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Green City
Tue Sep 27, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
We know Manhattan and other New York City boroughs are islands. But other great
American cities — Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles among them — are also
islands: heat islands. Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton, and this is The Weather Notebook’s weekly
Climate Change series.
Changing natural landscapes from forest or meadow to urban development alters the
local climate. The concrete, steel and asphalt push the urban landscape to
significantly higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside, as much as 10
degrees hotter. This creates an island of heat centered at the urban core.
As the general climate warms, the urban heat island makes many cities dangerously
hot in summer and requires high energy usage to run air conditioning.
This trend has worried many American mayors enough to consider making changes.
At the July 2005 annual meeting of the US Conference of Mayors, mayors from across
the nation gave unanimous support to a landmark Climate Protection
Agreement.
Its sponsor Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels remarked: "Mayors across America are making
it clear; we’re not going to wait for the federal government to do something to prevent
the production of greenhouse gases. We’re going to step up and provide the
leadership at the local level, city by city."
Under the agreement, cities developing strategies to "green" urban landscapes will
share them with other cities and make them available to the public. The agreement
calls not only for greenhouse gas reduction, but also for initiatives to reduce sprawl,
save energy, preserve open spaces, and promote and maintain healthy urban
forests.
Trees and other vegetation provide shading, which reduces the use of air conditioning,
and "evapotranspiration," a process in which water released through the plant’s leaves
draws heat from the air.
Thanks to our contributing writer, meteorologist Keith Heidorn. Our show is funded by
Subaru of America, with additional support from Environmental Defense.
Today's Links
US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement
http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/mayor/climate/
Mayors showcase Chicago, Seattle as \'green\' cities
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/30052.html
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