Caroline Leland delivers her pitch about her experience at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the 2022 Policy Pitch Competition.
Transcript:
Did you know that heat is
the number one
weather-related cause
of death in the United States?
Heat kills more Americans
than hurricanes,
flooding and tornadoes combined.
Growing up in muggy,
eastern North Carolina.
I spent summer days
in my county library.
Not only because I love to read,
but also because their air
conditioning was always on
full blast. I'm from a
pretty hot place,
but I had no idea that
so many Americans die
from heat exposure.
It turns out being
from a rural area
actually protected me from heat
in an important way.
If you look at a literal
heat map of a city,
the metropolis tends
to be an island of
heat surrounded by
cooler rural areas.
This is because concrete
absorbs heat from
the sun and then
slowly releases it.
Whereas trees and vegetation
create shade and cool the air.
Thus, my rural hometown
is likely less hot
than nearby urban areas.
I learned all this through
my summer internship with
EPA's heat island program,
which provides resources
and technical expertise to
local governments
that want to address
issues of heat in
their communities.
I'm interested in policies at
the intersection of human
health and the environment,
which is the exact focus of
the Environmental
Protection Agency, and
it's heat island program.
Additionally, as a well
educated white person,
I feel a deep
responsibility to leverage
my personal privilege to
address inequities
in our society.
I was also attracted to
this internships emphasis
on promoting equity.
What does equity have
to do with heat?
Well, not only are
cities heat islands
compared to surrounding
rural areas,
but neighborhoods within a
city can also form what's
called intra urban heat islands.
Hotter neighborhoods
today where there is
more concrete and
less green space,
tend to be poorer and have
more residents of color.
Many of those same neighborhoods
were historically red lined,
which means that
they suffered for
decades from racist
policies that
deprived them of
important financial investments
and other resources.
In my internship, I
was responsible for
rewriting the EPA
webpage on heat and
equity using clear
and strong language
and the most up-to-date
research findings.
I wrote about the many
risk factors for heat
that fall along
socioeconomic lines.
I described the connection
between red lining
and modern-day
heat and the cascading
consequences
for marginalized communities.
I also wrote case studies on
Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
Two cities that are leading on
equitable heat policies.
For example, LA has chosen eight of
its hottest neighborhoods to
have their streets resurfaced
with a cool pavement coding.
And if you're from a
Cincinnati neighborhood
with minimal tree cover,
you get priority access to
an annual tree giveaway program.
Through my internship, I
developed research
and writing skills.
I gained a strong
technical understanding of
heat islands and the policies
that can mitigate them.
I learned about the
ways that a federal
agency like EPA can
support local governments on
specific issues like heat.
I learned about the powers of
municipal governments
and the many,
many steps that go into
every piece of legislation,
no matter its scope.
I'm proud that my
work will inform
future and ongoing heat
mitigation policies.
Hoping cities across
the US to reduce
their heat island and protect
their most at-risk residents.
Looking to the future,
I'm excited to bring my new
skills and knowledge to
my unfolding career in
environmental policy.