New frontiers in “equity”

Is it possible to satirize the calculated malice and unthinking stupidity underlying the movement supporting the replacement of “equality” (meaning equal rights) with “equity” (meaning equal results)? I don’t think so. Maybe, but I seriously doubt it.

Today the Star Tribune reports on new frontiers in “equity.” Now we have “tree equity.”

Taking up the local angle on tree equity, the Star Tribune looks at how St. Paul measures up in Zoë Jackson’s story and disseminates this excerpt of Jackson’s story in its Eye on St. Paul email this morning. Jackson writes with a straight face (and even the prose is stupid):

Just as St. Paul is ramping up efforts in its multiyear struggle to combat emerald ash borer by removing ash trees across the city, a national report is pointing out disparities in leafy canopies among neighborhoods nationwide, including locally.

A new Tree Equity report by the nonprofit American Forests reveals tree cover disparities along race and class lines in many cities. The group gave St. Paul an equity score of 83, which indicates the city is performing well overall, but with some neighborhoods lacking suggested tree cover.

The biggest disparities are on private property, not on city boulevards and parks, according to city officials.

The importance of tree coverage has grown in recent years as concern for climate change grows. A neighborhood with fewer trees is significantly hotter than a neighborhood with more trees. One tree can have the effect of 10 room-sized air conditioners, said Karen Zumach, director of community forestry at Tree Trust, a Twin Cities nonprofit that works to grow the urban forest and new jobs.

I’m posting this under Laughter Is the Best Medicine, but it’s not funny.

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