Urge Congress to Include Funding for Tree Planting in the Farm Bill

From the Juggernaut Project (https://juggernautproject.com/):

What weather event causes the most deaths in America? The answer might surprise you. It’s not tornadoes, floods, or hurricanes – it’s extreme heat.

According to the latest research, heat takes as many as 12,000 lives per year. That’s the population of a small town, wiped from the Earth annually.

In fact, the recent heat waves we’ve experienced in the West have taken hundreds of lives in just a few weeks and left us all a worrying reminder that climate change is real, here now, and only going to get worse if we don’t act fast.

The good news is, planting trees can help lower temperatures, provide shade and even reduce demand on our energy grid by decreasing our dependence on air conditioners.

Sign Dream Corps Green For All’s petition asking Congress to include funding for planting trees all across America in the Farm Bill at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-congress-include-funding-to-plant-more-trees-in-the-farm-bill.

Planting trees diminishes the danger of heat islands caused by large stretches of uninterrupted asphalt. Tree cover provides valuable shade that can reduce deadly temperatures and keep cities from draining their electricity grid — avoiding fatal blackouts right when people need energy the most.

It is also part of Green For All’s five-part Common Ground Platform — an action plan for reducing emissions and putting millions of Americans back to work with good-paying jobs, all while making our communities safer and more healthy.

With the urgency of a climate catastrophe bearing down, and at a time of intense political division, both liberals and conservatives have come together and agreed on five actions that Congress can enact right now to get Americans back to work and on a path toward a better future for all:

1. Clean The Air: Deploy zero-emission school and transit buses, electrify ports, and add EV charging stations at public and non-profit gathering places.
2. Save Money on Energy: Weatherize and solarize homes, schools, and businesses.
3. Cool Off: Plant trees and conserve forests.
4. Expand Public Transit: Invest in more convenient and frequent service to increase low-emission transportation choices and better access to jobs and services.
5. Support sustainable and regenerative agriculture: Reward farmers for long-term emissions reductions and sustainable farming practices.

These common-sense solutions are supported by liberals and conservatives alike to help create green jobs, build healthier communities, safer homes, and a clean energy future for all.

Sign Dream Corps Green For All’s petition now to demand Congress include funding for tree-planting in the Farm Bill and help America beat the heat.