTAINS OF BIG BEND, UM, COMPELLING EXXON SHELL AND CHEVRON TO CUT AIR POLLUTION AT THREE TEXAS REFINERIES AND CHEMICAL PLANTS. 
          AND I'VE WORKED WITH HIM ON THAT TOPIC THAT HE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, IN THE END HERE, WE HAVE DR. LAWRENCE STADLER. 
          UM, SO THIS IS REALLY THE FIRST TIME THE CITY HAS EVER PRESENTED OUR ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, WHICH NOW INCLUDES WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE. 
          AND YOU, YOU PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT THAT DURING COVID, BUT, UM, DR. 
          STADLER IS, UH, FROM RICE, UH, UNIVERSITY. 
          SHE IS ONE OF THE PARTNERS OF, UM, THE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR WASTEWATER, UM, MONITORING, UH, THAT WAS AWARDED BY THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND IS RUN IN PARTNERSHIP, UH, THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT. 
          AND, UH, RICE UNIVERSITY RUNS THAT PROGRAM. 
          SO SHE'S GONNA TALK ABOUT, UM, THE KINDS OF, OF WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TOGETHER, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. 
          AND I'M GONNA TURN OVER TO DR. 
          KRAFT. 
          YAY. 
          THAT OVER. 
          THANK YOU EVERYONE. 
          IT'S SO, UM, GREAT TO BE UP HERE AGAIN TALKING ABOUT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING. 
          I THINK IT'S, UM, INDICATIVE OF THE, UH, AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WE DO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY. 
          AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SCIENCE IS NOT ENOUGH. 
          I'M A SCIENTIST AND I LOVE DATA, AND I LOVE COLLECTING DATA AND LOOKING AT IT AND ANALYZING IT. 
          BUT THE FACT IS, IS THAT, UM, SCIENCE IN AND OF ITSELF IS NOT GOING TO, TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO GET DONE, WHICH I THINK, UM, WAS ONE OF THE MESSAGES FROM DR. 
          BULLARD AT LUNCH. 
          SO I WANTED TO TALK, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF OUR AIR MONITORING CAMPAIGNS THAT WE HAVE DONE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY. 
          UH, FIRST OF ALL, RIGHT AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY, A COUPLE OF THE DISASTER EVENTS RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES, THE BUILD OUT OF SOME COMMUNITY NETWORKS, AND THEN A COUPLE OF VISUALIZATION TOOLS THAT WE ARE, ARE LOOKING AT TO TRY TO HELP COMMUNICATE THE RISK AND THE, UM, ALL OF THE, THE FACTORS THAT ARE RELATED TO, UM, WHAT MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO AN ADVERSE, UH, HEALTH OUTCOME WITH RE WITH RESPECT TO, TO AIR POLLUTION. 
          SO I THINK EVERYONE HERE, UH, REMEMBERS THE NIGHTMARE OF HURRICANE HARVEY. 
          I THINK IT WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED RAINFALL EVENT, UM, AT ITS CORE, WHICH LED TO LOTS OF DAMAGE AT THESE FACILITIES AROUND THE, THE REGION. 
          WE, I THINK WERE TOLD PRETTY MUCH THROUGHOUT THE, THE EVENT THAT THERE'S REALLY NO REASON TO WORRY. 
          THINGS ARE OKAY, AND WE WERE GETTING, UM, COMMUNICATIONS FROM OUR PARTNERS ON THE GROUND. 
          I CAN'T GO OUTSIDE OF MY HOUSE BECAUSE THE SMELL IS KNOCKING ME TO MY FEET. 
          UH, WE KNEW THAT THE LIVED EXPERIENCE WAS NOT WHAT WAS BEING TOLD IN THE, IN THE MEDIA AND THE NARRATIVE. 
          AND SO THIS WAS A, I THINK ONE OF THOSE TIMES THAT I PICKED UP THE PHONE AND CALLED DR. HOPKINS AND SAID, CAN WE HELP, UM, CAN WE BRING AN AIR MONITOR OUT? AND SHE SAID, PLEASE, WHEN CAN YOU GET HERE AS FAST AS YOU CAN? WHATEVER YOU NEED. 
          AND IT WAS AT THAT TIME WHEN WE NOTICED, UM, AGAIN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, WE HAD A MONITORING UNIT THAT WAS IN THE CITY VAN, UH, THAT WE SAW ONE OF THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATIONS OF BENZENE THAT WE'D EVER SEEN IN AN, IN AN URBAN SETTING. 
          LITTLE DID WE KNOW THAT WE WERE GONNA SEE THREE TIMES THAT AMOUNT, TWO YEARS LATER, AFTER AN INDUSTRIAL FIRE. 
          BUT AT THE TIME, IT WAS AN A HUGE DEAL, UM, BECAUSE THIS WAS AT A FACILITY THAT WAS, UM, REPORTING EIGHT POUNDS WORTH OF BENZENE. 
          AND WE KNEW THAT COULD NOT BE TRUE BASED ON THE, THE MEASUREMENTS THAT WE WERE TAKING. 
          [00:05:01]
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE GOT SORT OF OUR, IT WAS SORT OF A, A DIPPING OUR TOES INTO THIS, THIS ISSUE OF DISASTER RESPONSE AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY. 
          AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, TWO YEARS AFTER THAT WAS THE ITC DISASTER, WHERE 18 OF THE, THOSE ENORMOUS STORAGE TANKS, UM, THAT CONTAINED NAP, THE COMPOUNDS LITERALLY WENT UP IN FLAMES. 
          AND AT FIRST THE ISSUE WAS PRIMARILY CONCERN ABOUT THE PARTICULATE MATTER FROM THE SMOKE, UH, FROM THE FIRE. 
          BUT ONCE THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED SEVERAL DAYS LATER, THAT LEFT ESSENTIALLY A LARGE SCALE PLUMES OF, UM, BENZENE THAT WERE, UH, IMPACTING LOCAL COMMUNITIES. 
          AND AGAIN, WE WERE GETTING CALLS FROM SCHOOLS, IS IT OKAY TO SEND OUR KIDS? UM, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? SHOULD WE EVACUATE? AND THE THE FRANK ANSWER WAS, NO ONE KNEW WHAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, UM, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE GOOD MONITORING AROUND THE REGION AT LARGE. 
