Less than 20 months in, Dallas has laid the groundwork for its long-term climate action plan, which directs the city to better manage carbon emissions by 2050.
In its first year, city staff said they achieved 93% of their assigned annual goals and began work on half the actions from the 30-year climate plan approved by the City Council in May 2020. Among the completed tasks: a new urban forestry website, the launch of its sustainable procurement program, the installation of air quality monitors and hundreds of new trees planted.
With nearly 100 actions items, the plan addresses eight issues: energy-efficient and climate-resilient buildings, renewable and affordable energy, transportation, waste, water resources, green spaces, food and clean air.
While proud of its initial success, the city is striving to accomplish more of its goals this year.
As we build for our citys future, it is imperative that we take intentional steps to become better stewards of our environment, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a written statement. This issue is important to me as mayor, and through our Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan, we are committed to becoming a global leader in addressing environmental concerns.
One of the most notable actions slated for 2022 is the drafting of a new facility bond program, which could potentially be on ballots in May 2023, to support the citys goal of having all net-zero city facilities by 2030, meaning they would utilize no energy.
City staff will also continue some work from last year, including the installation of solar panel roofs at nearby affordable housing projects, placing non-regulatory air quality monitors across Dallas and several public awareness campaigns. City offices will observe the monitors data daily to gain a closer perspective of air-pollution trends in each neighborhood.
To me, already doing this much is a really, really good thing, said Susan Alvarez, assistant director of the citys office of environmental quality and sustainability. It shows that the city departments and staff are intrinsically motivated to make things happen in this plan.
Communities of color and those with high poverty are disproportionately more vulnerable to extreme temperatures and other climate disasters, according to research from the Environmental Protection Agency.
City leaders hope to reverse some of the existing damage.
For decades, Dallas has contended with air pollution, water pollution, and toxic hazards throughout our city, but particularly in underserved areas, the mayor said. This issue is personal for me as someone who grew up partially in the shadow of a lead smelter plant in West Dallas. Thats a life that none of us want for our children today. By working together, we can ensure that all our families can live in a safe and healthy environment.
A few environmental justice projects are already in the works, said Paula Blackmon, chair of the City Councils environment and sustainability committee.
The city is increasing its focus on food management to minimize its food desert and become a zero-waste community. In addition to increased public awareness campaigns and education, city staff will also increase residents accessibility to food waste alternatives, such as composting and recycling, and will offer more locally sourced foods through its urban agriculture plan.
It is also developing procedures to guide the locations for concrete batch plants, which are known for their potential hazardous toxins.
Were looking at each community each neighborhood and observing their specific needs, Blackmon said. Were aware of how past practices, policies and procedures have harmed some in our community, and were saying now that were not doing it again.
Additionally, in participation with the 1 Trillion Trees project an initiative to plant 1 trillion trees around the globe by 2030 the city has planted thousands of new trees in Dallas underserved communities. These areas frequently have little to no tree canopy, and consequently, place residents more at-risk of extreme heat and higher air pollution.
Alvarez said this initiative can also relieve the citys heat island effect when urban areas experience higher temperatures than others. The citys goal is to increase its canopy to 33 percent by 2030 and 40 percent by 2050 or by about 250,000 trees.
Most people dont know that Dallas is second, only to Phoenix, relative to heat island temperatures, Alvarez said. Phoenix has an excuse. Its in the desert. Dallas isnt.
Although the plan draws support from several statewide environmental organizations including the Texas Trees Foundation and the Nature Conservancy in Texas some local organizations say its too weak.
One of its biggest critics, Downwinders at Risk, specifically condemns the citys attention to air quality and environmental justice issues.
When the city released the plan nearly two years ago, director Jim Schermbeck wrote online that the city was silent on more challenging issues such as inequitable pollution burdens and (its) own reliance on natural gas.
The local clean-air advocacy group wants an increased focus on air pollution and toxins. Hed also like the city to abandon natural gas and utilize more sustainable energy alternatives.
Although Schermbeck is aware of some new changes, he doubts the seriousness behind them such as the non-regulatory air monitors.
Alvarez said city staff gathers data from the monitors early each morning.
For us, its a very passive and very unambitious plan, Schermbeck told The Dallas Morning News. Most of the plan focuses on conservation. What is lacking is that same aggressiveness toward environmental health and environmental justice issues.
