Urban heat islands, made worse by climate change, can push up temperatures and bring on more air pollution in larger cities. Now, a Milwaukee project is giving public schools resources to remove a key source of the heat-trapping effect.

Dozens of public schools in Milwaukee are working with the nonprofit Reflo on swapping out playground asphalt for green infrastructure, including more trees and native plants.

Lisa Neeb, manager of the Green and Healthy Schools Program Manager for Reflo, cited environmental benefits such as reduced stormwater runoff, and giving students more refuge on hot days.

"There's often not very many areas of shade, if any, on these urban schoolyards," Neeb pointed out. "There's not a lot of things to naturally do."

Beyond providing a better atmosphere for physical activity, Neeb stressed the spaces create opportunities for outdoor learning. The program was recently highlighted by the National Wildlife Federation, which said green schoolyards also are good for pollinators. Organizers help schools secure grants to facilitate the projects, but officials said it is a challenge to secure enough funding to meet demand.

Neeb emphasized her team is working with medical researchers to collect data on how transformed spaces affect student behavior. She explained the pandemic delayed collection of follow-up data from the program but noted anecdotal information from school administrators offered hope.

"Behavior referrals go down, injuries go down, and kids are more productive in their play," Neeb reported.

Broader research has linked access to green space with positive health benefits, including cognitive development in schoolchildren. Reflo said so far, it has partnered with 41 Milwaukee schools, with half the projects already completed. And Neeb added they have a selection process focusing on equity so disadvantaged schools are not left behind in seeking resources.

An Iowa county has received money as part of a $48.5 million federal grant to protect the rusty patched bumble bee and preserve its habitat.

The grant is aimed at restoring endangered species and their habitats across the country. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has allocated more than $635,000 to Winneshiek County to protect the bee and its native surroundings.

Pam Mackey-Taylor, director of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the rusty patched bumble bee is a critical part of the natural ecosystem.

"It pollinates prairie plants, pollinates garden plants, fruit trees, ornamental plants," Mackey-Taylor explained. "It's important to keep the pollinator services from the rusty patched bumble bee available and are certainly necessary."

The Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding more than $48 million to 19 states for habitat conservation projects, to benefit 80 endangered and at-risk species across the country.

The bee lives on prairie and marsh lands and makes its colonies underground. Mackey-Taylor pointed out the grant money will be used to make sure the areas the bee relies on most will be protected from invasive species, which will allow the things they need to thrive.

"Blooming flowers throughout the spring, summer and fall so that there's a nectar source," Mackey-Taylor noted. "And make sure the bees are protected from sprays, fungicides, herbicides and insecticides."

Pesticide overspray and drift can often be a problem for Iowa farmers trying to manage weeds and pests, which could affect the bee habitat the grant is designed to protect.

Environmental groups in Texas are backing a proposed global plastics treaty set to be finalized by the end of the year.

The treaty aims to minimize plastic's effect on the environment and make manufacturers responsible for managing plastic waste. The treaty also encourages the use of reusable options, such as single-use bags, straws and utensils.

Cheyenne Rendon, senior policy officer for the Society of Native Nations, said supporters need to focus on the people the treaty will serve.

"The United States has already conveyed that they're not willing to operate out of current existing laws," Rendon pointed out. "Although their approach is, they are for the global plastics treaty, it's at the lowest denomination of a treaty as possible. So that's why we have to lead with this with a human-based approach. How are we going to take care of not only our planet, but our people?"

Texas is one of the largest producers of fossil fuels and plastic in the nation, with most coming from the Houston Ship Channel. It is the second-largest petrochemical complex in the world and surrounded by low-income communities of color. People in the area have life expectancies up to 20 years shorter than those in white communities just 15 miles away.

Amnesty International recently deemed the Houston Ship Channel a "sacrifice zone," meaning residents suffer devastating physical and mental health consequences, along with human rights violations from living in pollution hotspots.

Yvette Arellano, founder of the group Fenceline Watch, said they have promoted environmental change at the local and state levels for years. They argued by backing the plastics treaty, they are taking their concerns nationally and globally.

"We're in collaboration with over 300 other organizations, from grassroots to academics and legal organizations," Arellano explained. "Trying to uplift the severe human rights violations that petrochemical companies and the fossil fuel industry, along with false solutions they're bringing along."

Arellano added there is no way for people living in the area to escape the poison.

"Whether we are at home, outside gardening or spending leisure time with family, whether we're at school at the grocery store, at the post office," Arellano outlined. "We're consistently and continuously being poisoned with full and free license to, on behalf of our regulatory agencies."

The groups will testify at the United Nations later this year.


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Hurricane season is here, and conservationists are shining a light on the role salt marshes play in protecting coastal North Carolina communities.

Studies find that salt marshes absorb flood waters and wave energy, reducing property damage in nearby areas by an average 20%.

Charlie Deaton, a habitat protection biologist at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, explained what salt marshes do to help areas build climate resilience.

"They're good at helping us actually mitigate some of the carbon we've released into the atmosphere, and they are good for community resilience, too," he said. "They protect landward shorelines from erosion, and salt marshes' larger scales can actually reduce the impacts of storm surge and reduce flooding from that."

North Carolina has about 220,000 acres of salt marshes, but the protections they offer are dependent on their health and preservation. Coastal development, pollution and climate change all pose threats to these ecosystems. Deaton said plans are in place to help restore them. The South Atlantic Salt Marsh Initiative aims to save 1 million salt-marsh acres, from North Carolina to Florida.

As hurricane activity is projected to increase in frequency and intensity, the role of salt marshes in protecting coastal communities becomes even more critical. Deaton said the evidence is clear that restoring these landscapes is urgent if we want to keep them.

"And if we start to lose our salt marshes," he said, "we're going to start to lose our nursery areas, and that's going to have negative impacts on our fish stocks and our fishing communities that depend on them, not to mention the direct community resilience benefits of preventing erosion and reducing storm surge."

At the state level, North Carolina also has a Salt Marsh Action plan to enhance and rejuvenate salt marshes. Deaton emphasized the importance of coupling these efforts with others that reduce pollution to safeguard coastal communities.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


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