          AND SO, AGAIN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME ACADEMIC PARTNERS AT, UH, UT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, WE DEPLOYED LITERALLY OVERNIGHT ONE OF THE LARGEST LOW COST CENTER NETWORKS ACROSS THE REGION TO TRY TO TRACK AND CAPTURE PM AND NO TWO. 
          AND THEN WE COUPLED THAT WITH SOME VOC MONITORING THAT WE DID, UH, WITH THIS MOBILE VAN THAT YOU SEE IN THE BOTTOM. 
          AGAIN, THAT WAS, UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          ONE THING THAT WAS TRICKY ABOUT THIS SITUATION WAS, AGAIN, THIS WAS A MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL ISSUE WHERE THE FACILITY THAT, UM, WHERE THIS DISASTER OCCURRED WAS ACTUALLY IN HARRIS COUNTY, NOT IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON LIMITS. 
          AND SO WE KNOW THAT POLLUTION DOESN'T KNOW, UH, JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES, BUT THAT POLLUTION WAS BLOWING INTO THE CITY AND IMPACTING RESIDENTS LIVING IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          AND SO WE WERE OUT THERE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT OF, OF THAT ISSUE. 
          WHAT THAT EVENTUALLY LED TO, UM, AFTER ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO, WAS ESSENTIALLY THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTION PLAN, A DECISION TREE. 
          WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SEE THESE MEASUREMENTS ON THE GROUND? AT WHAT POINT DO WE ISSUE A SHELTER IN PLACE? AT WHAT POINT DO WE SEND OUT AN EVACUATION ALERT? HOW MUCH OF AN AREA DO WE EVACUATE? HOW LONG DO WE EVACUATE? THOSE KINDS OF QUESTIONS, WERE ALL THINGS THAT TO DATE, WE JUST DON'T HAVE GOOD INFORMATION. 
          MOST OF THE HEALTH-BASED THRESHOLDS ARE BASED AROUND AN ACUTE EXPOSURE OF, SAY, 24 HOURS OR A CHRONIC EXPOSURE OF SAY, A YEAR. 
          AND SO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT MEASUREMENTS, REALLY HIGH MEASUREMENTS THAT ARE SPIKING FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, WHAT IS THAT, THAT HEALTH IMPACT? THIS WAS, UM, THIS ACTION PLAN WAS ACTUALLY ADOPTED BY THE CITY OF HOUSTON AT THEIR CITY COUNCIL. 
          AND THIS IS THE GUIDANCE THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT USES NOW IN THE, UM, IN THE MIDST OF, OF THEIR AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT. 
          NOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THROUGHOUT THESE CAMPAIGNS WE'VE LEARNED IS THAT POLLUTION VARIES DR. 
          DRAMATICALLY, UM, FROM NEIGHBORHOOD TO, TO NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY. 
          AND SO THE VERY SPARSE AIR MONITORING NETWORK THAT WE HAVE IN MOST URBAN CITIES IS REALLY NOT ENOUGH TO CAPTURE THOSE HOTSPOT AREAS OF POLLUTION. 
          AND SO, ONE OF OUR MAJOR INITIATIVES THAT OUR ORGANIZATION WAS TO TEAM UP WITH, UH, THE COMPANY GOOGLE TO OUTFIT THEIR GOOGLE STREET VIEW CARS WITH AIR MONITORING EQUIPMENT TO CAPTURE THAT VERY FINE, UH, GRANULAR DATA THAT YOU NEED IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THE, THE BLOCK BY BLOCK POLLUTION. 
          THIS WORK ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY STARTED OUT IN CALIFORNIA, AND WE WERE ABLE TO COUPLE THE EXPOSURE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE GOT FROM, UM, THE CARS WITH, UH, INFORMATION FROM KAISER RESEARCH FOUNDATION. 
          AND WE LEARNED THAT, UH, EXPOSURE TO, UM, AIR POLLUTION AT THE BLOCK BY BLOCK LEVEL, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE, UM, IMPACTS. 
          AND WITH REGARD TO, UM, CARDIOVASCULAR EVENTS, WE TOOK THE GOOGLE CARS AND DROVE THEM IN HOUSTON. 
          UM, AND AGAIN, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, LOOKING AT WHICH AREAS WOULD YOU TARGET. 
          UM, HOUSTON IS MUCH BIGGER THAN OAKLAND, AS WE ALL KNOW, . 
          UM, AND THEN WE WORKED WITH THE CITY TO, UM, OUTFIT, ACTUALLY CITY OF HOUSTON VEHICLES WITH, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT, OR WITH THOSE INSTRUMENTS THAT CAN THEN CAPTURE, UH, PM 2.5, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          ALL OF THAT 
          [00:10:01]
TO SAY THAT WE'RE BUILDING OUT, UM, AIR MONITORING NETWORKS, UH, ACROSS COMMUNITIES WITHIN HOUSTON. 
          AND WE'RE USING THIS INFORMATION TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT, UM, HOW CAN, HOW CAN WE ALERT, UM, HOW CAN WE SHARE INFORMATION WITH RESIDENTS, UM, IN A, UM, UH, IN A MORE RIGOROUS WAY? WHAT, HOW CAN WE PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION TO THEM IN WAYS THAT IT WILL BE USEFUL? THIS AS, I JUST WANNA SHARE THIS, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE USING THAT LOW COST SENSOR NETWORK TO SEE, UM, THESE AIR MONITORING SPIKES, UH, THAT, THAT HAPPENED. 
          ACTUALLY, THIS IS FROM THE PLEASANTVILLE COMMUNITY. 
          AND THEN I'LL JUST SAY ONE LAST THING ABOUT, UM, A, A VISUALIZATION TOOL THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS CALLED AIR TRACKER. 
          BASICALLY, THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH SOME ACADEMIC PARTNERS, AS WELL AS SOME OTHER ORGANIZATIONS LOOKING AT, UM, HOW DO YOU KNOW, UM, WHERE, WHAT THE SOURCE OF THAT POLLUTION IS, UM, WHEN YOU SEE A SPIKE OR WHEN YOU MEASURE A HIGH CONCENTRATION AT A MONITOR. 
          AND SO THIS TOOL, THE AIR TRACKER LOOKS AT, UM, ESSENTIALLY BACK TRAJECTORY, WIND ANALYSIS, UM, TO ESSENTIALLY, UM, TO GIVE SOME INDICATION SCIENTIFICALLY OF WHERE THAT POLLUTION MIGHT BE COMING FROM, UM, ESSENTIALLY THE SOURCE AREA. 
