The City of Pittsburgh, PA has announced an "urban forest master plan" to add more foliage to the 2.5 million trees already covering the city.
Tree cover reduces energy bills, but is primarily seen as an issue of happiness and health by the city and the USDA. The agency funded the data collection study that inventoried the city's urban trees.
Reporter Diana Nelson-Jones pulls some interesting data from the report:
"The master plan reports the city has more than 2.5 million trees that sequester 13,900 tons of carbon dioxide a year, saved residents $3 million in energy bills last year and remove 519 tons of pollution at a savings of $3.6 million a year. Street trees alone diverted 41.8 million gallons of stormwater last year."
The report also shows that more affluent neighborhoods have more trees. The plan proposes a 20% increase in the canopy over the next 20 years.
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