With temperatures climbing into the 90s in May and wildfire smoke already fouling air quality in some areas of the Northwest, RANGE wanted to learn more about what this unseasonably warm weather means for the rest of summer, the risks of heat-related illness in our community and the role climate change plays in driving extreme weather.

So, RANGE out to Dr. Brian G. Henning, the Director of Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment and a professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies at Gonzaga University.

You’ll hear Dr. Henning talk about the importance of a healthy urban canopy — a dense urban canopy — to reduce what scientists call heat islands. Heat islands are hotspots in cities where rather than sunlight being absorbed by trees and used to power photosynthesis, which creates oxygen, and keeps ground temperatures cool, there are fewer or perhaps zero trees. So the heat reaches the ground, is absorbed by the concrete and asphalt, and that heat radiates, creating temperatures that are 14 degrees hotter in say, Hillyard than the tree-lined streets of the South Hill. 

Trees in Spokane will not fix climate change. Climate change is a global crisis that will require a global solution. But trees can help mitigate the local effects of that global crisis. And we need to do it now, because trees don’t grow to maturity over night. 

So then the obvious question is: what can we do today to help our neighbors survive and make our neighborhoods more resilient while we wait 20 years for that tree cover to grow? And what other steps can we take?

All that and more in this episode.