          SO THIS IS A REALLY QUICK PRESENTATION, BUT JUST WANNA GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW, UM, OF THE, THE POWERFUL, UM, WORK THAT, THAT WE'RE DOING. 
          AND LIKE I SAID, WE COULD NOT DO WITHOUT THE, THE PARTNERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION FROM THE CITY PRESS THE MIDDLE. 
          YEAH. 
          IS ONE OF THESE HE MIGHT NEED TO, UM, DO YOU BACK? GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. 
          I AM THRILLED TO BE HERE. 
          THANK YOU, LAUREN, FOR INVITING ME. 
          AND I KNOW THAT THIS EVENT IS A MOMENTOUS EVENT. 
          IT'S A MILESTONE EVENT, AND WE HAVE A MILESTONE EVENT THIS WEEK AS WELL. 
          AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THIS PRESENTATION COULDN'T BE MORE TIMELY. 
          OUR COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING PROGRAM IS CELEBRATING ITS ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEK, AND I'LL BE SHOWING SOME DATA AND SOME IMAGES AND GIVING YOU A PLUG AT THE END OF HOW YOU CAN JOIN US FOR THAT CELEBRATION. 
          SO AIRLINES, HOUSTON, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING SINCE THE LATE 1980S WHEN I WAS A MIDDLE SCHOOLER HERE IN HOUSTON TO ADDRESS THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION AS A MIDDLE SCHOOLER. 
          I REMEMBER EVERY DAY MY FATHER COMING HOME FROM WORK COVERED HEAD TO TOE IN SOOT IN DUST. 
          HE WAS A DOCK WORKER AT THE SHIP CHANNEL. 
          HE ALSO HAD DEBILITATING ASTHMA. 
          AND AS A YOUNG TEENAGER, I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THOSE TWO THINGS, BUT THE VISIONARIES AT AIRLINES, HOUSTON CERTAINLY DID. 
          AND NOW HERE WE ARE 20 PLUS YEARS LATER, , AND WE ARE ALSO NOW WORKING ON ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CLIMATE JUSTICE. 
          THERE ARE SOME UNDERLYING VALUES THAT DIRECT OUR WORK. 
          ONE OF THEM IS THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY VULNERABLE AND DISPROPORTIONATELY HARMED BY, UH, BY AIR POLLUTION DESERVE NEED, WANT INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR AIR QUALITY AT A REAL TIME LOCAL LEVEL. 
          BUT UNFORTUNATELY, OUR CURRENT REGULATORY MONITORS DON'T GIVE THAT GRANULAR INFORMATION AS DR. 
          KRAFT JUST EXPLAINED. 
          AND SO THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOTIVATIONS FOR US TO START OUR LOW COST COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING PROGRAM. 
          THE MILESTONE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ACTUALLY COMMEMORATES THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR FIVE NETWORKED MONITOR COMMUNITIES. 
          THOSE ARE MONITOR COMMUNITIES THAT THROUGH A PROCESS OF MAPPING AND PLACEMENT AND INSTALLATION AND SUPPORT, ARE CONNECTED THROUGH STRATEGIC PLACEMENT OF MONITORS AND THROUGH REAL TIME DASHBOARDS THAT PRESENT THE DATA FROM THOSE MONITORS. 
          IN THE MOMENT, WE HAVE DASHBOARDS FOR THE ENTIRE FIVE NETWORK COMMUNITY, AND WE HAVE COMMUNITY SPECIFIC DASHBOARDS WHERE PEOPLE LIVING IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS CAN NOW GO ONLINE AND SEE IN THAT MOMENT WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF THEIR AIR AND TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT THEIR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THEIR FAMILIES. 
          WE HAVE 53 TOTAL MONITORS ACROSS HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY, AND FORT BEND COUNTY. 
          BUT THIS ANNIVERSARY, AND WHAT I'LL SHOW YOU NEXT ARE THE NETWORKED COMMUNITIES. 
          AND LIKE I SAID, THERE ARE FIVE OF THEM. 
          WE HAVE NETWORK COMMUNITIES IN GALENA PARK, JACINTO CITY, PASADENA, AND THREE OF THE CITY'S COMPLETE COMMUNITIES, GULFTON, CASHMERE GARDENS, AND NEAR NORTH SIDE WHERE I LIVE NOW. 
          AND THAT WAS ONE OF OUR SELECTION CRITERIA, WAS LOOKING FOR COMMUNITIES THAT HAD BEEN, UH, UNDER-RESOURCED, HAD BEEN THEN CONNECTED TO PROGRAMMING, LIKE I 
          [00:15:01]
THINK THE MAYOR'S MOMENTOUS COMPLETE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE TO BRING INFORMATION TO COMMUNITIES. 
          SO AGAIN, THEY CAN ACTIVATE AND TAKE ACTIONS TO PROTECT THEIR HEALTH AND THE HEALTH OF THEIR COMMUNITIES. 
          SO THIS IS NOT OUR, I KEEP THINKING THERE'S A, THERE'S, THERE'S NOT A LASER BEAM ON HERE. 
          UM, , THESE ARE NOT ALL OF OUR MONITOR NETWORKS, BUT THESE DO SHOW YOU OUR NETWORK COMMUNITIES, THE, THE COMMUNITIES WE'RE CELEBRATING OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR, AGAIN, WE HAVE 53 OF THESE LOW-COST SENSORS THROUGHOUT HOUSTON, HARRIS, AND FORT BEND COUNTY. 
          THIS IS A LITTLE HARD TO SEE, BUT THIS WILL GIVE YOU THE SNAPSHOT. 
          AGAIN, I'M, WE'RE CELEBRATING OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. 
          THIS, THESE DATA ARE EMBARGOED. 
          YOU'RE THE FIRST GROUP THAT'S SEEING THEM, UH, TAKE PICTURES, BUT DON'T SHARE. 
          UH, AND JUST TO POINT OUT A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IN OUR COMMUNITIES AS WELL, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME THINGS THAT GIVE US INDICATIONS OF POTENTIAL AREAS OF ACTION. 
          SO AGAIN, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO SEE, BUT FOR OZONE, YOU'LL SEE SPIKES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IN THE COMPLETE COMMUNITY OF GULFTON. 
