Climate change panel being held at NAACP National Convention in Boston - WCVB Boston

Climate change panel being held at NAACP convention in Boston

Climate change panel being held at NAACP National Convention in Boston

ANYTHING. SO I AM JOINED NOW BY REVEREND MARIAMA WHITE HAMMOND. SHE IS THE CHIEF ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY OF OPEN SPACE FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON. AND YOU MADE IT THROUGH THE STICKIES ALREADY OUT THERE. IT IS HOT. YOU’RE HOSTING A PANEL LATER THIS AFTERNOON. ALL ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE. WHY IS THIS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY? WELL, I MEAN, AS YOU CAN SEE TODAY, IT’S REALLY HOT HERE AND REALLY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT’S TOUCHING SO MANY BLACK COMMUNITIES. AND IT’S NOT JUST THAT WE LIVE IN AREAS THAT ARE WARMING. THAT’S THAT’S VERY REAL. BUT IT’S ALSO THAT BECAUSE OF HISTORICAL DECISIONS, RACIST, RACIST DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE WE PLANT TREES, ABOUT WHERE WE PUT OPEN SPACE, ABOUT WHERE WE INVEST IN THINGS LIKE AIR CONDITIONING, THOSE DECISIONS MEAN THAT EVEN THOUGH MANY OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE SUFFERING UNDER SWELTERING HEAT, THEY DON’T HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED TO ADAPT AND THRIVE. IT’S VERY OBVIOUS YOU GO TO SOME COMMUNITY SEAPORT, LOTS OF TREES, BAYS, LOTS OF GREENERY, OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS MORE URBAN. YOU DON’T HAVE THAT GREENERY ON THE MEDIA. LOTS OF CONCRETE, LOTS OF. AND THAT RADIATES THE HEAT. EXACTLY WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS TO IMPROVING THE HEALTH CONDITION? YEAH. SO HERE IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, THE FIRST THING WE DID WAS REALLY TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT THAT. WHERE ARE WE HAVING SERIES? WE MAPPED IT. WE FOUND THAT WE HAD NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE YOU COULD HAVE 10 TO 12 DEGREE DIFFERENCES BECAUSE OF THESE REALITIES. BUT THEN WE SAID, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? AND SO WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON A PLAN TO REALLY INCREASE OUR TREE CANOPY AND FOCUS THOSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE WE HAVEN’T DONE THE WORK IN THE PAST. WHAT’S PROBABLY MOST EXCITING TO ME IS A PROGRAM THAT WE CREATED LAST YEAR CALLED POWERCOR, WHICH TRAINS YOUNG ADULTS OF COLOR 18 TO 30 FROM NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE ROXBURY AND MATTAPAN AND DORCHESTER IN URBAN FORESTRY AND SO NOT ONLY WE’RE GOING TO BE IMPROVING THOSE COMMUNITIES, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE DONE BY YOUNG PEOPLE WHO GREW UP AND LIVE IN THOSE. AND THOSE ARE OUR FUTURE LEADERS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING A VOICE ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION. AND IT’S SO IMPORTANT THAT IT’S PART OF THE NAACP CONVENTION.

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Climate change panel being held at NAACP National Convention in Boston

The panel is being hosted by the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, the city's chief of environment, energy and open space.
BOSTON —

The panel is being hosted by the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, the city's chief of environment, energy and open space.

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