 Did you know that heat is the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States? Heat kills more Americans than hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes combined. Growing up in Muggee, Eastern North Carolina, I spent summer days in my county library, not only because I love to read, but also because their air conditioning was always on full blast. I'm from a pretty hot place, but I had no idea that so many Americans die from heat exposure. Turns out, being from a rural area actually protected me from heat in an important way. If you look at a literal heat map of a city, the metropolis tends to be an island of heat surrounded by cooler rural areas. This is because concrete absorbs heat from the sun and then slowly releases it, whereas trees and vegetation create shade and cool the air. Thus, my rural hometown is likely less hot than nearby urban areas. I learned all this through my summer internship with EPA's heat island program, which provides resources and technical expertise to local governments that want to address issues of heat in their communities. I'm interested in policies at the intersection of human health and the environment, which is the exact focus of the Environmental Protection Agency and its heat island program. Additionally, as a well educated white person, I feel a deep responsibility to leverage my personal privilege to address inequities in our society, so I was also attracted to this internship's emphasis on promoting equity. What does equity have to do with heat? Well, not only are cities heat islands compared to surrounding rural areas, but neighborhoods within a city can also form what's called intra-urban heat islands. Hotter neighborhoods today, where there is more concrete and less green space, tend to be poorer and have more residents of color. Many of those same neighborhoods were historically redlined, which means that they suffered for decades from racist policies that deprived them of important financial investments and other resources. In my internship, I was responsible for rewriting the EPA webpage on heat and equity. Using clear and strong language and the most up-to-date research findings, I wrote about the many risk factors for heat that fall along socioeconomic lines. I described the connection between redlining and modern-day heat and the cascading consequences for marginalized communities. I also wrote case studies on Cincinnati and Los Angeles, two cities that are leading on equitable heat policies. For example, LA has chosen eight of its hottest neighborhoods to have their streets resurfaced with a cool pavement coating. And if you're from a Cincinnati neighborhood with minimal tree cover, you get priority access to an annual tree giveaway program. Through my internship, I developed research and writing skills. I gained a strong technical understanding of heat islands and the policies that can mitigate them. I learned about the ways that a federal agency like EPA can support local governments on specific issues like heat. I learned about the powers of municipal governments and the many, many steps that go into every piece of legislation no matter its scope. I'm proud that my work will inform future and ongoing heat mitigation policies, helping cities across the U.S. to reduce their heat island and protect their most at-risk residents. Looking to the future, I'm excited to bring my new skills and knowledge to my unfolding career in environmental policy.