The impacts of tree and temperature disparities within the region shouldn’t be understated. In addition to excessive summertime cooling bills, the consequences for medically vulnerable residents can be dire. Temperatures of 100+ in the absence of air conditioning will have uneven impacts that make low-income and non-cooled households unduly affected as residents make tough decisions between reluctantly running utilities and eating. Given the recent report that half of all Syracuse children live in poverty, that unacceptable dichotomy will be prevalent in thousands of households. Coupled with vulnerabilities in the provision of health care services after two years of fighting Covid-19, along with the prevalence of medically underserved areas within the city, a latent public health crisis will be fully exposed.

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How to make Syracuse cooler: Plant more trees (Guest Opinion by Lemir Teron)