          AND NOT SURPRISING THAT THAT COMMUNITY WANTS TO WORK ON TREE CANOPY AND REDUCING HEAT ISLAND EFFECT. 
          AND THAT THAT GOAL IS DIRECTLY BORN OUT AND SUPPORTED BY THE DATA THAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR REALTIME NETWORK. 
          UH, A LITTLE HARDER TO SEE OUR PARTICULATE MATTER MONITOR IN THE NEAR NORTH SIDE NORTHLINE AREA, WE'RE SEEING SOME HIGH PM RATINGS, UH, RELATED TO A PARTICULAR FACILITY IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT IS A METAL RECYCLER. 
          AND WE HEAR STORIES FROM PEOPLE WHO LIVE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE METAL RECYCLER, INCLUDING A FIRE STATION, THAT THEIR CARS, THEIR FIRE TRUCKS, THEIR HVAC SYSTEMS ARE JUST DEBILITATED WITH DUST AND SOOT WHEN THEY GO OUTSIDE. 
          AND SO THAT COMMUNITY IS NOW WORKING TO HELP THAT FACILITY BE A BETTER NEIGHBOR. 
          AND SO WE ARE TAKING THESE DATA AND, UH, DOING THE WORK FOR COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE INFORMATION AT THE GRANULAR LEVEL, BRING THAT BACK TO COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT COMMUNITY WITH TOOLS, TRAINING, AND OTHER KINDS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO MAKE CHANGE IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. 
          SO THESE ARE SOME IMAGES OF OUR RECENT COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT WE HAD OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS. 
          WE'RE SHARING OUR DATA WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, INCLUDING MANY SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL PRESIDENTS AND GROUPS. 
          AND THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD ALLIANCE. 
          AGAIN, COULDN'T DO THAT WORK WITHOUT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT THE CITY PROVIDES US. 
          WE'VE DEVELOPED WRITTEN ACTION PLANS, AND AGAIN, NOW WE'RE SUPPORTING THOSE COMMUNITIES TO TAKE ACTION IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS, DRIVEN BY THE DATA AND THE TRENDS THAT THEY'RE SEEING. 
          NONE OF THIS WORK WOULD BE POSSIBLE, OF COURSE, WITHOUT ALL OF OUR PEOPLE AND PARTNERS, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF OUR AIRLINES TEAM WHO ARE HERE TODAY. 
          AND THE MILESTONE I TOLD YOU ALL ABOUT ON FRIDAY, WE ARE CELEBRATING AND RELEASING THESE DATA THROUGH A PRESS CONFERENCE AT ONE OF OUR MONITOR HOST SITES IN GALENA PARK, IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO COME. 
          AND THEN THAT NIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO CELEBRATE OUR VOLUNTEERS AND HOSTS, WITHOUT WHOM THIS NETWORK WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. 
          AND WE'LL BE AT ST. 
          ARNOLD'S BREWERY IN NEAR NORTH SIDE. 
          SO THAT ONE, Y'ALL MIGHT WANT TO COME . 
          AND WITH THAT, I'M GONNA PASS IT ON. 
          I, ARE WE TAKING QUESTIONS NOW, LAUREN? OR AFTER THE END? WE'LL DO THEM AT THE END. 
          THANK YOU, MELANIE. 
          OKAY. 
          OFF NEXT FOR YOU, LUKE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I GET THIS. 
          YES. 
          GREAT. 
          UM, SO I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT OUR EFFORT TO GET THE LEAD OUT OF DRINKING WATER OF HOUSTON SCHOOLS. 
          UH, AND I, UH, FOLKS KNOW JUST HOW HARMFUL LEAD IS TO CHILDREN'S BRAINS, UH, AND CAUSING LOSS OF IQ POINTS. 
          UH, THERE WAS A STUDY OF FOURTH GRADERS AND FOUND THAT CHILDREN WITH EVEN LOW LEVELS OF LEAD IN THEIR BLOOD SCORED SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE ON READING AND MATH TESTS THAN CHILDREN WITHOUT LEAD IN THEIR BLOOD. 
          IT CAN ALSO CAUSE BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND OTHER LONG-TERM, UM, IMPACTS TO CHILDREN'S LIFE AND THE TRAJECTORY THEY, THEY TAKE. 
          AND, UH, AFTER THE CRISIS IN FLINT, MICHIGAN, UH, WHEN THIS ISSUE REALLY CAME TO THE FORE, MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING HOUSTON, ISD, VOLUNTARILY DID TESTING TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE WAS LEAD IN, UH, THEIR OWN SCHOOLS. 
          AND UNFORTUNATELY, UH, HOUSTON FOUND THAT THERE, THERE, THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF LEAD IN OUR SCHOOLS. 
          UH, ABOUT 84% OF SCHOOLS HAD AT LEAST ONE TAP WITH LEAD CONTAMINATION. 
          UM, AND YOU COULD SEE THAT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME SCHOOLS, UH, HAD MULTIPLE TAPS, UH, WITH, UH, WITH LEAD CONTAMINATION. 
          UH, SOME 22% OF SCHOOLS HAD 10 OR MORE TAPS WITH LEAD. 
          AND, UM, AND SO THIS WAS REALLY CONCERNING. 
          AND, UH, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT UPON TESTING AROUND 2016, UH, TOOK ACTION TO REMEDIATE SOME OF THE WORST, UH, UH, AND HIGHEST LEVELS OF LEAD, UNFORTUNATELY. 
          UH, SPEAKING TO ABOUT DATA, YOU KNOW, UM, SOMETIMES DATA ISN'T THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. 
          AND, AND ONE OF THE PROBLEM WAS THAT, UH, OUTDATED GUIDANCE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, UH, SUGGESTED THAT, UM, WHAT HOUSTON ISD HAD DONE WAS ENOUGH. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, UH, BACK IN THE EIGHTIES, THE EPA, UM, 
          [00:20:01]
UH, SUGGESTED THAT LEVELS OF LEAD AT 20 PARTS PER BILLION, UH, OR LOWER, UM, WERE APPROPRIATE FOR SCHOOLS. 
          AND THAT WAS BASED NOT ON A HEALTH-BASED STANDARD. 
          'CAUSE OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS NO SAFE LEVEL OF LEAD. 
