Marshall, N. (2023, January 24). 14 N.J. projects awarded $24M in grants to plant more than 4K trees, restore marshes. nj.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023, from https://www.nj.com/news/2023/01/14-nj-projects-awarded-24m-in-grants-to-plant-more-than-4k-trees-restore-marshes.html
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will grant $24.3 million dollars to 14 towns to fund urban greenery, marsh revitalization, and forest restoration. Restoring these natural resources will improve carbon dioxide sequestration and thus reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Tidal marshes, for example, act as carbon sink that store carbon safely in the ground. Coastal salt marshes also serve another purpose—they protect against sea level rise and storm-caused flooding. By planting trees, N.J. cities can combat the ‘heat island effect,’ when cities are hotter due to heat-absorbing infrastructure and a lack of foliage.
This article relates to environmental science because it touches on environmental phenomena like carbon sinks, climate change, and the ‘heat island effect’. This article made me happy because it demonstrates how humans can benefit from natural services. It is good that states are making an effort to restore their natural resources through grants such as N.J.’s Natural Climate Solutions Grant program. Living in Menlo Park, I know how beneficial it is to have looks of trees, for cooling, aesthetics, and also to filter pollution.
I agree that this is going in the correct direction for fighting climate change it as well made me happy. I’m happy to see that government efforts are also beginning to take action What are going to be the struggles with restoring these lands you think?
I think the biggest hurdle is restoring lands that have already become so depleted. Soil that is already drained of nutrients and life is hard to restore, as we saw in “Biggest Little Farm”. Thanks for your comment!
I agree that planting more trees in urban environments is a step in the right direction. I think it’s nice when helping the environment directly increases the happiness of the population because sometimes it can seem like solving environmental problems only helps people in the long term. For example, solving climate change will improve people’s lives in the future because there will be fewer natural disasters and cooler temperatures, but in the short term it requires people to use more public transportation and less energy cooling their homes, which are not particularly enjoyable. Do you think more states will fund urban cooling projects?
I absolutely think cities will increase cooling projects. Already we see greenery popping up in unexpected places. Urban cooling is a great way to attract residents and increase the quality of a city. Thanks for the comment 🙂
I agree that this is a really good idea to help restore the ecosystem and support ecosystem services. I hope that other places soon invest in this sort of ecosystem restoration. What do you think about the amount of money that was granted too much not enough or just right?
Thanks for the comment! Unfortunately, I’m not knowledgable enough of New Jersey’s specific needs and limitations, so I do not think I’m qualified to say wether or not their funding is adequate.