Article Details
Title: Urban areas like Newark could get more trees under federal inflation law
Outlet: PoliticoPro
Date of Publication: April 12, 2023
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Urban areas like Newark could get more trees under federal inflation law
Appearing with local leaders at Newark’s Lincoln Park, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $1.5 billion in federal grants to increase tree cover in urban spaces.
Heat islands pose a threat to public health, particularly the elderly, young children, low-income populations and people who work outside, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Trees and green spaces can improve physical and mental health, Agriculture Undersecretary Homer Wilkes said.Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo
Members of the Biden administration visited Newark on Wednesday to focus on a lesser-known piece of the Inflation Reduction Act: Trees.
Specifically, planting more of them.
Appearing with local leaders at Newark’s Lincoln Park, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $1.5 billion in federal grants to increase tree cover in urban spaces and strengthen resilience to extreme heat, storm-induced flooding and other climate effects.
In addition to that, the administration is providing $250 million in separate grants to increase urban canopies and access to nature. New Jersey is slated to receive $11.5 million, while the larger grant requires states to apply.
“Since my days as mayor of Newark, I have seen the transformative impact that planting trees can have for urban communities,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement.
The Inflation Reduction Act grant “will help us plant more trees across our communities, with a focus on overlooked and disadvantaged areas,” he added. “This historic investment will help us tackle the most pernicious effects of climate change, move us closer to remedying environmental injustices in our communities, and pay dividends for generations to come.”
Newark, the state’s largest city with more than 300,000 people, appears to be a likely candidate for funds. It ranked second nationwide for urban heat island intensity in a 2021 study by the nonprofit Climate Central. Heat islands are metropolitan areas that are hotter than the outlying regions, according to Climate Central, and that’s usually because they lack greenery and trees, have more paved surfaces and are densely populated.
Heat islands pose a threat to public health, particularly the elderly, young children, low-income populations and people who work outside, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Trees and green spaces can improve physical and mental health, Agriculture Undersecretary Homer Wilkes said.
Wilkes and Vilsack were joined Wednesday by White House advisor John Podesta, as well as Booker, Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr. (D-N.J.), Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette and environmental organizations.
Defend Our Future, the youth arm of the Washington-based Environmental Defense Fund, praised the investment as vital for equitable access to green spaces and tree cover.
“Due to systemic injustices such as redlining, communities of color and low-income communities are far more likely than white communities to lack green spaces,” director Kyli Wagner said in a statement. “These same communities are also more burdened by higher pollution levels and temperatures, making it even more urgent that they benefit from these investments.”
Despite its name, the Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Joe Biden last year, is a sweeping law that goes beyond trying to fight inflation and lower the federal deficit. It includes an expansion of Medicare benefits, extends Affordable Care Act subsidies, raises the corporate tax and invests heavily in energy and climate programs, including planting more trees.