          UM, BUT BASED ON JUST THE TECHNOLOGY IN THE EIGHTIES OF WHAT WAS CONTROLLABLE. 
          AND SO AT THE TIME, AFTER 2016, UM, YOU KNOW, HOUSTON SAID, OH, YEAH, WE, YOU KNOW, WE STOPPED THE, THE LEAD ABOVE 20 PARTS PER BILLION, UM, AND THEN MOVED ON, UNFORTUNATELY. 
          AND SO WE, UM, WE NEEDED, AS, UH, LENA WAS SAYING, OR DR. 
          UM, MARC WAS SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, DATA ISN'T ENOUGH. 
          YOU HAVE TO DO THE, THE PUBLIC EDUCATION. 
          YOU HAVE TO DO ORGANIZING. 
          AND SO WE PARTNERED, UH, WITH A COALITION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, COCO, HERE IN HOUSTON TO REALLY GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT, UM, THE, UH, SEVERE PROBLEM WITH LEAD IN HOUSTON SCHOOLS, PARTICULARLY IN, IN THE FIFTH WARD AREA. 
          UM, AND IN DEMONSTRATING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, NO LEVEL OF OF LEAD IS SAFE, THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS RECOMMENDS THAT SCHOOLS ADOPT A STANDARD OF ONE PART PER BILLION, UH, NO, NO MORE LEAD THAN ONE PART PER BILLION. 
          AND SO THAT WAS THE, THE STANDARD THAT WE WERE PUSHING FOR, UH, HOUSTON ISD TO, TO TAKE ACTION. 
          SO, UH, LEAD CAN GET IN THE DRINK DRINKING WATER FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, UH, INCLUDING, UH, LEAD SOLDER JOINTS, UM, SOME CHROME PLATED BRASS AND FAUCET, YOU KNOW, UH, DIFFERENT COMPONENTS, UH, IN EITHER THE WATER FOUNTAINS OR THE PIPES LEADING UP TO THE WATER FOUNTAINS. 
          AND, UH, WHEN THERE'S, UH, CORROSION, THEN THE LEAD CAN GET INTO THE WATER. 
          AND SO ONE THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO THEN IS, UH, URGE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, GET THE LEAD OUT AND DO THAT THROUGH, UH, A VARIETY OF WAYS. 
          ONE GOOD OPTION THAT A LOT OF SCHOOLS AROUND THIS, UH, THE COUNTRY WERE ADOPTING, LIKE IN DETROIT, WHERE THIS PHOTO IS TAKEN, WAS INSTALLING, UM, HYDRATION STATIONS WITH LEAD FILTERS. 
          AND SO THE ADVANTAGE OF THIS WAS BOTH THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HELPED GET THE, THE LEAD OUT BY, UH, HELPING, UH, PROTECT CHILDREN FILTERING OUT THE LEAD, BUT ALSO THE HYDRATION STATIONS THAT ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, CHILDREN TO FILL UP A WATER BOTTLE MEANS THAT KIDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DRINK WATER, UH, UH, PERIOD, AND THAT'S ALSO GOOD FOR THEIR HEALTH. 
          AND SO, UM, THANKS TO FEDERAL FUNDING, UH, BOTH THROUGH THE KIND OF, UM, COVID RELIEF FUNDS AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL INFRASTRUCTURE LAW MONEY WAS AVAILABLE FOR HISD THAT TO TAKE ACTION. 
          AND SO WE, UM, UH, WERE ABLE TO JUST LAST FALL, UH, HISD ANNOUNCED, UH, THANKS TO ALL OF OUR EFFORTS, THEY WERE GOING TO INSTALL, UH, HYDRATION STATIONS WITH FILTERS, UM, AT, IN EVERY SCHOOL. 
          AND, UH, JUST ON THURSDAY ACTUALLY, THIS, UH, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVED, UH, $6 MILLION TO PAY FOR, UH, LEAD UH, FILTERS AND HYDRATION STATIONS IN ALL THE HOUSTON SCHOOLS. 
          SO, UH, IMPORTANT VICTORY MORE TO BE DONE. 
          UH, OF COURSE, JUST PUTTING THE FILTER ON, UH, IS ONLY PART OF THE PRO OR PART OF THE SOLUTION. 
          ULTIMATELY, WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS JUST RIP ALL THE LEAD PARTS OUT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ENTIRELY, THE PIPES, THE, THE, THE, UH, THE PARTS OF THE WATER FOUNTAINS. 
          UH, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT JUST, UH, DOING THE WATER FOUNTAINS, BUT ALSO ALL FAUCETS BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN KITCHENS, UH, LEAD CAN GET INTO, UH, TO CHILDREN'S FOOD IF WE'RE NOT ALSO, UH, PROTECTING KIDS THERE. 
          SO I THINK IT JUST A REAL GOOD EXAMPLE OF HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DATA AND ORGANIZING AROUND DATA CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON CHILDREN'S HEALTH. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          I'M GONNA SWITCH GEARS TO TALKING ABOUT WASTEWATER. 
          SO I'M LAUREN STADLER. 
          I'M AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT RICE UNIVERSITY. 
          I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT A PROJECT THAT'S BEEN COLLABORATIVE BETWEEN RICE, UH, AND THE CITY OF HOUSTON, AND SPECIFICALLY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS. 
          AND, UM, IT'S REALLY BEEN THIS HUGE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT THAT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE FROM NUMEROUS PEOPLE, FROM NUMEROUS DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TOGETHER. 
          UM, AND, UH, AND I JUST WANNA EMPHASIZE THIS, THAT IT'S REALLY EVEN I LEAD THE WASTEWATER ANALYTICS PART. 
          WE HAVE A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TEAM, AND THEN WE HAVE A, UH, IMPLEMENTATION AND LEADERSHIP TEAM. 
          AND IN ALL THESE GROUPS, WE HAVE INTEGRATION ACROSS, UH, FOLKS FROM THE CITY AND FOLKS FROM RICE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. 
          SO IT'S AN OVERVIEW TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WASTEWATER OR DISEASE MONITORING IS. 
          UM, IN THE CASE OF SARS COV TO TWO, WHEN YOU'RE INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS, IT TURNS OUT YOU, YOU SHED A LOT OF THAT IN YOUR STOOL. 
          AND SO THAT ENDS UP INTO THE SEWER SYSTEM. 