Read more:
Dallas making progress on climate action plan - The Dallas Morning News
- No Rest For the Wicked | Review In Progress - XboxEra - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Maine made progress in wages and productivity, but still faces shrinking labor force - Press Herald - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- The Progress Report: How 4 Schools Are Teaching Kids to Read and Seeing Success - Voice of San Diego - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- PROGRESS MADE IN COLE REHAB? - Bleeding Yankee Blue - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Pollution or Progress? What's Next for LNG Development in the Rio Grande Valley - Progress Texas - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Lykos Therapeutics Makes Progress in Europe - The Dales Report - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Adelaide Film Fest Picks Five Works in Progress for Cannes Showcase, With Giant, Drafthouses Mockbuster Making the Cut (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Washington says real progress needed before restoring UNRWA funding - The Times of Israel - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- LIGA Provides Further Guidance: Engages Audit Firm and Making Progress in Search for CEO and Management Team - Yahoo Finance - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Forest Health Council Reports Progress Toward Community Wildfire Resiliency-Greg Felt Talks Wildfire Mitigation with ... - Heart of the Rockies Radio - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Football notes: Robert Livingston pleased with progress of CU Buffs defense - BuffZone - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Spencer Hospital Emergency Department Project Continuing to Progress - KICD - April 27th, 2024 [April 27th, 2024]
- Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for Progress Software OpenEdge Vulnerability - The Hacker News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress being made on fire alarms, Oswego town supervisor says - oswegocountynewsnow.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress on the Boyertown Express featured at Dinner - Berks Weekly - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress of Two-Acre Brush Fire Near Vandenberg - Santa Barbara Edhat - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools - Progress Index - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- New numbers on progress of penny sales tax - The Post and Courier - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Long Island woman who survived acid attack continues to make progress in recovery - PIX11 New York News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Beam marks progress toward bringing 1st-ever MLS team to San Diego - NBC San Diego - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- McKone: Irish-American progress and paradoxes | Perspective | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Big East reportedly making a lot of progress on media rights deals with CBS, Fox - Awful Announcing - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Berrien County farmers note slow progress on the new Farm Bill - News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- END OF SESSION: Sen. Crider and Rep. Cherry reflect on progress made during the legislative session - Greenfield Daily Reporter - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see "progress" - RaceFans - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Inflation ticked up in February, reversing some prior progress - ABC News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Latest NEOM progress video of The Line is indicator of scale - Supercar Blondie - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Statewide Impact of Ohio Intel ProjectEvident in Initial Progress Report - Scioto Post - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight - TechCrunch - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- UPDATE: Forward progress stopped on vegetation fire near Lompoc - KSBY News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Lady Rattlers and Diamondbacks ready to roll - Progresstimes - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship - Ars Technica - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Helldivers 2 Galactic War live map: Track status and progress with this Liberty-approved web app - Windows Central - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Pittsburgh police will only respond to calls of in-progress emergencies as part of new staffing plan - Police News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A year of achievement, rebuilding and progress for utilities - Yoursun.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Trkiye: No Direct Dialogue with Damascus, No Progress in Normalization - Asharq Al-awsat - English - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A WORK IN PROGRESS | News | shelbynews.com - Shelbynews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- From recurrent networks to GPT-4: Measuring algorithmic progress in language models - Tech Xplore - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- U.S. Inability To Address Nuclear Waste Harms Environmental Progress - Newsweek - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Park Progress - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SF supervisor to hold hearing on homeless-shelter progress | Housing | sfexaminer.com - San Francisco Examiner - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- 'It's good to see progress being made on the site': Revised vision for Liberty Theater property in Libertyville - Daily Herald - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Diversity Among Emmy Winners Is a Result of Industry Progress - TheWrap - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- What would Dr. King say about progress and 2024? - The Chicago Cusader - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Police: Petersburg woman reportedly used hammer to hit her boyfriend - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - AOL - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lady Tigers Split Last Weeks Game's Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lexington Police Investigate Shooting at Walmart Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Scotts Hill Lions Dominated Last Week Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Older Couple Rescued From Submerged Vehicle Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Fore-ward Progress | Bintelli's new River Ridge facility to focus on making electric golf carts - WDRB - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- VIDEO: Project manager gives update on Glenn McConnell Widening progress - Live 5 News WCSC - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Truck driver sentenced for trafficking cocaine to Prince George County - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- After decades of little progress, Milwaukee begins new approach to improve lives of Black men and boys - madison365.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Women are bored of waiting: Slow progress on shattering the glass ceiling on company boards - I by IMD - I by IMD - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Now Accepting Applications for the 2024 Progress Software Mary Szkely Scholarship for Women in STEM - GlobeNewswire - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- "Some progress made" at Onslow BOE meeting, according to number of parents - WCTI12.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - Nonstop Local - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- DeSantis took credit for Florida's progress but Iowa may have sniffed out his bravado | Opinion - Yahoo News Canada - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Has the Israeli Military Made Progress in Its Goal of Destroying Hamas? : State of the World from NPR - NPR - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Jan. 19 Panel Examines 30-Year Progress of Women in Research - Mirage News - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Ducks' Midseason Check-in: Progress, Improvement Areas & More - The Hockey Writers - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. - Grist - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lou Leonatti With Progress Mexico Gives Hospital Bankruptcy Hearing Update On AM 1340 KXEO Am I Awake Morning Show - KXEO - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Seaside Heights Wants to See Progress From Developers, Will Investigate 'Bamboo' Property - Shorebeat - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Progress over perfection: Is Coach modelling a path for fashion transformation? - Vogue Business - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Watch the video of the Edmonds armed robbery in progress - MyNorthwest - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Albemarle County house burns to the ground in late night fire - The Daily Progress - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- GHDDI and Microsoft Research use AI technology to achieve significant progress in discovering new drugs to treat ... - Microsoft - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Henderson County Suspects Apprehended in Trenton Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- HCFD Reports Lowest Number of Residential Fires - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking The Future: CAGA's Progress In Web3 And Blockchain Innovation - Benzinga - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Underwhelming performance: Quarterbacks still a work in progress - Daily O'Collegian - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility - ny.gov - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A progress report: The columnist's garden in September - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- September 2023: Innovative researchers celebrate scientific ... - Environmental Factor Newsletter - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Progress over perfectionism - Lynn University - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Signs of progress on new Folsom Medical Office Building - UC Davis Health - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- LA District FUDS team makes progress on Nellis Remedial Action ... - spl.usace.army.mil - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- UFC Fight Night 226 winner Volkan Oezdemir pleased with progress after training with Khamzat Chimaev - Yahoo Sports - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]