Low-income urban neighborhoods are often hotter than wealthier neighborhoods in the same city. This is problematic, especially during heat waves, when residents’ health and even their lives could be at risk. One of the reasons poorer areas get hotter is because they tend to have fewer trees. Listen to learn how trees keep communities cool and why they are more prevalent in some neighborhoods than others.
Story Length: 5:35
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September 27, 2021
4:27
Sequoia National Park in California is home to some of the oldest and largest living things on Earth. Giant sequoia trees can grow to 300 feet tall and live for thousands of years. The sequoias in the park have survived dozens of forest fires over their long lifetimes. Recently, however, extreme heat, wildfires, and droughts have killed many of the treasured trees and prevented new ones from growing. Listen to hear how climate change is threatening the future of giant sequoias, and learn what people are doing to protect them.
Read MoreAugust 21, 2018
4:21
According to a recent study, Dallas is getting hotter faster than most other cities in America. A few surprising factors make this city an especially bad “urban heat island,” but there are certain, simple things the city can do to combat this effect. Listen to learn more about Dallas’ heat and find out what can cool it down.
Read MoreSeptember 30, 2015
3:18
It may seem like planting a billion trees would help global warming because they absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. But that would depend on the total number of trees on the planet, which was a number no one knew. Recently, researchers conducted a tree census that gathered the national forest inventories and tree information at a global scale. A previous estimate found 400 billion trees on Earth, but researchers discovered there were 390 billion in the Amazon basin alone. It took over two years to find a better estimate of the number of trees on the planet. Listen to this story to find out the results.
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2014
3:36
There will be 30 million dead Christmas trees lining curbsides in the weeks after the holidays. However, they don’t just go to waste – many groups are finding environmental uses for former trees. Listen to this story to learn about the creative ways former Christmas trees impact the Earth.
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