          AND THEN THAT, UH, IT TRAVELS THROUGH OUR SEWER PIPES TO OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, AND WE CAN GRAB A SAMPLE OF THAT WASTEWATER. 
          AND THAT SAMPLE REPRESENTS A POOLED SAMPLE OF THE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT CONTRIBUTED TO IT. 
          UM, AND SO WE CAN COLLECT THAT SAMPLE AND QUANTIFY THE AMOUNT OF VIRUS THAT'S PRESENT IN IT. 
          AND IT CAN TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE DISEASE BURDEN IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          [00:25:01]
AND WE CAN DO THIS AT DIFFERENT SCALES. 
          SO WE CAN DO THIS WHERE WE COLLECT WASTEWATER FROM, UH, THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS BEFORE IT'S TREATED. 
          BUT WE ALSO CAN GO UPSTREAM IN THE SEWER SYSTEM AND COLLECT, UH, WASTEWATER FROM INDIVIDUAL FACILITIES OR BUILDINGS AND TRACK, UM, THE AMOUNT OF VIRUS IN THESE SMALLER COMMUNITIES AS WELL. 
          AND SO, THE CITY OF HOUSTON HAS ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE, MAYBE THE MOST EXTENSIVE CITYWIDE WASTEWATER MONITORING SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY. 
          UM, THIS IS JUST A MAP THAT SHOWS ALL THE DIFFERENT LOCATIONS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY MONITORING AT. 
          UM, HOUSTON HAS 39 WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, UH, WHICH IS ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT UNIQUE. 
          MOST LARGE CITIES ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF REALLY LARGE TREATMENT FACILITIES, BUT HOUSTON HAS 39 THAT RANGE IN SIZE FROM SERVING OVER HALF A MILLION PEOPLE TO SOME SMALLER FACILITIES THAT SERVE UNDER A THOUSAND PEOPLE. 
          UM, THIS PROVIDES US THIS, ACTUALLY THIS DISTRIBUTED MONITORING SYSTEM 'CAUSE WE CAN COLLECT FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT SITES AND GET BOTH TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL INFORMATION OF, UM, DISEASE TRENDS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          IN ADDITION TO THESE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WE'RE ALSO, UH, COLLECTING SAMPLES FROM, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PRE-K THROUGH 12 SCHOOLS ACROSS THE CITY, AS WELL AS OTHER CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES LIKE NURSING HOMES, A HOMELESS SHELTER, AND THE JAIL. 
          UM, WE ALSO HAVE A FEW PLACES, UM, THAT ARE CALLED LIFT STATIONS, WHICH ARE BASICALLY BREAKING UP SOME OF THESE VERY LARGE SEWER SHEDS INTO SMALLER COMMUNITIES. 
          THESE SAMPLES ARE COLLECTED BY HOUSTON PUBLIC WORKS AND HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND THEY'RE DELIVERED TO MY LAB AT RICE AND THE HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT LAB, WHERE WE QUANTIFY THE AMOUNT OF VIRUS THAT'S PRESENT, PRESENT IN THEM. 
          AND WE ALSO ACTUALLY SEQUENCE THE VIRAL GENOMES FROM THESE WASTEWATER SAMPLES TO UNDERSTAND AND CHARACTER CHARACTERIZE WHICH VARIANTS ARE CIRCULATING. 
          THAT INFORMATION GOES INTO A STATISTICAL MODEL THAT THEN GENERATES REPORTS THAT ARE DELIVERED TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP THAT SUMMARIZE WHERE THE TRENDS IN VIRAL CHANGES OVER TIME, AND ALSO SPATIAL INFORMATION IN TERMS OF WHERE WE'RE SEEING, UM, INCREASES OR DECREASES IN VIRAL, UH, LOADS IN THE WASTEWATER. 
          AND THEN IT'S USED TO INFORM PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION. 
          AND THIS HAS, UH, EVOLVED KINDA OVER THE PANDEMIC. 
          AT THE BEGINNING BEFORE THERE WERE VACCINES, IT WAS FOCUSED ON THINGS LIKE, UH, TESTING RESOURCES. 
          SO THIS IS A MOBILE TESTING VAN SHOWN HERE. 
          UM, BUT AS VACCINES HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE, IT'S ALSO BEEN USED TO KIND OF HELP DIRECT VACCINE, UH, CAMPAIGNS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          SO WE'VE COLLECTED A LOT OF DATA NOW OVER NEARLY THREE YEARS. 
          UH, THIS IS KIND OF THE TOTALITY OF IT. 
          AND THESE DOTTED LINES REPRESENT THOSE 39 WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING AT. 
          AND THE CITYWIDE TOTALS THAT SOLID GREEN LINE. 
          AND REALLY WHAT I WANT Y'ALL TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS IS JUST HOW AMAZINGLY WELL THE WASTEWATER HAS BEEN ABLE TO CAPTURE THE DIFFERENT SURGES IN, UH, COVID ACROSS OUR CITY OVER TIME. 
          AND SO YOU CAN REALLY SEE FROM LIKE THE FIRST INITIAL PEAK IS THAT FIRST SURGE IN HOUSTON. 
          YOU SEE THE ALPHA WAVE, THE DELTA WAVE, THE OMICRON WAVE, THE BA FIVE WAVE, AND THE MOST RECENT BEARING WAVE THAT I DON'T THINK ANYONE REMEMBERS THE NAME OF ANYMORE,  . 
          BUT THE WASTEWATER HAS REALLY DONE THIS AMAZING JOB AT CAPTURING THESE SURGES THAT OCCUR ACROSS OUR CITY IN REAL TIME AS VARIANTS HAVE CHANGED AND AS TESTING HAS CHANGED, RIGHT? INDIVIDUALS REALLY AREN'T GETTING TESTED ANYMORE. 
          AND IF YOU ARE, YOU'RE PROBABLY DOING A HOME TEST, WHICH IS NOT BEING REPORTED AND TRACKED AS IT WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND SO NOW WE CAN ALSO LOOK AT THE RELATIONSHIP OF THAT VIRAL WASTEWATER DATA, WHICH AGAIN, IS NOW HERE IN THAT GREEN LINE. 
          UM, HERE I'M SHOWING IT AS A BENCHMARK LEVEL. 
          SO BASICALLY SAYS THE, THE, THE PEAK OF THE FIRST, THE FIRST PEAK IN HOUSTON, WE SAID WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR OUR VIRAL LOAD. 
