This environmental inequality has huge ripple effects.
By Yaryna Serkez Graphics Editor, Opinion |
As a record heat wave moves across the Pacific Northwest, some Americans are lucky to seek refuge in the cooling shade of the surrounding trees. But who gets to enjoy these lower temperatures travels along the typical lines of inequality in America: income and race. |
From Los Angeles to Boston, lower-income communities and communities of color live in areas with a higher share of impervious surfaces such as parking lots, highways and dense residential buildings. A new tool developed by the conservation group American Forests has shown that some wealthy neighborhoods enjoy almost 50 percent more greenery compared to lower-income communities. |
There is also a direct link between discriminatory policies of the past and who gets to live in green areas today. Decades of redlining have limited investments and economic growth in nonwhite and immigrant neighborhoods. Today, most prestigious areas graded "A" have, on average, twice as many trees as those deemed "D-graded," a recent study shows. |
So what would it take to provide all Americans with equal access to greenery? |
This is the question I take on with Ian Leahy, the vice president of urban forestry at American Forests, in my latest analysis for Opinion. According to the tool his organization developed, Americans would need to plant 522 million more trees to reach green equity. We explore how American cities could achieve this ambitious goal and how both public and private sectors could make our cities healthier and safer for everyone. |
The effort to plant more trees would pay dividends — improving health, quality of life and slowing climate change, all while supporting over three million jobs, especially in neighborhoods that need it most. |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com |
Contact Us
If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment