b'ENVIRONMENTTo Feel Less Heat,We Need More TreesBy Ben JealousA llofussufferedlastweek throughdayafterdayofthe hottestaveragetemperaturesever recorded on Earth. Now imagine it had been 10 percent hotter where you live.That wasnt hard to do for resi-dentsinurbanneighborhoods wherepavement,concreteand glassfarsurpassleafytrees.The peoplewholivetherepayaheat tax through their health and their economic well-being.Roughly 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas and roughly 80 percent of those city dwellers liveBen Jealousneighborhoodswithlessthan20 percent tree cover. And those plac- billioningrantsexpectedtobe es with minimal tree canopy expe- announced at the end of the sum-rience significantly higher temper- mer. Thats at least 25 times more aturesthangreenneighborhoodsthanthefederalgovernmenthas just miles away. Thats true in bigspentforurbanforestryinmost cities like Newark and New Orleansyears.andsmalleroneslikeBurlington,Thatmoneygivesusachance Vt., and Erie, Pa. togrowmorethantrees.Wecan Thelistofquality-of-lifeindica- grow livelihoods. Good jobs created torsthatdeclineasthepresenceinnurseriesandtreecarebusi-oftreesdeclinesislonghealthnesses should go first to the people conditionsfromheatstroketointheseneighborhoodswhoneed asthma, outdoor activity, air pollu- them. We have good modelsthe tion,floodingandchemicalsfromDetroitConservationCorpstrains stormwaterrun-off,energycosts,unemployed people, many of whom and home values among them. Thehavefacedincarceration,toearn mostvulnerablearehardesthittreecarecertificationsbytrans-children, the elderly, and pregnantforming vacant lots into nurseries, women. for example.The places where people of colorLikeeverythingassociatedwith and low-income whites live get farour climate crisis, we are running less relief from trees. Communitiesoutoftimeforurbanforestry. in which nearly all residents expe- Conditionslikeheat,storms,and riencepovertyhave41percentairpollutionthattreescanhelp less canopy than those with nearlyaddressaregettingworse,which nopoverty.ThegroupAmericanmakesittougherforustogrow Forests calls this the tree equitythetreesweneed.Everyyear, gap. One of the easiest ways to findthenationhasmoredeathsdue theneighborhoodswithtoofewto severe heat than it would if we trees and too much heat is to lookreduced urban temperatures.at a map of where racial redliningAs enormous as the new federal prevented residents from benefitinginvestment is, its just the starting from federal home loans for muchpoint (the original proposal was $3 of the 20th century. billion). The average cost nationally Theneedcouldntbesimplerto plant and establish a tree in an tostateplantmoretreeswhereurbanareais$300.Fivemillion therearetoofew.Butmeetingittrees planted will close a sliver of has been less a priority for those inthetreeequitygap.Ourcommit-neighborhoodswhereshadeisntmenttonarrowitmustgrowas a luxury. We cant overlook urbanthose trees grow.treeshelpeveryonetheykeep closetoabillionmetrictonsofBen Jealousis executive direc-climate-killingcarbonoutofthetoroftheSierraClub,theold-atmosphere. estandmostinfluentialgrass-Werebeginningtochangeroots environmental organization bocnews.com thatinattention.Thesamehis- inthecountry.Heisaprofes-toricspendingpackageapprovedsor of practice at the University lastyearthatsdrivingrenewalofPennsylvaniaandauthorof ofAmericanmanufacturingandNeverForgetOurPeopleWere growthofcleanenergyincludesAlwaysFree,publishedin $1.5 billion for planting and main- January.tainingurbantrees,withfirst$1 4 AUGUST 2023 BOCNEWS.com'