Salt Lake City's Heat Island Reduction Activites

Pilot Cities

Currently, state and local leaders are working to reduce the impact of heat islands. EPA's Salt Lake City Urban Heat Island Pilot Project Coordinator has been leading a Cool Communities Program through the Utah Office of Energy Services. Salt Lake City has launched several demonstration projects, including installing reflective and green roofs, planting shade trees, and showcasing cool pavements – all in an effort to educate the community about urban heat islands and strategies to reduce them.

Kool Kids Program

The Cool Communities' Kool Kids Program educates students about the urban heat island phenomenon and the resulting energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and air quality ramifications. The Kool Kids program is a hands-on way for students to learn about many issues, including energy, climate science, and map reading.

To assist teachers, the Utah Office of Energy Services assembled a Kool Kids Box containing lesson plans and tools for activities. This box includes an infrared analyzer, thermometers, thermal maps, and two model houses – one with a light roof and one with a dark roof. The lesson plans were written to follow the state curricula for various subjects.

To make the Kool Kids Box easier to use, the Utah Office of Energy Services will soon post these written materials on its website. In the meantime, educators can borrow the box from the office.

Winter Olympics

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee partnered with local groups to reduce heat islands. Utah's Olympic Oval, shown here, uses energy-saving cool roof technology.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee partnered with local groups to mitigate heat islands.

For the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Utah Cool Communities group partnered with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) and Utah Power to implement SLOC's Cool Spaces 2002™ tree planting program. Utah Power, a SLOC's Environmental Champion, grew and donated approximately 500 trees for the project. Cool Community volunteers and other partners planted these trees in various communities throughout Utah, including in the Olympic Village at the University of Utah.

To insure species diversity, Utah Power donated approximately 20 different species. Among other goals, this project aimed to: reduce localized hot spots, energy consumption, and air pollution by strategically planting trees in selected communities; and comply with Utah Power's motto "The Right Tree in the Right Place," which helps people to grow healthy trees with energy and electric safety in mind.

Envision Utah

The Utah Cool Communities group has been working with Envision Utah , a nongovernmental organization that focuses on growth issues including preserving critical lands, conserving water, and improving housing and transportation options. Envision Utah developed a toolbox to offer state and local decision-makers information on community development options. The second edition of the toolbox will contain a chapter on energy efficiency and will address the importance of urban heat island reduction. This toolbox and cooperative effort provide a great way to educate communities about Smart Growth strategies, heat islands, and energy savings.

TreeUtah and other organizations in Utah and Salt Lake City are also taking actions that reduce heat island impacts via the co-benefits that their programs provide.

Tree Utah

TreeUtah is a statewide nonprofit organization that aims to improve Utah's quality of life by enhancing the environment through planting, stewardship, and education. It partners with a variety of state and national groups, including American Forests, American Express, EPA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Utah Cooperative Extension Service, Habitat for Humanity, the Utah Office of Energy Services, and the Department of Natural Resources.