          AND SO WE WERE BENCHMARKING IT ALL TO THAT LEVEL. 
          AND THEN THE BLUE LINE REPRESENTS THE CLINICAL TESTING DATA. 
          SO IT'S THE POSITIVITY RATE DA DATA, SO THE NUMBER OF POSITIVE TESTS OVER THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TESTS THAT WERE PERFORMED. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE WASTEWATER DATA IN GREEN AND THE CLINICAL DATA, UH, TRACK EXTREMELY WELL TOGETHER, RIGHT? THEY'RE HIGHLY CORRELATED TO THE POINT WE CAN ACTUALLY USE THE WASTEWATER DATA TO PREDICT THE CLINICAL TEST, THE POSITIVITY RATE. 
          UM, AND THIS IS INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF TESTING GOING ON AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, AND NOW VERY, VERY LITTLE TESTING IS OCCURRING. 
          BUT WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT IN LOOKING AT THE WASTEWATER DATA AS A, A MEASURE OF COMMUNITY INFECTIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE HAVE THIS LONGITUDINAL DATA THAT IS SO STRONGLY CORRELATED. 
          I JUST WANNA ALSO BRIEFLY MENTION A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FACILITY LEVEL MONITORING. 
          SO, UM, THIS IS WHERE WE GO UPSTREAM IN THE SEWER SYSTEM. 
          WE LOOK AT, UM, COLLECT SAMPLES FROM INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS AND NURSING HOMES. 
          AND IN PARTICULAR, I'LL TALK ABOUT 
          [00:30:01]
THE SCHOOL MONITORING PROGRAM. 
          WE HAVE ABOUT 51 SCHOOLS, PRE-K THROUGH 12 SCHOOLS LOCATED ACROSS HOUSTON IN THESE THREE DIFFERENT CLUSTERS SHOWN ON THE MAP HERE. 
          AND WE'VE BEEN COLLECTING, UH, WASTEWATER SAMPLES FOR, I THINK, UH, OVER TWO YEARS NOW FROM THESE SCHOOLS. 
          AND QUANTIFYING SARS COV TO TWO IN THESE SAMPLES. 
          AND WE'VE ALSO EXPANDED TO MONITORING FOR OTHER RESPIRATORY VIRUSES LIKE INFLUENZA A AND B AND RSV. 
          AND WE REPORT THIS DATA BACK TO THE SCHOOLS, UM, IN REAL TIME. 
          SO EVERY WEEK AFTER WE GET THE RESULTS, IT'S REPORTED BACK TO THE SCHOOL NURSES AND THE SUPERINTENDENTS, AND ESPECIALLY IN THIS MOST RECENT WAVE OF RESPIRATORY VIRUSES, WE WERE EXPERIENCING THAT TRI DEMIC OF, YOU KNOW, FLU RSV AND SARS-COV-2. 
          THIS INFORMATION PROVIDED REALLY VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH SPECIFIC RESPIRATORY VIRUS WAS CIRCULATING WITHIN THESE SCHOOLS. 
          SO ALL OF THIS WORK WAS REALLY BUILT UP AROUND A SINGLE VIRUS. 
          INITIALLY, SARS COV TO TWO, BUT WASTEWATER CONTAINS A WEALTH OF INFORMATION ABOUT ALL SORTS OF DISEASES  ARE CIRCULATING IN OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          SO NOW AS WE'RE KIND OF MOVING IN THIS POST PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WORLD, UH, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW CAN WE USE WASTEWATER AS A VALUABLE SURVEILLANCE TOOL FOR ROUTINE PUBLIC HEALTH MONITORING. 
          AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON WHAT OTHER DISEASES TO PRIORITIZE FOR MONITORING AND WASTEWATER. 
          WE FORMED A ADVISORY BOARD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE, D DISEASE DOCTORS WHO ARE HELPING US PRIORITIZE NEXT TARGETS TO MONITOR IN WASTEWATER. 
          WE'RE DEVELOPING FACILITY SPECIFIC PANELS, SO WE KNOW THAT CERTAIN POPULATIONS ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY CERTAIN DISEASES. 
          SO WE'RE DEVELOPING PANELS, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR NURSING HOMES, AND THEN PANELS FOR SCHOOL AGE POPULATIONS. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO PILOTING A PROGRAM THAT'S SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE, AND WE'RE MONITORING THAT BOTH AT THE FACILITY LEVEL AND CITYWIDE. 
          UM, OH, AND WITH THAT, I'LL JUST POINT YOU TO OUR WEBSITE. 
          AND THIS IS A QR CODE THAT TAKES YOU TO, UM, A WEBSITE THAT HAS LINKS TO OUR DASHBOARD WHERE WE SHOW OUR DATA EVERY WEEK, AND ALSO INFORMATION ABOUT OUR TEAM AND SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE, WE'VE PUT TOGETHER TO HELP, UM, SHAPE THE SPACE OF WASTEWATER MONITORING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I THINK QUESTION I'M GLOBAL HEALTH, I, I BETWEEN, UM, THE ENVIRONMENT, HEALTH, HEALTH MM-HMM. 
          HEALTH, THEARY HEALTH, THE HEALTH, ALL HEALTH. 
          SO WE ARE DEALING WITH, UM, THE ENVIRONMENT. 
          THE, BEFORE WE LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, SOMEBODY HAS LOOKED AT THE, SO I WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS WERE, HOW THEY WERE TELLING US THAT THE IMPACT WAS COMING AND AFFECTING MEDICALLY, SOCIALLY, AND ALL OF THAT. 
          AND WE HAVE HAD QUESTIONS THAT ASKED DURING COVID. 
          I THINK THE, SO I WANT, I JUST SAY FOR RELATIONSHIP, THOSE ISSUES THAT I HAVE TALK ABOUT LIKE ONE HEALTH MM-HMM. 
          NEXT, CAN YOU, UH, THROUGH LIFE, WHAT THOSE DIFFERENTLY, WHAT DOES WHAT'S REALLY MEAN TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE WHO MAY NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR, THEIR MEANING AND WELL, I CAN, I CAN START ON ONE AREA, SINCE WHAT WE WORK ON IS, IS AIR QUALITY. 
