I was glad to see the Gazette warn readers about the upcoming extreme heat wave, but was disappointed to see the article paired by a fun-in-the-sun image of someone tubing. Research by Yale and Rutgers suggests that these kinds of images can undercut the effectiveness of critical public health warnings: “positive images in our study, such as people relaxing by the pool or ocean, may have counteracted the impact of the accompanying text about extreme heat risks.” I hope the editors can pick different images for their coverage of future extreme heat events (which we will see more of as we continue to change our climate).
Alex Barron
Easthampton