The best trees to reduce air pollution

Adapting to climate change takes planning and partnerships. In Missoula, Montana, partnerships with nonprofits like Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX) and Climate Smart Missoula reinforce the city’s climate planning. TEX connects cities and urban planners with professors, experts, and other nonprofits that can assist in tackling climate change issues. By layering socioeconomic data over a heat map of the city, TEX scientists could reveal populations at highest risk of extreme temperature impacts. The team then shared data with health officials, policy makers, and the community.

New York City black tar roofs cause a number of environmental problems, including air pollution, heat absorption that raises energy consumption, and storm water runoff in the sewer system. Efforts to turn these old roofs into green spaces cool the buildings, enable the containment of more rainfall, reduce sewer discharge, generate energy, and absorb carbon emissions. New York City has a pilot program offering financial help for green roofs.

Superblocks are areas in congested cities where traffic has been rerouted to prioritize people. Outfitted with green spaces and communal areas to connect, superblocks help reduce air and noise pollution. Residents living in the area report a higher quality of life and increased social interaction with their neighbors. The idea of superblocks has traveled around the world to cities like Vienna, Berlin, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles.

Faced with poor air quality, the city of Oslo instituted a set of policy measures that have resulted in a dramatic improvement. Many of these policies center around transportation including incentivizing the production and purchase of electric cars, reducing the number of cars in the city, and creating car-free zones.

Caltrain's $2.4 billion electrification of 51 miles of track replaced diesel trains with faster electric ones, resulting in ridership increases (it doubled on weekends) and shorter trips. This also led to an 89% reduction in riders' exposure to toxic pollution and an estimated 250,000 metric tons of annual carbon emissions reductions.

Oakland Unified School District's transition to 74 electric school buses has eliminated diesel exhaust exposure and noise pollution for 1,300 students—particularly benefiting those with special needs like autism—while reducing behavioral incidents and saving an estimated $440,000 annually in fuel and maintenance costs.

Solar-powered dryers are enabling women in India to produce and sell dried fish at markets in a manner that is healthier for them and the environment. It's also proving economically profitable.

In New England, government incentives and education are supporting and encouraging residents to swap their wood-burning stoves for high-efficiency models that burn less wood and emit less smoke. The aim is to reduce air pollution and its public health and climate impacts.

A professor at Keene State College, her students, and community volunteers installed affordable, commercial air monitors throughout the New Hampshire town to fill gaps in available data. The monitors help them track air quality in real time and alert the public when pollution levels rise.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program is funding zero-emission, electric school buses and low-emission buses for schools looking to make the switch from diesel.