          AND I THINK THERE'S A DIRECT CONNECTION IN THE ONE HEALTH MODEL BETWEEN THE HEALTH OF OUR AIR, HUMAN HEALTH AND, AND THE HEALTH OF THE PLANET, WHICH IS CERTAINLY A COMPONENT OF ONE HEALTH, BECAUSE CERTAINLY THE HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS THAT ARE EMITTED BY A VARIETY OF SOURCES THAT ARE KNOWN TO CONTRIBUTE TO VIRTUALLY EVERY DOWNSTREAM HEALTH OUTCOME YOU CAN LIST ARE ALSO IN MANY CASES RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING 
          [00:35:01]
THE HEAT TRAPPING GASES THAT HAVE LED US TO WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF CLIMATE HEALTH. 
          SO I THINK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF AIR POLLUTION, ONE HEALTH IS AN EXCELLENT FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT WORK. 
          AND AIR POLLUTION IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF HOW ONE HEALTH IS A TRUE FRAMEWORK IN THAT WHAT AFFECTS US IN TERMS OF OUR HUMAN HEALTH CAN ALSO BE THE SOURCE OF OUR PLANETARY ILL HEALTH, AS THE CASE MAY BE. 
          I JUST WANNA ADD TO THAT . 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          SORRY, MELANIE. 
          YEAH, I HAVE A, AGAIN, I'M FROM FREEPORT, THE SOUTH HERE, FRONTLINE LEADER. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION FOR AIR ALLIANCE. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, I KNOW ENOUGH FUNDERS, YOU GET MONEY FROM ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION AND OTHER BIG GRANTS MM-HMM . 
          AND I KNOW WHEN, AGAIN, DR. 
          TE WAS 15 YEARS AGO. 
           EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. 
          YES. 
          UM, HE'S ONE OF THE VISIONARIES I WAS TALKING ABOUT  AND HE DIDN'T FORGET TREEPORT, YOU KNOW, I NOTICED ON YOUR MAP, YOUR ORGANIZATION NOW JUST FOCUSES ON THE NORTH AND EAST SIDE OF HOUSTON WHERE MATTHEW USED TO SAY MM-HMM . 
          OUR POLLUTION INTERSECTS DEPENDING ON THE WAY THE WIND BLOWS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          AND ALL A SEVERE NON-ATTAINMENT COUNTIES FOR OZONE. 
          AND THERE'S ALL KINDS OF MONEY. 
          WE FRONTLINE LEADERS KNOW THERE'S ROCKEFELLER MON BLOOMBERG, E-P-A-I-R-A MONEY, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE SOME BIG GREEN GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS HAVE NARROWED IN THEIR AREA. 
          THEY COVERING AND WE GET LEFT OUT. 
          UM, DR. 
          TE WOULD SEND RETIRED TEACHERS DOWN AND WE DO, UM, OZONE DAY AND GO TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND MM-HMM . 
          AND THE TEACHERS WOULD TEACH OUR KIDS ABOUT WHY THEY HAVE ASTHMA BECAUSE IT'S A HIGH RED OZONE DAY. 
          BUT IS THERE A REASON WHY Y'ALL JUST KIND OF FOCUS ON ? SO A COUPLE OF THINGS. 
          THE LIST OF FUNDERS THAT I SHOWED IN MY SLIDE ARE THE FUNDERS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING PROGRAM ONLY. 
          SO I'M ACKNOWLEDGING THEM FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS, OF THIS PRESENTATION. 
          THE MAP THAT I SHOWED ALSO NARROWED INTO OUR CITY AREA COMMUNITIES, BUT WE HAVE 53 TOTAL LOW COST SENSORS THAT CROSS HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY, AND FORT BEND COUNTY. 
          BUT I NARROWED IN FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PRESENTATION TO THE CITY AREAS THAT I SHOWED. 
          SO WE HAVE AIR MONITORING ALL THE WAY, UH, FROM STAFFORD TO LAPORTE, ALL THE WAY FROM THE SOUTH AREA OF THE SHIP CHANNEL, PASADENA TO THE GOSH, CONROE AREA. 
          SO WE'RE BRANCHING OUT AND FURTHER, UM, WE HAVE SOME OTHER PROGRAMS. THERE'S A WORKSHOP RIGHT AFTER THIS AS WELL THAT'S GONNA PRESENT SOME OF THE OTHER PROGRAMMING THAT I KNOW IN OUR ORGANIZATION. 
          WE ARE LOOKING BEYOND ONE COUNTY OR TWO COUNTIES. 
          SO WHAT I'VE JUST DESCRIBED IS REALLY A FOUR. 
          IT'S, I USED TO TALK TO MATT ALL THE TIME. 
          WHAT'S YOUR COUNTY? WHAT COUNTY ARE YOU IN? BRAZORIA. 
          BRAZORIA, NOT GALVESTON COUNTY. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE TOOL WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          NO, I'M SORRY. 
          NO, NO. 
          THE TOOL WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT IN THE NEXT WORKSHOP IS A TEXAS WIDE TOOL THAT GOES BEYOND HOUSTON HARRIS COUNTY. 
          OUR COMMUNITY AIR MONITORING PROGRAM, WHICH IS WHAT I PRESENTED TODAY, IS LIMITED TO JUST HARRIS AND FORT BEN AND MONTGOMERY. 
          BUT WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO BRANCH OUT. 
          WE'RE IN COLLABORATION, COMMUNICATION WITH GALVESTON COUNTY RIGHT NOW TO SUPPORT THEIR AIR MONITORING. 
          WE'VE PARTNERED WITH SOME OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO GO ALL THE WAY OUT TO JEFFERSON COUNTY AND THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO EXTEND, 'CAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, POLLUTION DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THOSE COUNTY BOUNDARIES ARE, BUT FOR NOW, THAT'S WHAT OUR NETWORK LOOKS LIKE. 
          WE HAVE OTHER PROGRAMS AND TOOLS THAT GO EVERYWHERE. 
          SO I HOPE WE'RE IN THE HOUSTON GALVESTON BRAZORIA, UH, NON-ATTAINMENT AREA. 
          I HOPE YOU'RE STAYING FOR THE WORKSHOP AFTER, BECAUSE WE WILL ME TALKING ABOUT, DON'T FORGET. 
          OKAY. 
          BECAUSE I'M GONNA SHOW YOU A TOOL WHERE YOU CAN USE, YOU CAN USE IT IN EVERY COUNTY IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS. 
          .
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.