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The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States - 2015-11-20: Gold shovels surround tree to be planted.
The photo was taken by Andy Katz/Pacific Press.
The budget reconciliation bill that includes sweeping social and environmental programs has become a contentious piece of the Democrats' build back better act. Despite the fact that this is a strategy that experts say could reduce health disparity in cities, Congressional Republicans have seized on the $3 billion in the proposed nearly $2 trillion bill earmarked for planting trees.
The tree equity provisions have been called an indicator of Democrats' reckless spending spree and a waste of taxpayer dollars, but in reality, they are a huge problem that affects heat exposure, air quality and more. The legacy of segregating, polluting, and disinvestment in communities of color builds on this inequity. Some of the injustices could be healed by planting trees in the right places.
"We're not giving communities"
Charity Nyelele is a researcher in the Department of Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine.
According to the Tree Equity Score, a project backed by the nonprofit American Forests, neighborhoods with a majority of people of color have less tree canopy cover than neighborhoods with a majority of white people. Americans of color are more likely to live in places that trap heat because there is a lot more concrete and asphalt.
That is not an accident. The places where Black Americans were pushed to move into since the 1930s because of discrimination in housing policies are on maps of redlined neighborhoods. According to research published last year, these neighborhoods are up to 7 degrees hotter than non-redlined neighborhoods.
Plants are one way to cool down heat islands. The cooling process called evapotranspiration is similar to humans sweating, and it occurs when water is lost from the leaves. A study in Phoenix found that trees were more effective at cooling neighborhoods during the day than other strategies, like painting roofs and streets white to reflect the sun's radiation.
That is a life-saving service. Over the past thirty years, extreme heat has killed more people than any other weather disaster. The most vulnerable communities are where the deaths are concentrated. In New York City, extreme heat has killed a lot of Black people. The climate crisis is making heat waves more dangerous.
Nyelele says that most people just think it is about looking at trees and planting them. That is not the case. It is about the benefits that we can derive.
There are benefits to having more trees. In neighborhoods without a lot of green space, trees can help clean up air pollution. They can reduce street flooding because their roots and soil absorb water, unlike impervious surfaces like asphalt.
Republicans have attacked the tree provisions of the Build Back Better Act even though they are a fan of tree planting as a strategy to tackle climate change. Last year, former President Trump made a commitment to plant a trillion trees around the world. Although that initiative has been criticized by scientists, healthy forests are important carbon sinks because they trap and store carbon dioxide.
Ariane Middel is an assistant professor at Arizona State University who focuses on urban climate science. Being in nature has benefits. Those are difficult to put together.
$3 billion in grants to tribes, state agencies, local governments, and NGOs are included in the Build Back Better Act. The money would be spent on projects that increase tree equity, but details on how the money would be spent are scarce. The Forest Service needs another $100 million to create new urban forests.
The bill is still facing a tough vote in the Senate after months of political wrangling, even though it would become the single biggest package of climate policies in US history.
