Greenspace, trees & litter: 5 Things You Need to Know 1/18

What’s going around the greenspace this snowy Friday? Here are 5 articles you should read:

Can beautifying neighborhoods actually reduce crime? Recent studies by Penn & Columbia University shared that “overall crime’ dipped by 10% in neighborhoods with transformed lots, and “sense of safety” grew over 60%. Trees help too! Read the full story by Charles Ellison (who I chatted with on WURD on Wednesday!) over on the Philadelphia Citizen.

The city is trying to hack street sweeping by blowing litter from the sidewalks into the trash, so people don’t have to move their cars. PlanPhilly explains the whole idea, which seems like it could be littered with a few holes, from the commenters perspectives…

How can climate change interrupt elections? Our friends at EcoWURD share the recent case of voter suppression at the intersection with climate change.

Did you know that human’s impact on Earth changes a broader biosphere, so much that it could be a new epoch? Meet the Anthropocene, where the “systems of sea, land, and air will be unlike those experienced in human history.” The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy’s latest podcast explains this phenomenon.

We’ve heard that the 2 degree Celsius increase would be terrible for climate change. Can you imagine a 4.9 degree C increase?! According to a new article from the Atlantic, we could be headed to worst-case scenario as greenhouse gas emissions shot up in 2018.