Preparing for climate change
Higher temperatures will mean more stress on people and infrastructure. One solution is very low-tech: shade. This fall, I'll be announcing a drive to plant 10,000 trees in Tucson — native and low-water-use — working with local nonprofits Trees for Tucson, Watershed Management Group and others.
As we increase our shade canopy, we decrease our heat island effect, keeping our days, and especially our nights, a bit cooler.
Because trees need water, this spring, the city adopted Green Streets guidelines. In the future, as public roads are built or rebuilt, they'll include features to retain and use runoff to irrigate trees and other plants in roadside landscaping. Again, this is a low-tech solution, but an effective one. And it's one Tucsonans can use in their own yards, by planting trees in basins and using gravity to direct rainwater to roots.
Tucson's mayor considers what the city can do about climate change