“If we’re going to build, let’s build green,” says David Suzuki

Green infrastructure has numerous benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving human health.
TED MCGRATH

Natural infrastructure is good for the climate and communities

“We often take trees and green spaces for granted, but we shouldn’t,” wrote David Suzuki in a recent commentary published by the Georgia Strait. He is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation.

“Provincial and federal governments need to update the definition of infrastructure to include green infrastructure such as trees, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces, and allow municipalities to spend money to develop and maintain these assets.”

“Healthy street trees can lengthen the lifespan of built infrastructure like roads and sidewalks by shading them and reducing effects of weathering, and they provide significant human health benefits. This summer, using data from Toronto, David Suzuki Foundation Ontario director Faisal Moola and his academic colleagues found that adding 10 trees to a block can produce health benefits equivalent to a $10,000 salary raise or being seven years younger.” 

To Learn More:

To download and read the complete commentary by David Suzuki as published in the Georgia Strait newspaper, click on David Suzuki: Natural infrastructure is good for the climate and communities