Page 37 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

Extreme Heat The opening chapter of Kim Stanley Robinson's science fiction novel The Ministry for the Future relates an extreme heat wave in Uttar Pradesh, India, where millions of people die and only one worker from an international nongovernmental agency survives. The increasing desperation and efforts of the city's populace to survive the escalating heat is difficult to read but not hard to imagine. The catastrophe leads to actions by India and other nations to ratchet up solutions to quell the rising heat, including geoengineering to block the sun's rays and altering the global economy with top-down policies. The remainder of the book is optimistic, relating many practical steps that help our near-future fictional counterparts make progress. Starting with heat waves helps the book connect viscerally with the reader because heat waves kill more people than any other type of severe weather in the US. And climate change is making these weather events more frequent and unpredictable. High heat and high humidity combinations can be fatal for people unprotected by air conditioning, which isn't always available. A vicious heat dome hit Los Angeles in August 2022, staying for a week, with temperatures hitting 115 degrees in parts of Southern California. The city launched Cool Spots LA, a web app that showed residents where they could find air- conditioned places to cool off. As with many climate-related pressures, disproportionate impacts affect disadvantaged communities. Earlier, students led a mapping effort to identify places to plant trees in Los Angeles to provide shade and drive down the heat island effect in Los Angeles's disadvantaged neighborhoods. Los Angeles leaders, community groups, and educators have teamed up to address urban tree cover with a sense of urgency. Planting more trees can help lower pollution, temperatures, stress levels, and the energy bills of residents. Trees also improve aesthetics, clean the air and water, and even increase business revenue, while alleviating mental health concerns. In Austin, Texas, city leaders have identified a positive chain reaction from planting trees in underserved areas: more trees mean more canopy; more canopy means more shade; more shade means less heat; less heat means lower energy bills and more outdoor activity. Therefore, more trees result in improved health and quality of life for residents. In Prague, one of Europe's fastest-growing cities, planners have taken an increasing interest in how climate change will affect and alter the city. Using GIS, the city's planners construct 3D models of Prague's microclimates. These models provide a way to simulate the effect of mitigation strategies before they are implemented. Each of these examples could easily have made it into The Ministry for the Future because the novel relates how people tackle the pressures and problems they face by trying different solutions. In the novel, there's no one central solution to climate change, just as there won't be in the real world. At Esri, we've seen governments and organizations achieve success with a geographic approach that combines sensors, apps, and GIS technology to create operational intelligence across departments. The same system contains demographics about whom you're serving to help leaders see and address gaps in service. With apps and dashboards powered by geospatial technology, organizations can create efficiencies in workflows and information sharing to capture and convey the whole picture. With today's technologies, the challenges of the climate crisis can be managed with innovative approaches that transform outdated processes through shared awareness, location intelligence, and an open approach that benefits everyone. 36