Poorest Over 60s Twice As Likely To Dread The Cold As The Richest, Says Age UK

Over half of people aged 60 plus in England are likely to be dreading the cold weather this winter with those at the bottom of the social scale twice as likely to be fearing a cold spell as the richest, new research from Age UK reveals today (1).

As the Charity launches its Spread the Warmth campaign to help people in later life stay warmer this winter, the research provides further evidence of the struggle millions of older people are likely to face over the coming months.

While recent figures showed the number of older households in fuel poverty in England has risen to 1.7 million, the new survey suggests worries about paying for heating bills are far more widespread. Two in five people aged over 60 (4.6 million) say they are concerned about being able to afford their energy bills, while nearly a third (3.6 million) are likely to resort to extreme measures to keep warm: last winter, almost one in three over-60s took drastic actions to fend off the cold, including wearing coats and scarves inside (15%), living in just one room to contain the heat (11%), staying in bed during the day (4%) and going to a public library (2%).

Cold weather shelters open for winter months - San Bernardino, California

SAN BERNARDINO - Robert Knudsen spends most of his days searching for somewhere to sleep at night. Photo Gallery: Cold weather shelter

His choices range from fields in the middle of nowhere to park benches and covered doorways.

It is usually cold, and he is always afraid.

UT News » UT to build online climate change [hoax] classes for middle and high school students

The University of Toledo beat out dozens of universities to receive the Global Climate Change Education Award from the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA). The award totals $377,251 and is part of NASA’s nationwide program to educate students and teachers about climate change.
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The University will use the grant money to build five learning modules for middle school and high school students. Each module will focus on an aspect of climate change and help students dispel any misconceptions regarding the subject through NASA science and facts, Czajkowski said.
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“There are a lot of misconceptions about climate change,” Lawrence said. “People don’t understand the science, and we want to get the information out and step away from politics and look at it through science.”