.It’s summer; it’s hot and will get steadily hotter. What can the local cities do to mitigate the heat? Currently Edinburg has more than 60 subdivisions under construction as our population increases, so how is heat mitigation being addressed by Edinburg and other local municipalities? Are there adequate neighborhood parks that connect by sidewalks and especially are current building codes accounting for the effect of “heat islands”?
Cities have been warming at twice the global average because of the “urban heat island” effect whereby buildings and pavement trap heat that otherwise might have been diffused by foliage. Many people suffer because they lack air conditioning, work outdoors as in construction or other employment or live near industrial facilities. A 2021 study in Earth’s Future publication found that “in areas with higher rates of poverty, temperatures can be as much as 7 degrees warmer during the summer months when compared to richer neighborhoods.”
As illustration, we can take a quick trip to SPI to escape the heat, but when we drive west from there and through our numerous metro areas, we might notice that the heat increases as we drive to reach Edinburg and each mile becomes hotter and hotter in temperatures due to the increased concrete and infrastructure of our highways, streets and housing.
Can we mitigate the effect of heat islands? Yes, but we have to do this now while our population is increasing and our building boom is happening. We need to be active in our quest for parks and green areas and especially building codes that reflect a quality of life for all residents.
Will the current Edinburg Uniform Development Code being reviewed reflect the effects of our summer heat and drought? Will Edinburg and neighboring cities become an oasis or just another hot spot in the RGV?
Diane Teter
Edinburg
Trump critique
draws outrage
To stoop so low and dedicate a whole letter (Mr. Beto Conde’s letter of June 13), quoting detailed inappropriate, disgusting and nauseating comments written about Trump, clearly projects Mr. Conde’s tasteless efforts to deflect the real scandals covered up by the lapdog media about the unscrupulous history of the Biden family.
Mr. Conde needs to do unbiased neutral research and uncover the disparaging efforts the extreme left oppressive media put into falsely embellishing, covering up and sanitizing a very corrupt history of the Biden family.
Biden minions are in such desperate mode to erase the disastrous failures of Biden and his vindictive, chronic lying. Biden’s own mind seems to be unaware of who he really is; a clueless pretender who now disgracefully occupies the White House. It’s a total disrespect to the many fine American people who do not deserve his chaotic and disastrous lack of leadership.
Free speech has no place for gross gutter language. We’re a nation of socially respectful citizens and should never settle for jugular-aimed, garbage-filled discourse. Professional journalism should never include graphic, filthy language.
Imelda Coronado
Mission
