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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August 21, 2018
4:22
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 MoreDecember 4, 2015
7:00
Scientists say the results will be devastating if we don’t address global warming. The Climate Summit in Paris this month will bring countries together to agree on a plan to slow climate change. People call the Amazon rainforest the “lungs of the world.” Most of Europe and America have already cut down their trees in favor of agriculture and industry. Is it fair to ask Brazil to sacrifice its interests to preserve the rainforest for the rest of the globe? Listen to this story and have students choose a side in this debate: Should rich nations pay to preserve the rainforest?
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.
Read More