By: Dave Gladson
The space between the sidewalk and the curb is a kind of no-man’s land — owned by the city, but the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain. It is walked on too much to plant flowers, and too close to the road pollution for vegetables. So what do you do with this little strip of land?
Plant a tree! In fact, if you live in the city of San Diego, the city will come plant a tree there for free as long as you agree to water it. Here are three ways that this program can both fight climate change and help us adapt to the changes we are already seeing.
Image courtesy the city of San Diego
1) Breaking Up The Urban Heat Island
The concentration of asphalt, concrete, and roofing baking in the sun creates an effect called the urban heat island, raising local temperatures significantly. But, adding trees along a city street can reduce temperatures by up to 2C (4F). The trees both provide shade and cool the air through the water they transpire through their leaves (just like sweating helps keep you cool).
During the peak of summer a couple degrees can make a big difference in people’s health, as well as reducing energy consumption by up to 5%.
2) Carbon Sequestration
Trees pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to build leaves, branches, and roots. They even transfer some of the sugar they produce to soil microbes, storing that carbon safely in the soil.
US emissions of CO2 rose 3.4% last year, and we’ll need to do more than plant trees to bring emissions back to a safe level. But every little bit helps.
3) Improving Air Quality
Trees absorb pollutants released in the exhaust from gas powered cars, including sulfur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen oxides, and soot.
If you are a homeowner with a parkway in front of your house, I’d encourage you to reach out to the city and ask for a tree today. One very small step you can take to help make our world a little bit better.