For as long as I can remember, summer has always been my time to play outdoors. Unfortunately, extreme heat and wildfire smoke blanketing the East Coast has boxed my family indoors far too frequently in recent weeks. We have received several alerts about camp being held indoors due to poor air quality, and weekend hiking trips have been postponed on multiple occasions. Washington, D.C. is usually hot in the summer, but every year it gets hotter and hotter, and wildfire smoke is an entirely new thing for us.
The wildfire smoke coming from Canada, while an alarming sign of our changing climate, is atypical here in D.C., but for many families around the country, dangerous heat and air quality are an everyday reality. Many communities struggle with urban air pollution resulting from factories, energy plants and other polluting companies or industrial sites and freeways that encroach on their neighborhoods. Still others struggle with oppressive heat as a result of warming temperatures and a lack of tree canopy to provide shade and keep communities cool.
