♪♪ >> Cathy: IT IS TRUE THAT MINNESOTA IS HEATING UP.

ALREADY THIS SUMMER WE'VE HAD 23 DAYS ABOVE 90 DEGREES WITH PLENTY MORE IN THE FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEK.

A NEW SET OF TOOLS FROM THE MET COUNCIL SEEKS TO HELP COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF EXTREME HEAT.

AND SOME OF THEIR SOLUTIONS ARE SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE.

JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT EXTREME HEAT AND THE MET COUNCIL'S PROJECT, DR. VISHNU LAALITHA SURAPANENI AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE U OF M MEDICAL SCHOOL AND DR. ERIC WOJCHIK, A SENIOR PLANNER WITH THE MET COUNCIL.

WHAT DOES THE EXTREME HEAT DO TO THE BODY?

YOU CAN GET REALLY SICK.

>> EXTREME HEAT CAN HAVE A LOT OF IMPACTS.

OFTEN PEOPLE THINK ABOUT HEAT STOKE OR HEAT EXHAUSTION WHERE YOU OVERHEAT IF YOU'RE WORKING OUTSIDE IN THE HEAT.

HEAT CAN ACTUALLY AFFECT YOUR BRAIN, HEART, LUNGS AND KIDNEYS.

EVEN REGULAR ACTIVITIES LIKE GOING TO THE STATE FAIR, FOR EXAMPLE, ON A VERY HOT DAY CAN BE DANGEROUS IF YOU'RE NOT TAKING PROPER PRECAUTIONS.

SO I HAVE THIS ELDERLY PATIENT THAT I TOOK CARE OF WHO WAS GARDENING IN THE SUN ALL DAY AND SHE PASSED OUT, SO WHEN THE FAMILY BROUGHT HER IN SHE HAD KIDNEY INJURY AND HAD TO BE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL.

>> Cathy: I'M SORRY, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO HAVE THESE EFFECTS?

ARE THEY CUMULATIVE OR WITH IT JUST BE ONE?

>> RIGHT, THIS WAS LUCKILY REVERSIBLE.

EACH PERSON IS DIFFERENT, ELDERLY, THOSE WHO HAVE PREEXISTING ILLNESS OR TAKING MEDICATIONS AND OUTDOOR WORKERS ARE REALLY IMPACTED A LOT MORE THAN OTHERS.

>> Eric: WE HAVE SOME SLIDES THAT COME FROM THE MET COUNCIL ON TREE COVER IN THE METRO AREA.

DOES THIS FOLLOW MAINLY THE RED LINE NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE MINORITIES COULDN'T GET LOANS AND SO FORTH?

>> THAT IS EXACTLY RIGHT.

THERE'S A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN FORMERLY RED-LINED NEIGHBORHOODS AND WHERE WE SEE EXTREME HEAT AND LACK OF TREE COVER.

AND, YOU KNOW, THAT CORRELATION IS VERY STRONG.

AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS DISPLAY HAT AND GET GOVERNMENTS TO INTERVENE AND ACTUALLY DO SOME GOOD PLANNING AROUND MAKING SURE THESE NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE, CAN MITIGATE EXTREME HEAT.

>> Eric: HOW EFFECTIVE CAN SHADE TREES BE SOMEBODY >> YEAH, I THINK SHADED REES IS THAT'S ONE OF THE INTERVENTIONS THAT WE NEED, BUT FOR SOME OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE THESE SYSTEMIC INJUSTICES, WHAT WE NEED ARE ALSO SYSTEMIC SOLUTIONS.

SO IN ADDITION TO TREE COVER, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT ACCESS TO AIR-CONDITIONING, CHEAP AND CLEAN ENERGY ACCESS, AND MAKING SURE THAT THE COMMUNITIES ARE INVOLVED IN THIS DECISION MAKING AND THEY'RE THE ONES WHO ARE LEADING THESE SOLUTIONS.

>> Cathy: YOU KNOW, THESE MAPS REALLY ARE PRETTY AMAZING.

SO I WANT TO GO PUT THIS UP ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, LET'S TALK ABOUT FROGTOWN, HIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS.

EXPLAIN WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.

>> THIS MAP IS SHOWING THE LACK OF TREE COVER IN FROGTOWN AS IT CORRELATES TO RACE.

SO OVER HALF OF FROGTOWN IS PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND IT HAS ABOUT 14% OF TREE COVER IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD AND THEN YOU HAVE NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE SUMMIT HILL THAT HAVE OVER 40% OF TREE COVER AND ABOUT 9% WOULD IDENTIFY AS A PERSON OF COLOR.

SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS PLAYING OUT IN OTHER PARTS OF OUR REGION, NOT JUST IN THE CITY OF ST. PAUL.

SO IT'S A POWERFUL IMAGE AND I THINK IT JUST SENDS A MESSAGE TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS THAT WE CAN DO A LOT IN THIS AREA.

>> Eric: RED RECTANGLE, WHAT IS THAT?

>> THAT'S FROGTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND THAT'S SHOWING I BELIEVE THAT SLIDE IS SHOWING RACE, IN THAT SLIDE AND THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS SHOWING THE CORRELATION WITH LACK OF TREE COVER IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> Cathy: A LITTLE CONFUSED.

WHY WOULD SOME OF THESE BIPOC COMMUNITIES, LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS NOT HAVE AS MANY TREES?

WERE THEY INITIALLY IN, WHAT, INDUSTRIAL AREAS?

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

SO FROM A LAND USE PERSPECTIVE, WE HAD A LOT OF LIGHT AND HEAVY INDUSTRY, WE HAD LARGE COMMERCIAL USES WHICH WE STILL SEE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THOSE COME WITH A LOT OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE, A LOT OF ROOFTOP AND VERY LITTLE GREEN SPACE.

SO I THINK THAT THAT IS CHANGING.

WE HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZATIONS LIKE FROGTOWN GREEN THAT HAVE PLANTED OVER 500 TREES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS WORKING WITH THE CITY OF ST. PAUL TO KIND OF REMEDY THIS ISSUE.

BUT IT'S AN EXCITING TIME I THINK TO MAKE CHANGE AND THINK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE IN TERMS OF REALLY CHANGING THE, CHANGING THE SCOPE AND REMEDYING THIS ISSUE.

>> Cathy: AS YOU SAY THIS IS TRULY AN EQUITY ISSUE.

>> MM-HMM, YEAH.

VERY MUCH SO.

AND I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THESE WITH THE HISTORICAL DECISIONS BEING MADE DECADES AGO THAT STILL CONTINUE TO HAVE AN IMPACT TODAY AND HOTTER NEIGHBORHOODS, LESS TREE COVER AND THESE ARE RESIDENTS EXPERIENCING NOT ONLY IMPACTS OF EXTREME HEAT DISPROPORTIONATELY BUT EXTREME HEAT CAN ALSO WORSEN AIR QUALITY.

PEOPLE COME AND I SEE THIS OFTEN, PEOPLE COME IN WITH ASTHMA ATTACKS ON HOT DAYS BECAUSE OF AIR QUALITY.

>> Cathy: WE SHOULD MENTION OF COURSE THESE ARE HISTORICAL DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, BUT THERE ARE STILL DECISIONS BEING MADE TODAY WHEN IT COMES TO DEVELOPMENT.

THERE'S ANOTHER GOOD MAP HERE FROM THE EAST METRO WHICH IS REALLY INTERESTING.

THAT'S THE EAST METRO IN 2002.

I THINK, I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHERE THAT IS SPECIFICALLY BUT LOOK HOW THAT HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.

SO IT'S LAND USE ALSO PLAYS INTO THIS.

>> YEAH, SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO, WE'RE TRYING TO GET LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO THINK ABOUT DESIGNING WITH NATURE AND NOT -- >> Eric: YOU CAN'T MANDATE IT BUT YOU CAN SHAME THEM INTO DOING IT.

>> WELL, WE CAN ENCOURAGE AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE.

DESIGN WITH NATURE, THINK ABOUT NATURE AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES.

>> Cathy: FINAL WORD BY THE WAY, IT'S GOING TO GET VERY HOT NEXT WEEK.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TELL PEOPLE?

>> MM-HMM.

YEAH.

SO I THINK EVERY PERSON REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO HEAT BUT WE'RE ALL VULNERABLE.

SO I WOULD SAY THAT ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO TAKE MEDICATIONS AND THOSE WHO HAVE A PREEXISTING ILLNESS YOU NEED A PERSONALIZED HEAT SAFETY PLAN.

BUT OTHERWISE IF YOU'RE YOUNG AND EALTHY, STILL HEAT CAN AFFECT YOU, SO HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE.

MAKE SURE YOU TAKE BREAKS IN COOL SHADED AREAS.

IF YOU'RE OUT MAYBE TRYING TO GET INTO A BUILDING AND TAKE A BREAK SO THAT YOUR BODY HAS A CHANCE TO COOL DOWN.

>> Eric: GOOD LUCK WITH THE PROGRAM,