I’m a 19-year-old college student and, for the past seven years, I have been living in Denton, but I’m originally from the Dominican Republic. Coming from a walking country to a car state was culturally shocking; it made me wonder why people here in Denton didn’t walk as much. Although there are many issues to address that question, I would like to focus on the shortage of trees around Denton county.
We all know that Texas is a hot state, but average temperatures increase more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit every decade, plus heat waves that could last up to a month, makes life in Texas a living hell. Last year’s heat wave killed over 279 people and pushed Texas power grids near their limit, making the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issue a conservation appeal, asking Texans and Texas businesses to conserve electricity voluntarily.
Now, you may ask what does high temperatures in Texas have to do with trees in Denton. Well, tall enough trees give shade that helps us stay cooler on hot days. So, if there were more trees around Denton County, not only could it allow the city to cool off, but it could also help save more electric energy and make the city much prettier and walkable.
Although I intend this to be implemented around all of Denton, I believe that places like lower-income neighborhoods, the Denton Square and malls/plazas should be Denton County’s priority to make Denton cooler by planting more trees.
Yesslin Roque,
Denton
Drive-thrus hurting the environment
If people are so worried about the environment, ban drive-thru services. At your favorite coffee place or the chicken sandwich eatery, cars are lapped around the businesses. Cars put most of their emissions in the air while the car is idling in traffic or drive-thru services. They are everywhere, banks, pharmacies, etc. Remember the old days — we actually walked into a business to do transactions. Yes, we were just as busy as people think they are these days.
Ray Stefl,
Denton
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