<
https://apnews.com/article/urban-trees-spending-underserved-racism-heat-5ee01297cf215420c7e6c9a0b4d5e87c>
"HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — While Ameen Taylor feels fortunate he has a cooling
tree cover in the front and back yards of his Detroit home, he knows it’s a
different story for many residents of his hometown where neighborhoods often
have little to no shade.
“To me, 70 degrees is fair weather, but when you’re walking somewhere or you’re
around a neighborhood that don’t have trees, it will feel like it’s like 87, 90
degrees. That’s what it feel like,” said Taylor. “You’re exposed to more sun
than you are shade.”
Like many cities in the U.S., parts of Detroit are packed with large amounts of
impervious surfaces and heat-absorbing infrastructure like roads and bridges.
Coupled with low levels of cooling tree cover, or canopy, it can make them
dangerously hotter than the suburbs.
Such an inequity of tree cover is behind the historic $1.5 billion in President
Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that’s set aside for the federal Forest
Service Urban and Community Forestry Program to fund tree-planting projects
over the next decade. With a focus on underserved communities, the initiative
marks a massive increase from the roughly $36 million distributed annually to
the program. Millions more for tree projects have also been available from
Biden’s infrastructure law and COVID-19 relief funds.
Urban forestry advocates, who’ve argued for years about the benefits of trees
in cities, see this moment as an opportunity to transform underserved
neighborhoods that have grappled with dirtier air, dangerously high
temperatures and other challenges because they don’t have a leafy canopy
overhead. Advocates also predict this is the beginning of a long-term financial
commitment to trees, especially amid dire warnings from scientists about global
warming.
“City trees are not just having a moment. In many ways, this is more than a
moment in the sun. This is, I believe, the new normal,” said Dan Lambe, chief
executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. Lambe said the massive federal
investment recognizes trees are essential for communities, “not just a
nice-to-have, they’re a must-have.”
Trees help suck up heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce
erosion and flooding. They’re also credited with helping to save lives,
considering heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-poverty-indonesia-press-freedom-fiji-shade-america/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
