U.S. cities make historic investment in urban trees.
President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act has set aside $1.5 billion for the federal Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program to fund tree-planting projects over the next decade, with a focus on underserved communities. Urban forestry advocates see this moment as an opportunity to transform underserved neighborhoods that have grappled with dirtier air, dangerously high temperatures, and other challenges because they don’t have a leafy canopy overhead. Trees help suck up heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce erosion and flooding. They're also credited with helping to save lives, considering heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S.